Chapter Three: How to Specifically Contemplate the Five Aggregates

I. Contemplating the Five Aggregates Primarily Focuses on Contemplating the Mind-Consciousness

Contemplating the emptiness and non-self of the five aggregates and eighteen elements requires not only contemplating the five sense faculties and their corresponding five sense objects, but also contemplating the six consciousnesses and the mental faculty (manas), including the mental objects corresponding to the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. In reality, the mental faculty also corresponds to the five sense objects. If the five sense objects appear but the mental faculty is uninterested, it will not give rise to the five consciousnesses to discern them, and the six consciousnesses will not know the existence of the five sense objects and mental objects. The arising of the six consciousnesses is all governed by the mental faculty; their purpose is to discern and process the five sense objects and mental objects. Therefore, the mental faculty corresponds not only to mental objects but also to the five sense objects. In the absence of the six consciousnesses, or when the six consciousnesses lack the power to discern, it is the mental faculty alone that contemplates and clings to these dharmas. For example, regarding the state of the body faculty, the mental faculty constantly and everywhere, following the Tathāgatagarbha, knows all conditions of the body. Sometimes it allows the mental consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses to know, sometimes it does not. Even when it allows the mental consciousness to know, the mental consciousness remains perplexed.

Contemplating the five aggregates primarily focuses on contemplating the non-self of the mind-consciousness. The main component of the five aggregates is the mind-consciousness, which is most easily mistaken for "self," while the five sense faculties and six sense objects are mistaken for "what belongs to me." The non-self nature of "what belongs to me" is relatively easier to recognize, but the "self" of the mind-consciousness is the hardest to see clearly. The mind-consciousness is also a kind of dharma, arising and ceasing within the Tathāgatagarbha, and it arises and ceases moment by moment. From the perspective of ultimate truth, these dharmas have no arising or ceasing; they are all the nature of the Tathāgatagarbha. However, from the perspective of conventional dharmas, apart from the Tathāgatagarbha, all dharmas are subject to arising and ceasing; phenomena are constantly changing, with existence and non-existence opposing each other. What changes is not only the momentary arising and ceasing of the mind-consciousness, with consciousness seeds outputting, ceasing, and returning, thoughts fluctuating unsteadily, but also the sense objects are changing moment by moment, with the four great elements' seeds outputting, ceasing, and returning, and material dharmas arising, ceasing, and transforming.

When meditation (dhyāna) is relatively deep, the dharmas of the five aggregates and eighteen elements gradually become independent within the mind; their mutual adhesion becomes less tight. Being independent makes them easier to break down one by one; when adhered together, they are more complex, appear more real, and are harder to see clearly as illusory and without self. In a state of meditation, the activities of the mind-consciousness are slower and subtler, attachment to dharmas is slight, obscurations are reduced, and the true nature of things is more easily seen clearly by the mind-consciousness. Therefore, the benefits of meditation are extremely numerous; it can clarify the truth, making the discerning and cognitive nature of the mind-consciousness more objective and impartial, facilitating the opening of wisdom. It is truly regrettable for Buddhists not to cultivate meditation. Believing the Buddha's words and possessing precepts, meditation, and wisdom constitutes a good disciple of the Buddha.

II. How to Deepen the Contemplation of Non-Self

When contemplating the five aggregates, if one has deep meditation, contemplation will be profound and subtle, allowing one to delve continuously deeper into the meaning of the dharmas, thereby unraveling the mysteries of the Dharma layer by layer. When contemplating and reflecting, one must do so slowly, meticulously, and deeply, immediately comparing it with one's own body, speech, and mind, investigating and contemplating within the broadest possible scope, thereby realizing that the five aggregates are not the self. One must investigate why the form aggregate is not the self, why the feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness aggregates are not the self. When thinking, one should ask "why" more often, resolve this "why" through inquiry, and contemplate deeply and subtly. If it is only a formal understanding and comprehension, not truly internalized, then all theoretical knowledge is empty and cannot solve fundamental or practical problems.

How does one contemplate and reflect? For example, contemplating that the physical body is not the self. "Not the self" is a conclusion, but it is the Buddha's conclusion, not ours. Therefore, this conclusion has no relation to us. After contemplation, when we genuinely arrive at this conclusion ourselves, it becomes our own, a crystallization of our own wisdom, bringing the merit and benefit of liberation. The Buddha's conclusion is merely an introduction, serving as a reference to develop one's own wisdom. We can follow this conclusion and contemplate reflectively in reverse: Why is the physical body not the self? Because the physical body is empty. Why is the physical body empty? Because the physical body is suffering. Why is the physical body suffering? This is our initial entry point for contemplation, requiring us to slowly reflect and search for various reasons. Finally, we conclude that the physical body is indeed not the self, thereby severing the view of the body and the view of self.

