The Fundamental Goal of Spiritual Cultivation Is to Subdue the Self

Since beginningless kalpas, the manas has been selfish, a complete individualist, grasping at self at all times and in all places. We can often analyze for the manas: in the end, what can selfishness gain? Apart from the suffering of birth-and-death saṃsāra, what else can there be? What has all the year-round, day-and-night grasping at conditions actually grasped? Apart from birth-and-death, it is still birth-and-death—in the end, nothing is gained. What have we obtained over countless kalpas? Nothing but karmic obstructions and afflictions.

Before the manas has realized no-self, it certainly fears birth-and-death; it has also not realized that thing which is beyond birth-and-death, and therefore it still has self-grasping. Only when the manas personally realizes that the myriad dharmas of the three realms are truly illusory and selfless can He, through the power of profound meditative concentration (samādhi), become resigned to letting go, thereby eliminating self-grasping. Without realizing no-self, without realizing the true self, everything is merely the mind consciousness's intellectual understanding; understanding only serves to suppress afflictions and has no power to cut them off. The mind consciousness's suppression is like pressing down grass with a stone—when the stone is removed one day, the grass will grow wildly. Only by presenting facts and reasoning things out can the manas be convinced; He needs to hear detailed principles—too coarse an exposition of dharma He cannot understand or accept. To eliminate afflictions, one must, after eliminating self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi), cultivate amid various states of circumstance; when such states arise, afflictions will poke their heads out and manifest, and at that moment the sharp blade of wisdom is needed to resolutely cut them off, and the afflictions are extinguished. If the afflictions do not emerge but remain hidden in the mind, they cannot be uprooted, and they will grow again later. 

When cultivation can seize hold of the manas, progress can be extremely rapid—this is the great shortcut. Those who are still making a fuss and putting on a show with the mind consciousness are still far from the Path. Turn the light inward and reflect upon yourself more often. If your meditative power is insufficient, you should cultivate more concentration; if your foundation is not solid, you must build more foundation. Do not seek quick success and instant benefit—if the foundation is not solid, the building or tower will collapse in the future. Cultivation is not a matter of leaping, and leaping is simply not possible; you must walk step by step, solidly and steadily. Never seek quick success and instant benefit—that is a castle in the air. We would rather awaken a few years later than pick unripe melons; a melon ripened by force-ripening cannot be eaten. Cultivating solidly and steadily, one can subdue afflictions and subdue the mind of pride. Once enlightened, the road ahead will be traveled quickly, and one will not easily stumble and fall. 

The fundamental goal of cultivation is to subdue the self. If one cultivates in order to be superior to others and stronger than others, that runs counter to the Path. Having a self that is stronger than others, that surpasses others—such a heavy mind of pride will certainly create unwholesome karma and form unwholesome karmic connections, and in the future one will undergo retribution and suffer distress. Always wishing oneself to be stronger than others, always determined to be above others, determined to surpass others—that is the self. Without subduing this self, future cultivation will face great obstacles; the mind of pride will severely obstruct the Path, to the point of long stagnation, which is very distressing. 

The manas's pride often manifests as: "Look how capable I am, look how outstanding I am, look how formidable I am, look how remarkable I am; how abundant my fame and gain, how great my power, how numerous my followers..."—the mind of pride all shows itself. This will severely obstruct the Path, and one cannot attain the liberating fruit and virtue of no-self. Only by seeing the manas clearly, and by disciplining and guiding the manas more often, does cultivation get onto the right path. 

Conclusion 

Almost one hundred percent of people take the state of the manas to be the state of the mind consciousness, so when someone speaks out about the true characteristics of the manas, they are accused of confusing the manas with the mind consciousness. Yet it is the one hundred percent and the ninety-nine-plus percent who are confused. Because all of these people are replete with every kind of affliction, because of the obscuration of ignorance and afflictions, and because they have not transformed consciousness into wisdom, they cannot observe the manas's present functioning directly; of course they will misunderstand one hundred percent. In whatever era, it is impossible that the vast majority are high-IQ people without obscuration by afflictions, while a few individuals are low-IQ and thus misapprehend the Buddha-dharma. In Sahā world, those who err will always be the vast majority, and those without wisdom will likewise remain the vast majority; it is impossible for the vast majority to transform consciousness into wisdom and possess the wisdom of wonderful observation—not in a hundred years. So those self-styled clever people had best not be too self-confident, and still less should they slander, lest the consequences be grave.

All content concerning the manas belongs to the domain of the seed-wisdom of Consciousness-Only, and all content concerning Consciousness-Only likewise belongs to the domain of the seed-wisdom of Consciousness-Only, and even more so the mental factors (caittas) of each consciousness. As long as one is not a bodhisattva who has attained the bhūmis, it is best to remain silent and not go around lecturing and debating everywhere, because without the wisdom of contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) based on direct perception, one cannot directly observe the specific functioning of the manas; what one speaks of is mostly imagination and conjecture, and one will often misattribute things. Buddhist practitioners in the Sahā world are mostly like this—it is impossible for many people to transform consciousness into wisdom and possess the wisdom of wonderful observation and the wisdom of equality. Without such wisdom, everyone should quietly apply effort, hoping to quickly attain the dhyāna of the first absorption, quickly eliminate afflictions and obscurations, quickly develop wisdom from various contemplative practices, and enter the house of the Tathāgata early; only then, in concentration, can one directly observe the functioning of the manas, lead the assembly in resolving the problems of the manas, and grow the wisdom of Consciousness-Only.