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

Section 3: Comprehensive Contemplative Practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) Methods on the Five Aggregates

1. The Importance of Eradicating the View of Self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa)

Eradicating the view of self includes eradicating the view of self regarding the physical body and eradicating the view of self regarding the conscious mind. To eradicate the view of self regarding the physical body, one must engage in contemplative practice on the arising and ceasing changes of the physical body from small to large, thereby confirming that the physical body is subject to arising, ceasing, and change, is impermanent, suffering, and empty. One must establish a concept in the mind: what suffers is not me; I am not suffering. This is an eternal truth. Once this concept is firmly established in the mind, one can engage in contemplative practice on the impermanence and suffering of the physical body. The physical body arises from causes and conditions; with causes and conditions the physical body arises, and with causes and conditions the physical body ceases. It arises and ceases, changes, is impermanent and suffering—therefore it is not the self. In this way, one can eradicate the view of self regarding the physical body.

To eradicate the view of self regarding the conscious mind, one must contemplate the arising-ceasing and impermanent nature of the conscious mind. The consciousness-seeds arise and cease moment by moment, forming consciousness, just like water droplets forming a stream of water. The water droplets flow in continuous succession, forming a continuous stream of water. If one believes in the mind that a real stream of water exists, this is an illusion—being deceived by the false appearance of the water stream. The consciousness-seeds flow forth one by one rapidly, forming consciousness. In fact, believing that there is a continuous conscious mind that discriminates is also an illusion. By deeply pondering this principle, one can eradicate the false view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi) of taking the conscious mind as the self. The flowing forth of consciousness-seeds has its causes and conditions; when causes and conditions combine, consciousness is born; when causes and conditions disperse and cease, the consciousness-seeds no longer arise, and the conscious mind ceases. Deeply acknowledging this principle within meditative concentration (samādhi), one can eradicate the false view of taking the conscious mind as the self.

If one can cultivate the Four Āgamas of the Small Vehicle well, eradicating the view of self first and then seeing the mind, the view of self can be thoroughly eradicated with ease, and the afflictions and afflictive obstruction (kleśāvaraṇa) can be quickly subdued. If one directly engages in Chan investigation and sees the mind, without a foundation of no-self practice and with insufficient meditative power, there will be much intellectual understanding rather than realization; the view of self will not be easily eradicated thoroughly, and perhaps the view of self cannot be eradicated at all. Then this so-called self will always come out to stir up trouble, commit unwholesome actions, and obstruct one's progress on the Path. This is how people with a heavy self-nature stir up disputes everywhere. Therefore, subduing the self-nature is extremely important for cultivation, benefiting both oneself and others. Once the self is subdued, one benefits endlessly for lifetime after lifetime, and the mind gives rise to no anguish.

2. Contemplating the Unreality of the Five Aggregates with Subject and Object

To contemplate the no-self of the five aggregates, one can divide the five aggregates into two parts for contemplative practice: one part is the physical body, and the other part is the conscious mind; the conscious mind combined with the physical body forms the five aggregates. After calming the body and mind, enter meditative concentration and deeply engage in contemplative practice and perception, experiencing the impermanence and arising-ceasing nature of the physical body. One must contemplate the arising of the physical body, the abiding of the physical body, the alteration of the physical body, and the ceasing of the physical body. Having truly understood the impermanence and illusory emptiness of the physical body, then feel the suffering of the physical body. When the samādhi of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā appears, one can realize the no-self nature of the physical body. Then contemplate the physical body of past lives and the physical body of future lives; no matter what kind of physical body it is, all are subject to arising and ceasing, change, suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and no-self. Then contemplate the arising-ceasing and changing nature of the conscious mind; no matter which consciousness it is, any conscious mind with the function of perceiving all dharmas is subject to arising and ceasing, is empty, suffering, and unreal.

One can also divide the five aggregates into two parts—subject and object—for contemplative practice; this is somewhat simpler. The subject is the seeing-capacity of the six consciousnesses, and the object is the six sense-objects perceived by the six consciousnesses. When the eye sees form, separate out an eye-consciousness that sees form and a form sense-object that is seen; one must deeply and subtly contemplate the arising-ceasing and changing nature of both. When the ear hears sounds, also divide into two parts: one is the sound that is heard, and the other is the ear-consciousness that hears; in this way discriminate and observe the arising-ceasing and changing nature of both. When the nose smells scents, discriminate and observe the scent sense-object that is smelled and the conscious mind that smells the scent sense-object—the arising-ceasing, changing, and impermanent nature of these two. When the tongue tastes flavors, when the body feels touch, and when the mind consciousness contemplates dharmas, all should be divided into subject and object for observation and contemplation.

After contemplative practice and contemplation, if one has truly penetrated deeply within, the mind should experience a shock, and one's views and perceptions of the self should undergo a subversion. At all times, no matter what the six faculties contact or what the six consciousnesses discriminate, the entire five aggregates—from mind to physical body—will feel like an empty shell. One can genuinely feel that oneself is empty, impermanent, unreal, and without self. When contemplative practice is accomplished, the inner experience should undergo an earth-shaking transformation; there will be an experience of emptiness within, and in all times of moving, standing, sitting, and lying down, one can deeply perceive the illusory unreality of one's own body and mind.

