Section One: Contemplative Practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) on the Form Body to Eradicate the View of Self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) Contemplating the Five Aggregates and Eliminating the View of Self (Part I) (Second Edition)

Section One: Contemplative Practice on the Material Body to Eradicate the View of the Body

1. The Appearance of the Heat Sign in Contemplative Practice Is the Prerequisite for Eradicating the View of Self

To eradicate the view of self regarding the material body, one must engage in contemplative practice on the arising-and-ceasing changes of the material body from birth until the present, thereby confirming that the material body is suffering, empty, impermanent, and subject to arising-ceasing alteration. One must establish in the mind a conviction: what suffers is not me; I am not suffering — this is a truth. Once this conviction is firmly established in the mind, one can engage in contemplative practice on the impermanence and suffering of the material body, and thereby eradicate the view of the body. The material body arises from causes and conditions: with causes and conditions the material body arises; with causes and conditions the material body ceases. Arising, ceasing, altering, impermanent, suffering — it is therefore not the self. Begin contemplative practice with the arising-ceasing alteration of the material body, carefully deliberating and observing how the material body is born, how it changes, how it perishes; observe how the aggregate of form lacks self-mastery (avaśatā); observe the entire process of its arising, abiding, alteration, and cessation; deliberate on how the aggregate of form arises and ceases and changes moment by moment.

Observe the tissue structure of the material body, and understand that the material body is a composite formed of the four great elements — earth, water, fire, and wind — assembled from muscles, bones, internal organs, blood, and so forth; what is assembled is not real. Observe what differences exist between the present material body and the body of a year ago, the body of yesterday, and the body of some past period; observe how impure the material body is, and what sufferings it has; establish the correct conviction — what suffers is not me, what is impure is not me, what changes is not me; from the material body one cannot find a real, eternally unchanging self-nature. The true self does not arise and cease or change; it exists eternally and constantly, and is free of suffering.

Deliberation and contemplative practice require a certain degree of meditative concentration to support them; when preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) is complete, contemplative practice becomes easy. Only by diligently cultivating the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment can correct cognition be established. When one has such correct views and considers the body to be unreal, that is when the heat sign among the four foundations of skillful means (nirvedha-bhāgīya) manifests. The heat sign is one of the four foundations of skillful means prior to realizing the fruits; it refers to the wisdom state of the mind consciousness and the manas, a cognition of the nature of wisdom. Through deliberative contemplative practice, the manas initially accepts the view that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are without self, though it has not yet confirmed it without doubt; thus a warm current arises in the mind, no longer resisting the principle that the five aggregates are without self. The heat sign and warm current are not material form; they are a metaphor, representing a state and feeling of the mind. "Heat" is the state before fire is about to burn: first the heat sign appears, and then the fire will catch. By analogy, when the manas's wisdom state has gained a certain cognition of the Buddha-dharma and initially accepted the principle that the five aggregates are without self, only afterward can definite faith and realization arise.

Through hearing and deliberation, one considers it correct and feasible; deliberating according to the correct dharma principles one has heard, actually engaging in contemplative practice, only at the end can one realize. Engage in contemplative practice on these dharmas, arrive at the same conclusion as the theory, and deeply in the mind consider that it is indeed so; when the manas acknowledges that the material body is indeed unreal and not the self, and also acknowledges that the past material body was not the self, and that the present and future material bodies are likewise not the self, only then is the view of self regarding the material body truly eradicated.

2. Slowing Down Bodily Actions to Experience the Mechanical Nature of the Material Body

Because sentient beings do not understand the inner mechanism and secret of the material body's operation, they consider the body's movements and activities to be continuous, real, and dependable; in fact, they arise and cease instant after instant, connected together by countless momentary arising-ceasing false appearances. It is like countless photographs played back at extreme speed, forming a continuously moving image, like an animated cartoon, or like the ring of fire formed by rapidly whirling a torch — in fact there is no fire ring; it is merely an illusion of the eye consciousness.

To clarify the truth of the material body's activities, one must cultivate meditative concentration; this kind of concentration is called moving Chan (dhyāna). Slow down the movements of the material body as much as possible, then to extremely slow, finally moving almost imperceptibly slowly — for example, slowly doing walking meditation, strolling, and circumambulating the Buddha, slowly prostrating to the Buddha, slowly doing walking practice while moving the body. When at some time the conditions are complete and wisdom arises, one can become aware: the activities of this material body are like the operation of a robot, not real. In this way one can eradicate the view of the body as self, no longer taking the material body as the self; then one further eradicates the view of self regarding the conscious mind, and thus the view of self is eradicated in its entirety. There is a kind of Hinayana śrāvaka Chan cultivated precisely in this way.

