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

Section Two: The Practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness

I. The Difference Between the Sentient Beings' Four Foundations of Mindfulness and the Dharma Body

The contemplation of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness is the Four Establishments of Mindfulness: contemplating the body as impure, contemplating feelings as suffering, contemplating the mind as impermanent, and contemplating phenomena as lacking a self. Sentient beings are deluded; they regard the body as pure and have greedily sought after their own body and the bodies of others for countless eons, unaware that this material body is filthy and impure, filled with blood and gore, teeming with bacteria, replete with excrement and urine, with its nine apertures constantly discharging impurities—truly a mobile toilet. Contemplating this bodily form reveals its true impurity, thereby counteracting the deluded view of purity. In contrast, the Dharma Body is pure, without form or appearance, without thought or deliberate action, without any fabrication, utterly pristine and pure, with pure Brahmic conduct.

Sentient beings are deluded; they regard feelings as pleasurable and have greedily pursued feelings for countless eons, thereby creating causes of suffering, the results of which are all suffering. They mistake minor, fleeting pleasures for ultimate bliss and pursue them insatiably. They do not realize that moments of pleasure are themselves suffering, that pleasure is inherently suffering, and that suffering intensifies after pleasure ceases. Suffering is divided into the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change, and the suffering of decay. When sentient beings experience suffering, it is the suffering of suffering itself. The inner feelings, thoughts flowing moment by moment, constantly changing without cease, constitute the suffering of change. After a pleasant feeling ceases, the pleasure vanishes and cannot last; this is the suffering of decay. All feelings, whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, are suffering where feeling exists. In contrast, the Dharma Body has no feelings; it does not experience anything. It has no suffering, no pleasure, no neutral feeling. Ultimately without suffering, it is pure bliss, supreme and great bliss. When the mind no longer craves any state, the suffering feeling ceases, and equanimity is attained with freedom.

Sentient beings are deluded; they regard the mind as permanent, clinging to the notion of a knowing awareness as the ultimate self, refusing to let go. They do not realize that this mind arises and ceases moment by moment, not abiding for even an instant, impermanent and changing, ultimately devoid of self. In contrast, the Dharma Body is permanent, never perishing, neither arising nor abiding, neither changing nor ceasing; it is originally the eternal substance of all Buddhas.

Sentient beings are deluded; they regard phenomena as the self, unaware that these phenomena arise due to causes and conditions, and when the causes and conditions disperse, the phenomena perish. How can a perishing phenomenon be the self? The ignorant mind clings to phenomena as the self. Lacking one condition, where are the phenomena? Without parents, whence come the five aggregates? The activities of body, speech, and mind create the five aggregates. Without the True Suchness, how could there be all activities? Arising and ceasing due to conditions, they are certainly not the self. In contrast, the Dharma Body is the self, the ultimate seed, pure and non-active, never changing again. The twenty-one mental factors are possessed by the True Suchness; having this mind-dharma is to be the self. Sentient beings lack a self; the Buddha has a self—eternally constant and unchanging—who else could it be but this self? With this contemplative wisdom, ignorance is completely eradicated; suffering is severed, defilements are abandoned, and ultimate Nirvana is attained. Constantly practicing this contemplation, one will swiftly attain Buddhahood.

II. The Specific Contemplative Methods of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Contemplating the mind as impermanent involves contemplating the impermanence of the eye-consciousness mind, the ear-consciousness mind, the nose-consciousness mind, the tongue-consciousness mind, the body-consciousness mind, and the mind-consciousness mind. Contemplating phenomena as lacking a self involves contemplating the five aggregates as lacking a self, contemplating the eighteen elements as lacking a self, and contemplating that within all phenomena produced by the aggregates, sense bases, and elements, there is no self, no permanent and unchanging self existing.

First, contemplate the aggregate of form. The aggregate of form has birth and death, arising from nothingness and returning to nothingness. In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, King Prasenajit observed that his own physical body changes every thirty years, every ten years, every year, every day, and every moment. Sentient beings undergo cellular metabolism every moment: hair grows, nails lengthen, skin, muscles, internal organs, blood, etc., all undergo changes. Today's body is not the same as yesterday's body, even less so compared to ten years ago, and hardly resembles the body of childhood. Since the aggregate of form is so impermanent, subject to birth, death, and change, filthy and impure inside and out, how can such an impermanent, impure body of form be the self? How can it possess self-nature? The self is unborn, unceasing, unchanging, eternally constant, without the nature of suffering; it is real and pure. The aggregate of form is the opposite; therefore, the aggregate of form is not the self.