Such eradication of the view of self is genuine eradication of the view of self, thorough eradication of the view of self—not eradication of the view of self in mere words, nor merely theoretical eradication of the view of self. Subsequent cultivation, whether of the Great or Small Vehicle, can then progress steadily and rapidly; afflictions can melt away like the sun dissolving snow, body and mind become tranquil and at ease, and both this life and future lives will greatly benefit. Therefore, I earnestly advise everyone: no matter how difficult this practice is, it must be undertaken; one must eradicate the view of self concerning birth and death.

3. The Combined Appearance of the Five Aggregates Is Not a Real Appearance

The self of the five aggregates and eighteen realms is formed by the combination of the seven consciousnesses with the physical body, composed of the five aggregates with clinging, assembled from the six faculties, six sense-objects, and six consciousnesses. What is combined is a false, illusory dharma, not real. A single aggregate of feeling alone is not the self, and even less so is the combination; a single realm alone is not the self, and even less so is the combination. The real self does not come from combination; it exists originally, has independent autonomy, and is not determined by external conditions.

It is evident that sentient beings' five aggregates cannot exist independently; they are formed by the gathering of various causes and conditions. The five aggregates with clinging are assembled, and the eighteen realms are assembled; none has independent autonomy or substantiality. Therefore, there is no self-nature; it is emptiness (śūnyatā)—just a false name. When causes and conditions cease, the various combined parts disperse, and the false body disappears. It is like a group composed of many people: a single person alone is not called a group, and what is assembled is not a real group either; it has no autonomy. When causes and conditions disappear, the crowd disperses in all directions, and the group no longer exists; even if it exists, it is just a false name. Therefore, the group is not a group.

It is like a family composed of parents and children: a single person is not a family, and the combination is not a real family either. Phenomenally it seems to exist, but in essence it does not. What is essential is real and never changes, not determined by external conditions. The false appearance of a family is formed by many causes, conditions, and factors; when these causes and conditions disappear and the factors perish, the false appearance of the family also ceases. Therefore, the family is not a family. It is like a house formed by the combination of bricks, tiles, wood, and cement; remove one material, and the house collapses—the false appearance of the house no longer exists. Therefore, the house is not a house. It is like tables, chairs, and benches, composed of wood, nails, and other materials; remove one material, and the appearance of tables, chairs, and benches becomes incomplete or falls apart—it should be called wood and nails, and the false appearance of tables, chairs, and benches disappears. Therefore, tables, chairs, and benches are not tables, chairs, and benches. The self of the five aggregates is not the self; the self of the manas is not the self; the self of the mind consciousness is not the self.

All appearances in the world exist through the combination of many elements, and none of the elements has self-nature; even less does the combination have self-nature. When causes and conditions disperse, everything ceases. Therefore, the world is not the world. Dharmas formed by causes and conditions are dharmas that do not long abide, dharmas that do not last forever. Therefore, we should not cling with greed and attachment; clinging is useless, grasping is useless. No matter how unwilling one is to let go, in the end things still depart and disperse. Better not to grasp; relinquish greed early, cut off and abandon afflictions, liberate oneself from bondage, return to one's original nature, and be free and at ease.

4. Why Is the Discrimination of the Six Consciousnesses an Illusion?

Dharmas include material form and mental dharmas. The five aggregates are all dharmas; the six faculties, six sense-objects, and six consciousnesses are all dharmas. Contemplating the no-self of dharmas means contemplating that among all the dharmas generated by the combination of the five aggregates, twelve sense bases, and eighteen realms, there is no self, and none is the self. The six consciousnesses arise and cease moment by moment; all are born of the eighth consciousness; all are illusory, changing, impermanent, suffering, and empty, and none is the self. The seven consciousnesses arise, cease, and change moment after moment without stop; in the snap of a finger, eighty-one thousand seeds arise and cease, cease and arise again—extremely fast. We cannot perceive the phenomenon of the arising and ceasing of consciousness-seeds; we only feel that the conscious mind seems continuous, that the discrimination of the conscious mind is constantly ongoing. In fact, the conscious mind is not continuous but intermittent—only its arising and ceasing is extremely fast.

Because it is too fast, our perceiving mind cannot distinguish the momentary intermittent phenomena, and thus there is an illusion that one's mind is running continuously. It is like a torch: when we spin it very rapidly, it seems we see a ring of fire, and the ring of fire even feels very real. In fact, there is no ring of fire; the ring of fire is not a ring of fire—only a single torch. Our eye-consciousness has been deceived by false appearances since beginningless kalpas; unable to see the true phenomena clearly, hallucinations occur, taking the false as the real. It is like the moving figures in movies and television: all the moving scenes within are connected frame by frame of film; because the playback speed is too fast, it feels continuous, and because it feels continuous, it is taken as real.

If all so-called continuous things are divided into bits and pieces, one no longer takes these things as real, and the mind will feel their illusoriness. Cultivating meditative concentration has exactly this function: it can stabilize and clarify the mind, and gradually one can recognize the truth and see clearly the true nature of all dharmas.

