How to Drive This Chariot of the Five Aggregates

Rutao's Four Foundations of Mindfulness Contemplative Practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) Diary: In the initial stage of my Four Foundations of Mindfulness training, wandering thoughts during sitting were very severe, making contemplative practice laborious. Now this hurdle has passed; when I sit, I no longer need to exert effort to deal with coarse wandering thoughts—I can settle into the breath, and can even enter shallow meditative concentration (samādhi), producing a slight sense of separation of body and mind. 

But I find that the powers of meditative concentration and wisdom of my manas and mind consciousness are still quite meager. To make an analogy: it is like in springtime, when the mountain streams have just passed the dry season; the babbling water can only float a small bamboo raft, but is not enough to bear a wooden boat, let alone like great rivers, deep in water and surging with waves, able to carry giant ships and great vessels—it is far from having that power. Now I seem to better appreciate the meaning of the term "dry wisdom" (śuṣka-prajñā) often mentioned in the Buddha-dharma. For a beginner in Buddhism like me, when the mind consciousness slightly understands some principles of prajñā but the power of meditative concentration is still very shallow, the so-called "wisdom" is nothing but the sentiments and mental interpretations of the superficial consciousness—there is not the slightest benefit of merit (puṇya-bala). As Master said, such so-called "enlightenment" (悟) is merely the "误" of misunderstanding. I should sincerely repent for my past self-righteousness and empty boasting. 

In the current training, the taming of coarse wandering thoughts only means that the manas-ox is no longer as wild as before, its temperament has become a bit more docile, but He is still very lively and restless. When sitting, concentrating single-mindedly on observing the breath is like using the rope of the breath to tie Him up more securely, so that He grasps (upādāna) at things less. 

The reason the manas-ox is so restless is, fundamentally, the ignorance of beginningless kalpas, which has taken all the realms of the six sense objects as real and treated them as His own food, eating them with relish. So whenever the mind-consciousness cowherd has free time, He must constantly remind the manas-ox that the realms of the six sense objects are false: the six faculties are illusory transformations, the six sense objects are illusory transformations, and when faculties and objects contact, the six consciousnesses that discern the object-realms are merely a series of consciousness seeds. Material form is emptiness (Śūnyatā), and mental dharmas are also empty; the mountains, rivers, and the great earth, the self, body, and mind discerned by the mind consciousness are nothing but complex electrical signals in the brain of the inner six sense objects; the layers upon layers of wandering thoughts are nothing but false, subjectively imagined mental sense objects (dharma-viṣaya) played out by the mind consciousness itself—not a single dharma is real... Bury this message deep in the depths of the mind, and let the manas-ox chew and ruminate on it well, hoping that one day He too will suddenly see through it all! 

Assessment: All coarse wandering thoughts and subtle wandering thoughts are nothing but the habitual tendencies and inertial forces formed by the manas, since beginningless kalpas, taking objects as real and persistently clinging to them. It is like a car driven very fast that is not easy to brake; it is very strenuous for the mind consciousness to rein it in. Moreover, many people do not even want to rein it in, but instead indulge it, driving with full throttle. What the consequences are, everyone can imagine. How to rein in this car so that it can slowly decelerate and run safely and smoothly is an important topic we should ponder deeply. 

It just so happens that now there is the contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) target of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, which can allow the manas to gradually shift His energy over to it and gradually settle into it. The speed of the car slowly decreases and it no longer jolts. Drawing attention away from afflictive trivialities and facing just the one matter of the breath, the mind becomes calm, the afflictions settle, and the clear water on the surface will reflect the true face of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha). One may then discover that the five aggregates are actually not so real and reliable—that in the past they were all mistakenly recognized and mistakenly grasped. From then on, ignorance and afflictions will gradually be peeled away from the mind, one becomes relaxed and at ease, and suffering is reduced and extinguished. 

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness is precisely the effective prescription the Buddha opened to treat illnesses of body and mind. As long as one takes it with confidence, illnesses of body and mind will both be eliminated, and one will attain liberation through wisdom. Do not doubt it: the Buddha is the Great King of Medicine, able to rescue sentient beings from fire and water. Following the Buddha's guidance, one will surely reach the oasis on the other shore to rest and settle.

Throughout the entire process of practice, the mind consciousness, like a guide, points out the direction for the manas. Once the manas understands the direction and walks the right path, He must rely on His own mental strength and wisdom to face all realms, to ponder, to explore, to discover the truth, and to reverse past mistaken cognition—only thus can one obtain new life. The mind consciousness, this co-pilot, only needs to keep watch and assist a little from the side; everything still depends on the manas Himself. After all, the car of the five aggregates must be driven by Him personally; the mind consciousness cannot substitute for that position.