Theoretical Realization and Practical Realization
Chapter Five: Attainment Only After Perfecting the Thirty-Seven Aids to Enlightenment
1. The sequence of practice for the Thirty-Seven Aids to Enlightenment is generally as follows: Beginning with the cultivation of faith among the initial Five Roots, when the Five Roots grow, the Five Powers become complete. Subsequently, one enters the Noble Eightfold Path to initiate contemplation and cultivation, practices the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, and within the mindfulness factor, cultivates the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, attaining the flavor of wholesome dharmas. This gives rise to the Four Right Efforts, and through diligent and arduous practice, one ultimately attains the blissful fruit of the Four Bases of Spiritual Power, where the mind achieves liberation and mastery.
For each category within the Thirty-Seven Aids to Enlightenment, not only must consciousness diligently cultivate, but the mental faculty (manas) must also be influenced, enabling manas and consciousness to cultivate together, perfecting each aid until the Four Bases of Spiritual Power are ultimately attained. Consciousness uses the power of mindfulness to influence manas, enabling manas to fully possess the power of mindfulness, thus achieving mindfulness power. Every dharma is initially guided and influenced by consciousness, then fully actualized by manas, after which one can genuinely realize this dharma.
Only when manas realizes that body and mind are not truly existent can liberation be attained. Consciousness merely *thinking* that body and mind are not truly existent cannot lead to liberation. The distance between thinking and realizing may be vast or narrow, entirely dependent on the individual's level of cultivation. Without cultivation, the gap may span many kalpas.
2. The key to attaining fruition in the Hinayana path is the cultivation of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, which have been generally discussed. The process of cultivation is also the process of the Four Preparatory Practices: the stages of warmth, summit, patience, and supreme worldly dharma. These four stages represent the process of internal mental processing based on textual theory. During this processing, the mind inevitably undergoes corresponding gradual changes. This is the gradual correspondence between the meaning of contemplation and the internal manas, the process where manas gradually accepts and receives. Of course, consciousness first accepts and receives, giving rise to decisive understanding (adhimokṣa), then transmits it to manas, enabling manas to accept and receive it. After manas accepts and receives it, body and mind gradually transform, and the Seven Factors of Enlightenment appear one by one. Only after the factor of concentration appears can great wisdom arise to relinquish the phenomena of the five aggregates (skandhas), thereby realizing the dharma and becoming a Stream-enterer (Sotāpanna), the supreme worldly person. Without changes and transformations in body and mind, without the perfection of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, it is impossible to eradicate the view of self and attain fruition.
The sign of warmth (uṣmagata) arises in the preliminary stage of study and practice. Through textual theory and personal contemplation and observation, the inner sign of warmth appears, like sparks being struck. There is some inner agreement with the correct theories contemplated, a preliminary cognition and interest in the dharma being practiced, and a desire to delve deeper into its meaning.
The sign of the summit (mūrdhan) is when the understanding of theory reaches a certain level and height, comprehending the emptiness and selflessness of the five aggregates, reaching the peak of understanding regarding the five aggregates. At this stage, it is still within the cognitive and decisive understanding phase of consciousness; manas has not yet fully cognized and decisively understood. Therefore, there is still inner agitation, an inability to fully accept and abide in the cognition of the emptiness and selflessness of the five aggregates. This is a stage where one may advance or regress.
At this stage, some individuals experience intense inner resistance, mental agitation, and fluctuating emotions. Some may feel extreme distress, perhaps inexplicable irritability and low mood. After passing this stage, manas becomes somewhat accustomed, emotions return to normal, and one enters the next stage. Not only does consciousness abide patiently in emptiness, but manas also becomes patient. One then continues to investigate deeply why the five aggregates are empty and unreal.