The six consciousnesses of sentient beings all have illusions, not knowing that all the dharmas the six consciousnesses can discriminate are intermittent, not continuous. Because the six consciousnesses have the function of momentary retention of perception, a phenomenon that has just vanished is still thought by the conscious mind to remain in its original place unmoved, when in fact it is already gone, no longer there. For example, when the eye-consciousness sees form, the moment the form sense-object is seen, it immediately passes; but because vision has a retention function, one still feels one is continuously seeing form, and seeing the same form-appearance as before. In fact, that previous form-appearance has already ceased—you cannot see again the form-appearance of the previous instant. Form-appearance after form-appearance passes moment by moment, all unconnected, yet the mind consciousness believes the previous form-appearance has been moving and existing all along. This is hallucination and illusion.

The illusion of the eye-consciousness makes us feel we see complete and continuous form-appearances, but in fact they are connected point by point; before and after are not completely one and the same. The form-appearance changes intermittently; it is not the same form-appearance. The eye-consciousness arises and ceases moment by moment, the mind consciousness arises and ceases moment by moment, the form sense-object arises and ceases moment by moment, the mental sense-object arises and ceases moment by moment—no dharma can extend to the next instant. Yet sentient beings insist that all dharmas are continuous and real, all being the original dharma. Where is there an original dharma? All are dharmas that have changed.

The World-Honored One said in the Diamond Sutra that the three minds cannot be obtained. The past six consciousnesses have ceased and cannot be obtained; the present six consciousnesses arise and cease moment by moment and likewise cannot be obtained; the future six consciousnesses have not yet been born and are also utterly unobtainable. And the six sense-object realms are also unobtainable in all three periods—past, present, and future. For countless kalpas we have been deceived by our own conscious mind, believing that what we see is all real, not knowing it is all extremely illusory and unreal. Therefore, all dharmas arise, cease, and change, and none is the real self; material form and mental dharmas are all impermanent dharmas, all illusory, empty dharmas born moment by moment by the eighth consciousness.

5. How to Contemplate and Prove the Falsity of the Five Aggregates and Eighteen Realms

When contemplating the aggregate of form, the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception, the aggregate of volitional formations, and the aggregate of consciousness, one should contemplate thus: form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness are not dharmas that existed originally, not dharmas that existed a priori; therefore the five aggregates are not the true self, not the original self. Our seeing and hearing, deliberation (manasikāra/manana), recognition, mind of acquisition, mind of aspiration, introspective mind, and the mind that can realize and certify these dharmas—none of these existed originally, none arose naturally; they are not the original self, not the true self. These dharmas are all subject to arising and ceasing and impermanence, not dharmas that are permanent and unchanging; therefore none is the self. After contemplating the arising-ceasing, impermanent, changing, and no-self nature of the five aggregates, one must also contemplate that the various realms of the conscious mind are all subject to arising and ceasing, impermanent, illusory, not the self, and not possessed by the self. All of our present sense of self-existence is the false self of the five aggregates—the aggregate of consciousness—which is subject to arising and ceasing, impermanent, suffering, and empty.

The World-Honored One already explained very clearly in the Āgama Sutras that everything a ordinary person can perceive is illusory, with no real dharma. The real tathāgatagarbha we cannot yet perceive at present; when we can perceive it, that is the time of realizing the tathāgatagarbha. At that time, one can understand part of the Chan public cases of the Chan school, understand part of the Mahāyāna sutras, and discern whether others' teachings are right or wrong, and wisdom will gradually grow.

In contemplating the five aggregates, one is contemplating the phenomena, and the other is contemplating the substance. Breaking through these two points, clarifying the relationship between phenomenon and substance, and contemplating them in fusion makes it easy to eradicate the view of self and realize the first fruit (srotāpanna), and also easy to see the mind and attain enlightenment. The five aggregates are like the stars seen when one's eyes see stars (from a blow to the head); contemplate whether these stars exist or not, whether they are empty or not empty, or both. The relationship between emptiness and existence requires repeated, repeated contemplative practice to clarify; this is not a simple or easy matter. Therefore, among the many students of Buddhism, those who realize the first fruit are extremely, extremely few—almost none.

For each person to subvert their own wrong views held since beginningless kalpas is extremely difficult; it requires repeated immersion, repeated contemplative practice and contemplation, constantly contending with one's habitual cognition, and deep contemplative practice within meditative concentration before some awakening-entry is possible. Through continuous contemplative practice and contemplation, after the samādhi of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā appears, one can truly realize each truth the Buddha taught. "The five aggregates are all empty" is the Buddha's final conclusion for us; the intermediate process of cultivation and realization must be completed by each person themselves—no one can substitute. Not to mention the falsity and no-self of the five aggregates, even whether the stars seen when eyes see stars exist or not requires one's own careful contemplation to reach a correct conclusion. Although it appears simple on the surface, proving it through actual practice is not a simple matter.

Merely understanding the conclusion is not enough; one must actually engage in contemplative practice, find all the evidence, and the evidence must be conclusive. Cultivation is like proving a geometry problem: the geometry problem is the conclusion, and the step-by-step proof in between must be completed by oneself. The Buddha-dharma is the same: the Buddha gives a conclusion called truth, and the practitioner must find a way to prove this conclusion themselves, acknowledge the truth, and have the manas personally prove this conclusion. This is called personally realizing the Buddha-dharma.

