"The Non-Difference Between Self and What Belongs to Self: Both Are the View of Self"

The view of self is difficult to eradicate because it is deeply ingrained; the view of self-ownership is also extremely difficult to eradicate because it is deeply rooted. When one regards a certain function of the five aggregates as the self, one then regards another function as the possession of the self. The deeply ingrained attachment to "me" and "mine," formed through habitual cognition, is hard to transform. To eliminate irrational views, one needs sustained contemplative practice, constantly reflecting on one's various perspectives regarding the five aggregates, and engaging in rational contemplation within meditative concentration.

The self and what belongs to the self are not one; what is different is other. For example, if one considers the feeling aggregate to be the self, then the form aggregate becomes the possession of the self. Here, the self and what belongs to the self are distinct. It may seem that the view of the form aggregate as the self has been severed, but the view that regards the form aggregate as the possession of the self is also a wrong view, deeply ingrained. Both the view of self and the view of self-ownership are views of self; both must be eradicated, and both are difficult to eradicate. After eradicating the view of self, when views are rectified, one will realize that the self and what belongs to the self are not separate: the feeling aggregate is not the self, nor is the form aggregate the possession of the self; neither of them is the self.

Before eradicating the view of self, one regards the feeling aggregate as the self and the form aggregate as the possession of the self, believing that the feeling aggregate exists within the form aggregate and the form aggregate exists within the feeling aggregate—they mutually contain each other, pervading each other's essence. After eradicating the view of self, when views are rectified, one recognizes that the feeling aggregate is not the self and the form aggregate is not the possession of the self. The feeling aggregate does not exist within the form aggregate, nor does the form aggregate exist within the feeling aggregate; they do not mutually exist within each other. This is because the five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness—are not the self.

This matter is difficult to comprehend; it requires suspending the question in the mind, suspending it within the mental faculty during meditative concentration. One day, understanding will dawn, and the meaning will become clear. Once this knot is untied, the obstacle to eradicating the view of self will be removed, and the resistance in contemplative practice will diminish.