Only After the Mind of Arrogance and the Mind of Self Become Slight Is It Possible to Eliminate Self-View (ātma-dṛṣṭi)

All contention and struggle arise because of the self; without a self, one would not contend or struggle. The nature of selflessness has varying degrees, and the nature of self also has varying degrees. The lighter one's nature of self, the easier it is to eliminate the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi); conversely, the heavier it is, the harder it becomes. In the process of eliminating self-view, the nature of self must be gradually lightened, approaching selflessness, so that the self-view can finally be severed during contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā).

In the course of daily practice, one should constantly examine whether one's sense of self is gradually weakening. In dealing with people and affairs, observe whether one's afflictions are still heavy, whether pride and attachments are still strong. If you observe that your pride is heavy and your mind of self is strong, you must find ways to subdue yourself and suppress yourself.

Why does each person have pride? Because one believes that one's own five aggregates (pañcaskandha) are superior to others', that oneself is more important than others, and thus pride arises. If this view is not subdued, it is very difficult to eliminate self-view. Only when one takes one's five aggregates as real, takes one's perceiving mind as real, and takes what one possesses—form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma, wealth, beauty, fame, and food—as real, does the mind consciously or unconsciously give rise to pride, overriding and crushing others, with the mind full of high and low unevenness. In the process of cultivation, one must strive to overcome these forms of pride; only after pride and the mind of self have become light is it possible to eliminate self-view.

All afflictions arise because of the self; without a self there are no afflictions. The more selfless one is, the fewer afflictions one has. With ultimate selflessness, afflictions and habitual tendencies will all be completely severed.