The third stage is patience (kṣānti). Patience means abiding, abiding in the meaning of emptiness, patiently accepting the impermanence of the five aggregates, but this is not yet true realization. Because the evidence is still insufficient, internal consideration is still inadequate, and one cannot truly confirm this principle. The mind is merely unagitated and relatively settled. One is also striving to find evidence, diligently observing the essence of the five aggregates directly. At this time, the sensations of body and mind become increasingly light and tranquil, increasingly joyful. Concentration improves, wisdom becomes deeper, subtler, and more acute. The thought of emptiness becomes increasingly firm, but one still cannot abide in equanimity; the factor of equanimity is not yet present within.
When the factor of equanimity (upekṣā) is perfected, the notions and thoughts of "I" within the mind are relinquished. The mind becomes empty. The concept of the emptiness and impermanence of the five aggregates is firmly established, evidence is sufficient, and the mind fully agrees and confirms the emptiness and selflessness of the five aggregates. The fourth stage, the supreme worldly dharma, is perfected, the view of self is eradicated, and the fruition of Stream-entry is attained.
During the process of contemplation, body and mind must continuously undergo changes. Why must changes occur? Because through the decisive understanding of consciousness, manas gradually gains some understanding, which conflicts with previous views, gradually overturning past cognitions. When manas discovers a "new continent," it prompts corresponding changes and reactions in body and mind. Therefore, eradicating the view of self and realizing the selflessness of the five aggregates must be realized by manas.
The phenomena of clarity and awareness that arise after eradicating the view of self, the various light, tranquil, and joyful phenomena in body and mind, are facilitated by manas; they are manas's reactions manifesting in body and mind. Consciousness cannot cause reactions in body and mind; it cannot make body and mind manifest light, tranquil, and joyful sensations. Therefore, eradicating the view of self must be manas eradicating the view of self, not merely consciousness eradicating it. Of course, consciousness's view of self was already eradicated earlier.
If there is no appearance of light, tranquil, joyful, and clear phenomena, yet one still considers the five aggregates to be selfless, this is consciousness eradicating the view of self; it has not yet penetrated deep into manas. When manas initially cognizes this principle, phenomena of resistance and irritation may appear, with varying degrees of severity. Individuals with good karmic roots from past lives, who have previously contemplated the five aggregates, will not experience these irritable emotions or resistance; joyful states of mind will arise directly.
What is called actual practice? This is actual practice. Without these stages and processes, one cannot claim to have truly eradicated the view of self. After truly eradicating the view of self, body and mind must transform, mental conduct must change, sagely nature must appear, and the mind must be empty. How could there still be such severe afflictions? How could so many chaotic phenomena still appear? It's impossible. With an empty mind, one no longer wishes to engage in superfluous actions; there is a preliminary correspondence with the unconditioned (asaṃskṛta). How could so many chaotic events occur, let alone so many unwholesome actions? It is fundamentally impossible.
If concentration is insufficient, contemplation is truly strenuous, and the absorption and understanding of the dharma's meaning will be inadequate. Some profound and extremely profound dharmas become even harder to understand and accept, thus giving rise to doubt. With persistent doubt, the mind becomes unsettled.
3. In the Hinayana path, to eradicate the view of self, the Thirty-Seven Aids to Enlightenment must be fully cultivated; the Seven Factors of Enlightenment must be perfected; the Noble Eightfold Path must be perfected. The phenomena of the joy factor and the tranquility factor must appear, followed by the concentration factor manifesting. These are all inseparable from concentration (dhyāna), belonging to the preliminary and subsequent stages of concentration, within the scope of concentration.
In the process of contemplating the Buddha's teachings, phenomena of bodily and mental lightness and inner joy should arise. This is one aspect of the cultivation and realization of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, indicating that the Buddha's teachings have entered the mind of manas, gaining a certain degree of acceptance from manas, though not yet complete. This can also be described as the sign of warmth in the Four Preparatory Practices appearing.