3. How to Engage in Contemplative Practice on the Selflessness of the Material Body?

To engage in contemplative practice on the selflessness of the five aggregates, begin with contemplative practice on the selflessness of the material body. In meditative concentration, contemplate how the material body arises, how it ceases, how it lacks self-mastery; contemplate the process of the material body's arising, abiding, alteration, and cessation; contemplate the moment-by-moment impermanent changes of the material body. Observe the composition and structure of the material body, and confirm that it is a composite; what is formed by composition is not real. Observe the differences between the present self and the self of a year ago, the self of yesterday, the self of the past; observe how the material body is impermanent, what sufferings it has, how it is impure.

Finally arrive at a conclusion: such an impermanent, arising-ceasing, altering aggregate-body is fundamentally not the real self. If it were the real self, it would not undergo change; the real self is constant and unchanging, and free of suffering. What suffers is not me; what is impure is not me; what changes is not me; from the material body one cannot find a real, unchanging, eternal self.

According to one's own specific circumstances, observe the changes of the material body: compare with the body before age ten, with the body before age twenty, with the body before age thirty, with the body of a year ago, with the body of yesterday; one can then observe that the body is undergoing metabolism at every moment — from the skin to the internal organs everything is being renewed, the bone marrow and brain matter are all being renewed and changed, the entire body is different from before. Whatever changes is not real, not the self. These contemplative practices all require a certain degree of meditative concentration to support them; one needs to cultivate bodhisattva practices such as generosity (dāna), precepts, patience, diligence, and meditative concentration. Only when a bodhisattva's most basic conditions are at least complete, and when the mind has such cognition — considering the body not quite real — after the heat sign manifests in the mind, before long sparks will appear, and luminous wisdom will emerge. One must establish in the mind a conviction: whatever is impermanent, whatever is suffering and impure, is not real, not the self.

Contemplate and deliberate on how many bodies you have had in the past — within one kalpa, within one great kalpa, since beginningless kalpas — those bodies were all not the self. Because they have all ceased, leaving not even dust behind, while the so-called self still exists now, greatly different from before. Contemplate the future material body: the body that has not yet appeared is even more not the self; even the body that has already appeared is arising and ceasing and changing moment by moment without stop, and therefore is not the self. The material body of each lifetime is merely one piece of my clothing; the garments are constantly being changed and renewed, but the garments are not me. The material body is a house in which I temporarily dwell, only residing for a period of time, unable to be possessed forever; the house of the material body is not me. In these contemplative practices, the theory is coarse, only an outline of guidance; the specific details still require one's own careful and thorough deliberation; the subtle aspects need to be observed and sorted out bit by bit by oneself, all to be contemplated completely and thoroughly.

Contemplate the mutual transformation of the four great elements and energies within the body, instant after instant without stop, with no fixed mark to be found: the past body is not the present body, the present body is not the future body, and even the present body at this very moment has no "present moment" to be found; earth, water, fire, and wind arise and cease instant after instant without abiding. The heart's continuous beating, the blood's constant renewal and flow, the functions of the five viscera, six bowels, and the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue — none rests or stops for even a moment; all these are impermanent and altering, not the real self. Only after correct hearing, deliberation, and cultivation can one contemplate and realize this; one must deliberate correctly according to the dharma one has heard, consider it correct and feasible, and then cultivate accordingly. Contemplate and deliberate on these principles, and finally one can arrive at the same conclusion as the theory. The mind consciousness should know that it is indeed so, and the manas also realizes it: the so-called self is indeed unreal, not the true self.

This process of cultivation may take a very long time, or perhaps only a very short time — it depends entirely on each person's roots of goodness, merit, and conditions. One needs to cultivate the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment well; if the thirty-seven aids are not cultivated to completion, contemplative practice cannot succeed, and the view of self regarding the material body cannot be eradicated. The key in cultivation is to make the great resolve and great vows, with every thought for liberation, for Buddhism, for sentient beings; then there will naturally be the Buddha's power's blessing, and cultivation becomes as easy as pushing a boat along with the current. Only by throwing out this self can one reach selflessness; only by relinquishing oneself, discarding the false self, can one realize the truth of the self. Constantly discarding worldly desires and wrong views (mithyā-dṛṣṭi), cultivating a certain degree of the mind of renunciation and the mind of great vows, cultivation can progress rapidly, thereby reaching the goal one has set.

