Elimination of self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) and awakening to the true mind are both personally realized by the manas.

The "self" refers to the manas, the seventh consciousness. It is the manas that takes the aggregate of form (rūpa) among the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) as self, takes the aggregate of feeling (vedanā) as self, takes the aggregate of perception (saṃjñā) as self, takes the aggregate of formations (saṃskāra) as self, and takes the aggregate of consciousness (vijñāna) of the six consciousnesses as self; it also takes itself as self. This is why the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) arises. The six consciousnesses are of dependent-arising nature, arising successively one after another, and are a tool utilized by the manas, the seventh consciousness. It is just like the relationship between the head and the four limbs within the entire five aggregates and the physical body: the five aggregates always take every part of the physical body as self. Likewise, since beginningless kalpas, the manas has always taken every part of the five aggregates as self, and of course also takes the functions and operations of the eighth consciousness as self.

The self-nature of the mind consciousness is weak, far less powerful than the self-nature of the manas, and is relatively easy to eliminate. Generally speaking, the mind consciousness, through some cultivation of the principle that the five aggregates are without self and a bit of deliberation (manana), can grasp the principle. But the manas's power of deliberation and observation is weak, and moreover, its beginningless ignorance is deep and heavy, severely obstructing its wisdom, making it difficult for it to grasp the principle. Therefore, the manas's self-view is extremely hard to eliminate.

From ancient times to the present, those who have truly eliminated self-view are exceedingly rare, as scarce as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Even when the Buddha was in the world, the proportion of those who realized the fruits was not very large. Therefore, it is said that self-view mainly refers to the self-view of the manas. To eliminate self-view, the manas must personally, together with the mind consciousness, investigate the principle of non-self, and must be able to observe through direct perception/valid direct cognition that the five aggregates are indeed without self. Only this is the true elimination of self-view.

If one merely relies on the mind consciousness, like a parrot repeating itself, reciting and memorizing texts in the form of reading and reciting words, without engaging in deep and subtle contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and observation within meditative concentration (samādhi), the manas will never be cultivated and will never grasp the principle. This is merely the mind consciousness's superficial activity on the surface of words; at most one can gain intellectual understanding/interpretive awakening of the non-self of the five aggregates, but cannot directly realize the non-self of the five aggregates, and therefore cannot eliminate self-view.

The elimination of self-view is the manas's personal realization. Then, is seeing one's true mind/awakening to the true mind and enlightenment also the manas's personal realization of the true mind, the eighth consciousness? The answer is likewise yes. Because since beginningless kalpas, the manas has always taken the functions and operations of the five aggregates and the six consciousnesses as self, and also takes the functions and operations of the eighth consciousness as self, not knowing that He Himself is nothing at all. He depends on one end on the eighth consciousness, and on the other end on the five aggregates and six consciousnesses; only in this way can He have His own so-called functions and operations of "self," and only thus can He survive in the three realms, accomplishing His illusory functions and operations of "self."

Then, in order for the manas to eliminate ignorance and accomplish the Buddha Way, on the one hand the great tree of the five aggregates must be felled, leaving Him with nothing to depend on; on the other hand, He must be made to realize the true eighth consciousness, knowing that all dharmas are the doing of the eighth consciousness, not His own functions and operations. In this way, the manas clearly recognizes the true reality of the dharmadhātu; ignorance is little by little broken away, the grasping of self and the grasping of dharmas are gradually exhausted, and He becomes completely without self, finally becoming the World-Honored Buddha.