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

Section 2: Characteristics of Eradicating the View of Self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa)

A person who has truly eradicated the view of self, after the manas confirms no-self, will also develop deeper meditative concentration (dhyāna), with clarity of awareness manifesting, the spirit joyful, deliberation meticulous, and contemplation of dharmas profound and subtle. Sleeping only three to five hours a day is enough; body and mind are very tranquil and at ease, without feeling fatigue; on the contrary, energy is abundant and the mental state is excellent. This is because after the manas personally realizes no-self and recognizes the truth, the mind suddenly opens up brightly, and wholesome states arise in body and mind accordingly. Sleep is regulated by the manas, and the mental state is regulated by the manas; when the manas changes its old incorrect cognition, the state of body and mind changes accordingly.

If only the mind consciousness believes in no-self while the manas lacks such cognition, it will not trigger a series of reactions in body and mind, nor change the state of body and mind; everything remains as before, without change—such is what intellectual understanding of no-self is like. Therefore, if someone believes they have eradicated the view of self and attained the first fruit, they should examine whether it was the mind consciousness that eradicated the view of self, or whether the manas also eradicated it at the same time. Only when the manas eradicates the view of self can the three fetters be severed; the three fetters primarily bind the manas. The manas's eradication of the view of self can only take place within the meditative absorption (samādhi) of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā—neither of the two can be lacking.

Nowadays quite a few people have begun, one after another, to engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) on the dharmas of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) and the eighteen realms, hoping to eradicate the view of self and resolve the problem of transmigration in birth and death. However, after contemplating to a certain degree, they feel they have already eradicated the view of self yet dare not be certain; there are also those who do not understand contemplative practice and lack meditative concentration—having read some books and understood some dharma principles of no-self, they too feel they have eradicated the view of self yet dare not be certain. To resolve everyone's doubts, I have specially and briefly summarized several characteristics for your reference. A person who has just eradicated the view of self has several characteristics that can demonstrate that their view of self has indeed been severed.

The first characteristic: A person who has just realized no-self and eradicated the view of self has a heart of joy and tranquility, because they have for the first time obtained the wisdom of the non-arising of the five aggregates and realized the truth of the Four Noble Truths; the manas is inwardly stirred, and phenomena of joy and tranquility appear. The degree of this joy and tranquility differs according to the depth of the meditative concentration cultivated in practice, and also differs according to the depth of the wisdom of contemplative practice.

The second characteristic: Abiding in meditative absorption (samādhi), afflictions are extremely light, and one does not dwell on worldly dharmas. Therefore, after eradicating the view of self there are some meritorious benefits and enjoyments; with inner joy and tranquility, the phenomenon of clarity of awareness appears; for a period of time sleep is minimal, yet the mental state is very good and energy is vigorous. The length of this period varies from person to person, depending on each person's degree of meditative concentration; the better the concentration, the better the mental state—although there is little sleep, energy remains abundant.

The third characteristic: Meditative concentration gradually strengthens, because the contemplative practice for eradicating the view of self is carried out and investigated within profound meditative concentration; in concentration one deliberates on how the five aggregates are ultimately not the self, contemplates how the physical body—from inside to outside, from small to large, in this life, past lives, and future lives—is not the self and not different from self; deliberates on how all the various perceiving and knowing minds are ultimately not the self and not different from self. These processes of thinking are the processes of cognition of the mind consciousness and the manas; finally, when the manas acknowledges that it is indeed so, His inner mind undergoes transformation, moment after moment knowing that the five aggregates are not the real self; His grasping at conditions toward the five-aggregate body diminishes, and meditative concentration increases.

The fourth characteristic: Afflictions are slight. Because one has just acknowledged that the five aggregates are illusory and not the self, at this time the sense of self is no longer so strong, and for the moment one will not generate afflictions for the sake of the self; moreover, with the appearance of clarity of awareness, inner joy and tranquility, and the increase of meditative concentration, there is the moisture of the water of concentration, and afflictions are lightened. However, this slightness of afflictions differs from that of the second fruit; the slightness of afflictions when one has just attained the first fruit is unstable and will change later—as the clarity of awareness and dhyāna joy fade away and meditative concentration declines, the previously hidden afflictions will then manifest.

The slightness of afflictions of the second fruit is stable and unchanging—a true slightness; at the first fruit, although there is also the phenomenon of slight afflictions, the afflictions are still somewhat heavier than at the second fruit. When one has just attained the fruit and eradicated the view of self, afflictions are definitely slight. Why? Because at this time both the body's feelings and the mind's feelings are pleasant, tranquil, and joyful, different from one's usual inner experiences; because of joy one does not blame others, being magnanimous at heart, with a great mind and great capacity, and therefore afflictions are slight.

