Chapter Fourteen: How to Observe and Practice to Eliminate the View of Self Regarding Consciousness

1. The arising of consciousness is due to the contact between the mental faculty (manas) and mental objects (dharmas). At the point of contact between the faculty and the object, the eighth consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna) generates consciousness. When the faculty, object, and consciousness come together and make contact, consciousness begins to discern mental objects, leading to the manifestation of discriminating mind; thus, the function of discrimination arises. Among the six consciousnesses, the scope of activity of mental consciousness is extremely broad. Whenever we are in a clear state without fainting, or awake without being truly asleep, the mind of consciousness exists and is actively functioning. Therefore, the scope of mental consciousness activity is indeed very extensive; at every moment when our present bodily, verbal, and mental actions manifest, there is the current manifestation of consciousness. The nature of consciousness is: "I am thinking," "I am discerning," "I am contemplating," "I am reflecting." We often mistake consciousness for the self, and this sense of self is most prominent and intense.

Who mistakes consciousness for the self? One is consciousness itself, but primarily it is the mental faculty (manas). It severely clings to consciousness as the self, regarding all the functions and activities of consciousness as the self. The mental faculty has the nature of pervasive conceptual grasping (parikalpita-svabhāva); it universally conceptualizes and grasps all dharmas as the self, as belonging to the self. It not only grasps the eighth consciousness as the self, but also grasps the six consciousnesses as the self, grasping all dharmas as the self, belonging to the self; its nature of craving and grasping is exceptionally strong. In every activity of our bodily, verbal, and mental actions, every function of thinking, every mental function, is the functional activity of consciousness; including the function of discrimination, thinking, judgment, reflection, contemplation, and so on. The function of thinking, regardless of what is being thought about—whether worldly dharmas, Buddhist dharmas, or investigating a critical phrase (huatou)—is all the functioning of the mind of consciousness. Thus, it is evident that the uses of consciousness are quite extensive.

To eliminate the view of self, one must contemplate and observe the arising-and-ceasing nature and illusory nature of consciousness. One must contemplate the various conditions required for consciousness to arise, understanding that dharmas arising due to conditions are certainly empty, illusory, and subject to arising and ceasing. At every moment when the mind of consciousness manifests, various conditions and supporting factors are necessary for consciousness to arise and function. Without supporting conditions, the mind of consciousness cannot manifest; it remains in a state of cessation. Another method to observe consciousness is to contemplate the illusory nature of consciousness by considering its overall phenomenon of arising and ceasing. After consciousness is formed, it appears superficially to be continuous; the discriminating function of the mind of consciousness also seems to exist constantly. In reality, these functions are illusory, subject to arising and ceasing, and also intermittent. Consciousness will certainly cease under the following five circumstances: at the time of actual death, when unconscious, during dreamless sleep, upon entering the state of no-thought concentration (asaṃjñī-samāpatti), and upon entering the state of cessation concentration (nirodha-samāpatti).

The conclusion derived from contemplation should be: All dharmas produced by causes and conditions are illusory, subject to arising and ceasing, empty, and not the self. Forming this view is also not easy; it requires overturning erroneous conceptual views held since beginningless kalpas ago to establish the present correct and true conceptual view. From then on, one no longer mistakenly regards conditionally arisen dharmas as real; this is the elimination of the view of self.

Let us contemplate and observe: What causes and conditions give rise to the mind currently thinking, the mind currently discerning things? Without these conditions, would this discriminating mind of mine cease to exist? Without these conditions, my present thinking ability would cease, my present discerning nature would cease. By contemplating this back and forth, one can know how illusory and unreal this mind is! After gradual contemplation, one no longer mistakenly takes the mind of consciousness that can think and discern as the self. It is best to contemplate under circumstances of meditative stability (dhyāna); such contemplation becomes very profound and subtle, and consciousness and the mental faculty easily accept this principle, no longer grasping consciousness as the self, thereby eliminating the view of self.