4. How to Contemplate the Impermanence and Selflessness of the Five Faculties?

To contemplate the body's impermanence and selflessness is to contemplate the impermanence of the five faculties of the material body, observing the arising-ceasing, alteration, and impermanence of the eye faculty. The eye faculty can produce the suffering of illness; the eye faculty can be destroyed; the eye faculty can undergo change. The eye faculty comes from nonexistence into existence, is born after conception, and will also cease; therefore the eye faculty lacks self-mastery, is subject to alteration, is impermanent; the impermanent is suffering, and what suffers is not me; therefore the eye faculty is not me.

The eye faculty is not constant and unchanging, is not self-governing, and can be altered by external forces; therefore it is not the real self, and has no self-nature. We do not want our eyes to become nearsighted — if karmic obstructions are not heavy, this can be achieved; we do not want our eyes to become presbyopic — to some extent this can also be achieved; we do not want our eyes to have various ailments — this too can be achieved. That is, whatever we do not want the eye faculty to be, it is not; we can both protect the eyes and change the eye faculty — for example, through various surgeries the eye faculty can undergo change. If we do not want our eyes to be single-lidded, they can be made double-lidded; this can be done. Therefore, whatever can be changed, whatever can undergo change, is not me, nor is it what I possess.

Observe the arising-ceasing, alteration, and impermanence of the ear faculty: the ear faculty is born after conception, and when conditions disperse it will also perish; the ear faculty can fall ill, can change; therefore the ear faculty lacks self-mastery, is subject to arising and ceasing, is impermanent. The impermanent is suffering, and what suffers is not me; therefore the ear faculty is not me.

Observe the arising-ceasing, alteration, and impermanence of the nose faculty: the nose faculty can be born and can perish; the nose faculty can change; the nose faculty can fall ill; we can make the nose faculty be whatever we want it to be, and not be whatever we do not want it to be. Therefore the nose faculty lacks self-mastery, is subject to arising and ceasing, is subject to alteration, is impermanent. The impermanent is suffering, and what suffers is not me; therefore the nose faculty is not me.

Observe the arising-ceasing, alteration, and impermanence of the tongue faculty: the tongue faculty is born after conception and can also perish; the tongue faculty can fall ill and can change; therefore the tongue faculty lacks self-mastery, is subject to arising and ceasing, alteration, and impermanence. The impermanent is suffering, and what suffers is not me; therefore the tongue faculty is not me. Observe the arising-ceasing, alteration, and impermanence of the body faculty: the body faculty is born after conception and can also perish. The body faculty can fall ill and can change; therefore the body faculty lacks self-mastery, is subject to arising-ceasing alteration, is impermanent. The impermanent is suffering, and what suffers is not me; therefore the body faculty is not me.

The five faculties of the material body are material form, subject to arising-ceasing alteration; and the seven consciousnesses, being mental dharmas, are also subject to arising-ceasing change. Whatever has the phenomenon of arising-ceasing change is not me, nor is it what I possess. The five aggregates are all impermanent, arising-ceasing, altering, all suffering; therefore the five aggregates are not the self. But the eighth consciousness, no matter how great our efforts, cannot be changed by us even a little, cannot be touched by us even a little; only it is a vajra-like indestructible body. Why can the eighth consciousness not be touched or changed? Because it is without form and without mark, unborn and unceasing, and inherently complete with all dharmas, lacking not a hair's breadth; therefore it cannot be touched, and cannot be changed.

5. Observing the Arising-Ceasing Alteration of the Material Body from Its Composition

A contemplative practice method for eradicating the view of self regarding the material body that is unknown to most people is: to contemplate the arising-ceasing alteration and impermanence of the material body composed of the seeds of the four great elements. The point of entry is to understand the tissue structure of the material body, the most basic tissue components of the body and the smallest particles composing the body, and then to know what the smallest particles are in turn generated from. Contemplating layer by layer in this way, one can find the original source of life and eradicate the view of the body. Using this method to see the mind and attain enlightenment is also possible, but it requires extremely good faculties (indriya); otherwise realization is not easy.

