Distinguishing Two Kinds of Selflessness

Contemplatively practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) the Dharma of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self, and in the end personally realize that the five aggregates and eighteen realms of the worldly realm are all conditioned, arising-and-ceasing Dharma of non-self. Only by personally realizing that the five aggregates are truly subject to arising and ceasing will one know that there is no self, and will one gradually proceed to extinguish the activities of the five aggregates. At the very beginning, one reduces the activities of the five aggregates and loses interest in the activities of the five aggregates, because one knows they are without self, subject to arising and ceasing, subject to change, empty, and meaningless.

Contemplatively practice the eighth consciousness and investigate the eighth consciousness; the aim of this contemplative practice is to personally realize the eighth consciousness within the five aggregates, to observe the relationship between the five aggregates and the eighth consciousness, and ultimately to personally realize one falsity and one truth—realizing how there is falsity and how there is truth.

By observing how the eighth consciousness specifically gives birth to the five aggregates, one realizes that the five aggregates are indeed illusory, unreal, and without self. At the same time, one realizes the true and eternal existence of the eighth consciousness; by observing the purity of the eighth consciousness within the body of the five aggregates, one will realize the non-self nature of the eighth consciousness.

These two kinds of non-self point in different directions. The nature of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self is a non-existence corresponding to arising-ceasing and impermanence. This non-existent self is the self of the seven consciousnesses—a false self, a self that must be extinguished.

The self of the eighth consciousness corresponds to non-arising and non-ceasing, corresponds to true reality, and corresponds to purity. The non-self nature of the eighth consciousness means that within the mind of the eighth consciousness, It does not cognize Itself, has no selfishness, and has no notion of a self of its own.

These two kinds of non-self must absolutely not be confused or conflated; otherwise, one cannot cultivate practice correctly. The non-self false mind must inevitably cease; the non-self eighth consciousness never ceases.

The two kinds of non-self have two different meanings. The non-self of the seven consciousnesses means lacking true reality, being subject to destruction. The non-self of the eighth consciousness means being without selfishness, without a self-nature, without the nature of being the master, and without attachment. When the seven consciousnesses, relying on the eighth consciousness, cultivate to the point of non-self, they also somewhat resemble the non-self, selflessness, and non-attachment of the eighth consciousness.

A person whose self-nature is slight dares to negate himself, corrects his errors as soon as he recognizes them, and changes quickly. A person with a heavy self-nature is unwilling to re-deliberate (manasikāra) in accordance with reason, unwilling to negate himself even a little, does not easily examine and discover his own errors, clings stubbornly to fixed views, and refuses to correct himself.

Without meditative concentration (samādhi), one's deliberation is coarse and lacks logical thinking; one simply cannot sort out the confusing and tangled points in these Dharma principles. When the mind is muddled, especially with complex Dharma principles, one will feel there is no thread to follow and no place to begin. This is why meditative concentration is extremely important.