The realization of any dharma is indeed related to manas and to concentration. The cultivation and realization of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment illustrate this fact. Thus, the relationship between manas and realization/cultivation has scriptural basis in the Buddha's teachings. Concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (prajñā) are inseparable from manas even for an instant. Only when manas realizes is there true wisdom. Manas possessing concentration can generate wisdom. The understanding of consciousness alone lacks great wisdom; it is merely repeating the words of learners, termed "disciples of intellectual understanding." Regarding the importance of manas in cultivation and realization, the Seven Factors of Enlightenment are excellent evidence. The Noble Eightfold Path also speaks of the eight "right" factors, all referring to cultivating manas. "Right" primarily means correcting the thoughts and views of manas, enabling it to govern and determine that all bodily, verbal, and mental actions are right conduct. If manas is not corrected, the Noble Eightfold Path is not perfected.
Feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are all empty and selfless. Then who is it that feels, perceives, engages in mental formations, and is conscious? That which can feel, perceive, engage in mental formations, and be conscious is the seventh consciousness mind, which is also empty and selfless. The consciousness that can observe feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness as empty is itself empty and selfless. The consciousness that knows the observer is empty is empty and selfless. The sixth and seventh consciousness minds that understand all dharmas as empty and selfless are themselves empty and selfless. Anything within the mind that knows, thinks, or has thoughts is empty and selfless. The practice method in the Avalokiteśvara Chapter on the Perfection of the Ear Faculty is to empty all dharmas, emptying both the dharmas that can empty and those that are emptied, until finally what remains is that which cannot be emptied – the self-nature Tathāgatagarbha. Yet, one does not dwell on the Tathāgatagarbha; at that point, practice is complete.
4. The contents of the Four Noble Truths, Four Right Efforts, Four Bases of Spiritual Power, Five Roots, Five Powers, Seven Factors of Enlightenment, and Noble Eightfold Path – the Thirty-Seven Aids to Enlightenment – are all part of the cultivation process before and after the path of seeing (darśana-mārga). The process is largely similar in Mahayana and Hinayana, resembling each other. Without the influence of these processes, if a fruition suddenly appears, making one a sage, this fruition is highly suspicious and utterly unreliable. Fruition and conclusions can be plagiarized; all views can be memorized; one only needs to read a few books to recite and imagine them.
However, these processes cannot be plagiarized by anyone. They are necessary experiences for every individual who sees the path and attains fruition. Each person's process may differ slightly due to karmic roots from past lives. Those who attained fruition in past lives may traverse these processes very quickly in this life; others cannot and must practice and realize each step, passing every checkpoint. It is the same for Mahayana fruitions. Having experienced all these processes, one's body and mind can transform, and upon attaining fruition, one experiences the merit and benefit of liberation. For those who have not undergone these processes, their attained fruition is like flowers in the sky – only to be admired, without practical value or liberative merit and benefit.
What is called actual practice is precisely the cultivation content of the Thirty-Seven Aids to Enlightenment in Mahayana and Hinayana. Apart from these very concrete cultivation contents, it is not actual practice. Cultivation with only conclusions and no process is not actual practice. Merely studying theory is not actual practice. One can learn theories up to those of Bodhisattvas of certain bhūmis. Even understanding those principles, there remains a gap of one or two immeasurable kalpas before actual realization. Learning theories now that belong one or two immeasurable kalpas in the future and thinking one has mastered them, claiming to be a sage, believing the preceding path need not be walked, the actual cultivation process need not be experienced and practiced – such cultivation is like a dream, illusion, bubble, or shadow; one only gains sky-flowers and bears empty fruit.
5. The Four Noble Truths – suffering, origin, cessation, path – are also divided into internal mental objects and external mental objects. The Noble Eightfold Path within the truth of the path is also divided into internal dharma and external dharma. Only after completing the Noble Eightfold Path and the Hinayana Thirty-Seven Aids to Enlightenment are the conditions for eradicating the view of self fulfilled, after which fruition can be attained. If mental conduct does not accord with the Noble Eightfold Path, then the mental conduct is insufficient to be that of a sage; fruition cannot be attained. Within the Noble Eightfold Path, there is right concentration, divided into the external concentration method of consciousness and the internal concentration method of manas. Therefore, manas must correspond to concentration. Only after concentrating manas can right wisdom arise, enabling the eradication of the view of self and the attainment of Stream-entry. Otherwise, it is all fake fruit, plastic fruit, only for viewing, without practical use.