The wisdom attained and the fruits realized after contemplation are not necessarily the same for each person because causes and conditions differ, contemplation varies, and the degree to which the view of the body is severed differs. It depends on the level of realization and the extent of cultivation. Even attaining the first fruit (Sotāpanna) has different levels; the degree of physical and mental experience and transformation also varies. For instance, children are all in first grade, but their learning levels within the same class differ. Attaining the fruit is like graduating; thus, everyone's level at graduation also differs, with some graduating early and others late. The scope, angle, and depth of the dharmas each practitioner investigates differ; the power of reflection differs, so the wisdom of realizing the dharmas varies. Wisdom differs, so the degree of eliminating afflictions and changing behavior also differs. The deeper and subtler the reflection, the better the concentration (samādhi). The better the concentration, the deeper and subtler the reflection, leading to a deeper, more ultimate realization and a more thorough transformation of mental conduct.

III. The Entry Point for Contemplating the Physical Body as Not-Self

Sentient beings universally regard the physical body as "self" or "what belongs to me," and also claim the external living environment as their own. If one wishes to contemplate and reflect that the physical body is neither self nor what belongs to self, one must first contemplate and reflect that the living environment, the six sense objects, are neither self nor what belongs to self. Then, based on this, contemplating that the physical body is not the self becomes easier.

Why is this so? Because the external six sense objects, like the physical body, are composed of the five great elements—earth, water, fire, wind, and space—within the Tathāgatagarbha. They share the same nature. Moreover, the external six sense objects are slightly farther from the self-mind than the physical body, so the attachment and contemplation are lighter, making it easier to start. The Buddha said the external six sense objects are our external body, also called our external realm; the physical body is the internal realm, the internal body. The internal and external are complementary and interconnected. Confirming that the six sense objects are neither self nor what belongs to self is relatively easier. The physical body follows the same principle as the six sense objects. This creates distance between the self-mind and the physical body, allowing for a slight separation, making it much easier to contemplate and confirm that the physical body is neither self nor what belongs to self.

In the conventional world, the science that studies the physical body is called medicine. In Chinese medicine, it is also said that the structure and construction of the physical body are similar, identical, or analogous to mountains, rivers, and the great earth. When treating the body, one should not regard it as mysterious or special; treat it like governing mountains, rivers, and the great earth, just like managing the living environment. This view in Chinese medicine is very scientific, close to the Buddha Dharma, giving us great inspiration. Contemplation thus finds an entry point, making it faster to get started.

Conventional wisdom says: "Flowing water doesn't stagnate; a door hinge doesn't get worm-eaten." The physical body is also like this. If the body is blocked, there will be foul odors, leading to decay, tumors, and cancer cells. When the four great elements in the material world are imbalanced, rivers burst their banks, earthquakes and tsunamis occur, fires and wind disasters run rampant, oceans turn into mulberry fields, and mulberry fields turn into oceans. The physical body is also like this. When the four great elements are imbalanced, symptoms like qi deficiency, blood deficiency, wind-cold, internal heat, diarrhea, tumors, cancer, etc., will appear. In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the various sages also started by contemplating the external earth, water, fire, and wind, then reflected on the earth, water, fire, and wind within themselves, thereby realizing various samādhis and achieving accomplishment. Therefore, starting from contemplating the realm of the six sense objects is a shortcut to contemplating the physical body.

IV. Seeing Through the Physical Body to Attain Liberation

Observing human anatomy diagrams, one knows that the body's movements are formed by muscle contraction and extension; they are mechanical, not because there is a real "self" performing the actions. The human body is merely a tool used by the mental faculty; it is highly precise, mechanical, and fully automatic, not real. In reality, it is all orchestrated by the Tathāgatagarbha. Look at this neural system—it's nothing but a tangle of positive and negative wires, a mess of ropes. From this, the aggregate of perception and the aggregate of feeling are pulled out, creating the aggregate of mental formations and the aggregate of consciousness. What exactly is this fleshly body that can be disassembled and reassembled? Is it me? Can it be taken as me? Actually, it is nothing at all; it is fundamentally not me, nor does it belong to me. It's just used for a few decades or a hundred years; if it doesn't work, just replace it with a better one. We should see through it, remove the burden from our minds, be relaxed, at ease, liberated, free from troubles and afflictions.

Just use this physical body; there's no need to cling to it. The entire physical body, including the functions of the six consciousnesses, all have fixed programs designed and orchestrated by the Tathāgatagarbha for the use of the mental faculty. If someone slaps you or punches you, just let it go; don't take it to heart. They didn't hit you; what they hit wasn't you. If someone acts unreasonably towards you, just let it go; they didn't invade you; what they harmed wasn't you. Let the world be as it will; good or bad, it doesn't matter; nothing is real, so why be serious? You hold a grudge against me; I bear hatred against him; you hate me; I dislike him—such afflictions are utterly unreasonable and meaningless. From the struggles between microorganisms to wars between nations, world wars, fighting fiercely—it's all utterly unreasonable. No one can truly defeat or crush anyone. Things arise and cease, cease and arise; there is no real birth or death. Even if the world disappears for millions of years, it's just the disappearance of a big tangle of ropes.

