Theoretical Realization and Practical Realization

Chapter 11: Questions and Answers

1. Question: When attaining realization of the fruits and seeing the mind, is the corresponding response a physical result or a chemical result? Eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) is the manas's recognition that the five aggregates are illusory—how is this recognition measured? Enlightenment and seeing the mind are also related to the manas: on one hand, the manas realizes that it itself is not real; on the other hand, it realizes that the tathāgatagarbha is real. The illusoriness of the five aggregates and the illusoriness of the manas form a progressive sequence of levels, and the true self that ultimately remains is something no one can deny. Is this line of to eradicating the view of self?   

 Answer: The corresponding response is mainly a response of the mind—so is it a physical or chemical result? Because at this time the response reaches the consciousness-mind; the consciousness-mind's cognition changes, recognizing that the five aggregates are not the self and that the tathāgatagarbha is real; the mind is also connected with the body, the two being closely linked, so it indirectly corresponds to the body as well; once it corresponds to the body, there are physical and chemical results. Because it is the manas that recognizes the principle that the five aggregates are not the self, and the manas can control body and mind, the transformation of body and mind involves a transformation of physical and chemical components. The physical body then exhibits a series of states of change in body and mind, such as tranquility and comfort, less sleep, inner joy, single-mindedness, no afflictions, no scattered thoughts, the arising of alert clarity, growth in meditative concentration, and so on, lasting a relatively long time—several months, half a year, a year, and for those with good meditative concentration, more than a year.

If it is not the manas that has realized no-self, and the manas does not correspond to it, with only the mind consciousness superficially knowing some principles of no-self, not deeply and thoroughly, then there will be no such reactions in body and mind, no changes in body and mind, or only slight, minor changes that quickly disappear, and meditative concentration is very difficult to arise. This is because the manas does not correspond to the principle of no-self, there is no inner shock, and it cannot bring about changes in body and mind or transform body and mind, remaining in a state much the same as before.

Many people claim they have eradicated the view of self, yet their body and mind have no felt experience, no changes, no meditative concentration has arisen, no alert clarity—only some theory. But such theory can be found anywhere, which is quite strange. In the past I was always troubled by the inability to verify whether others had eradicated the view of self; later, through contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) reaching the workings of the manas, and combining that with my own bodily and mental felt experiences and states at the time, I gradually summarized what the true eradication of the view of self is like and how it should be verified.

For enlightenment and seeing the mind, there should also be a measure; one cannot simply say that growth in wisdom suffices—there must certainly also be changes in body and mind, and moreover, growth in wisdom of the mind consciousness alone is not ultimate; the manas's wisdom must also grow, until both the mind consciousness and the manas transform consciousness into wisdom. Seeing the mind and seeing the nature is relatively easy to verify, because there is a standard of reference: where the tathāgatagarbha is, where it operates, and how it operates. But each person's standard of verification also differs, depending on the verifier's realization, whether their own attitude is rigorous, and whether their requirements and standards are strict.

If things go wrong, intellectual understanding will be taken as realization. If the verifier is one of intellectual understanding, then it is extremely bad—the person being verified is most unfortunate, and his wisdom will be very, very difficult to grow thereafter. If under a verifier with realization who is strict in requirements, the person being verified can greatly increase his wisdom and realization, and subsequent cultivation will be quite rapid; because one can directly perceive the simple, general operation of the tathāgatagarbha, this wisdom is remarkable, approaching the wisdom of differentiated characteristics.

If one has not eradicated the view of self but directly sees the mind and sees the nature, one must also have a considerable degree of alert clarity; otherwise it is also intellectual understanding, not realization, because without bodily and mental felt experience, the manas has not recognized it, and neither body nor mind will change. If one has already eradicated the view of self and then sees the mind, there may not be such intense alert clarity and bodily-mental felt experience, because one has already almost gone through that stage of negating the five aggregates as oneself. Nowadays there are quite many people of intellectual understanding—insufficient meditative concentration, coarse contemplative practice, only able to understand, with some wisdom, yet unable to directly perceive the simple operation of the tathāgatagarbha.

