The Content and Results of Contemplative Practice (Vipaśyanā-caryā) on the Four Noble Truths

The elimination of self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi)—the "self" here refers to the innate identity view (sahaja-satkāya-dṛṣṭi) of the manas and the imputed identity view (parikalpita-satkāya-dṛṣṭi) of the mind consciousness; it does not mean eliminating the self-view of the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha has no self-view and needs no elimination. Only by having the mind consciousness and the manas engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) on the suffering, emptiness, and impermanence of the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) and the eighteen dhātus can the manas and mind consciousness be brought to confirm that the five aggregates and eighteen dhātus are not the self nor belonging to the self—not to have the tathāgatagarbha confirm that the five aggregates and eighteen dhātus are not the self nor belonging to the self. No-self does not deny the existence of the tathāgatagarbha as self; rather, it denies the real existence of the five aggregates and eighteen dhātus.

Precisely because the five aggregates and eighteen dhātus are not real, unchanging dharmas within the mundane world, one should have the mind consciousness and the manas confirm that the five aggregates and eighteen dhātus are without self, and no longer take the five aggregates and eighteen dhātus as the self or as belonging to the self. The result of the contemplative practice is not to have the mind consciousness and the manas confirm that the tathāgatagarbha is without self, or that there is a tathāgatagarbha self; nor is it to have the tathāgatagarbha confirm that it is without self. Before the contemplative practice, one may acknowledge the existence of a tathāgatagarbha self, but the result of the practice should not land on the tathāgatagarbha, because what is being contemplated is the five aggregates and eighteen dhātus, not the tathāgatagarbha. The content of the contemplative practice must not be confused; otherwise, the result will be confused, leading to a failure to eliminate self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) in accordance with reality.