"The 'Self' in 'The Five Aggregates Are the Self' and 'The Five Aggregates Are Not the Self': What Does It Refer To?"

The practice of contemplating the view of self is extremely important. It is crucial to clearly understand the "self" that regards the five aggregates as the self. If one cannot even discern the self that holds the view of self within the five aggregates, how can one sever the view of self? The holders of the view of self are the sixth consciousness (mano-vijñāna) and the seventh consciousness (manas). The eighth consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna) absolutely does not possess the view of self. Therefore, severing the view of self means eliminating the view of self held by the sixth and seventh consciousnesses, enabling them to confirm that the five aggregates are neither the self nor what belongs to the self. The "self" that is declared "not me" naturally refers to the sixth and seventh consciousnesses, not the eighth consciousness. The "self" of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses is destructive, perishable, subject to birth, cessation, and change; hence, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses are not the self—they are devoid of self. The eighth consciousness is not subject to destruction or decay; it is permanent and indestructible. It is provisionally called "self" for convenience, but it lacks self-nature—it lacks the self-nature of mastery possessed by the seventh consciousness. Therefore, the eighth consciousness is also devoid of self. Thus, contemplating the five aggregates as devoid of self involves observing the destructive, perishable, and birth-ceasing-changing nature of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. Once this is confirmed, the view of self and the view of what belongs to self held by the sixth and seventh consciousnesses are severed. If one mistakes the "self" that is devoid of self for the eighth consciousness, that is a conceptual substitution, and the result is the inability to sever the view of self. Since beginningless time, the seventh consciousness has always regarded the five aggregates as the real self and clung to them. The sixth consciousness, influenced and tainted by the seventh consciousness, likewise regards the five aggregates as the real self and what belongs to the self. Why does this "self" refer to the sixth and seventh consciousnesses and not the eighth consciousness? Because since beginningless time, sentient beings have been unaware of the eighth consciousness as the fundamental reality. It is impossible for them to treat the five aggregates as the eighth consciousness. There is no view of self that equates the five aggregates with the eighth consciousness. Therefore, severing the view of self does not involve contemplating that the five aggregates are not the eighth consciousness. If sentient beings could regard the five aggregates as the eighth consciousness, they would empty the five aggregates, cease clinging to them, and thus have no view of self or attachment to self. Consequently, there would be no rebirth within the six realms. This is what all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas rejoice in seeing.

If this were the case, the Buddhas would not need to come to the Sahā world to teach the Dharma and guide the deluded. Therefore, the result of contemplating the five aggregates as devoid of self is not realizing that the five aggregates are not the eighth consciousness, nor that the sixth and seventh consciousnesses are not the eighth consciousness. Rather, it is realizing that the five aggregates in their entirety are perishable, subject to birth, cessation, and change—that there is no so-called "thing" called "self" existing. In this way, one ceases to cling to the five aggregates, and the attachment to self gradually dissolves.