From the increasingly numerous observations, deliberations, and compilations of Dharma principles, more secrets of the manas's operation have been found. The manas's operation is greatly related to meditative concentration: the better the concentration, the more prominent the manas's function, the more realization there is, the less the mind consciousness engages in superficial deliberation and analysis, and the higher the realization. In this restless present-day society, advocating and emphasizing the cultivation of concentration is a proper and effective prescription for cultivation and attaining realization; it can reverse the restlessness of the masses' cultivation, is more conducive to realization, and reduces the proliferation of mere lip-service Chan; otherwise Buddhism will gradually head toward extinction, with no substantive cultivation and realization.

2. Question: The manas of an afflicted ordinary being should have very low discriminative wisdom, mainly consisting of self-desire and habits dominated by self-grasping, but without good analytical and judgmental ability. The so-called decision is making a decisive directional choice based on the mind consciousness's analysis of what is advantageous or disadvantageous to oneself—is the manas's function mainly directional choice?

Answer: The manas's nature, functions, and roles are many and important. It has the five universally present mental factors: attention (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā); therefore the manas also has its own unique deliberation (manasikāra/manana), its own unique discriminative nature, and its own unique analytical and judgmental ability; at times its discrimination and judgment are extremely agile, extremely fast, and accurate, and must not be belittled or neglected. The mind consciousness's guidance of the manas is not entirely confined to the limitation of whether something benefits oneself; its scope is quite broad.

For example, in the contemplative practice of eradicating the view of self, the mind consciousness must contemplate the illusoriness of the five aggregates, analyzing and deliberating on how the five aggregates are illusory, empty, and not-self, and how they are suffering; the clearer the principles are deliberated, and the more facts are presented, the more the manas is influenced and the more easily the manas recognizes it. Also, investigating Chan and various contemplative practices, etc., do not involve advantage or disadvantage to oneself, yet they can all influence the manas, change the manas, and make the manas recognize, thereby gaining wisdom.

3. Question: The number of times we breathe each day, the number of blinks, the number of heartbeats, including every step of walking and every movement—all are decisions of the manas and the results after the manas's decisions; adding all these together, they do not exceed the number of times the manas makes decisions. This shows the manas's role in life. Several times I have used controlled breathing to observe the manas's function, and controlled eye movements to observe the manas's function. If possible, the mechanisms controlling life can all be found—they all lie in the manas.

Therefore it is said that the manas is the pivotal mechanism of cultivation and attaining realization. If all these secrets are uncovered, then the mechanism of cultivation and attaining realization is uncovered, and the mechanism of birth and death is uncovered. These all lie in the manas, but how to do it with the highest efficiency and the shortest path. Understanding the pivot, grasping the pivot, controlling the pivot, and finally attaining realization. This is the rope-head of "when the rope is lifted, the net opens"—the rope-head of cultivation is the manas.

Answer: Freedom in birth and death lies in the manas. When the four dhyānas and eight samādhis are cultivated, one can be free in birth and death—leaving when one wishes to leave, staying when one wishes to stay, beyond the control of King Yama himself. This is the manas controlling birth and death, with meditative concentration cooperating; otherwise it is merely counting food without eating one's fill.

In every function of the physical body faculty, the manas can easily be found; in the transition of every thought, the manas can easily be found; at every turning point of discriminating every dharma, the manas can also be found. In short, the manas is functioning at all times and places, functioning moment by moment.

The dharma of the manas—this switch of the manas—has now been turned on, gushing forth continuously. Cultivating in accordance with it is truly a shortcut; one will no longer take detours. Meditative concentration can thereby rise, the mind thereby settles into depth and stability, and realization of the Dharma is inevitable.