6. How to Contemplate More Effectively the Falsity of the Five Aggregates and Eighteen Realms

To contemplate the falsity and no-self of the five aggregates and eighteen realms, it is best to separate the five aggregates for observation. While the five aggregates are actively operating, clearly distinguish which is the aggregate of form, which is the aggregate of feeling, which is the aggregate of perception, which is the aggregate of volitional formations, and which is the aggregate of consciousness—all five aggregates must be separated one by one. Only after separation can one very easily identify the falsity of each aggregate and know how false each aggregate is. The eighteen realms are the same: in the very moment we perform all bodily, verbal, and mental actions, separate the eighteen realms for observation, one realm at a time. After separation, then engage in contemplative practice; in this way it is easy to see clearly the falsity of each realm.

Since beginningless kalpas, sentient beings have taken the world they live in as real, first because sentient beings have been immersed in ignorance (avidyā) since beginningless kalpas; the ignorance is so thick and heavy that they take the false as true and do not understand the true appearance of the world. Second, because the world is too three-dimensional and too rich and colorful, it feels very real and dependable. "Three-dimensional" means the eye sees form, the ear hears sound, the nose smells scents—the entire five aggregates are combined together, and the functions of the eighteen realms are also all combined together; the procedures are both complex and systematic, and all the manifested dharmas are so vivid and realistic. Without great good roots and merit, one lacks the capacity for introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala) and to recognize what the substance of the five aggregates really is.

Although the activities of the five aggregates are intricate and complex, they are highly orderly and regular, so sentient beings feel the five aggregates are very real, taking the existence of the five aggregates' activities as a matter of course, naturally existing, never considering whether it is a matter of course or not, whether it is reasonable or not, and accepting it all as natural. And this "going along with nature" is the ignorance of beginningless kalpas. In the activities of the five aggregates, true dharmas and false dharmas are combined together, indistinguishable from each other; that is why sentient beings feel the five aggregates are so real. When one takes the five aggregates as real, the real tathāgatagarbha behind them is obscured.

We can take this combined, three-dimensional world of the five aggregates and separate it, then gradually stretch it into a plane and dismantle it into parts. It is like taking apart a car or a house, dismantling it into parts; then at one glance we know: Oh! So this is how false it is—it is not real at all! When these parts are combined into a whole, we naturally tend to take the five aggregates as real. After dismantling the five aggregates, it is easy to contemplate their falsity. For example, if a car is dismantled into individual parts, one may realize there is no real car; ordinary people would not take these parts as a car.

The five aggregates and eighteen realms must also be separated—completely separated; the seven consciousnesses and eight consciousnesses must all be separated. After separation, one can observe how false each aggregate is, how false each realm is, how false it is when the six faculties contact the six sense-objects, how false the functions of the seven consciousnesses are. Dismantle the whole of the five aggregates into individual parts, the more fragmented the better. When it becomes very fragmented in the end, you will know: so the five aggregates are this false, this unreal. This is eradicating the view of self, and gradually one can attain liberation. After knowing these dharmas are all false, one dharma remains, and we will give rise to doubt: since all are false, how can there still be these functions of the five aggregates? A great questioning doubt arises in the mind. Then realizing the tathāgatagarbha becomes very easy.

7. Contemplative Practice Requires Understanding the Content of the Five Aggregates

Chan Master Yongjia's "Praise of Śamatha" teaches how to correctly cultivate meditative concentration to attain liberation through wisdom. In it, regarding contemplation within meditative concentration: what is vividly distinct is the aggregate of consciousness; what is received and taken into the mind is the aggregate of feeling; what the mind attends to as principle is the aggregate of perception; what applies this principle in action is the aggregate of volitional formations; what conceals the true nature is the aggregate of form.

During contemplation and thinking, the state of clear lucidity is the realm of the aggregate of consciousness; receiving and taking in the content contemplated and the experiences is the realm of the aggregate of feeling; attending to the contemplated content is the realm of the aggregate of perception; the mind's thoughts flowing moment after moment is the realm of the aggregate of volitional formations. These four aggregates constantly arise, constantly flow on, constantly change, constantly pass away—impermanent, illusory, and unreal. Because their change never stops, there is the feeling of suffering; not wishing for change, especially not wishing for rapid transformation and passing away, is itself the feeling of suffering. What suffers is not me; what is empty is not me; what is impermanent is not me; what changes is not me. Why is it not me? It can only be intuited, not conveyed in words—one must realize it oneself within meditative concentration; understanding cannot be substituted from one person to another.

Impermanence, arising, ceasing, and change are relatively easy to observe and experience; but to recognize that such dharmas are not the self is difficult. Because this involves a matter of conceptual views, one can only reverse one's own views. Others can only cook the rice, bring it over, and even feed it into your mouth; chewing, swallowing, and digesting are your own business—no one can truly substitute for you.

8. How to Contemplate the Five Aggregates and Eighteen Realms in Detail

To contemplate the falsity of the five aggregates, one must contemplate each of the five aggregates and eighteen realms one by one, seeing them as empty. First see the five aggregates as empty; finally, through contemplative practice within meditative concentration, with sufficient evidence, truly confirm that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are indeed empty—not merely seeing them as empty, but one must realize and certify that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are truly empty. How to contemplate that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are empty? One must contemplate clearly the concepts, content, scope, functions, and roles of the five aggregates; only then can one know how false they are and how they are not the self. All the natures of the sixth consciousness are also empty and without self: the mind of awareness apart from thought, the mind consciousness in various meditative concentrations, consciousness with feeling, consciousness with perception that can know, consciousness with activity-marks, the mind consciousness that discriminates, distinguishes, contemplates, and reasons, and so on—all must be contemplated comprehensively, confirming their falsity.

