Diminishing Focus on the Rūpa-Kāya Leads to Severing Sakkāya-Diṭṭhi

Whether one can sever the view of self and witness the fruition from the first stage up to the fourth stage depends on whether this person's clinging to the view of the body and the view of self is slight or severe. Those with a slight view of self rarely care about or attend to the physical body; they do not spend much thought deliberately tending to it, are less concerned about its safety or peril, and experience little fear. Such individuals, being less attached to the physical body and the five aggregates, find it easier to sever the view of self and witness the fruition. Because they care little for the physical body and the five aggregates, their minds are less burdened, making it easier for them to attain meditative concentration. Their contemplation of the five aggregates can continuously deepen, and with effective contemplation, severing the view of self becomes somewhat easier.

Practitioners of the past possessed profound roots of goodness and blessings. Surviving in a world with underdeveloped material conditions, they were not controlled by material desires; their desires were few, they did not crave enjoyment or entertainment, nor did they recklessly deplete their own blessings. Thus, they could wholeheartedly make continuous progress on the path of spiritual cultivation. Modern people, however, are different. They crave comfort and pleasurable living too much; their minds are obscured by various desires. Not only do their karmic obstacles diminish very slowly, but they also accumulate more, making it exceedingly difficult to make any progress in their spiritual path.

The arhats of the past were able to practice ascetic disciplines because, having eliminated the view of the body and the view of self, and having severed self-attachment, they harbored no inner fear regarding their own safety or peril. They paid no heed to the environment surrounding the physical body, focusing solely on extinguishing all mental formations to attain the realization of final nirvana without residue. Modern people, in contrast, are deeply concerned about the physical body, engaging in various forms of nutrition, maintenance, and health regimens. Due to karmic obstacles, few manage to maintain their physical bodies particularly well, yet they reinforce their view of the body, making breakthroughs in spiritual practice very difficult. The meticulous care lavished on the physical body ultimately proves to be a case of the loss outweighing the gain, gaining little while losing much — a failure to discern what is light and what is heavy. All this stems from the influence of the modern living environment, compounded by insufficient roots of goodness and blessings, leading to the blind and reckless dissipation of one's own merit and virtue.

Therefore, to swiftly sever the view of self and self-attachment, one should not constantly be concerned about one's own physical body and the five aggregates. Do not overly care for yourself; try to regard yourself and your living environment with detachment, and apply your mind to the path of spiritual cultivation. Simultaneously, take care not to recklessly and needlessly deplete your own blessings. Blessings are crucial for cultivating the path. Even if one possesses the blessings of great bodhisattvas, they should not be lightly squandered. Only by accumulating blessings drop by drop can one ultimately attain the blessings of a Buddha.