The smallest particles of the material body's matter are quarks; from the smallest particles, gradually expanding, protons, neutrons, atomic nuclei, electrons, and atoms are formed, and finally molecules; various different molecular structures compose cells. Tracing the formation of the smallest particles, they are composed of the seeds of the four great elements. Because the seeds of the four great elements are constantly transforming and changing, the smallest particles constantly arise, cease, and alter, causing the various material particles to constantly arise, cease, and change; the cells likewise arise, cease, and alter instant after instant; the material body arises, ceases, and changes instant after instant — this is impermanence. Impermanence is suffering, and suffering is not-self.

The material body, from embryo to birth, then gradually growing, then gradually aging, and finally dying, is all due to the moment-by-moment arising-ceasing change of cells. The source of the cells' momentary arising and ceasing is the constant transformation of the seeds of the four great elements; the transformation of these seeds has secrets behind it, which will not be discussed here for now. Because the cells within the material body arise, cease, and alter instant after instant in this way, the muscles, bones, internal organs, blood, skin, and every other tissue component of the material body likewise arise, cease, and alter instant after instant; the material body is arising, ceasing, and changing instant by instant.

Such momentary arising-ceasing change cannot be discovered by either the mind consciousness or the manas; at most one can discover the changes of the material body over several months. The material body changes every day, yet very few people can perceive this, let alone its moment-by-moment changing, which is even harder to perceive. Regularly engaging in such contemplative practice, with deep practice over time, one can naturally eradicate the view of the body as self; one can also observe the arising-ceasing alteration and impermanence of the various material things in the world, and thereby eradicate grasping at what I possess (the self and what belongs to it), and henceforth no longer crave and grasp at any material form. As for also seeing the mind and attaining enlightenment, that is another matter.

6. How to Contemplate the Falsity of the Material Body and Eradicate the View of Self Regarding It

In Volume One of the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Bodhisattva Maitreya expounded the content of the expressive forms (vijñapti-rūpa) of our material body. Correctly understanding this content and engaging in deep and subtle contemplative practice, one can eradicate the view of self regarding the material body.

Original text of the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra: 表色者。谓取舍屈伸。行住坐卧。如是等色。谓即此积聚色。生灭相续。由变异因。于先生处。不复重生。转于异处。或无间或有间。或近或远。差别生。或即于此处。变异生。是名表色。

Explanation: The walking, standing, sitting, and lying down of sentient beings, their coming and going, stopping and moving, greeting and seeing off, and the bending, stretching, bowing, and leaning of the body — these are expressive forms: material marks that can manifest outwardly on the material body and be recognized by others. These material marks are accumulated from all the material marks of moment-by-moment arising and ceasing, before and after: the previous material mark arises and ceases; the next material mark arises and ceases; countless material marks arise and again cease instant by instant; connected continuously, they constitute each movement of a sentient being's body. These material marks arise and cease in continuity instant after instant with extreme rapidity, thereby forming the seemingly real, non-arising-non-ceasing actions and karmic formations of sentient beings on the surface.

Due to karmic power and various conditional alterations, the previous material mark arises and ceases in one place, is not reborn in the original place, and then the next material mark successively arises and ceases in another place, and the next material mark again successively arises and ceases in yet another place. Thus continuing in succession, all the arising-ceasing altering material marks constitute karmic formations that seem non-arising and non-ceasing, when in fact the time of arising and ceasing is merely somewhat longer.

These material marks either run continuously in arising and ceasing without interruption, or run intermittently with interruptions; thus differences of near or far arise between the different material marks, forming the movements of the limbs. For example, the arm moving from here to there is a change that can be near or far, as well as the movements and changes of the body, head, legs, and feet from here to there over different distances. Or changes occur in the same place, the same position — for example, sitting or lying with the body unmoving and the legs and feet unmoving, yet there is still the successive arising-ceasing change of material marks, before and after. The material mark of the previous instant arises and ceases, and the material mark of the next instant again arises and ceases, forming the sitting posture and lying posture of the body's four limbs — all are false appearances of arising-ceasing change.

Because sentient beings do not understand the inner mechanism and secret of the material body's operation, they consider the body's movements and activities to be continuous and real, dependable; in fact, they all arise and cease instant after instant, connected together by countless momentary arising-ceasing false appearances. It is like countless photographs played back at extreme speed, forming a continuously moving image — a river, or people and animals — like an animated cartoon; or like the ring of fire formed by whirling a torch very fast — in fact there is no fire ring; it is an illusion of the eye consciousness.