Originally one always felt the mind consciousness was the self; after contemplative practice and contemplation, one discovers that the mind consciousness is fundamentally not the self—only a tool. As long as there is a "knowing" in our mind, this knowing is the knowing of the mind consciousness. Then contemplate the arising-ceasing nature, impermanence, changeability, ungraspability, and illusory emptiness of the mind consciousness. This knowing of the mind consciousness is my tool, not the real me, but it can be used by me. First negate the mind consciousness, then contemplate its arising-ceasing and impermanence, and finally confirm its falsity.

The five aggregates can in most cases appear simultaneously; among them, the aggregate of form certainly participates, and the aggregate of consciousness certainly participates. Where there is consciousness, there is volitional formation, there is perception, there is feeling; without the six consciousnesses, there is no volitional formation, no perception, no feeling. Thus in the operation of each dharma, all five aggregates may be present. For example, when the eye sees form: the body faculty participates, the eye faculty participates, the eye-consciousness participates, the mind consciousness participates, and the manas participates—here there are the aggregate of form, aggregate of consciousness, aggregate of feeling, aggregate of perception, and aggregate of volitional formations.

The precondition for the activity of the aggregate of feeling, aggregate of perception, and aggregate of volitional formations is that the six consciousnesses are operating. During sleep, the aggregate of feeling and the aggregate of perception cease, but part of the aggregate of volitional formations still exists. When asleep without dreams, because the seventh consciousness, the manas, still exists and regulates the body faculty, there is bodily volitional formation: breathing, blood circulation, gastrointestinal peristalsis, turning over, metabolism, and other bodily activities. As long as there is movement, there is the aggregate of volitional formations. When dreaming, the mind consciousness is active in the dream, so the four aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness still exist.

All six consciousnesses—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—have feeling, perception, and volitional formation. The feeling, perception, and volitional formation of the eye-consciousness, the feeling, perception, and volitional formation of the ear-consciousness, and so on—all must be contemplated one by one for their falsity. Also the discriminating capacity of the six consciousnesses must be contemplated for its falsity, arising-ceasing nature, changeability, lack of autonomy, lack of self-mastery (avaśatā), and emptiness (śūnyatā). Only at the end can one completely realize that the five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness—are not the self, yet are also not different from self. Feeling is divided into reception and experience; experience has three kinds: suffering feeling, pleasant feeling, and neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā). Perception is grasping (upādāna), taking marks, and knowing. Volitional formation means movement, operation, running, functioning—the meaning of non-stillness. Discrimination is distinguishing. All these places must be contemplated one by one for their arising-ceasing, changing, impermanent nature.

9. How to Concretely Contemplate the Eighteen Realms

First contemplate the eye faculty, ear faculty, nose faculty, tongue faculty, and body faculty: why these five faculties are impermanent, false, empty, suffering, and not the self; how the five faculties are born, how they cease, and how they change—all must be carefully and truthfully contemplated within meditative concentration. As the contemplative practice proceeds, the manas can gradually confirm the principle that the five faculties are without self. If one does not contemplate deeply within meditative concentration, the mind consciousness may intellectually accept that the five faculties are arising-ceasing and false—no need to think more, this is just the principle—but such a rough acceptance is useless. If the manas does not accept this principle, it cannot negate the five faculties from the depths of the mind, and no-self will not be confirmed. To reverse the manas's false view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi), one must contemplate deeply and subtly, letting the manas's wisdom of direct perception manifest; only then will it accept that it is truly so. Only when He presses the confirmation button is the matter settled.

After completing contemplative practice on the five faculties, next contemplate the arising-ceasing falsity, impermanence, and no-self nature of the manas itself. In contemplative practice, one must contemplate: why exactly is the manas not the self, and what is the principle within? One must contemplate it clearly, thoroughly, and completely, letting the manas understand: so I too am not real. Then press the confirmation button and conclude.

The next step is to contemplate the no-self nature of the six sense-objects: contemplate why the form sense-object, sound sense-object, scent sense-object, taste sense-object, touch sense-object, and mental sense-object are arising-ceasing, impermanent, changing, suffering, and empty; how the six sense-objects are born and how they cease; and why exactly they are not the self—the deeper and more detailed, the better. Finally, the manas acknowledges: truly so, the six sense-objects are not the self, nor are they possessed by the self. From then on, the manas no longer values the six sense-objects, no longer takes them as real dharmas and clings to them with greed.

Then continue contemplating the six consciousnesses: contemplate and ponder the places and sources of the six consciousnesses' arising; contemplate when each of the six consciousnesses arises and when it ceases; how it is impermanent, how it is changing, how it is suffering, how it is empty, and how it is without self. Finally, the manas gives rise to wisdom and confirms: the six consciousnesses arise, cease, and change so rapidly that they truly cannot be grasped and fundamentally cannot be the self. Thereupon it no longer takes the six consciousnesses as the self, nor as possessed by the self.

