Buddhist Practice Is to Make Manas Recognize That All Dharmas Are Not the Self

The existence of the manas and the tathāgatagarbha is without sequence; both have coexisted since beginningless kalpas, inherently so, beyond any reasoning to explain. Since beginningless kalpas, due to the ignorance of the manas and its failure to comprehend true reality, it gave rise to a mind that outwardly grasps. Thus, the world of the five skandhas arose, and all dharmas gradually came into being. Consequently, disputes and disturbances have never ceased, and suffering has continuously followed.

Cultivation is about enabling the manas to recognize that all dharmas are not the self. Consciousness must contemplate and discern that all dharmas are not the self. Both Mahayana and Hinayana principles must be studied; only after thorough mastery can one ultimately realize that all dharmas are not the self. All cultivation serves as the foundation for this.

Therefore, the heavier the attachment to self, the less liberation one attains, and the farther one strays from Buddhahood. Subduing the self-nature of the manas is a long and arduous journey.