Consciousness can be divided into two types: sense-accompanied consciousness and solitary consciousness. The consciousness that functions together with the five sense consciousnesses (vijñānas) is sense-accompanied consciousness. The consciousness that can function alone, not accompanied by the five sense consciousnesses, is solitary consciousness. The mind of consciousness together with the eye consciousness, when seeing form, can simultaneously analyze the quality, source, and connotation of this form, and whether this form is boring or interesting, thereby generating feelings about the form, discrimination of the form, understanding of the form, and judgment of the form—all these are the discriminating functions of the mind of consciousness.

By what causes and conditions does the mind of consciousness manifest? The manifestation of the mind of consciousness requires the eye faculty, form objects, the mental faculty, the eighth consciousness, the consciousness's own seeds, and other such conditions. Due to the existence of these causal conditions, our consciousness can manifest and discern the specific connotations of form objects, discern form, judge form, think about form, plan how to deal with form, and speculate about form. This is the mind of consciousness together with the eye consciousness. If one condition is missing, consciousness cannot be born and cannot arise to discern. From this, one knows how illusory our mind of consciousness is.

Furthermore, the mind of consciousness together with the ear consciousness—contemplate how illusory it is, how it arises and ceases. When we hear sounds, consciousness certainly participates. Consciousness can analyze what kind of sound this is, where it comes from, how far or near it is, what its connotation is, how coarse or fine it is, whether it is a male or female voice, whether it is a sound from an object or from the universe, what effect it has on me, how to handle and respond to this sound, and so on. All these are the contents discerned and processed by the mind of consciousness.

What conditions are required for the mind of consciousness together with the ear consciousness to manifest? Its manifestation requires the ear faculty, ear consciousness, the eighth consciousness, the mental faculty, the consciousness's own seeds, and external sounds. Only when these conditions are complete can we hear sounds, discriminate, discern, judge, analyze, think, plan, give rise to various feelings of joy, greed, aversion, and generate various mental states—all these are functional activities of the mind of consciousness.

Analyze and contemplate the arising-and-ceasing nature of this mind of consciousness. If the external sound disappears, the mind of consciousness cannot discern this sound object here; it shifts to discern elsewhere and does not continue discerning the sound object here. If one condition is missing, such as the ear faculty being damaged, then the mind of ear consciousness also ceases to exist, and the mind of consciousness cannot pay attention to this sound. Thus, it is evident how illusory this mind of consciousness is. External sounds all arise due to various causes and conditions; without external sounds, the mind of consciousness cannot manifest. Without the seeds of consciousness, the mind of consciousness cannot manifest. If the mental faculty is not interested in the mental object and does not generate attention toward this sound object, the mind of consciousness cannot manifest. If a person is tired or unconscious, the mind of consciousness cannot manifest; then "I" cannot hear sounds. Therefore, this mind of consciousness that can hear sounds, analyze sounds, and think about the content of sounds is also subject to arising and ceasing, is impermanent, and is produced by causes and conditions. Thus, the mind of consciousness is not the self; it arises and ceases and fundamentally cannot be the self.

There is also the mind of consciousness together with the nose consciousness, the consciousness that smells scents together with the nose consciousness. It can discriminate the nature, source, category, intensity, potential harm, effects on oneself and the environment, etc., of scents, and can also think about how to handle and respond to them. The manifestation of this consciousness requires many conditions: there must be external scent objects—whether fragrant, foul, or any odor—this scent object must arise. There must also be the mental faculty, the eighth consciousness, the consciousness's own seeds, the nose faculty, and nose consciousness. With these causal conditions, the mind of consciousness can manifest and produce its discriminating function.

After the mind of consciousness manifests, it can discern: What object does this scent come from? What kind of scent, what variety, how fragrant or foul, how far from us? Then it gives rise to joy, aversion, various feelings, and analyzes, plans, judges, thinks, reasons about this scent object—all these functions are the functioning of the mind of consciousness. The production of the mind of consciousness has the eighth consciousness as the cause, and also requires various conditions. When these causes and conditions gather, the mind of consciousness can be born, after which it can generate discernment, reasoning, judgment, thinking, and a series of other mental activities. Therefore, this mind of consciousness arises and ceases, is not autonomous, is not self-mastering, is illusory and impermanent, and fundamentally is not the self.