Next, contemplate the no-self nature of the five aggregates. The five aggregates are somewhat more complex; one must be clear in the mind about each function and nature, and observe each deeply and meticulously. After clarifying the concept of the five aggregates, contemplate and ponder each aggregate one by one. The aggregate of form is the body faculty—the five faculties—which has already been contemplated above; here some content should be added: contemplate how the functions and roles of the body faculty and five faculties arise, cease, are impermanent and changing; how they are suffering and empty; and how they are without self.

10. How to Separate the Five Aggregates and Eighteen Realms for Observation

When contemplating the five aggregates, one should separate them as much as possible and contemplate each one by one; likewise separate the eighteen realms as much as possible and contemplate each one by one. In the very moment of all our activities, it is not that only one aggregate is functioning, nor that only one realm is functioning; nor is it that some aggregate jumps from one aggregate to another to function, nor that some realm shifts to another realm to function in turn. In most cases, all five aggregates appear simultaneously and function simultaneously, and the eighteen realms also appear simultaneously and function simultaneously.

For example, as we sit here chatting: the eyes can see the scenery outside the window, can see the wall ahead; the ears can simultaneously hear sounds; the nose can smell the fragrance of flowers—the six faculties function simultaneously, the six consciousnesses discriminate simultaneously, the six sense-objects appear simultaneously, and all eighteen realms function simultaneously. And the five aggregates: the body of the aggregate of form is acting; the six consciousnesses of the aggregate of feeling are constantly experiencing; the six consciousnesses of the aggregate of perception are constantly grasping and knowing; the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses of the aggregate of volitional formations are constantly manifesting.

While pacing in a room and pondering a problem, identify the activities of the five aggregates at this time and observe them clearly. What is the aggregate of form doing? Where is the aggregate of feeling, and in what state? Which is the aggregate of perception, and what is it perceiving? How is the aggregate of volitional formations operating, and where is it? What are the object-aspects (nimitta) that each of the six consciousnesses of the aggregate of consciousness discriminates? Then, within meditative concentration, slowly and deeply observe and ponder their arising-ceasing, changing, impermanent nature; know their nature of suffering; and confirm their no-self nature.

In this way one can contemplate how each faculty, each sense-object, and each consciousness manifests, upon what conditions it manifests, what it does after manifesting, how the eighteen realms coordinate and unify, and how they finally disperse; then contemplate how the next dharma arises and how it ceases. Afterwards, contemplate how each aggregate manifests, upon what conditions it is born, how it changes, and how it gradually disappears; then shift attention to the next dharma, and observe again how each aggregate is born and ceases.

One must slowly and deeply contemplate. After a period of contemplative practice, the mind becomes deep and subtle, stray thoughts become extremely few, attention becomes concentrated, breathing becomes deep, heartbeat slows down, qi and blood flow smoothly, body and mind become peaceful, and all surrounding disorder becomes imperceptible. Only the dharma under deep contemplation lingers long within the mind, thinking moving very slowly, deeply, and subtly. Only then can one penetrate to the manas, and the manas follows with deep, subtle deliberation (manasikāra/manana). Even if the manas is not fully penetrated in a short time, it has already developed a mind of decision, wanting to clarify the content of the mind consciousness's contemplation; it no longer engages with—or engages less with—other irrelevant worldly dharmas, and begins to be concerned with completing the contemplative content. In this way, the concentration and wisdom of the mind consciousness strengthen, and the contemplative practice can deepen bit by bit. One day, the mind consciousness and the manas will realize the no-self of the five aggregates.

11. Detailed Contemplative Practice within the Activities of the Five Aggregates

In the very moment of the five aggregates' activities, try to separate the functions and natures of each aggregate for observation; only thus can observation be thorough. For example, as we sit here chatting now: there is the aggregate of form active and operating; there is also the aggregate of feeling operating—feelings on all six faculties may be present; there is also the aggregate of perception operating—the grasping and knowing of the six consciousnesses upon the six sense-objects may all be present; the actions of the six faculties and six consciousnesses may all be present; the bodily volitional formation within the body and the mental volitional formation of the mind consciousness have also always existed. All five aggregates are active and operating, and the aggregate of consciousness of the six consciousnesses is also constantly performing the function of discrimination. After separating each aggregate in this way, one must concretely contemplate how each aggregate arises, changes, and ceases, carefully experiencing its arising-ceasing and changing nature.

Another example: when we close our eyes and recall something, contemplate which aggregates are participating and which realms are participating, and distinguish them clearly. What each realm is and how it manifests, and how each aggregate operates. While recalling, observe the operation of the physical body and the operation of the mind consciousness; apart from the eye-consciousness, the other consciousnesses may all be perceiving—these must all be observed. While recalling, the five aggregates including the aggregate of form exist; both the body-consciousness and the mind consciousness have awareness and feeling—all must be contemplated and pondered clearly.