Next, observe the aggregate of feeling. Feeling is the perception and awareness of the consciousness mind, primarily the mind-consciousness. This mind is impermanent, subject to birth and death, changing, suffering, and not-self. Whether pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling, or neutral feeling, all are suffering, impermanent, and contrary to self-nature; therefore, the aggregate of feeling is not the self. Third, observe the aggregate of perception. The aggregate of perception is the discerning nature and clinging nature of the consciousness mind, the thinking, discriminating nature of verbal conceptualization, primarily the mind-consciousness. It is subject to birth and death, impermanent, changing, suffering, and contrary to self-nature; it is also not the self.

Fourth, observe the aggregate of mental formations. Mental formations are volitional activities, functioning, flux, and change. The discriminating activities of the six consciousnesses belong to the aggregate of mental formations. The physical activities of the body are mental formations. Verbal activities are mental formations. Discriminative thinking is mental formations. Cellular metabolism is mental formations. Blood circulation is mental formations. Breathing, heartbeat, and gastrointestinal peristalsis are mental formations. All these are subject to birth, death, change, and impermanence; they have the nature of suffering and are contrary to self-nature; therefore, they are not the self.

Fifth, observe the aggregate of consciousness. The aggregate of consciousness is the six consciousness minds, which are subject to birth and death, impermanent, suffering, changing, lacking self-nature, and not the self. Observe the eighteen elements—the six sense bases, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses—all are impermanent, subject to birth, death, and change, suffering, lacking self-nature, and also not the self. Thus, within all phenomena produced by the functioning of the five aggregates, twelve sense bases, and eighteen elements, there is not a single real, eternal, unchanging self-nature. All are false, impermanent, subject to birth, death, and change—phenomena that cannot abide long—none of them are the self.

III. What are Internal and External Minds, Internal and External Defilements?

In the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, when the Buddha spoke of contemplating feelings as suffering, he mentioned two kinds of feelings: internal feelings and external feelings. External feelings refer to the feelings of the mind-consciousness that are easily observable, especially the feelings of consciousness in the realm of the six sense objects. Internal feelings refer to the deeper, hidden feelings of the manas (mind-root) that are not easily observable. Although most people cannot distinguish between consciousness and manas, the thought activities deep within the mind can still be perceived and observed, provided the mind is very subtle.

When the Buddha spoke of contemplating the mind, observing the mind involves observing the internal and external minds' defilements of greed, hatred, and delusion, observing the internal and external minds' concentration and distraction, breadth and narrowness, superiority and non-superiority, meditative stability and non-stability, liberation and non-liberation. This indicates that the internal mind, manas, possesses mental factors such as greed, hatred, and delusion, has meditative stability or lack thereof, and liberation or lack thereof. This, from the Theravada scriptures, proves that manas possesses these mental factors, although the World-Honored One did not explicitly state it. Because the dharmas of manas cannot be understood or realized even by Mahayana disciples, let alone Theravada disciples being able to deeply and correctly understand the dharmas of manas, the World-Honored One had to speak covertly about the mental factors of manas.

Doubt and defilements include internal doubt and external doubt. To eradicate doubt completely, it must be the doubt of manas that is eradicated. Therefore, the three fetters refer entirely to the fetters of manas. Eradicating the doubt of manas is to sever the three fetters. Eradicating greed must mean eradicating the greed of manas; only then can the mind correspond to the Brahma heavens and be reborn in the form realm. Eradicating hatred must mean eradicating the hatred of manas; only then is one a third-stage saint (Anāgāmin). Eradicating delusion must mean eradicating the delusion and ignorance of manas; only then can one transcend the three realms.

The Theravada Dharma is the easiest to understand, yet who can truly comprehend the Theravada Buddhist scriptures, let alone the Mahayana sutras? Who can truly and fully understand them completely? Even attaining Arhatship does not mean one can fully trust one's own mind. With insufficient wisdom and an unperfected mind, complete trust easily leads to errors.

The Buddha Dharma is not fragmented; it must be coherent and continuous from beginning to end, each part mutually supporting and explaining the others.

IV. Internal and External Five Hindrances

In the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, when the Buddha spoke of the five hindrances, he mentioned internal sensual desire and external sensual desire, internal ill-will and external ill-will, internal sloth-torpor and external sloth-torpor, internal restlessness-remorse and external restlessness-remorse, internal doubt and external doubt. What do "internal" and "external" respectively refer to?

If the mind is divided into internal and external, the external mind refers to the mind-consciousness that sentient beings can commonly discover and observe. The internal mind refers to the manas (mind-root) that sentient beings find difficult to discover and observe. These two consciousnesses are respectively apparent and hidden, obvious and obscure, shallow and deep, easily changeable and firmly resistant to change. Spiritual practice first addresses the superficial level of consciousness, then addresses the deep level of manas. First, consciousness is initially transformed; ultimately, manas is completely transformed. Therefore, all ignorance and defilements are initially and most apparent at the level of consciousness, but ultimately and most profoundly hidden at the level of manas.

