The Reason for Not Being Able to Realize No-Self

We know that this physical body is not the self, yet we simply cannot eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi). Why? This is a matter of wisdom. On one hand, the mind consciousness lacks the wisdom of no-self, does not know how to engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and deliberation, does not know how to gather evidence and data, and does not know how to permeate and influence the manas; on the other hand, the power of meditative concentration is insufficient, making it impossible to concentrate on deliberation, and impossible to make the manas accept the views of the consciousness. When the manas cannot concentrate on weighing the evidence and data gathered by the consciousness, the view of self cannot be eradicated.

The notions held by the manas since beginningless kalpas are the hardest to turn around. Although at times the consciousness clearly knows that the physical body arises and ceases moment by moment and is unreal, and therefore cannot possibly be the self, the manas simply cannot accept this falsity—this is exactly where one gets stuck. Moreover, in most cases the evidence provided by the consciousness is not conclusive either. Take, for example, the proposition that one plus one equals two: we know this proposition is correct, but why one plus one equals two is correct—we do not know. If even the consciousness does not know, then the manas is even less likely to know.

In contemplating that the physical body is without self, one can contemplate from many different angles. For example, if a hand is cut off, contemplate: is that hand the self? No, because the hand is gone, yet the self still remains. If the hand were the self, then the self would be gone. Thus this hand is not the self. After the eyes are gouged out, does the self not still remain? Then the eyes are not the self. If the ears are cut off, the self still exists and has not died, so the ears are not the self. If the head is cut off, although the self dies along with it, if the self had truly ceased to exist, there would be no self in future lives; thus this physical body is also not the self. Is yesterday's self the self? If it were the self, where has yesterday's self gone? Condense these questions into a single thought and suspend it in the mind. One day, the manas will finally understand: "Oh, so that is how it is—the physical body and the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) are all not the self." Then the view of self is eradicated.