All experiences take the mind consciousness as primary. Contemplate the arising and ceasing of the mind consciousness, contemplate the changes of the aggregate of feeling, aggregate of perception, and aggregate of volitional formations, and ponder their impermanence, emptiness (śūnyatā), nature of suffering, and no-self. In the very moment of each activity, carefully separate the five aggregates for contemplative practice, and the eighteen realms must also be contemplated separately; then synthesize them, contemplating the arising-ceasing and impermanence of body and mind, inside and out. One must even contemplate past lives and future lives, the first half of life and the latter half, and the arising-ceasing and impermanence of all five aggregates and eighteen realms possessing the characteristics of good and evil, beauty and ugliness.

Sentient beings in the desire realm all have the five aggregates existing and operating simultaneously; unless one enters deep meditative concentration and extinguishes the six consciousnesses, one can extinguish the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception, and the aggregate of consciousness. Beings in the formless realm have no physical body and thus no aggregate of form, but they have the four aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness. For desire-realm beings, the five aggregates generally arise simultaneously, and the six consciousnesses also appear simultaneously, operating and functioning simultaneously—not shifting from the functioning of one consciousness to the functioning of another, not jumping back and forth; rather, the six consciousnesses exist simultaneously and operate simultaneously, each with its own consciousness-seeds flowing forth, each with its own place of arising, neither transferring to each other nor obstructing each other.

For example, when the eyes see form, the eye-consciousness is discriminating the form sense-object, while at the same time the ear-consciousness also hears sounds. What is the mind consciousness doing at this time? The mind consciousness is together with the eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, and body-consciousness, jointly discriminating form, sound, scent, taste, touch, and dharma. While speaking, the tongue-consciousness can perceive the taste in the mouth, and the nose-consciousness can smell the surrounding odors. All six consciousnesses are operating, and the seventh and eighth consciousnesses are also operating. The eight consciousnesses each perform their own tasks, cooperating with each other without disturbing each other.

12. Contemplative Practice in the Activities of Dressing and Eating

Every day, contemplate how the dharma of eating arises, ceases, changes, and is impermanent; how it is suffering; how it is empty; and how it is without self and without a sovereign master. Every day, contemplate how the dharma of dressing arises, ceases, changes, and is impermanent; how it is empty; how it is suffering; and how it is without self and without a sovereign master.

Contemplate how the feelings within dressing and eating arise, cease, change, and are impermanent; how they are empty; how they are suffering; and how they are without self and without a sovereign master. Contemplate how the knowing capacity of the aggregate of perception within dressing and eating arises, ceases, changes, and is impermanent; how it is empty and suffering; and how it is without self and without a sovereign master. Contemplate how the bodily and mental actions within dressing and eating arise, cease, change, and are impermanent; how they are empty and suffering; and how they are without self and without a sovereign master. Contemplate how the nature of consciousness within dressing and eating arises, ceases, changes, and is impermanent; how it is empty and suffering; and how it is without self and without a sovereign master.

13. Contemplating No-Self When Adverse Conditions Arise

When the body encounters adverse conditions, one should think thus: What is the physical body? The physical body is a flesh-body formed by the combination of the four great elements; the flesh body is a wood-like body formed by the combination of muscles, bones, blood, and so on accumulated from cells. This body arises, ceases, and changes; it is assembled and fabricated; it is impermanent and empty—it is not me. If this body were me, then when this body perishes, do I perish? In fact, I do not perish; I still have the next life, and countless lives. Therefore, this body is not me. To contemplate that the physical body is not me requires very deep meditative concentration; contemplate this physical body as machine-like, like a robot: the arising, abiding, alteration, and ceasing of this physical body is not controlled by me, therefore it is not me. This is a general principle; the details must be contemplated one by one by oneself, and various cognitions must be verified and confirmed by oneself.

Next contemplate the aggregate of feeling: when circumstances do not accord with my wishes, I become angry. Anger is my feeling. Is this feeling real? How did this feeling come about? Feeling is the feeling of the mind consciousness; feeling pain is the feeling of the body-consciousness. All feelings, in any case, are the feelings of the six consciousnesses. Are the feelings of the six consciousnesses me? Are they real? This feeling is produced by consciousness-seeds arising, arising and ceasing and changing moment by moment. Feeling is also illusory, empty, and conjured—it disappears in a moment. Therefore, feeling is not me. Now being beaten and scolded feels bad; in a while, if you strike it rich and win a lottery, the feeling becomes good and happy. This thing that arises, ceases, and changes, always transforming, cannot be fixed, cannot exist forever—it is fundamentally not real, not me. So why should I still cling to it?

Next contemplate the aggregate of perception: the mind that knows adverse conditions is the aggregate of perception. Where does this aggregate of perception come from? Consciousness-seeds arise and form the aggregate of consciousness; once the aggregate of consciousness operates, there is knowing capacity. This knowing capacity is subject to arising, ceasing, and change; it is not permanent, it is conjured, it is empty. Therefore, this aggregate of perception is also not me. Whatever is not eternally permanent, not originally existing, but a dharma that arises after birth—all are not me. This aggregate of perception: when asleep, one knows nothing, does not know how others scold one. Therefore it is subject to arising and ceasing and false; it is not permanent, not fixed and unchanging; therefore it is not me.

Next, the aggregate of volitional formations: it is the actions of the six consciousnesses, including bodily formations, verbal formations, and mental formations. All the mind's thoughts, discriminating capacity, and feeling capacity—arising and ceasing and changing thought after thought—belong to the aggregate of volitional formations. The operation of this conscious mind of the aggregate of volitional formations is also subject to arising, ceasing, and change, not fixed and unchanging, not lasting forever; therefore it is also not me.

