What is the Self?

Ru Chun: "I" implies having autonomy (control) and permanence. Suppose the aggregate of form were the self; then I would have control, and I could make my physical body eternally youthful, beautiful, and healthy. The reality is I cannot control it; I cannot make the physical body permanent and unchanging. I cannot control the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death. The aggregate of form is neither autonomous nor permanent. Suppose the aggregate of feeling were the self; then I would want my feelings to always be wonderful, constantly enjoying pleasant sensations like delicious food, meditative joy, and other blissful feelings. The fact is I cannot maintain these feelings, whether they are painful or pleasant. I cannot control the suffering arising from the intense activity of the Five Aggregates. The aggregate of feeling is neither autonomous nor permanent.

Suppose the aggregate of mental formations were the self; then I could freely ascend to the heavens or descend to the earth at will. The reality is I cannot do this; I cannot even control maintaining normal walking. The aggregate of mental formations is neither autonomous nor permanent. By parity of reasoning, all Five Aggregates are suffering; I am not the master of any of them, nor can I make them permanent. Therefore, the Five Aggregates are devoid of a self (anātman). Suppose the various roles and identities in the world were the self; there is no role or identity that is free from suffering, autonomous, or permanent and unchanging.

Commentary: If the Five Aggregates of form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness could control themselves, if they could be their own master, like a Buddha without difference, would the Five Aggregates then be the self?

Ru Chun: The Five Aggregates are impermanent and changing; they lack permanence. Therefore, even if they possessed autonomy, they still would not be the self. Suppose an intelligent robot had an external appearance more perfect than a human, functions more powerful and comprehensive than a human, including emotions and reproduction, and furthermore developed autonomous consciousness, no longer controlled by humans. Would it then be human? Humans and robots are fundamentally different categories. No matter how intelligent a robot is, it is still manufactured by humans; it is an artificial human. However it may be, it cannot be a true human.

No matter how powerful the functions of the Five Aggregates are, even like a Buddha, they still cannot be the self, because the Five Aggregates themselves are illusions projected by the true self; they are deluded phenomena. They are inherently two distinct concepts from true reality. We can say a fake apple resembles a real apple, but the real is real, and the fake is fake. I wonder if this issue can be understood this way?

Commentary: Your understanding is very correct. Your wisdom has greatly increased. When was your mind illuminated?

Ru Chun: Previously, the master said I was foolish, and I didn’t even know where my foolishness lay. Now I realize my foolishness was precisely in using all my intelligence and talents to chase worldly phenomena—the accumulation of wealth, the entanglements of family affection. Over the past two years, due to certain conditions, I have essentially returned to my family, no longer pursuing fame and profit externally. My thoughts in daily life have become increasingly simple and pure, and without realizing it, I have gradually made some progress.