Furthermore, there is the mind of consciousness together with the tongue consciousness. Under what conditions does it manifest? Its manifestation requires the tongue faculty to be intact and undamaged, there must be tongue consciousness, the seventh and eighth consciousnesses, the seeds of consciousness, and the taste objects in food and drink; then the mind of consciousness can manifest. After the mind of consciousness manifests, it can discriminate what this taste is—specifically, the degree of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty, or bland—what object it is from, whether it is delicious, whether eating it is beneficial or not. Then there are other mental activities: discrimination, knowing, reasoning, analysis, judgment, planning—all kinds of thinking are operated by the mind of consciousness. The manifestation of conscious thinking activities requires these causal conditions. If one condition is missing, conscious thinking activities cannot manifest. Since it is a dharma that manifests only when conditions are complete, it is certainly illusory, arising and ceasing, an impermanent dharma that arises and ceases, and thus is not the self.

There is also the mind of consciousness together with the body consciousness. The conditions for the manifestation of this mind of consciousness require the body faculty to be intact and undamaged. The conditions for the manifestation of consciousness require the body faculty, body consciousness, the mental faculty, the eighth consciousness, the consciousness's own seeds, and tactile objects. Tactile objects include external and internal tactile objects. External tactile objects are emitted by external objects and come into contact with our body, then are transformed by the eighth consciousness into internal aspect tactile objects. Internal tactile objects are tactile objects generated internally within our material body, such as: hunger, thirst, fullness, tiredness, comfort, etc. With these conditions, our mind of consciousness can be manifested by the eighth consciousness, and then it can discern the tactile objects within the body, discern whether I am hungry now, thirsty, tired, where it hurts now, where is comfortable now, etc. This is consciousness discriminating the tactile objects on the body.

Consciousness can also discriminate external tactile objects, such as how warm and gentle the sunlight feels on the body, how soft the wind feels, or how fiercely the wind blows on me, how painful it is when an object hits me, discerning and feeling various tactile objects—all are functions of the mind of consciousness. Of course, body consciousness also functions together within this. Consciousness discriminates what kind of tactile object it is, whether good or bad, what effects and consequences it produces. Then it gives rise to various mental activities; these are all mental activities of the mind of consciousness. These mental activities are constrained by certain conditions; without these conditions, mental activities cannot manifest. Therefore, consciousness arises and ceases, is produced by causes and conditions, is not autonomous, not self-mastering; thus, this mind of consciousness together with body consciousness is not the self, and we can no longer regard it as the self.

Mental activities conducted solely by consciousness, not together with the five sense consciousnesses, are solitary consciousness. For example, when we contemplate a Buddhist teaching or a principle, meditate, recall, daydream, worry, etc.—all these kinds of mental activities are scattered solitary consciousness. Another example: in concentration, knowing that various meditative states appear in the mind, discriminating what state this is, what it means, what its connotation is, giving rise internally to various feelings, producing various mental activities. This is solitary consciousness in concentration; its discerning activities are not together with the five sense consciousnesses. There is also solitary consciousness in dreams; our activities in dreams, discerning various dream scenes—all these are solitary activities of the mind of consciousness. These activities require the fulfillment of many conditions to appear; if one condition is missing, solitary consciousness cannot manifest. When solitary consciousness does not manifest, we cannot engage in these thinking activities, discerning activities, analytical activities, planning activities, or observing practices; all such activities cease.

The arising of solitary consciousness requires the eighth consciousness and the mental faculty, the consciousness's own seeds, and the participation of mental objects. At this time, the manifestation of solitary consciousness requires fewer conditions than sense-accompanied consciousness and fewer than the five sense consciousnesses. Therefore, scattered solitary consciousness is the easiest to manifest, indicating that our minds are scattered most of the time. Thus, cultivating concentration is very difficult; it is hard to concentrate when doing things; we always like to think about this and that, indulge in random thoughts; sometimes we don't even know what we are thinking about. These solitary consciousnesses are all produced by the mental faculty grasping at all dharmas; the root is here in the mental faculty. Therefore, only by subduing the mental faculty, preventing it from grasping everywhere, can the mind become unified, and the mind of consciousness can attain concentration.

