The Correct Meaning of the Eradication of the View of Self

"I" refers to the manas, the seventh consciousness. It is the manas that takes the aggregate of form among the five aggregates as self, takes the aggregate of feeling as self, takes the aggregate of perception as self, takes the aggregate of volitional formations as self, takes the aggregate of consciousness of the six consciousnesses as self, and also takes itself as self; this is why the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) arises. The six consciousnesses are of dependent-arising nature (paratantra-svabhāva), arising in succession, and are a tool utilized by the manas, the seventh consciousness. It is just like the relationship between the head and the four limbs within the entire five aggregates and the physical body: the five aggregates always take every part of the physical body as self. By the same principle, the manas, since beginningless kalpas, has always taken every part of the five aggregates as self, and of course also takes the functions and operations of the eighth consciousness as self.

The self-nature of the mind consciousness is weak, far inferior to the powerful self-nature of the manas, and is relatively easy to sever. Generally speaking, the mind consciousness, through some cultivation of the principle that the five aggregates are without self and a bit of deliberation, can understand the principle. But the manas has weak powers of deliberation and observation, and moreover, its ignorance accumulated over beginningless kalpas is deep and heavy, severely obstructing its wisdom, making it difficult for it to understand the principle; thus the view of self of the manas is extremely hard to sever. From ancient times to the present, those who have truly eradicated the view of self have been exceedingly rare, as scarce as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Even when the Buddha was in the world, the proportion of those who realized the fruits was not large. Therefore, the view of self mainly refers to the view of self of the manas. To eradicate the view of self, the manas must personally, together with the mind consciousness, investigate the principle of non-self, and be able to directly perceive that the five aggregates are indeed without self—only this is the true eradication of the view of self.

If one merely relies on the mind consciousness, like a parrot, reciting and memorizing texts in the form of reading and reciting words, without deep and subtle contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and examination within meditative concentration, the manas will never be cultivated nor understand the principle. This is merely the mind consciousness's superficial activity on the surface of words; at most one can attain an intellectual understanding that the five aggregates are without self, but cannot realize that the five aggregates are without self, and therefore cannot eradicate the view of self.

The eradication of the view of self is the manas's personal realization. Then, is seeing the mind and attaining enlightenment also the manas's personal realization of the true mind, the eighth consciousness? The answer is likewise yes. Because since beginningless kalpas the manas has always taken the functions and operations of the five aggregates and six consciousnesses as self, and also takes the functions and operations of the eighth consciousness as self, not knowing that He Himself is nothing at all. Only by depending on the eighth consciousness on one end and depending on the five aggregates and six consciousnesses on the other can He have His own so-called functions and operations of "self," and only thus can He survive within the three realms, accomplishing His illusory functions and operations of "self."

Then, in order for the manas to eradicate ignorance and accomplish the Buddha Way, on the one hand the great tree of the five aggregates must be felled so that He has nothing to depend on; on the other hand, He must be made to realize the true eighth consciousness, knowing that all dharmas are the doing of the eighth consciousness, not His own functions and operations. In this way, the manas clearly recognizes the true reality of the dharmadhātu; ignorance is little by little broken apart, the grasping on self and grasping on dharmas are gradually severed completely, until there is utterly no self, and finally He becomes the World-Honored Buddha.