The aggregate of consciousness of the six consciousnesses—the operation of consciousness itself, including the mental factors (caittas)—is all subject to arising, ceasing, and change. So, to summarize the five aggregates themselves: there is no dharma that is fixed and unchanging; all are subject to arising, ceasing, change, and impermanence—now existing, now not; now like this, now like that. None is fixed; all are dharmas that were born; none is real.

Anger is an experience. Is this dharma real? It is not real! In a while one is no longer angry—it is always changing. Therefore, all the functions of mind and consciousness are entirely illusory; there is no real dharma! If after death there is no operation of the conscious mind on the physical body, and someone beats your physical body, do you still feel pain? No! Do you still get angry? Not angry at all. Therefore, when the conscious mind leaves the physical body, the physical body is like a piece of wood—it is fundamentally not me. Even the conscious mind on the physical body is not me, let alone the physical body, which is even less me. Since there is no self, who is angry and who is not angry?

14. The Focal Point for Eradicating the View of Self Should Be the Self

Question: What does the perceiving-aspect (darśana-bhāga) perceive? Perception itself is a function; the key lies in what is perceived. Whether it is a directly manifest realm, an imbued realm, or a subjectively imagined realm, what is perceived is all the object-aspect (nimitta). The object-aspect is also all transformed by the eighth consciousness, with nothing truly existent. So shouldn't the object-aspect be taken as the focal point for eradicating the view of self?

Answer: The focal point for eradicating the view of self should be the self; only by eradicating the view of the self can the view of self be eradicated. What is this self? Who has a view of self that needs to be eradicated? It is the sixth and seventh consciousnesses that have the view of self to be eradicated; it is the view of self of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses that is to be eradicated. What do the sixth and seventh consciousnesses take as the self? They take the functions of seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing as the self—that is, they take the perceiving-aspect as the self; they also take the dharmas that are seen, heard, perceived, and known as belonging to the self—that is, they take the object-aspect as belonging to the self. Only by breaking the real and permanent nature of self and what belongs to the self can the view of self be eradicated, and only then will the sixth and seventh consciousnesses no longer take these dharmas as self and what belongs to the self, and the view of self will be gone.

The ability to see belongs to the first seven consciousnesses; it is the perceiving-aspect, born of the eighth consciousness; therefore the ability to see is subject to arising, ceasing, and falsity. What is seen is all dharmas; it is the object-aspect, including the seven consciousnesses themselves and the eighth consciousness. Apart from the eighth consciousness, all other object-aspects are born of the eighth consciousness and are all subject to arising, ceasing, and falsity. Therefore, whether the ability to see or what is seen, one should realize its falsity and no-self nature, eradicate it, and not cling to it.

To eradicate the view of self, one should focus on one's own five aggregates and eighteen realms, work on the various functions of the five aggregates, and work on the functions of the eighteen realms. Contemplate the falsity of the aggregate of form—how it arises and ceases; contemplate the arising-ceasing, falsity, and changeability of the aggregate of feeling, aggregate of perception, aggregate of volitional formations, and aggregate of consciousness. Contemplate the arising-ceasing, changing, and unreal nature of the six faculties, and then contemplate the arising-ceasing, changing, and unreal nature of the six sense-objects and six consciousnesses as well.

Working on the object-aspect to eradicate the view of self: this object-aspect includes all the object-aspects manifested by the eighth consciousness, and also includes the minds of the seven consciousnesses. If so, then apart from the eighth consciousness, everything is illusory—there is no self, no five aggregates and seven consciousnesses. The perceiving-aspect of the seven consciousnesses is the most important; one must contemplate deeply and thoroughly the no-self nature of the seven consciousnesses. The seven consciousnesses are also an object-aspect transformed and manifested by the eighth consciousness, which then serves as the perceiving-aspect to discriminate the other object-aspects manifested by the eighth consciousness. Both the perceiving-aspect and the object-aspect are false and unreal.

15. The Difficulty of Cultivation Lies in Transforming Conceptual Views

Frequently contemplate the functions of form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness: they come from nowhere and go nowhere, conjured and unfixed (in fact, they all come from the tathāgatagarbha; all are born of and endowed by the tathāgatagarbha). Gradually one can deeply recognize that dharmas which cannot be self-controlled lack self-mastery (avaśatā) and cannot have reality. Since they have no reality, there is also no substantial so-called self-nature; a dharma lacking self-mastery cannot have self-nature and cannot be the self.

These concepts must be formed gradually; when they reach a certain degree, one can eradicate the view of self and also eradicate the afflictions of self-grasping, thereby attaining ease and liberation for both body and mind. The reason we find it difficult to eradicate the view of self is that the unreasonable views held over past countless kalpas are deeply embedded in the mind and cannot be easily reversed. If the views are not transformed, the view of self cannot be eradicated. Transforming views is the most important content of our cultivation. Once the old conceptual views are transformed, one can easily subvert previous false views and deluded thoughts, thereby establishing correct knowledge and views, attaining great wisdom, and the body and mind of the five aggregates can attain liberation.