The Characteristics of the Mark of Self among the Four Marks Spoken of in the Diamond Sutra

In the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment, the World-Honored One described the subtle mark of self: it is like a person whose whole body is harmonious and comfortable, whose four limbs are completely relaxed, whose body and mind are tranquil, utterly tranquil, and who suddenly forgets the existence of the body, not even knowing where the body is located. At this moment, if the body is gently pricked with a needle, pain is immediately felt, and one involuntarily feels "I hurt"—the mark of self in the mind thus appears. Sentient beings all involuntarily regard the body as the self, awareness as the self, and the five aggregates as the self. This is a very subtle mark of self, universally present in sentient beings.

The mark of self spoken of in the Diamond Sutra includes both coarse and subtle forms, with the coarse mark of self as the main focus. Sentient beings universally possess both the relatively coarse and the extremely coarse marks of self. The mark of self manifested in ordinary beings who have not eliminated the self-view is present at all times and in all places, especially conspicuous, yet they are all unaware of it and without awakening—whether they study Buddhism or not. Among those who study and cultivate Buddhism, the self-view and mark of self are also very severe. In order to highlight themselves, they readily consider themselves extraordinary and superior to others, always intentionally or unintentionally mistaking themselves as having attained realization of the fruits or awakened to the true mind, propagating this everywhere without any evidence, hoping to gain others' reverence and special regard, feeling that they have finally surpassed others and finally held their heads high. Thereupon they become extremely proud, arrogant, and conceited, regarding no one, with corrupt conduct. These are all manifestations of possessing the complete mark of self, in which the mark of person and the mark of sentient beings are also involved. As long as there are the marks of person, sentient beings, and life span, there must be the mark of self; where there is the mark of self, there must be the other three marks—the four marks cannot be separated.

The mark of self is, in many instances, closely linked with the mark of person, and hence there is mutual comparison and contrast, and hence there is jealousy, competition, disputes, quarrels, and even all kinds of wars. Wars between nations arise when the individual marks of self and person converge into collective marks of self and person; the competition and disputes among various groups are also like this. The small self becomes the large self, the mark of self becomes greater, and its force of action also becomes greater. It appears as though individuals have no self, but in fact it is all the mark of self.

The mark of self in the secular world is even more pronounced. People in the world generally take power, fame and profit, status, position, honor, class, wealth, and other such insignia as their mark of self, deeply mired in them, grasping without letting go. For the sake of false face, for the sake of being looked up to by others, they will pay any price, caring extremely about others' gazes and evaluations. Moreover, they do their utmost to display their advantages and uniqueness to others in order to win others' envy and satisfy their own vanity. Such examples are too numerous to list—they are everywhere—so I will not cite them. In all of this, the mark of person is involved; otherwise, one would not care about others' gazes and evaluations. Because of the mark of self, for the sake of that so-called self, there is endless greed, hatred, and delusion, indulging fully in the pleasures of the five desires, with the six faculties and five senses never resting for a moment. Even when asleep, one is still pondering wealth, sex, fame, and food. Ordinary beings are just like this, without the slightest lofty aspiration, craving the low-level five desires—making money and enjoying themselves, and that is all.

In short, because ordinary beings have the mark of self, all their bodily, verbal, and mental actions revolve around the mark of self and fully display the mark of self. If there is no mark of self, there is not so much greed, life is much simpler, there is not so much contrived activity, and many matters cease automatically. Without mind, there are no affairs; without desire, there is no seeking. Bodily, verbal, and mental actions become very low-key, no longer willing to seek the limelight, display the self, or take the self as the center. Whether or not a person has the mark of self in their mind will be involuntarily revealed in their words and deeds—it cannot be concealed, and it cannot be faked, because the habitual tendencies in the bones cannot be suppressed.