Why does the material body have the phenomenon of various material marks arising, ceasing, and altering? This is the secret. The material marks of the material body are of course generated by the seeds of the four great elements, and the seeds of the four great elements are inherently existent seeds within the tathāgatagarbha, unborn and unceasing, neither one with nor different from the tathāgatagarbha. The various material marks generated by the seeds are also neither one with nor different from the tathāgatagarbha; the karmic formations of the material body formed by the material marks are also neither one with nor different from the tathāgatagarbha; thus the aggregate of form and the tathāgatagarbha are neither one nor different, and by the same reasoning, the five aggregates and the tathāgatagarbha are also neither one nor different. All of you should be diligent in the cultivation of meditative concentration, and then engage in deep and subtle contemplative practice within concentration; naturally you will be able to illuminate and see that the aggregate of form is emptiness (śūnyatā), and further illuminate and see that the five aggregates are all empty, and thereby eradicate the view of the body and the view of self, and can also see the mind and attain enlightenment. It all depends on each person's conditions, and on the degree of cultivation of merit, concentration, wisdom, and other resources of bodhi.

7. How to Eradicate the View of the Body Through Contemplative Practice

To eradicate the view of the body, one can do the following contemplative practice: enter concentration and hypnotize oneself — imagine that one's eyes now dissolve away, the nose dissolves away, the ears dissolve away, the tongue dissolves away; then the four limbs dissolve away, the skull dissolves away, leaving only a torso; finally this torso also disappears.

After the material body is all gone, one must contemplate and deliberate: is such a material body me? Is it real? Can the real self be cut off, be removed, be able to disappear, be able to be destroyed? Then ask oneself: is such an arising-ceasing, altering, impermanent material form me? Is it unchanging? Am I such an unsteady material thing? Am I such a material thing that cannot exercise mastery? Am I so unreal? When meditative absorption (samādhi) arises and the mind genuinely perceives that this material form is indeed not me, the view of the body is eradicated.

Then continue contemplating further: on the torso that alone remains, the four limbs return from who knows where to one's body, the head returns to one's body, the eyes return to one's body, the nose returns to one's body, the ears return to one's body, the mouth, teeth, and tongue all return to one's body — thus reassembling into a complete material body. Then, this material body assembled from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, four limbs, and skull — is it me? Is it real and indestructible? Is it governed by myself? Is it an unchanging self?

Further contemplate a material body formed by combining the material bodies of several sentient beings: the head belongs to one being, the neck to one being, the two arms to one being, the two legs to one being, and the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue each belong to other beings — parts of many beings' bodies combined to form one being's material body. Suppose it is assembled into one's own material body; then enter a meditative state, enter a mental realm, and contemplate: is this material body me? Is this material body real? Is this material body governed by me? Is this material body ever-present? Is this material body unchanging? Is such an impermanent dharma me? Is it real? Through the above continuous contemplative practice and meditation, when conditions are complete, the view of the body can be eradicated.

8. How to Contemplate the Emptiness of the Material Body in the Most Ultimate Way

The most ultimate contemplative practice is to observe the unreality of the material body from the perspective of the Mahāyāna dharma. Contemplate the body down to its smallest cellular composition: within cells there are various particles; particles are constituted of the four great elements' micro-particles; the four great elements' micro-particles are composed of the seeds of the four great elements within the tathāgatagarbha; the seeds of the four great elements are formless and markless; the tathāgatagarbha outputs the seeds of the four great elements, forming micro-particles; the micro-particles then aggregate into the smallest matter, then aggregate into somewhat larger matter, visible to the naked eye; then they gradually aggregate into the initial material body, and finally, when the material body is complete, one emerges from the mother's womb.

From this one can know that the material body is empty, arising and ceasing, without self; it is born of the tathāgatagarbha, held by the tathāgatagarbha, transformed from the seed-functions of the tathāgatagarbha, an attribute of the tathāgatagarbha, without any attribute or self-nature of the material body itself. These contemplative practices are easy insofar as they are easy; but lacking the corresponding power of concentration and power of merit (puṇya-bala), when the bodhisattva's six perfections are not complete, the manas cannot exert itself, cannot personally engage in deep and subtle contemplative practice and deliberation (manasikāra), and cannot realize this principle, cannot eradicate the view of the body and the view of self, much less see the mind and realize the tathāgatagarbha.

