What is the View of Doubt? How to Sever the Fetter of Doubt?

When there exist dharmas within the mind that cannot be decisively resolved, one cannot determine whether the five aggregates are truly real, whether they are arising and ceasing and impermanent, whether they are an imperishable self that can be relied upon, and whether they can go on to future lives. When one remains unclear and doubtful about this, one will be hesitant and unable to make a decision, and in that case one will still have some reliance upon and trust in the five aggregates; the karma of the three evil destinies created in dependence on the five aggregates cannot then be eliminated, and one will transmigrate through the three evil destinies according to that karma. This doubt-view is a bond of afflictive defilement; if it is not eradicated, there will surely be afflictions or karmic suffering that do not cease. How then is the affliction of the doubt-view to be eradicated?

Some people say that as soon as they contemplate and see that the five aggregates truly have no self, they no longer have any doubt in their minds, and thus confirm that the five aggregates are without self, severing the bond of doubt. If the mind consciousness only slightly deliberates upon the five aggregates as suffering, empty, impermanent, and non-self, can the deep-seated doubt within the mind be eradicated? Probably not. Since beginningless kalpas ago, we have had no doubts about countless matters of worldly dharmas; some people even go their whole lives without doubting what they themselves do, believing themselves to be right and very wise, yet before they die they may never have done a single thing properly. While alive they were indeed very self-confident, but because they lacked wisdom, they did not know that they were without wisdom. Confidence based on not knowing is unreliable.

Therefore some people are very confident that they have truly accepted that the five aggregates are without self and have eradicated the view of self, yet this conviction and confirmation is blind. When death approaches and the facts are laid before them, they can only drift along according to their karma, utterly unable to be their own master.

How can the bond of doubt be severed? One must cultivate meditative concentration, and within meditative concentration carefully engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and deliberation, or follow the contemplative method of the four foundations of mindfulness taught by the Buddha, applying effort genuinely and truly, without resorting to shortcuts. One must earnestly cultivate the Eightfold Noble Path and the seven factors of enlightenment, and bring forth meditative concentration and the emptiness samādhi.

Beings of great indriya and extremely great indriya who lived when the Buddha was in the world could, at the very moment of hearing the principle that the five aggregates are without self, realize the fruit of the arhat of the fourth fruit—their robes donned upon their bodies, their hair and beard falling away by themselves, and supernatural powers manifesting. For example, Mahākāśyapa, Śāriputra, Subhūti, and others: they realized the fourth fruit in past lives, and by now countless kalpas have passed—even three countless kalpas. Their identities may have been those of Buddhas coming again; they could of course hear a single sentence and immediately realize the fruit. Because the manas had already realized the fruit countless kalpas ago, although the five aggregates of this life are new, and although the mind consciousness is new, the manas has never ceased or perished; it has always known that the five aggregates are without self—it is only that the mind consciousness did not know. In this life, upon hearing a single sentence of the Buddha's dharma, the mind consciousness, without needing to deliberate, can realize that the five aggregates are without self, while the manas has known all along; there is no need for the mind consciousness to laboriously perfume and teach the manas. Only in this way can the realization of the fruit be extremely swift.

Whoever realized the fruit in a past life will realize the fruit very quickly in this life, without the mind consciousness needing to perfume and teach the manas again. The more times the fruit was realized in past lives, the faster the fruit will be realized in this life, because the manas no longer obstructs the Path.

Those whose manas has been perfumed and turned around are extremely quick-witted; it is enough that the mind consciousness can understand. If in a past life one only realized the first fruit, then in this life realizing the first fruit is easy, but realizing the second fruit is not easy, because the manas only corresponds to contemplative wisdom of the level of the first fruit.

Those who realized the second fruit in a past life will find it relatively easy to realize the second fruit in this life, but realizing the third fruit is not easy, because the manas does not yet correspond to the third fruit; one must again perfume and teach the content of the third fruit before the mind consciousness and the manas can realize the third fruit.

Those who realized the third fruit in a past life will find it relatively easy to realize the third fruit again in this life, but realizing the fourth fruit is not easy, because the manas does not correspond to the realm of the fourth fruit; one must again perfume and teach the content of the fourth fruit before the mind consciousness and the manas can realize the fourth fruit.

This is the reason why those who have come again realize the fruit and see the mind faster than others.