The Cause of the Inability to Eradicate the View of Self

In practice, one must first negate and break through the functions and activities of the five aggregates of the physical body; only afterward is it possible to find the true person behind the five aggregates. How does the physical body possess such unreality and masterlessness? The physical body is composed of the four great elements, controlled and manipulated by them. If you want to manipulate the four great elements, it is truly not easy—it takes a great deal of effort, and even then you may not succeed. For example, in summer when the heat makes the whole body sweat, some people even develop eczema; this is an imbalance of the fire element, water element, and earth element. Then you turn on the air conditioner to let in some air, but the body catches a chill and feels unwell—this is an imbalance of the wind element. A physical body out of balance with the four great elements is truly vexing. As long as there is a physical body, the four great elements will forever manipulate you. The Buddha said the four great elements are like four poisonous snakes, very hard to serve; the moment you are careless, the poisonous snakes will harm you. Such a physical body has not the slightest autonomy—could it be the true person? Could it be the self?

The self that does not perish through life after life should be free and at ease, with autonomy; it should be impervious to all poisons; it should be able to master everything without being mastered by anything. Who with wisdom would recognize such a physical body as the self or as belonging to the self? As early as possible, eliminate it within your own mind, negate it, and then go seek a new master to take refuge in.

If, faced with such an obvious and clear principle, you still cannot confirm it within your own mind, then it shows that your practice is still lacking. What exactly is lacking? Merit, wisdom, meditative concentration (samādhi), precepts, and so on—improve and perfect each one as quickly as you can; do not be lazy and keep procrastinating.

When the principle that the physical body is not the self and the five aggregates are without a self has become very clear, you ought to bravely take it upon yourself. The notion of self held since beginningless kalpas should be updated and replaced—the old departs, the new arrives, everything made new. Yet this notion of self seems to be stuck fast; no matter what you say, it will not budge, and even advancing one small step is very difficult. This is obstruction, like a mountain lying across your path that you cannot get over. To push down this mountain requires the combination of many forces—your own strength and the strength of others. Your own strength includes the power of precepts, the power of meditative concentration, the power of wisdom (prajñā-bala), the power of merit, and the power of wholesome karma. The strength of others includes, first, the blessing power of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma protectors; second, the impetus of fellow practitioners on the Path; and third, the power of other wholesome conditions. With your own strength as the mainstay and the strength of others as support, only when your own strength is complete can the strength of others accomplish anything.

For example, a person pushing a cart uphill suddenly encounters a large boulder blocking the way ahead. Unable to move forward and get past the boulder by their own strength, no matter how hard they push, the cart simply will not move. At this point, the combination of many forces is needed. Your own strength lies in your physical stamina, perseverance, skillful effort, decision-making ability, and so on. The strength of others is this: because of the wholesome affinities you formed and the wholesome karma you planted in the past, you happen to meet someone passing by; this person has an affinity with you and is willing to help you push the cart together. If two people cannot push it, and just then another person happens to pass by who is also willing to lend a hand, then with the combined strength of three people you smoothly get past the boulder and continue onward.

If in the past you never formed wholesome affinities or helped others, never planted seeds of merit and wholesome karma, then when you encounter resistance you will be isolated and without aid, with no external force or strength of others to help you. Perhaps you will not even meet anyone passing by, and no one will know you are in difficulty. Even if someone does pass by, because there is no affinity and no merit, no one will be willing to step forward and rescue you.

On the path of learning Buddhism, cultivating merit and forming wholesome affinities is extremely important, because the path to Buddhahood requires a great many helpers; the strength of a single person alone cannot accomplish it. Isolated and without aid, how could one cross the practice period of three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas? If you refuse even the small effort of raising a hand for others, merit will not accumulate, wholesome affinities will not be formed, seeds will not be planted, and relying on your own strength alone, you will be unable to get past any obstacle—left only with sighs and sorrow. If you do not help others, how can you expect help from Heaven?