9. The Mahāyāna Method of Contemplative Practice

One can contemplate that the five-aggregate body is a composite of the seeds of the four great elements: countless seeds of the four great elements, including countless earth-element seeds, countless water-element seeds, countless fire-element seeds, and countless wind-element seeds; these seeds together form the material body. Further contemplate that from the tathāgatagarbha are born countless and again countless consciousness seeds, forming the eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, and mind consciousness, plus the manas — thus the five-aggregate body is complete. Such a composed five-aggregate body is false and not the self, thereby eradicating the view of the body and the view of self.

10. Only in Profound Meditative Concentration Can the Firm Delusion About the Material Body Be Broken

All material forms are composed of the micro-particles of the four great elements. From the perspective of sentient beings' firm deluded minds, all material forms have the property of material obstruction and cannot mutually interpenetrate or transcend one another. In fact it is not at all so; this is an illusion — an illusion from immeasurable kalpas ago continuing to the present, and who knows until when it will continue. What, then, is the actual state of material form? It is as revealed under a magnification of hundreds of millions of times: particles in a state of disordered movement, arising, ceasing, and altering, a quantum state countless times smaller than an atomic nucleus, with not a trace of obstructive function — not something like a seamless wall or iron plate.

Since matter is all in a particle state, there is no obstruction between particle and particle; they can mutually penetrate and permeate, as if the other did not exist. Not only is the skin on the exterior of the human body in a particle state; the bones, muscles, internal organs, sinews, fingernails, hair, and blood inside the skin — every cell — is entirely in a particle state, invisible to the naked eye, visible only to the divine eye. The smallest particles cannot even be seen by the scientists' microscopes magnifying hundreds of millions of times; those are the smallest micro-particles initially formed from the seeds of the four great elements.

In fact, the ultimate state of material form is those particles invisible to the naked eye. The body presents a particle state; mountains, rivers, the great earth, walls, the universe, and the material environment all present a particle state; then the body can pass through mountains, rivers, the great earth, walls, the universe, and the material environment without hindrance or obstruction — this is how those with supernatural powers are. The human material body and a wall are both composed of particles, so a person can pass through the wall as if there were no wall, cross the ocean as if there were no ocean, pass through mountains and Mount Sumeru as if there were no Mount Sumeru.

Therefore, when we truly cultivate and attain very deep meditative concentration, the manas in the state of samādhi can empty out the body, no longer regarding the body as a really existing material form with obstructive function; the material body truly becomes unobstructed, and then the supernormal power of unimpeded bodily action (ṛddhi) appears. Without meditative concentration, the manas's firm delusion regards the material body and other material forms as really existing, extremely solid and airtight; then the material body has obstruction, walls have obstruction, the universe and starry sky all have obstruction. Once such delusion is broken and wisdom opens, thoughts and views will transform, and all material forms will have no obstructive function. Cultivation is precisely to let the manas recognize the truth within meditative concentration and give birth to true wisdom, and thereby attain liberation.

11. How to Remove the Obstructions of the Material Body

The arising-ceasing changes of matter, being too fast, exceed the range of what the conscious mind can know; the conscious mind therefore cannot observe the true characteristics, and so considers material change to be slow, with time enough for everything. Because sentient beings' ignorance is heavy, whatever they cannot observe themselves they consider nonexistent, always trusting their own non-valid cognition (non-valid cognition) and unable to trust the facts.

For dharmas that arise and cease and change with such extreme rapidity, what reality and what obstructive nature can there be? Yet we firmly cling to the material body, considering the material body real, solid, airtight, unchangeable, impossible to pass through freely. Because of the manas's firm clinging, the body that originally accommodates and admits all things is obstructed by all things, without the least freedom. In fact, it is the mind obstructing the mind itself; only by melting the mind can all obstructions be removed.

Therefore, never think that eradicating the view of self is easy and can be had for the picking — that reading a couple of books eradicates the view of self, that listening to a few hours of lectures eradicates the view of self, that the mind consciousness mulling it over eradicates the view of self, and that from then on one is cut off from the three evil destinies. There is no such simple matter, no such easy matter. That the whole world is full of people who have eradicated the view of self at the first fruit is a fairy tale that would not appear even in dreams. Cultivation requires honest, diligent effort and sustained immersion; there is no shortcut, and one cannot cut corners.

12. How Can the Manas Be Made to Confirm the Truth?

One can take the material body as the object of observation, contemplating the material body becoming a heap of particles, acknowledging its illusory, transformed, unreal nature. Engage in this contemplative practice whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, and eradicating the view of the body may be somewhat faster. The results of the contemplative practice are: first, the material body becomes unobstructed and healthy, knowing its illusory unreality, eradicating the view of the body; second, meditative concentration is accomplished; third, the capacity for contemplation improves, and various samādhis can be accomplished.