From this sutra, we can see that when the Buddha taught the Theravada Dharma, although he did not explicitly speak of the dharmas of manas, he still covertly referred to manas, implicitly stating that all defilements and ignorance belong to manas, that eradicating defilements means eradicating the defilements of manas, that liberation is the liberation of manas, that all dharmas are ultimately applied to manas, and that resolving the problem of manas resolves all problems, ultimately leading to Nirvana and liberation.

V. Internal and External Seven Factors of Enlightenment

In the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, when the World-Honored One spoke of the five clinging aggregates, he also mentioned internal and external dharmas of form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. Internal form is the physical body; external form is the six sense objects. Internal feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are manas; external feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are consciousness.

When the World-Honored One spoke of the seven factors of enlightenment, he also divided them into internal seven factors and external seven factors. The enlightenment factor of discrimination (investigation of dhamma), the enlightenment factor of energy, the enlightenment factor of joy, the enlightenment factor of tranquility (serenity), the enlightenment factor of concentration, and the enlightenment factor of equanimity are all divided into the external enlightenment factors of consciousness and the internal enlightenment factors of manas. Without cultivating the internal seven factors of enlightenment, it is impossible to attain Theravada fruition, impossible to sever the view of self, let alone realize the mind and see its nature. Without accomplishing the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, no fruition of Mahayana or Theravada can be discussed. Without achieving physical and mental serenity, without achieving concentration, without the inner equanimity feeling existing, it is impossible to sever the view of self, impossible to realize the mind and see its nature. These are the hard criteria for verification in Buddhist practice; no one can bypass them. If one insists that someone has attained fruition or realized the mind, those are merely plastic fruits, fit only for appreciation, possessing no real value.

Judging from the World-Honored One's description of the seven factors of enlightenment, manas possesses the enlightenment factor of discrimination, the enlightenment factor of energy (true diligence), the enlightenment factor of joy (manas is not merely equanimity), the enlightenment factor of tranquility, the enlightenment factor of concentration (corresponding with concentration), and the enlightenment factor of equanimity. Only after the mind's activities accord with the Noble Eightfold Path can the conditions for Theravada fruition be fulfilled, enabling the severing of the view of self and the attainment of the first fruition (Sotāpanna). Otherwise, they are all false fruits, plastic fruits. If the conditions are not fulfilled, if the causes and circumstances are insufficient, forceful guidance can only yield a false fruit, something looked at daily but of no practical value.

VI. The Supreme Merits and Virtues of the Contemplation of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness

The Buddha said that by diligently practicing the contemplation of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness for periods ranging from seven years down to seven days, one can attain fruition. This refers to those with profound wholesome roots, minor defilements, few obstructions, and who have studied the Buddha Dharma for long kalpas in past lives. If they practice diligently as the Buddha instructed, they can attain fruition within days or years. However, those who have studied the Buddha Dharma for a short time since beginningless kalpas, with deep-seated defilements and heavy obstructions, require diligent practice for more than seven years to attain fruition. Perhaps most people cannot attain fruition even in a hundred years; some cannot even observe the breath properly, their minds utterly unable to settle down, let alone attain fruition.

Yet, just as the Buddha said, regardless of who one is, as long as one diligently practices the contemplation of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, managing to make every thought and moment one of the Four Foundations, every thought and moment one of contemplation, changing the habit-energy of clinging to the five-aggregate world accumulated since beginningless time, subduing defilements and karmic obstacles, then attaining fruition is still not difficult. The difficulty lies in failing to pass the obstacle of karmic hindrances, in not resolving to exert oneself diligently in the Path, and in failing to subdue the habit-energy of distraction. If one can truly practice with fierce diligence, practicing as described in the sutras, one will certainly attain fruition.

This method of practicing the contemplation of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness is extremely supreme. Everyone should not disdain Theravada practice; in fact, it is a shortcut on the Path. The shortcut spoken of by the Buddha is truly the shortcut of practice, complete with precepts, concentration, and wisdom, involving real practice and real verification—not mere lip service, not emotional or intellectual understanding, not the kind of fruition attained by mere thinking or pondering.

From the practice methods taught to us by the Buddha, we should comprehend what true practice and verification really are, and what price needs to be paid. It is not as some imagine: merely understanding with the conscious mind, paying no price, observing no precepts, cultivating no concentration, and considering the dry wisdom of intellectual understanding as attainment. We must deeply believe in the Buddha's wisdom, follow the Buddha's teachings, for only then will it truly benefit our own practice.