Samyukta Agama, Volume 21 (570)

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was dwelling in the Āmrapālī Grove of the Āmrapālī settlement, together with numerous elder bhikkhus.

At that time, the householder Citta approached the assembly of elder bhikkhus, bowed down at their feet, withdrew to sit to one side, and addressed the elders: "The views seen in the world—some say there is a self, some speak of sentient beings, some speak of a life-essence, some speak of auspicious and inauspicious phenomena in the world. Venerable ones, regarding these various divergent views, what is their root, what is their origin, from what are they born, by what are they conditioned?"

The elder bhikkhus remained silent and did not answer. He asked thus three times, and they remained silent three times.

Then a junior bhikkhu named Rādha addressed the elders: "I wish to answer the householder's question."

The elders said: "Let one who is able to answer do so."

The householder then asked Rādha: "Venerable one, regarding all views seen in the world, what is their root, what is their origin, from what are they born, by what are they conditioned?"

The venerable Rādha replied: "Householder, the views seen in the world—some say there is a self, some speak of sentient beings, some speak of a life-essence, some speak of auspicious and inauspicious phenomena in the world. All such views have the view of selfhood as their root; they originate from the view of selfhood, are born from the view of selfhood, and are conditioned by the view of selfhood."

He asked again: "Venerable one, what is the view of selfhood?"

He replied: "Householder, the ignorant, unlearned worldling regards form as the self, or the self as possessing form, or form as within the self, or the self as within form. Regarding feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness, he regards them as the self, or the self as possessing them, or the self as within them, or them as within the self. Householder, this is called the view of selfhood."

He asked again: "Venerable one, how does one become free from this view of selfhood?"

He replied: "Householder, the learned noble disciple does not regard form as the self, nor the self as possessing form, nor form as within the self, nor the self as within form. He does not regard feeling, perception, mental formations, or consciousness as the self, nor the self as possessing them, nor the self as within them, nor them as within the self. This is called becoming free from the view of selfhood."

Explanation: The "self" mentioned here, along with the subsequent terms "sentient beings," "life-essence," and "auspicious and inauspicious phenomena in the world," refers to the illusory self—the self to be eradicated, the destructible self—not the true self, the eighth consciousness. Therefore, to eradicate the view of self, one must contemplate that the five aggregates are without a self, without a life-essence, without sentient beings, and without auspicious or inauspicious phenomena to rely upon. At this stage, one cannot yet contemplate the eighth consciousness within the five aggregates; it is only after eradicating the view of self through meditation that one can seek the eighth consciousness. After finding it, one can then contemplate the relationship between the five aggregates and the eighth consciousness. The eighth consciousness is not the object of contemplation when eradicating the view of self in the Hinayana path.

The view of self arises from the view of selfhood; to eradicate the view of self, one must first eradicate the view of selfhood. Contemplate that within the physical body there is no illusory self, that the physical body is not possessed by an illusory self, that the physical body does not exist within an illusory self, and that the illusory self does not exist within the physical body. Then, progressively contemplate that the aggregates of feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are neither the illusory self nor possessed by an illusory self; that the self does not exist within the aggregates of feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness, and that these aggregates do not exist within the illusory self. In this way, one can eradicate the view of self. Do not confuse the illusory self with the true self. The practice is first to dismantle the illusory self, realizing its impermanent nature of arising, ceasing, and changing, and then to establish the true self, realizing that the true self gives birth to the illusory self of the five aggregates, and that all five aggregates are of the nature of the true self.

Because many people do not understand the meanings of words and phrases in the Buddhist sutras, they misinterpret the scriptures. Once preconceptions are formed, correcting them later becomes extremely difficult.

Those who have truly undergone the actual contemplative practice and attained realization will not misinterpret the scriptures, because their own experiential understanding guides them, making it easier to comprehend the sutras. The treatises derived from actual contemplative practice and realization often differ from the conclusions reached by theoreticians through intellectual understanding. Superficially, intellectually derived understandings may seem correct, but in reality, they do not accord with truth.

Nowadays, the teachings of theoreticians are very popular because they align with popular sentiment and cater to the masses, while the masses themselves lack discernment. Genuine contemplative wisdom often contradicts popular thinking and frequently faces rejection and slander. This is the degeneration of the Dharma over time, a consequence of sentient beings' karmic tendencies.