Contemplate in sequence: first contemplate the skin, then the other parts inside, expanding bit by bit, until the entire body entirely presents as a state of fluctuating particles, confirming its arising-ceasing impermanence and not-self. Science has proven that all the material forms we see with the naked eye are not real realm-appearances; cognitive ability blinded by ignorance is very inferior. Therefore, in cultivation we must remove ignorance and folly in order not to be deceived by ourselves, to recognize the truth, and to return to the origin.

After we have seen these thirteen images of the skin gradually magnified into particles, the mind consciousness may be said to have understood; but has the manas also understood? No! Even if the mind consciousness repeats this principle to the manas ten thousand times, the manas will not understand, will not cognize this principle. What then is to be done? One must actually engage in contemplative practice within concentration, letting the manas itself observe and recognize bit by bit, understand bit by bit; it must conduct on-site investigation, see with its own eyes, personally verify — not accept a conclusion handed down by the mind consciousness. With a correct process of verification, the manas will naturally arrive at a correct conclusion; that is realization.

For example, take the phrase "all dharmas are without self": if the mind consciousness recites it in the mind at every moment every day for twenty years, can the manas truly understand why all dharmas are without self? The entire world of the five aggregates, the whole threefold world of all dharmas, is the one true dharma realm; the whole is identical with suchness (tathatā). If the mind consciousness tells the manas this every day, after twenty years can the manas truly understand this principle? If the mind consciousness recites the phrase "the five aggregates are false" one hundred thousand times, can the manas thereby recognize the falsity of the five aggregates? Absolutely not; the reasoning is as above.

Each sentient being's manas has passed through immeasurable kalpas upon immeasurable kalpas of birth and death, suffering and hardship; yet to this day, has the manas recognized the terror of birth and death? Has the manas recognized the suffering of life? Has the manas recognized the impermanence of the five aggregates? Does the manas have the thought of seeking liberation? None of these; it still must rely on the Buddha's teachings, on immersion in the dharma of the Four Noble Truths, and who knows when the manas will recognize suffering and wish to escape it. Evidently, no matter what the manas experiences, it will not automatically understand the principle; it must undergo deep deliberation, seek evidence, repeatedly verify again and again, until the evidence is conclusive — only then will the manas accept this principle.

Engaging in contemplative practice like this daily, we can then understand that material forms are being renewed and altered instant after instant; we can understand that material forms do not arise, change, and perish naturally on their own; we can understand that clothes do not become old naturally on their own, that people do not age naturally on their own, that houses do not decay naturally on their own. It is not that after the tathāgatagarbha gives birth to dharmas it no longer concerns itself with them; all matter is managed and maintained by the tathāgatagarbha; the micro-particles of the four great elements are bestowed upon matter by the tathāgatagarbha; the constant arising-ceasing alteration of these micro-particles is the result of the tathāgatagarbha's functioning — this is what the one true dharma realm means.

The thirteen images of skin transformation given by scientists are evidence, but one still needs to engage in careful contemplative practice within concentration, deliberating and acknowledging it oneself. Another's conclusion is not one's own conclusion; the mind consciousness's conclusion is not the manas's conclusion; each deliberates and each arrives at one's own conclusion; they cannot substitute for one another.

13. Manifestations of the View of the Body

For everyone's cultivation, the eradication of the view of the body is an unavoidable pass — whether Mahāyāna, Hinayana, or non-Buddhist paths. The view of the body is taking the material body as real, as me and mine; the body can serve my purposes, and by means of the body I can recognize all dharmas, can feel, perceive, and deliberate; therefore one craves and clings to the material body. The outward manifestation of the view of the body is: for the sake of the material body, craving the pleasures of the five desires, letting the body enjoy the best food, clothing, bedding, and so forth; spending enormous time, energy, and money on the material body every day; being extremely fastidious about hygiene, changing and washing clothes every day, bathing once or twice daily, attending to it carefully every day with all kinds of maintenance, sparing no cost.

