Contemplating the Five Aggregates and Eliminating the View of Self (Part I) (Second Edition)

An Admonition for Those Who Truly Wish to Practice in Accordance with the Dharma

In learning Buddhism and cultivating practice, eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and breaking through self-grasping is of foremost importance. All afflictions arise because of the self; all evils arise because of the self; all birth and death exist because of the self; the cycle of rebirth in the six realms manifests because of the self. The self is the root of birth and death, the chief culprit of suffering, the wellspring of the three evil destinies, the shackles that obstruct liberation. Where there is a self, there is suffering; where there is a self, there is birth and death; where there is a self, there is evil; where there is a self, there can be no liberation. Since this is so, eradicating the view of self enables one to break free from the shackles of the three evil destinies; eradicating the view of self enables one to sever the afflictive views concerning birth and death; completely eradicating the view of self enables one to eliminate evil; completely eradicating the view of self enables one to escape the cycle of birth and death; completely eradicating the view of self enables one to attain liberation.

Having a self is birth and death; being without self is Buddhahood. In learning Buddhism and cultivating practice, one gradually moves from having a self to being without self; being utterly without self is the ultimate attainment of Buddhahood. Therefore, in learning Buddhism and cultivating practice, one must first pull out this root of calamity—the self—and no longer invite birth and death. Eradicate the view of self, pull out the thorn, break through all self-grasping, then sever grasping at dharmas, be selfless and benefit others, and perfect the Buddha's path. In learning Buddhism and cultivating practice, one must reflect upon oneself every day and subdue oneself: self-craving, self-aversion, self-delusion, self-arrogance, self-love, the view of self—vowing to eradicate these measureless afflictions. Each day, examine one's own mind three times, and with a sharp blade cut down the thieves of affliction; when the fire of the mind is extinguished, coolness is attained—one returns home and sits securely in the city of peace.

The Buddha-dharma is the method for attaining Buddhahood; "attaining" means accomplishment. If one wishes to accomplish anything in learning Buddhism, one must put in the effort of genuine practice and realization. "Genuine" means actual, earnest, and true; "practice" means to set to work, adopting practical and feasible methods; "realization" means to attain realization—through certain means and methods, to experience and verify the Buddha-dharma and arrive at a conclusion that accords with reality and reason. The arrival at this conclusion represents the accomplishment of the practitioner's wisdom; from then on, the Buddha-dharma belongs to what one has cultivated and realized oneself, and is not merely the flow of learned words. Those with resolve must take this path in order to achieve anything, thereby truly transforming themselves and attaining liberation and ease.

The method of cultivating and realizing the Buddha-dharma is, on the foundation of extensive study and wide hearing, to enter deeply into meditative concentration (samādhi), to deliberate in accordance with reason, and to engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) in accordance with reason. Without corresponding meditative concentration, one cannot deliberate and contemplate in accordance with reason on what one has studied, and thus cannot realize the Buddha-dharma experientially. Then all the Buddha-dharma one has studied is merely an accumulation and piling up of Buddhist knowledge—just counting the treasures of others, with not half a coin of one's own.

At present, among the many people studying Buddhism, the diligent ones bury themselves day and night in various books and on the internet, studying widely and hearing extensively, seeking tirelessly. Yet the result of their seeking is merely a mass of Buddhist knowledge piled up in their chests. Though they can speak fluently and at length, it is all the leftover words of others, picking up others' scraps of wisdom, without a shred of experiential realization—only increasing their arrogance. Among them there are not a few who can write books and establish doctrines, but their contents are mostly piles of various technical terms and transcriptions of Buddhist knowledge, without experiential realization. Speaking of food does not satisfy hunger, and food that has been eaten but not digested also becomes an illness. Therefore, I earnestly advise the diligent students: enter deeply into meditative concentration, give rise to contemplative insight, and within concentration deliberate and contemplate in accordance with reason, verifying the dharmas you have studied. If, after deep and reasoned contemplation within concentration, one can know why the dharma is so, that person is one who has genuinely realized it, not one who merely counts the treasures of others. Such a person is a dragon or elephant among the assembly, and in the future will surely be able to lead the multitude on a far journey, together accomplishing the Buddha's path.