Since the arising of the mind of solitary consciousness also requires certain conditions, this mind of consciousness is produced by causes and conditions and is not autonomous. Dharmas produced by causes and conditions are impermanent, arising and ceasing, and fundamentally are not the self. Dharmas that change are impermanent, are suffering, and suffering is also not the self. The true self is not suffering, is permanent, is not subject to arising and ceasing, nor is it intermittent; it is not constrained by any conditions, originally exists, without the phenomenon of arising and ceasing—that is the true self. Apart from this, all are illusory, are phantom false selves. Whatever is constrained by various conditions is not real; therefore, none of it is the self. By constantly contemplating this principle, one can gradually transform one's own thinking.

There is a Western philosophical thought that says: "I think, therefore I am." The "I" here, on one hand, refers to the "I" of the mental faculty that can think, and on the other hand, refers to the "I" of the mind of consciousness that can think. "I am thinking," "I am discerning," "I am analyzing," "I am planning," "I am judging," "I am considering," "I am knowing," etc. This "I" is the "I" of the mind of consciousness. It is always knowing: what am I doing today? I am eating, I am walking, I am discerning, I am reading, I am contemplating, I am thinking, I am observing, I am meditating, I am prostrating to the Buddha, I am working, etc.

This entire "I" arises due to various causes and conditions and is inevitably constrained by many causal conditions. This "I" is certainly a false self that arises and ceases; it is fundamentally not the true self. This "I" is an empty shell conjured by the eighth consciousness; its apparent functions and activities are all bestowed by the eighth consciousness. If the eighth consciousness has no seeds, or if the eighth consciousness does not cooperate in creating activities, these functions such as discrimination will all disappear and cease to exist. Therefore, consciousness is illusory, arising and ceasing, phantom-like, and empty; it is not the self.

We should clearly recognize: the "I" currently speaking, the "I" currently thinking about things, the "I" currently doing things—all are produced by causes and conditions, all arise and cease; therefore, none are the self. Thus, we eliminate the view of self that takes consciousness as the self. All philosophers and thinkers in the world regard the thinking consciousness as the self, showing that they are ordinary people who have not eliminated the view of self. Even heavenly beings in the three realms—the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm, including heavenly beings in the highest heaven, the Heaven of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception—also regard the mind of consciousness as the self, as a real, eternal, and indestructible self. Therefore, they are inevitably bound to the cycle of birth and death without end, suffering greatly. This shows how important it is to eliminate the view of self!

In this life, no matter the cost, we must eliminate the view of self. After eliminating the view of self, we will benefit endlessly for life after life. Therefore, we should try our best to abandon worldly dharmas in our minds. These worldly dharmas can only be dealt with provisionally; they cannot be taken as real, cannot be clung to, and certainly cannot be grasped. Abandon as much as possible in the mind; abandoning them completely is best. Then turn back and grasp the Buddha Dharma; you can grasp the Buddha Dharma, and for now, no matter how much you grasp it, it doesn't matter, because the problem of birth and death has been resolved, and the Buddha Dharma can enable us to achieve Buddhahood. Why not do it!

2. The seeds of consciousness arise and cease moment by moment. Under five circumstances—dreamless sleep, unconsciousness, the state of actual death, entering the concentration of no-thought (asaṃjñī-samāpatti), and entering the concentration of cessation (nirodha-samāpatti)—the six consciousnesses inevitably cease and disappear. Therefore, the mind of consciousness is subject to arising, ceasing, change, impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self. As long as the seventh consciousness exists and functions, the eighth consciousness follows. The eighth consciousness is like a follower, an attendant. The natures of the two consciousnesses differ greatly but are closely connected. The eighth consciousness is the most subtle and profound; next, the seventh consciousness is also subtle and profound; then the sixth consciousness is subtle and profound; finally, the five sense consciousnesses are subtle and profound. The eight consciousnesses, the lords of mind, are all subtle and profound. When the natures of all eight consciousnesses are exhaustively known, sentient beings become Buddhas.