Mysophobia (obsessive cleanliness) belongs to the view of the body. Why be so extremely fond of cleanliness — washing every little while, wiping every little while, excessively fastidious about hygiene? Because of extreme cherishing and maintenance of the material body, taking the material body as a very real self. Why be so particular about food — perfect in color, aroma, and flavor, requiring nutrition, refusing leftovers? Because one regards the material body as the self, as real, and cannot let it suffer the slightest grievance or have the slightest impurity. Another manifestation of the view of the body is sensual craving — this is the most serious view of the body and view of self. Although eradicating sensual craving occurs at the stage of the third fruit after attaining the first dhyāna, as long as one cultivates diligently, the mental activities of craving will gradually lessen and thin out, even when the view of the body and view of self have not been subdued or eradicated.

When the mind is ordinarily occupied with the self of the material body, taking up much thought and time, the Buddha-dharma cannot easily enter the mind. When the mind is full of worldly dharmas, the Buddha-dharma cannot fit in; the worldly dharmas must be cleared out before the Buddha-dharma can fit in. First, because the mind's capacity is limited — if it is stuffed with a heap of garbage, how can treasures be placed within? Second, because the Buddha-dharma and worldly dharmas are incompatible: with this there cannot be that; with craving there cannot be non-craving; with purity there is no defilement; with selflessness there cannot be self; with diligence there is no indolence.

In the process of cultivating the Path, we must first examine whether our view of the body is very heavy, whether the phenomenon of treasuring the material body is very serious; if we can detect it, we must find ways to overcome and counteract it, because this is the most serious obstruction to cultivating the Path. In the process of deliberating on the Buddha-dharma, one will gradually discover that this material body is not quite real, cannot be held onto. When the mind for cultivating the Path has arisen, one no longer has time to spare for maintaining the material body; thus the habits of the view of the body will be subdued bit by bit, and only at the end of contemplative practice is it possible to acknowledge that the material body is indeed arising-ceasing and impermanent, unreal, and thereby eradicate the view of the body.

After eradicating the view of the body, craving and attachment to the material body lessen greatly, and one can devote one's mind to the enterprise of the Path. In the process of cultivating the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment, the view of the body gradually thins, the behavior of clinging to the body decreases, and one can devote more energy to the enterprise of the Path. For those who have not undergone cultivation of the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment, these phenomena will not change. The view of the body belongs to the coarsest and heaviest afflictions; if it is not subdued and eradicated, no other cultivation and realization can even be discussed. If the first pass cannot be crossed, none of the later passes can be crossed — then do not even speak of seeing the mind and attaining enlightenment.

How many people have not even cultivated this foundation, yet all consider themselves enlightened. Everyone should carefully examine their own mental activities: why care so much about one's fruit of realization, and not care about true liberation? This mind that cares is a serious self; this mind too must be eradicated before the view of self can be eradicated. For a person who has truly eradicated the view of self, if every day the mind holds a self that has attained the fruit, a self that is a noble one, the view of self cannot be eradicated. After truly eradicating the view of self, there is no longer a self that has attained the fruit; one will not think there is a self that has attained realization — the mark of attaining the fruit does not exist.

14. Methods for Eradicating the View of the Body

Question: Suppose the ownership of all the small particles (matter) composing the body is attributed to the Earth, and the ownership of the movable energy is attributed to the Sun; after removing the borrowed matter and energy, what remains is an empty, vacant state, not knowing what is oneself. Can such thinking help eradicate the view of the body?

Answer: This method of returning things can help eradicate the view of the body; the Buddha spoke of it in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. But the material forms within the body have been returned to the wrong owner: the Earth and the Sun are also material forms, and they too have owners to whom they must be returned. If one takes the Earth and the Sun as the owners of material forms, this is still a wrong view and cannot eradicate the view of the body. The owner of the material forms within the material body is the tathāgatagarbha; it is the tathāgatagarbha that uses the seeds of the four great elements to form the micro-particles of the four great elements, and the micro-particles continue to gather without stop, condensing into the material body. From a single fertilized egg to the fetus's material body, to the infant's material body after birth, then continuing to condense into the material body of a youth and an adult, the material body of an elderly person, and finally the seeds of the four great elements return to the tathāgatagarbha, and the material body ceases and disappears.

The entire process demonstrates that the tathāgatagarbha is the owner of material forms; the material body as a whole is all given birth to and changed, all empty, and therefore without self — in this way the view of the body can be eradicated. However, the process of the seeds of the four great elements forming the material body cannot actually be contemplated directly as it unfolds; although contemplating in this way can be very thorough and ultimate, if concentration and wisdom are insufficient, it is still easier to eradicate the view of the body from the perspective of the Four Noble Truths.