How Can the Manas Cut Off Self-Grasping?

The reason the manas has self-grasping is that it has the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi); the reason it has the view of self is that it has a single thought of ignorance (āvidyā). Because of a single thought of ignorance, the manas takes all the dharmas manifested by the eighth consciousness as "I" and "mine," not knowing that they all belong to the eighth consciousness, and thus the view of self and the view of what belongs to self arise. Because the manas has such an evil wrong view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi) and its views are not upright, it grasps at the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) and eighteen realms (aṣṭādaśa-dhātu), which are produced and manifested by the eighth consciousness, as "I" and "mine," refusing to let go; afflictions blaze fiercely, and birth-and-death continues without end.

To eradicate the manas's self-grasping, one must first eradicate the manas's view of self. Only with a view of self can there be self-grasping; only after eradicating the view of self can self-grasping be gradually eliminated—only when one sees wrongly is there grasping. If the manas's view becomes correct, knowing that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are suffering, empty, impermanent, and non-self, and cannot be grasped or held, it will no longer grasp at the five aggregates and eighteen realms, and ultimately can attain liberation, with the mind attaining purity (viśuddha).

When the manas eradicates the view of self, its cognition of the non-self of the five aggregates is divided into different levels; because ignorance differs, meditative concentration (samādhi) differs, and the wisdom of contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) differs, the depth to which the view of self is eradicated also varies. There is the eradication of the view of self of the fourth fruit, the eradication of the view of self of the third fruit, the eradication of the view of self of the second fruit, and also the eradication of the view of self of the first fruit. At each fruit-stage, the depth of eradication of the view of self differs, and the wisdom attained also differs. It is just like the uneven levels of students in a school—even students in the same grade and the same class have uneven levels.

After eradicating the view of self at the first fruit, one continues contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), immersing and cultivating the principle that the five aggregates are suffering, empty, impermanent, and non-self; wisdom and meditative concentration grow ever deeper, the view of self is eradicated ever more thoroughly, and therefore the grasping at the five aggregates becomes ever lighter. When self-grasping is completely eradicated, one becomes an arhat of the fourth fruit, a great arhat. For one who has completely eradicated the view of self and completely eradicated self-grasping, the single thought of ignorance is also completely eradicated, and at the end of life one can enter Nirvāṇa without remainder (Anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa).

Therefore the view of self is the root of self-grasping; before eradicating self-grasping, one must certainly eradicate the view of self. The manas completely eradicates self-grasping at the fourth fruit, but when did it begin to eradicate the view of self? It must be that at the first fruit the manas's view of self was already eradicated; only after eradicating the view of self can the manas's grasping nature toward the five aggregates gradually loosen and lighten, and afflictions likewise become ever lighter; at a certain point one will realize the second fruit. Because grasping is lightened and afflictions slight, the five hindrances are effectively subdued, and only then can the first dhyāna arise. Then, through the merit and enjoyment in the first dhyāna, the afflictions of greed and hatred are eradicated, and one becomes a third-fruit person. Afterwards, when conceit ("I am") and self-grasping are completely eradicated, one becomes a fourth-fruit person, and when one's karmic connections with the world are exhausted, one will enter Nirvāṇa without remainder (Anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa).

If the manas does not eradicate the view of self, one cannot become a first-fruit person, nor have the liberating merit and enjoyment of the first fruit, and cannot, on that basis, proceed further with contemplative practice to become a second-fruit person with slight afflictions; if one cannot become a second-fruit person, one cannot give rise to the first dhyāna and become a third-fruit person; if one cannot become a third-fruit person, one cannot become a fourth-fruit person who has completely eradicated afflictions.

Such is the sequential path of practice of the Small Vehicle (Hīnayāna); even Great Vehicle bodhisattvas cannot skip over it without cultivating it. The practice of Great Vehicle bodhisattvas must also follow this principle, this sequence, this procedure.