4. Question: Eradicating the view of self is the mind consciousness's repeated, deep, and properly-directed contemplative practice, in which the mind consciousness presents evidence to the manas of how the five aggregates are illusory, and finally the manas gives its assent. This is a cyclical process of presenting evidence, persuading, presenting evidence again, and persuading again. The mind consciousness gradually submits all the evidence from contemplative practice to the manas, and finally the manas assents and recognizes. Is this recognition also the corresponding response? Is eradicating the view of self also a form of corresponding with the manas? What is the difference between the meaning of assent and corresponding response?

Answer: Through the mind consciousness's repeated and detailed deliberation and contemplative practice, all the evidence and bases are fully and gradually presented to the manas; when the manas, after deliberation, considers the evidence conclusive, it can confirm and recognize. This recognition indicates that the manas has awakened and has corresponded with the principle that the five aggregates are not-self; the more sufficient the evidence and the more directly perceived realms presented, the more the manas recognizes and corresponds. Because the manas acknowledges directly perceived realms and does not correspond to imagined non-valid cognition, the manas only wants evidence. When the manas corresponds with the principle of no-self, it will think: Oh! So that's how it is. Because the manas did not know that all dharmas of its own five aggregates are illusory, and now the evidence is laid before it, it has no choice but to acknowledge this principle. Previously, only the mind consciousness knew some principles of no-self to a greater or lesser degree, but the manas did not know, because its wisdom was shallow, its ability to discriminate realms insufficient, and it could not deliberate deeply and minutely.

What the mind consciousness analyzes, deliberates, and understands belongs to intellectual understanding; this is because meditative concentration is not very good, it has not penetrated to the manas, and the manas does not understand the principle. If concentration is good, the mind consciousness's deliberation can go deep, with less superficial understanding; the mind consciousness moves slowly and can mobilize the manas's power, letting the manas's deliberative nature function; then when the manas itself understands, the mind consciousness certainly understands. When concentration is shallow and the mind consciousness's analytical component is large, although the mind consciousness easily understands, the evidence presented to the manas is insufficient, and the manas's own deliberative nature is also insufficient, so the manas does not understand the principle.

When the mind consciousness engages less in analytical effort and entrusts more effort to the manas, with more deliberation, one can realize that the five aggregates are not-self. The power of the manas's confirmation is extremely great; it can change one's own mind, change bodily, verbal, and mental actions, change karmic actions, and change karmic seeds. Cultivating this way is taking a great shortcut. To have the manas apply more effort and realize directly, one must enter deep into meditative concentration with the mind consciousness moving little—this is the principle of meditative investigation. Since ancient times, Chan masters have taught students to investigate Chan by departing from mind and consciousness, without analysis, without emotional, recognizing that the tathāgatagarbha is the true master—is this the roadmap of investigating Chan and seeing the mind?

Answer: That is correct. Watching the huatou is a method of cultivating concentration; the purpose of cultivating concentration is to make the mind consciousness single-minded, not scattering energy, deliberating and investigating with focused precision. But the content the mind consciousness discriminates, the content it deliberates and investigates, are all directed by the manas; if the manas not only attends to the huatou but also attends to many dharmas and is interested in many dharmas, then the manas gives attention and volition toward many dharmas, and the tathāgatagarbha will give birth to the mind consciousness to discriminate the many dharmas toward which the manas has given attention and volition; then with the mind consciousness discriminating so much content, can it be single-minded? Then it cannot be single-minded, and there can be no concentration.

The purpose of investigating the huatou is to make the manas attend only to the huatou, no longer or rarely grasping at other dharmas, letting the mind consciousness achieve single-mindedness. Cultivating concentration, on the surface, cultivates the mind consciousness, but in fact it is still subduing the manas, making the manas not attend to too many dharmas. Investigating the huatou is tying the manas to the huatou as much as possible; in this way the mind consciousness settles down. When the mind consciousness has concentration, its deliberation is deep and detailed; when the mind consciousness has influenced the manas, the manas at that time also corresponds to the huatou and participates in deliberating on the huatou.

