All Worldly Dharmas Are Ultimately Unattainable and Cannot Be Possessed

When we eradicate the view of self, we come to realize that the five aggregates are not the self. Since there is not even a self, there cannot be anything possessed by the self. Superficially, the objects of the six senses may appear to be possessions, but those phenomena arise and cease, change and transform, lacking autonomy and freedom; they are all illusory and therefore cannot be possessed.

Possession and use are merely illusory appearances without substance. Possession refers to the appropriation by the seven consciousnesses, but consciousness is formless and immaterial—how could it possess anything? For example, clothing—how could the seven consciousnesses possess clothing? Money—how could the seven consciousnesses possess money? Possessing a person—how could the seven consciousnesses possess a person? One cannot even possess one’s own five-aggregate body, let alone possess another’s five-aggregate body. As for fame, praise, and material gain—how could the seven consciousnesses possess them? It is fundamentally impossible. Therefore, the Buddha taught that all phenomena are illusory, ultimately unobtainable; all phenomena are unobtainable. How could illusory things be obtained? Let us count on our fingers: throughout beginningless kalpas, what have we truly obtained? Consider just now—what have we actually obtained? Merely the illusory sensory experiences of our own minds—where is there any real entity? Since beginningless time, each individual has been ceaselessly clinging to their own illusory sensory experiences, pursuing and finding satisfaction in illusory sensory experiences alone. Where has there ever been any actual gaining or losing?