6. The Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Great Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness) is the sutta where the Buddha teaches us the method of contemplation. Those who do not know how to contemplate, following the Buddha's guided line of thought in concentration, are engaging in contemplation. At the end of contemplation, a decisive mind arises, a final conclusion emerges. If this conclusion accords with the facts and truth pointed out by the Buddha, it is realization.
During the correct process of contemplation, many changes arise in the mind. The Seven Factors of Enlightenment must manifest one by one; the inner sign of warmth must appear; the first three of the Four Preparatory Practices must appear. When one finally realizes selflessness and emptiness, that is the supreme worldly dharma, the attainment of Stream-entry. If none of these phenomena have appeared, yet one claims to have eradicated the view of self and become a Stream-enterer, it is utterly self-deception. Ninety-nine percent of people have never contemplated like this; the Seven Factors of Enlightenment have not fully appeared; the stage of patience has not been truly completed; it is impossible to become the supreme worldly Stream-enterer.
The cultivation and realization of the Buddha's teachings have certain strict standards. The Buddha explained these standards in the suttas: the Thirty-Seven Aids to Enlightenment, the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, the Four Preparatory Practices, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, etc., are all standards of practice taught by the Buddha. It is just that sentient beings themselves do not understand. If Dharma propagators also do not understand, then the world will be filled with chaotic phenomena; sages will be everywhere on the streets, yet the atmosphere will be foul, and worldly morals will decline day by day.
7. When the Buddha spoke of the Five Hindrances in the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, he mentioned internal sensual desire and external sensual desire, internal ill-will and external ill-will, internal sloth-torpor and external sloth-torpor, internal restlessness-remorse and external restlessness-remorse, internal doubt and external doubt. What do "internal" and "external" respectively refer to?
If the mind is divided into internal and external, the external mind refers to the mental consciousness that sentient beings can generally discover and observe. The internal mind refers to the mental faculty (manas) that sentient beings find difficult to discover and observe. These two consciousnesses are one manifest and one hidden, one obvious and one obscure, one shallow and one deep, one easily changeable and one firmly resistant to change. Cultivation first applies to the shallow level of consciousness, then to the deep level of manas. First, consciousness is preliminarily transformed; ultimately, manas is completely transformed. Therefore, all afflictions and ignorance are initially and obviously at the level of consciousness, but ultimately and profoundly at the level of manas.
From this sutta, we can see that although the Buddha did not explicitly teach the dharma of manas when expounding the Hinayana, he still implicitly referred to manas, implicitly stating that all afflictions and ignorance belong to manas. Eradicating afflictions means eradicating the afflictions of manas; liberation is the liberation of manas. All dharmas are applied to manas; solving the problem of manas solves all dharmas, ultimately achieving nirvāṇa and liberation.
8. In the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, when the Buddha spoke of contemplating feeling, he mentioned two kinds of feeling: internal and external. External feeling refers to the feelings of the conscious mind that are easy to observe, especially the feelings of consciousness in the six sense-object realms. Internal feeling refers to the deeper, hidden feelings of manas that are difficult to observe. Although the vast majority cannot distinguish consciousness and manas, the thought activities deep within the mind can still be perceived and observed, provided the mind is very subtle.
