How to Observe the Five Aggregates as Non-self

Question: For instance, someone hits me (the physical body), someone insults me, and I become very angry. I contemplate like this: What they hit is merely the physical body, not me; the pain is merely a sensation, not me; the true me is the eighth consciousness. What gets angry is merely the manas (the thinking mind); what they insult is also merely the manas, not me.

Answer: You should think like this: The physical body is beaten—what is the physical body? The physical body is a physical form composed of the four great elements (earth, water, fire, wind), formed by the accumulation of cells into muscles, bones, blood, etc., combined together to form a body like wood. This body is subject to birth, abiding, change, and extinction; it is conditioned, impermanent, and empty—it is not me. If this body were me, then when this body perishes, would I perish? Actually, I do not perish; I still have the next life, and countless lives beyond. Therefore, this body is not me.

To contemplate and realize that the physical body is not me requires deep meditative concentration (dhyāna). Contemplate this physical body as if it were mechanized, like a robot. The birth, abiding, change, and extinction of this physical body are not under my control; therefore, it is not me. This is a general principle. The details must be contemplated and realized by oneself; each perception must be personally verified and confirmed.

Next, contemplate the aggregate of sensation (vedanā-skandha). Someone hits or insults me, I get angry—this anger is my feeling. Is this feeling real? How does this feeling arise? The feeling is the sensation of the conscious mind (mano-vijñāna); feeling pain is the sensation of the body consciousness (kāya-vijñāna). All sensations are, in any case, sensations of the six consciousnesses. Are the sensations of the six consciousnesses me? Are they real? These sensations arise from the production of consciousness seeds (vijñāna-bīja); they are born, change, and perish moment by moment. Sensation is also false, empty, illusory; it disappears after a while. Therefore, sensation is not me. Now, when beaten or insulted, the feeling is unpleasant; but if later you win the lottery or get rich, the feeling changes to pleasant, you become happy—the sensation changes. This thing that is constantly transforming, subject to birth and extinction, unable to be fixed, unable to exist permanently and unchangingly, is fundamentally unreal, not me!

Furthermore, your perception (saṃjñā), your knowing that the person is insulting you, knowing what his words mean—this is the knowing nature of the conscious mind, it is the aggregate of perception (saṃjñā-skandha). How does this perception aggregate arise? It arises from consciousness seeds, forming the aggregate of consciousness (vijñāna-skandha). Once the aggregate of consciousness operates, the knowing nature arises. This knowing nature is subject to birth, change, and extinction; it is not permanent, it is illusory, it is empty. Therefore, this perception aggregate is also not me. Anything that is not eternally permanent, not inherently existent, but arises later, is not me. This perception aggregate—when asleep, you know nothing; no matter how others insult you, you are unaware—thus it is subject to birth and extinction, false, not permanent, not unchanging; therefore, it is not me.

Next, the aggregate of mental formations (saṃskāra-skandha) is the actions and creations of the six consciousnesses, including bodily actions, verbal actions, and mental actions. All mental thoughts, ideas, the nature of discrimination, the nature of feeling—all that arises moment by moment, changes, and perishes—belongs to the aggregate of mental formations. The operation of this aggregate of mental formations, the functioning of the conscious mind, is also subject to birth, change, and extinction; it is not fixed and unchanging, not eternally abiding. Therefore, it is also not me. The aggregate of consciousness (vijñāna-skandha) itself, the operation of the six consciousnesses, including the mental factors (caittas), are all subject to birth, change, and extinction. Therefore, summarizing the five aggregates (skandhas), there is not a single dharma that is fixed and unchanging; all are subject to birth, change, and extinction, shifting and transforming, sometimes existing, sometimes not, sometimes like this, sometimes like that—none are fixed, all are dharmas that have been produced, none are real.

So, anger is a kind of sensation. Is this dharma of anger real? It is not real! After a while, you are no longer angry; it is always changing. Therefore, all functions of the mind-consciousness are entirely illusory; there are no real dharmas! After death, when the mind-consciousness no longer operates within the physical body, if someone beats your physical body, do you still feel pain? You do not! Are you still angry? You are simply not angry anymore. Therefore, when the mind-consciousness departs from the physical body, the physical body is like wood—it is fundamentally not me. Even the mind-consciousness within the physical body is not me, let alone the physical body itself—it is even less me. Since there is no "me," who is angry or not angry?