The Inconceivable Distance Between Knowing and Realization

When severing the view of self, the consciousness must engage in thorough contemplation and analysis, leaving no loopholes, so that the manas (mind root) fully recognizes and accepts it without any doubt, only then can the view of self be severed. To sever the view of self through contemplation and practice, consciousness must devise ways to contemplate and observe the illusory and unreal nature of the five aggregates and the eighteen realms, successfully imbuing the manas, enabling the manas to inwardly confirm that the five aggregates are indeed not the self. Only then will the manas possess sufficient conviction; no matter who claims the five aggregates are real, the manas will not follow that line of thought nor agree with it. To achieve this, consciousness itself must first understand the principles clearly, think through them thoroughly, and also give the manas a period of adaptation and confirmation, allowing the manas to adapt to the fact that the five aggregates are indeed not the self and not real.

When first encountering this theory and beginning contemplation, some people indeed feel fear in their hearts, utterly lost, feeling as if they have no support, experiencing inner emptiness and dread. This is because the manas has firmly believed since beginningless kalpas that the five aggregates are the self, are real. Now consciousness tells it otherwise, and the manas finds it hard to accept no matter what, hence the fear and discomfort in the heart. Only through continuous imbuing by consciousness over time, after the manas accepts it, will this feeling gradually disappear. To ensure the manas is fully psychologically prepared, consciousness must repeatedly and continuously imbue it, constantly reinforcing the concept of non-self. One day, the view of self will be truly and thoroughly severed.

If only consciousness knows that the five aggregates and all phenomena are illusory, but the manas remains unaware and unaccepting, then it is of little use; it is merely a superficial understanding, not a true severance of the view of self. Between the first fruit and the fourth fruit, the manas must continuously recognize that the five aggregates are impermanent, illusory, and devoid of self. When it fully accepts this, the manas severs all attachment to the world of the five aggregates and gains the ability to transcend the cycle of birth and death. When the manas completely severs all attachments and attains the fourth fruit, it is like watching an IMAX movie: no matter what happens on the dome screen, what realms appear, the mind remains undisturbed, neither avoiding nor welcoming. The manas no longer directs the body to avoid anything; the mind knows that all realms are unreal, merely on the screen, not real, and thus no longer fears them.

From this, it can be seen that the psychology of sentient beings has both superficial functions and deeply hidden functions; but what plays the decisive role is still that hidden force, which is deep-rooted, difficult to transform, and hard to persuade—that is the habitual force of the manas. Transforming this habitual force is extremely important, as it can solve the great problem of birth and death spanning incalculable kalpas, including segmentary birth-and-death and transformational birth-and-death. That would also mean eradicating the ignorance, karmic obstacles, and suffering since beginningless kalpas, reaching the other shore of Nirvana.

When the manas completely severs attachment to the five aggregates, in the Hinayana tradition, it is the fourth-fruit Arhat; in the Mahayana tradition, it is the seventh ground (bhumi) at the stage of full mind, entering the eighth ground. The liberation realization of an eighth-ground bodhisattva is equivalent to that of a fourth-fruit, fully liberated great Arhat. The full mind of the first ground is equivalent to that of a wisdom-liberated Arhat, but a first-ground bodhisattva does not take the fruit of a wisdom-liberated Arhat, as the afflictions of thinking cannot be completely severed. The state where the manas severs the attachment to self can be somewhat known through inference and imaginative reasoning, even if not realized. As for the manas severing attachment to phenomena, we can contemplate it through non-quantitative reasoning and get a general idea, even though it is even less attainable. The gap between knowing and realizing might be nearly two incalculable eons and three incalculable numbers of kalpas. The distance between knowing and realizing is simply unimaginable.

Some people always become arrogant and self-satisfied just by knowing some doctrinal principles, but in reality, that is nothing. Even if one truly realizes very profound Buddhadharma, it is not worth being arrogant or self-satisfied. Looking across the ten directions and the past, present, and future three periods, even if we cultivate to the state of an eighth-ground bodhisattva, it still counts as nothing. Only those with shallow wisdom and limited experience easily give rise to arrogance and self-satisfaction; their conceit is deep and heavy. People with intelligence, wisdom, and broad experience are less likely to develop conceit because they have seen or know of countless people who are infinitely superior to themselves; their vision is exceptionally broad.