When the Buddha spoke of contemplating the mind, observing the mind involves observing the internal and external mind's greed, hatred, and delusion afflictions; observing the internal and external mind's concentration-distraction, broadness-narrowness, superior-unsurpassed, concentrated-unconcentrated, liberated-unliberated. This shows that the internal mind, manas, has these mental factors (caittas): greed, hatred, delusion; concentrated and unconcentrated; liberated and unliberated. This is proof from Hinayana scriptures that manas possesses these mental factors, even though the World-Honored One did not explicitly state it. Because the dharma of manas cannot be understood or realized even by Mahayana disciples, how much less can Hinayana disciples deeply and correctly understand the dharma of manas? Therefore, the World-Honored One had to teach the mental factors of manas implicitly.
Doubt affliction has internal doubt and external doubt. To eradicate doubt completely, it must be the eradication of manas's doubt. Therefore, the three fetters (samyojana) entirely refer to the fetters of manas. Only by eradicating manas's doubt is the eradication of the three fetters complete. Eradicating sensual desire means eradicating manas's sensual desire; only then can the mind correspond to the Brahma heavens and be born in the form realm (rūpadhātu). Eradicating ill-will must mean eradicating manas's ill-will; only then is one a Non-returner (Anāgāmin). Eradicating ignorance must mean eradicating manas's ignorance; only then can one transcend the three realms.
Hinayana Buddhist sūtras are the easiest to understand, yet who can truly comprehend them? How much more so for Mahayana scriptures; who can truly and fully understand them? Even an Arhat cannot "completely trust your mind" (from the Diamond Sūtra). Wisdom is insufficient; the mind (manas) is not ultimate. Trusting it completely easily leads to errors.
9. In the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, when the World-Honored One spoke of the five clinging aggregates (upādānaskandha), he also mentioned the internal and external dharma of form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. Internal form is the physical body; external form is the six sense objects. Internal feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are manas; external feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are consciousness.
When the World-Honored One spoke of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, he also divided them into internal and external Seven Factors. The factors of discrimination, energy, joy, tranquility (serenity), concentration, and equanimity are all divided into the external factors of consciousness and the internal factors of manas. Without cultivating the internal Seven Factors of Enlightenment, it is impossible to attain Hinayana fruition, impossible to eradicate the view of self, let alone realize the mind and see the nature. Without perfecting the Thirty-Seven Aids to Enlightenment, do not speak of any Mahayana or Hinayana fruition. Without achieving bodily and mental lightness and tranquility, concentration is not perfected. Without the existence of internal equanimity, it is impossible to eradicate the view of self or realize the mind and see the nature. These are the hard criteria for the cultivation and realization of the Buddha's teachings; no one can bypass them. If one insists that so-and-so has attained fruition or realized the mind, it is all plastic fruit – good for looking at, cannot satisfy hunger, has no real value.
10. The first of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment is mindfulness. Internal mindfulness is the mindfulness of manas; external mindfulness is the mindfulness of consciousness. Without the factor of mindfulness in manas, the factor of mindfulness is not perfected, and the factor of discrimination cannot manifest. Therefore, manas must possess the mental factor of mindfulness. Hinayana sūtras implicitly teach the mental factor of mindfulness in manas, let alone Mahayana sūtras. It is just that sentient beings' ignorance is heavy; they cannot understand the sūtras and are unable to discern.
Judging from the World-Honored One's description of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, manas possesses the factor of discrimination, the factor of energy (true diligence), the factor of joy (manas is not merely equanimous), the factor of tranquility, the factor of concentration (corresponding to concentration), and the factor of equanimity. Only after mental conduct accords with the Noble Eightfold Path are the conditions for attaining Hinayana fruition complete, enabling the eradication of the view of self and the realization of Stream-entry. Otherwise, it is all fake fruit, plastic fruit. If the conditions are incomplete, the causes and conditions insufficient, forceful guidance can only yield fake fruit.
Among the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, there is the factor of discrimination. When one cultivates to this point, one gains discernment ability. However, when it far exceeds one's current level, discernment ability is lost again; then one simply continues cultivating. The factor of discrimination needs to be continuously enhanced until it is perfectly complete, able to instantly and correctly discern all dharmas without doubt.