In the Heaven of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception, the sixth consciousness is extremely subtle; the higher the level of concentration, the more subtle the mind of consciousness becomes, and its discerning function becomes weaker. The concentration of neither perception nor non-perception is the highest worldly concentration in the three realms. The mind of consciousness entering concentration there lacks self-verifying awareness (svasaṃvedanā); it cannot reflect on its own existence, meaning it does not know it exists. In other concentrations, the mind of consciousness can still reflect on itself and know its own existence. The mind of consciousness in the first dhyāna and the concentration of the desire realm can still discern mental objects based on the five sense objects. In concentrations from the second dhyāna upwards, the mind of consciousness cannot discern mental objects based on the five sense objects because the first five consciousnesses have already ceased, and consciousness cannot discern the first five sense objects alone. Therefore, it is said that consciousness is subject to arising, ceasing, and change; it is not real and eternally existing; it is non-self. The five sense consciousnesses are likewise; the seventh consciousness is likewise.

3. How to Eliminate the View of Self Regarding Consciousness

The consciousness that can be detected under ordinary circumstances all has obvious and strong functions of discrimination and awareness, obvious functions of feeling, obvious functions of thinking, obvious functions of mental emotions. This is relatively coarse consciousness, easily perceived by us. Cultivating to eliminate this view of taking consciousness as the self is not too difficult. To observe the more subtle mental functions of consciousness, if the mind is not refined and lacks the wisdom to discern, it becomes more difficult. Without meditative concentration (dhyāna), thinking coarsely, one cannot eliminate the wrong view of taking deep and subtle consciousness as the self. If the view of self is not completely eliminated, birth and death cannot be ended, and the three evil destinies cannot be avoided.

In Buddhist practice, as long as one knows that consciousness is illusory and does not take consciousness as the self, and actually realizes that consciousness is non-self—arising, ceasing, and illusory—then the view of self is eliminated. Not being bound by the knowing function of consciousness, one attains liberation. Then one should make good use of the mind of consciousness to attain greater wisdom; in the future, one can become a Buddha. Usually, one should observe and contemplate, confirming that consciousness is not the self, not belonging to the self; all appearances of consciousness are unreal, are not the self. This can eradicate ignorance and prevent bondage to birth and death. All worldly dharmas that can be known are not the self; all one's own functions and activities are not real, are not the self. Accepting these principles requires relatively good meditative stability. Cultivate concentration while walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. The better the concentration, the more one can realize the illusory nature of the five aggregates (skandhas), and the more one can know the illusory nature of consciousness itself.

If the mind of consciousness were completely extinguished, it would be impossible to know that one has entered concentration, to know that one is very tranquil, to know that one has no thoughts, or to know all the states and realms within concentration. Since one knows, there is the existence and functioning of the mind of consciousness; the mind of consciousness is still functioning in discernment. Only by also observing these subtle consciousnesses and recognizing that all discerning functions of subtle consciousness are not the self can one completely eliminate the wrong view of taking consciousness as the self; this is truly eliminating the view of self. Then, when meditating, one will not mistake subtle consciousness for the originally pure eighth consciousness and will not misunderstand or go astray.

4. After the six consciousnesses contact the six sense objects, there are feelings and sensations. Sentient beings all regard these various sensations as so real, regard various sensations as the self, and thus inevitably react to these various sensations—either liking and craving, or anger and resentment. In reality, various sensations are extremely illusory and unreal; they are things generated by the seeds of consciousness, like an electric current formed by the flow of countless electrons—very unreal. Why be overly concerned about sensations and create unwholesome karmic actions?