The fifth characteristic: The inner mind becomes increasingly empty, increasingly indifferent to worldly affairs, and feelings become increasingly slight. A person who has just eradicated the view of self feels that their own five aggregates and eighteen realms were originally false and empty, not real; in fact there is no real self of five aggregates and eighteen realms—the entire self, from inside to outside, is so unreal, simply an empty shell. Since the self is so unreal, then all the external world's views and evaluations of me, and all treatment meted out to me, are also unreal; the external world cannot truly touch me, and no circumstance can truly be imposed upon me. Thus one may not care much about one's own physical form, not care much about the external world's opinions of oneself; one gradually takes the physical form lightly, and gradually takes lightly the feelings of one's own perceiving mind, so feelings diminish.

At the same time there is a feeling of emptiness within; no longer firmly grasping one's own self and its various feelings, one can empty oneself somewhat, and reactions to all external people, matters, and things become indifferent; one will not cling to the experiences of some perceiving mind, taking them as real and generating strong attachment. Although he still perceives and has feelings, and sometimes still has feelings of suffering, happiness, sorrow, joy, and neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā), he will never consider these real, but feels they are all empty. Regarding the physical form, although the body sometimes feels pain and discomfort, knowing that such feelings are false marks and that the body itself is empty and illusory, one will not care much about one's physical form, not mind the various feelings, and have fewer feelings. The better the meditative concentration, the stronger the inner feeling of emptiness should become.

The above roughly describes several characteristics of a person who has just eradicated the view of self; they are not comprehensive or detailed, because these characteristics also vary from person to person—each person's meditative concentration and wisdom differ, so the manifested characteristics differ. A person without meditative concentration who has only intellectually understood no-self has only some theoretical knowledge and views in mind, and often lacks the above characteristics, or these characteristics vanish in an instant and cannot last even a few days. For a person with excellent meditative concentration and excellent wisdom of contemplative practice, the time of clarity of awareness and the time without afflictions may be very long, perhaps reaching one year or even more than a year; the first dhyāna may then appear, and the opportunity to sever afflictions arises.

Veteran practitioners who cultivated for many kalpas in past lives and have eradicated the view of self more than once can use these to examine and judge whether they have eradicated the view of self, and then arrange their subsequent practice. For those whose time learning Buddhism in past lives was relatively short, who are not familiar with the path of practice, who have never eradicated the view of self, and whose roots of goodness are not especially deep, it is advised not to self-validate the matter of eradicating the view of self, lest they misapprehend it and commit the karma of major false speech; the retribution of the karma of major false speech is very serious. Never lightly judge that you have eradicated the view of self or that you have awakened and seen the mind; never lightly say such things to others.

Also, regarding meditative concentration, especially dhyāna of the first dhyāna and above, never lightly judge and affirm for yourself: "I have already attained the first dhyāna, the second dhyāna, or the fourth dhyāna; my present state of concentration is precisely the first dhyāna or the second dhyāna." Never say this, because you do not truly understand the content of dhyāna and lack definite understanding, and thus cannot make correct, error-free judgments. Having never attained it in past lives and having no experience in this life, with inner greed and desire not easily subdued, it is unlikely that profound dhyāna can be cultivated. From the sūtras and teachings, from theory, and from actual realization, you still cannot be certain that you have attained a certain dhyāna; therefore never lightly claim you have attained deep dhyāna—to say it wrongly is major false speech, and the consequences are still very serious.

Especially regarding seeing the mind and seeing the nature, do not lightly draw conclusions and tell others; it is best not even in your own mind to lightly affirm that you have seen the mind and seen the nature. You must find an experienced person who has been there to validate it for you; after validation confirms that it is indeed seeing the mind and seeing the nature, then take up the Buddhist sūtras and compare against them one by one, checking whether you can understand that portion of dharma principles hidden in the sūtras that expound the nature of the tathāgatagarbha; some sūtra passages can validate whether one has seen the mind and become enlightened. After seeing the mind and seeing the nature, one can understand a portion of many classics. However, merely being able to understand does not necessarily mean one has seen the mind; the mind consciousness being clever and adept at interpreting sūtra meanings does not constitute truly seeing the mind—seeing the mind is a realization-attainment that appears within the meditative absorption of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā; without samādhi, it is merely the mind consciousness's understanding.

For example, the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra contains a key sentence: 如幻术神咒，机发像起。 After seeing the mind, one should understand what this sentence means. Also, the Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: 菩萨举足下足，当知皆从道场来。 Having seen the mind, one must understand what this sentence means and what it is talking about. For certain key sentences in some sūtras, one should understand what they mean. However, there is a great difference between rough understanding and the understanding that can observe the details within; the levels of understanding also vary in depth. Rough, shallow understanding does not belong to the understanding of seeing the mind—only thorough understanding that knows the underlying threads is the wisdom after seeing the mind.

For many Buddhist sūtras, only after realizing the eighth consciousness can one see clearly and thoroughly the key sentences and passages in the sūtras and the hidden true-suchness nature of the eighth consciousness; before seeing the mind, one can only vaguely guess the general idea and understand a little. However, even after seeing the mind one cannot understand all sūtras and śāstras; the key places and the shallow places should be understandable, especially the overall nature of the eighth consciousness.

