How to Contemplate the Emptiness of the Grasper and the Grasped to Sever the View of Self

The one that grasps is the seven consciousnesses; that which is grasped is the six dusts and all dharmas. Observing the emptiness of both the grasper and the grasped requires a relatively stable state of meditative concentration to engage in contemplative thought. The prerequisites are: first, meditative absorption must be fully attained; second, the principle of the illusoriness of the five aggregates must be roughly understood. Then, based on the understood content, progressively engage in contemplative thought to observe and realize the emptiness of the seven consciousnesses that grasp, ensuring the observation is clear and thorough. The mind must recognize the illusory and non-self nature of the six consciousnesses, and thoroughly observe the grasped six dusts and all dharmas, including the worldly dharmas of the five aggregates, to perceive their illusory, arising-and-ceasing, changing, and unreal nature.

The illusoriness of the six dusts is relatively easy to observe. In the Saṃyukta Āgama, the World-Honored One taught how to observe the illusoriness of the six dusts. While reading, contemplate how the six dusts are illusory, reflecting on them one by one. Observe with the text, contemplate with the text; when contemplation becomes thorough, one can then accept those principles. Without contemplation and observation, the superficial knowledge of the sixth consciousness alone is useless. Logical contemplation can identify grounds and evidence to prove the correctness of the theory. When observation is realized, the mind will say: "Oh, so it is like this!" Then the manas (mind-root) accepts it.

Observation and contemplation always involve a process. In the end, the mind will say: "So this is how it is!" At this point, it is genuine knowing—this is the acceptance by manas. Otherwise, it is merely the superficial knowing of the sixth consciousness, which often holds little practical value. Many people can articulate the principles, but in reality, their own minds do not accept them, because manas does not understand or comprehend these principles and does not know the ultimate reason why. For manas to understand and comprehend, the sixth consciousness must contemplate and observe the content of these theories. The process of observation subtly influences manas, telling it: "This is how it is; this is the principle; the evidence must be sufficient." Every element analyzed by the sixth consciousness is transmitted to manas, enabling manas to know this content and understand the principle. If the sixth consciousness does not observe or contemplate, manas remains unaware and cannot sever the view of self.