Observe and imagine the process of electric current generation; know that electric current is formed by the aggregation and flow of countless electrons. Electrons are formless and markless, arising and ceasing, changing, transmitted by a generator, forming an electric current, and the electrons return to the generator. Electric current is arising, ceasing, changing, and illusory; after functioning, it disappears. Sensations are likewise; what is there to cling to? What is there to take as real?

Observing that the minds of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses and the five sense consciousnesses are also illusory and unreal is far more important than observing the objects of the six senses. When the mind arises, all dharmas arise; when the mind ceases, all dharmas cease. To catch the thief, first catch the king; the mind of consciousness is the master of dharmas. Watch the master, and let the cattle and sheep run everywhere.

Grasp the sensations, watch the sensations; conceptual views will inevitably be purified, unwholesome karmas will inevitably be eliminated, unnecessary karmic actions will inevitably be reduced, the mind will inevitably gradually become pure, afflictions will inevitably diminish, meditative concentration will inevitably arise, wisdom will inevitably be born. The body becomes light, sensations become peaceful; body and mind will inevitably undergo changes. Why not do it? Why immerse oneself daily in various sensations, unable to extricate oneself, suffering bitterly, body and mind haggard?

5. Observing that the five aggregates and eighteen elements are non-self, primarily observe the non-self of consciousness. The states of consciousness are numerous: coarse and subtle, pure and impure, empty and non-empty. To observe consciousness, one must experience the arising, ceasing, impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self of the various states of consciousness. Consciousness has various phenomenal appearances, such as various afflictive appearances, various pure appearances, various empty appearances, various knowing appearances, various discerning appearances, appearances with language and words, appearances without language and words, appearances with sound, appearances without sound, tranquil appearances, noisy appearances, etc. These appearances and states are all dharmas subject to arising, ceasing, and impermanence; they are not the self; they are all empty.

Including when the mind quiets down, and not a single thought arises—this is the tranquil appearance of consciousness. Seeing through its illusory nature, not taking it as real, as the self, as the dharmakāya, or as the Tathāgata, eliminates the view of self regarding consciousness at this time. But there are still other times when the view of self regarding consciousness exists. The gap between the previous thought ceasing and the next thought not yet arising seems tranquil, but in essence, it is still a state of consciousness. Only by seeing through it can one eliminate the view of self regarding consciousness.

6. How to Observe the Aggregate of Consciousness

To observe the aggregate of consciousness within the five aggregates of feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness, one must observe the functional activities generated by the seeds of consciousness, focusing primarily on the functional activities of the six consciousnesses. After the seeds of feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are projected, they form the six consciousnesses, and only then do the various functional activities of the six consciousnesses arise.

After the six consciousnesses are born, there are feelings, then the discriminating function of conscious awareness, then mental formations, and all the functional activities of the aggregates of feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. What specific functional activities there are, one must observe clearly one by one; do not miss a single one. It is important to know that after the seeds of consciousness are projected, the mind of consciousness has these functions. Observing this clearly, one can realize enlightenment in both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna.

Within the aggregate of consciousness, primarily observe the illusory nature of feeling. Our five aggregates still primarily revolve around the aggregate of feeling. Sentient beings all regard their own sensations as real and unfold the bodily, verbal, and mental activities of the five aggregates centered on sensations. Observe how this sensation is unreal, arising and ceasing, empty, suffering, and not the self. Then observe further the aggregate of perception: perception is grasping, apprehending characteristics, taking appearances in the mind, discerning and discriminating, or various thoughts and thinking.

Mental formations: where there is consciousness, there are mental formations, because consciousness inevitably functions. After consciousness functions, there are feelings, perceptions, and these functions of discrimination. If one clearly observes the formation of consciousness from the seeds of consciousness, both Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna practices are realized here. In the future, the wisdom of realization will be very profound; enlightenment will directly reach the level of consciousness-only (vijñapti-mātra). This enlightenment will be far deeper and more thorough than Chan (Zen) enlightenment. Realizing the level of consciousness, the wisdom will be extremely profound, and in the future, one will quickly attain the wisdom of consciousness-only (vijñāna-jñāna).