If investigating the huatou penetrates to the manas, letting the manas form a habit, treating investigating the huatou as obligatory work, then even in the state of sleep, the manas will work, making the mind consciousness investigate the huatou even in dreams; and making the mind consciousness investigate the huatou whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. When the mind consciousness's concentration is deep and its deliberation is little, the manas's function is prominent, secretly attending to the huatou without interruption; when causes and conditions are complete, one can realize the tathāgatagarbha, see the mind and attain realization. If concentration is shallow, the mind consciousness's function is large, and the manas participates little or not at all; then there is often much emotional thinking and intellectual interpretation, with a large component of intellectual understanding.

Everything is the manas. The mind consciousness is conditionally arisen; the manas is universally imputing and grasping (parikalpita); the tathāgatagarbha is without knowledge or awareness. The manas's universal imputation and grasping causes its wisdom to be covered in dust and unable to manifest; only by making its thoughts single-minded, not grasping or grasping little, can success be achieved. Therefore cultivating concentration is extremely important.

7. Question: I feel that making the manas recognize that the five aggregates are not the self seems like making me abandon my physical body; why is there an inexplicable fear deep in my heart?

Answer: That is because the manas has always, since beginningless kalpas, regarded and grasped the five aggregates as itself; this innate self-grasping is very strong. Therefore the manas always fears losing the self, fears there being no self, fears that everything is not the self; it will firmly grasp the five-aggregate self and refuse to let go. When our mind consciousness slightly considers that the five aggregates may not be the self, not belonging to us as our possession, the manas will develop a resistant mentality, or develop a fearful mentality—He fears falling into emptiness. If one can simultaneously tell Him that after the five aggregates are without self, it is not nothingness, not annihilation, and that there is still a non-empty true self—that self exists forever and ever, never ceasing, that is the true self—then the manas will be willing to eradicate the view of self and will more easily recognize that the five aggregates are not the self.

Contemplating that the five aggregates are without self requires a process; this process requires the mind consciousness to observe and deliberate over a long period, influencing the manas, and then letting the manas understand this principle. The more ignorant the manas is, the more it grasps at self, and the harder it is to eradicate the view of self. Therefore in our daily lives we should deliberate more on the Buddha-dharma, deliberate more on the not-self nature of the five aggregates, deliberate more on the unborn and unceasing true self, the eighth consciousness; at a certain point the mind can recognize it, and at that time the view of self will be eradicated, and one will gradually attain liberation.

8. Question: After the Two Vehicle practitioners eradicate the view of self, at the first fruit it seems that part of the wisdom of wonderful observation also arises—at least part of untainted wisdom arises—so has the seventh consciousness also undergone some changes? Also, after the first fruit, seven more rounds among humans and gods can lead to the stage beyond training (aśaikṣa); if one then makes a great vow and cultivates the bodhisattva path, could one quickly reach the true eighth bhūmi? If so, would the Small Vehicle person, from cultivation to seeing the path and then to the eighth bhūmi, actually be faster than the Great Vehicle's three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas?

Answer: Because when the view of self is eradicated, it is the manas that eradicates the view of self; the manas sees the true principle, its views are somewhat reversed, its mental activities will undergo some transformation, and there is the most initial liberated merit and benefit.

For the Small Vehicle to cultivate to the fourth fruit, compared to a bodhisattva cultivating to the eighth bhūmi, is much easier. But even a fourth-fruit arhat, upon entering the Great Vehicle dharma to cultivate, must have the foundation and wisdom of the Great Vehicle dharma, and must have the mental activities and capacity of a Great Vehicle bodhisattva—this is extremely difficult. Therefore an arhat's study of the Great Vehicle is not necessarily faster than a bodhisattva's cultivation after seeing the mind, attaining realization, and entering the first bhūmi; the speed is not certain—it depends on wisdom, capacity of mind, and merit.

If there is no standard, no fixed reference, then even ordinary beings could manifest the wisdom of wonderful observation; it depends on which degree of wonderfulness, and to what degree counts as wonderful. If everyone has their own standard of wonderfulness, then there is nothing to say. It is like saying something is good—one person has one standard, none conceding to the other, each taking their own view as the standard—then it does not matter, and no judgment is made.