The Method to Sever Sakkāya-Diṭṭhi

Question: If it is assumed that ownership of all the minute particles (matter) constituting the body belongs to the Earth, and ownership of the kinetic energy belongs to the Sun, and after removing the borrowed matter and energy, only an empty state remains, making it unclear what constitutes the self, can such contemplation help in severing the view of self in the body?

Answer: Such a method of returning can assist in severing the view of self in the body, as the Buddha explained in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. However, the material dharmas within the body have been returned to the wrong owner. Both the Earth and the Sun are also material dharmas and have an owner to whom they must be returned. If the Earth and the Sun are regarded as the owners of material dharmas, this still constitutes a wrong view and cannot sever the view of self in the body. The owner of the material dharmas within the physical body is the Tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature). It is the Tathāgatagarbha that uses the four great seeds to form the four great particles, and these particles continuously aggregate, coalescing to form the physical body. From a single fertilized egg to the body of a fetus, then to the body of an infant after birth, and continuing to coalesce into the body of an adolescent and an adult, and finally the body of an elderly person, the four great seeds ultimately return to the Tathāgatagarbha, and the physical body perishes and disappears. This entire process demonstrates that the Tathāgatagarbha is the owner of the material dharmas. The physical body as a whole is born and undergoes change; it is empty and thus devoid of self. In this way, the view of self in the body can be severed. However, the process by which the four great seeds form the physical body cannot be directly observed in the present moment. Although such contemplation can be carried out very thoroughly and ultimately, if concentration and wisdom are insufficient, it is still easier to sever the view of self in the body from the perspective of the Four Noble Truths.