If you are not a great bodhisattva of long cultivation, not a returning bodhisattva, and cannot understand the classics—or sometimes think you understand when in fact you do not truly understand—it is best not to affirm to yourself that you have seen the mind and become enlightened; finding someone who has been there to validate it for you is more reliable. Then validate yourself further from the sūtra books, seeking verification from many aspects, and only then can you finally confirm; otherwise this karma of false speech is very heavy. The most reliable is to check whether the samādhi state of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā has appeared in you: meditative concentration and wisdom both complete, afflictions slight, clarity of awareness appearing, wisdom gushing and flowing forth uncontrollably—if so, it is absolutely beyond doubt that you have seen the mind.

Furthermore, if one has seen the mind, those shallow gong'an (public cases), after a short time of pondering and deliberation, should be understandable in small part; later, deeper gong'ans—some gong'ans involving differentiated wisdom—should gradually become understandable. If one claims to have seen the mind and become enlightened, yet cannot figure out a single one of these gong'ans, being muddled and half-understanding about every gong'an, then that is not seeing the mind.

True seeing of the mind and eradication of the view of self must be accompanied by a certain degree of meditative concentration. Without preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi), deliberation cannot be thorough. For one thing, eradicating the view of self only subdues a part of the nature of self without severing it completely; if it is not severed completely, in the future this self will always come out, and there will always be a self following you—then one can only be an aspirant to the first fruit, not a person of the first fruit, not one who has truly realized the first fruit. Without meditative concentration, one cannot contemplate the five aggregates and eighteen realms thoroughly, cannot contemplate from inside to outside that the entire person is empty; if one truly realizes that one's entire person is empty, one's inner experiences throughout the day must be greatly different from before. This experience is a must; it is the hallmark of contemplative practice reaching its mark. Without this hallmark, it shows the contemplative practice is still lacking.

Comparing this period after eradicating the view of self with before, in terms of mental conduct there is absolutely a great transformation, absolutely different. All mental conduct and manifestations—inner deliberations, viewpoints, knowledge and views—are different from before; the inner feeling is one of utter emptiness, with no self at all; one does not care much about how one's physical form and perceiving mind are, and does not pay much attention to oneself. Because the self is empty and the impression of emptiness is deep, behavioral manifestations must change; one will not care much about oneself, much less show off and boast everywhere. If meditative concentration is not complete—if the concentration power of preparatory concentration and one-pointedness of mind is not complete—one may only sever a part of the view of self, and the entire view of self is not easily severed completely, because deliberation is not thorough, or there is much analysis and much theory but little actual contemplative realization.

All personal realization of the Buddha's teachings must be obtained through meditative concentration; without meditative concentration one cannot actually realize it, but can only have a similar understanding, and the mind is not very grounded. Meditative concentration is the bond and bridge for obtaining the wisdom of actual realization; analyzing and understanding the Buddha's teachings while lacking meditative concentration, at most one gains a similar understanding—great wisdom absolutely cannot arise, mental conduct may not truly change, and the mark of self still exists within. Of the three outflow-free trainings of precepts, concentration, and wisdom, lacking meditative concentration, deliberation is definitely not fine-grained or thorough. In this way, what one considers the eradication of the view of self cannot be severed thoroughly; if not severed thoroughly, at most one is an aspirant to the first fruit, not a person of the first fruit, and perhaps not even reaching the aspirant level. The first fruit and the aspirant to the first fruit, though differing by only one word, still differ greatly.

Meditative concentration is an absolutely necessary condition for attaining bodhi, and also a condition for the bodhisattva's practice of the six perfections; lacking meditative concentration, afflictions are not easily subdued, the mind's disposition is not easily transformed, and contemplative practice becomes impossible—therefore concentration is extremely important. Subduing and severing afflictions depends entirely on meditative concentration; especially after the first dhyāna arises, one can sever the craving and hatred of the desire realm; without the first dhyāna, craving cannot be severed. Without the first dhyāna, the mind of hatred absolutely cannot be severed either; when opportune conditions arise, hatred will still manifest presently. What is called the manifestation of afflictions is that the natures of greed, hatred, and delusion are fully expressed in bodily, verbal, and mental actions, allowing others to perceive them. Without meditative concentration, afflictions fundamentally cannot be subdued; without complete preparatory concentration, afflictions cannot be pressed down either.

The reason for summarizing these several points is, first, that some people are eager to understand, and second, the fear that some people will commit major false speech, lightly affirming to themselves that they have attained some fruit. This was done out of necessity, and some drawbacks may also arise: a very few people with heavy attachment to self, learning of these characteristics, may deliberately commit major false speech to others, claiming themselves to be the same. But if these were not summarized, some people would also mistakenly believe, intentionally or unintentionally, that they have already eradicated the view of self—this too is major false speech. Weighing the advantages and disadvantages, gains and losses, there was no choice but to summarize these characteristics and publish them for the reference of those who sincerely cultivate, in the hope that the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks.