The View of Self as Spoken in the Āgama Sūtras

Taking the functions and operations of the six consciousnesses as my own functions and operations is the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi). Grasping the perceiving-aspect (darśana-bhāga) of the six consciousnesses as my own perceiving-aspect is the view of self. Taking the information the six consciousnesses obtain through the six windows as something discriminated by me is the view of self. Taking the feelings the six consciousnesses experience at the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana) as my own feelings is the view of self. Taking the six consciousnesses' thoughts and views regarding the six sense objects as my own is the view of self. Taking the bodily, verbal, and mental actions created by the six consciousnesses as created by myself is the view of self. Who is this "I"? Only the manas.

The view of self that the Buddha taught in the Āgamas is precisely the view of the manas; eradicating the view of self means making the manas eradicate its view of self. So did the Buddha mention the manas in the Āgamas? Of course—everywhere He pointed to the manas.

The essence of the manas's view of self is the view of self regarding dharmas—taking all dharmas as self and what belongs to self, not knowing that they all belong to the eighth consciousness. Included in this is the manas's view of self regarding the five aggregates (pañca-skandha), that is, taking the five aggregates as self and what belongs to self.

The manas has self-grasping and dharma-self-grasping, and correspondingly there is the view of self and the view of self regarding dharmas. In fact, the view of self regarding dharmas includes the view of self regarding the five aggregates; the manas only has the view of self regarding dharmas, taking all dharmas as self and what belongs to self. Thus the manas's dharma-self-grasping includes self-grasping; the manas only has dharma-self-grasping, clinging to all dharmas as self and what belongs to self. When the view of self regarding dharmas and the dharma-self-grasping are completely eradicated, ignorance is completely eradicated, and buddhahood is attained. Cultivation is nothing more than this matter, yet it takes three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas of struggling. If one can make a ruthless resolve—leaving not a single thing that should be eradicated, leaving not a single thing that should be cut off—then the three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas would not be needed, and the suffering endured would be greatly, greatly reduced.

The manas has the view of self because of the ignorance within its own mind. Studying Buddhism and cultivating practice means breaking through these ignorances of the manas, letting Him know that all dharmas are not those of the manas himself, but all belong to the eighth consciousness, including the five aggregates and the eighteen dhātus. In this way, the manas will gradually eradicate self-grasping and dharma-self-grasping; when ignorance is completely eradicated, the Buddha Way is accomplished.

The ignorance of sentient beings is entirely the ignorance of the manas; the ignorance of the six consciousnesses arises from the ignorance of the manas, having been perfumed and influenced by the manas's ignorance. When the manas no longer has ignorance, there is no view of self or self-grasping, nor any view of self regarding dharmas or dharma-self-grasping. This entire small, false self is the manas, corresponding to a great true self, the eighth consciousness. The two combined together manifest all dharmas of the world: one is willful and possesses the characteristic of self, the other accords with the characteristic of no-self. Cultivation means cultivating the manas—there is nothing else to cultivate; all dharmas serve Him.

Once you understand this principle, you will understand the origins and workings of all worldly dharmas, and understand why the Buddha Way is cultivated and how to cultivate it. The mind will then be bright and clear, without obstruction.

If anyone has a courageous mind, they can form a death-defying squad, mutually supervising and cooperating, to let all of the self die. What use is the self? It is the root of birth and death—with a self, one cannot attain great ease or great liberation. The entire process of Buddhist practice and realization is precisely the process of seeing through and letting go. Seeing through is already extremely difficult; letting go is even more difficult. When everything is completely let go, one becomes a Buddha.