Hundreds of Śākyamuni Buddha's relatives were killed by King Virūḍhaka. Ānanda wept bitterly, heartbroken. Yet the Buddha remained as calm as water, unperturbed and without hatred. Why could the Buddha see through it so clearly? Because everything is unreal, illusory, and empty. Therefore, the Buddha was liberated, while Ānanda, not liberated, suffered greatly.

V. How to Observe the Location of Self-View

To find the location of one's own self-view, one can observe it from one's own greed and seeking. Excessive demands constitute greed; unreasonable demands constitute greed; seeking what should not be sought constitutes greed. Why are there so many demands? Because there is a "self" in the mind, seeing the physical body as self, seeing the feeling aggregate as self, seeing the perception aggregate as self, seeing the mental formations aggregate as self, and thus greedily seeking for the sake of the five aggregates. If there is no self in the mind, one will have few desires, know contentment, know when to stop, and will not excessively search and seek, let alone use improper means, unreasonable methods, or even methods that harm others to seek personal benefit.

A person without self in the mind will not spend effort seeking, nor will they seek by any means necessary; instead, they live according to conditions. A selfless person always handles matters from others' perspectives, considers others' interests, and cares about others' feelings. However, this care does not necessarily mean complying with others' unreasonable demands; it stems from the standpoint of others' long-term and ultimate benefit. Their intention and actions may not necessarily be understood or agreed upon by others.

A person with self in the mind, with a heavy self-view, inevitably has heavy self-attachment. In dealing with people and matters, they always start from their own mind, prioritize themselves, base everything on their own views and opinions, do not seek others' opinions or views, do not consider others' feelings, and often act according to their own habits first and explain later—acting first and reporting afterwards—regardless of whether it infringes upon others' interests. If others do not comply, they become furious and take revenge to reclaim self-interest, pacify the resentment in their hearts, regardless of consequences. In this way, with each victory in the struggle with self and others, they take a step backward on the path of non-self cultivation and realization, a step deeper into the pit of birth-and-death suffering, and the suffering in this life and future lives will intensify.

Skillful observation is a crucial part of practice. Skillful observation allows one to weigh the true advantages, disadvantages, gains, and losses in all matters. Long-term benefits are always more important than immediate benefits; long-term effects far outweigh short-term effects. People with heavy self-view are short-sighted, often seeing only a tiny bit right before them, blinded by the minimal immediate benefits. This is so-called karmic obstruction. What is karmic obstruction? Past-life ignorant karmic causes increase one's self-view and self-attachment, obstructing the arising of wisdom, making it impossible to see the truth of matters clearly, not knowing what one's true benefit is, mistaking unbeneficial things for great benefits to seek, resulting in going against the path, gaining little at great cost.

Sentient beings generally feel that the term "ignorance" (avidyā) is relatively euphemistic, while "foolishness" is relatively vulgar. In fact, both terms have the same meaning. The Buddha used the term "foolish" to describe the nature of sentient beings' minds, which is already quite euphemistic. Sometimes the Buddha even shouts at his disciples: "Bah! Fool!" Actually, no matter what language is used, it cannot fully express the stupidity and foolishness of sentient beings. Nothing said can convey the intensity; no matter what is said, sentient beings remain unmoved, leaving one speechless. Even using Mount Sumeru as a lever couldn't pry out the stupidity, foolishness, and dullness from the minds of sentient beings.

VI. How Can Dust Be Eliminated?

Upon realizing the arising, ceasing, variability, unreality, falsity, and emptiness of dust (sense objects), the mind then becomes empty and pure towards dust. Views change, understanding changes; right view becomes complete. The mind is without dust; seeing dust yet knowing it is not dust. One attains the samādhi of dust and abides in the samādhi of dust. However, the dust does not vanish or cease; the illusory appearance remains. It's just that all cognition towards it has changed—no longer deluded, no longer inverted, no longer grasping.

Dust is the appearance discerned by the mind, including material appearances, mental appearances, and appearances that are neither material nor mental. Mind is the root; dharmas are the dust. The two are like marks on a mirror. Due to the lack of meditation, when studying the Dharma, principle is principle, phenomena are phenomena; they are always two separate things. As soon as one encounters phenomena, the principle flies out the back of the head; one gets stuck by the phenomena. Practicing the Dharma like this, when will one ever attain liberation?

VII. How to Quickly Eradicate Self-View

Whether one can eradicate self-view and attain the first fruit (Sotāpanna) up to the fourth fruit (Arhat) depends on whether this person's view of the body and view of self are slight or severe. A person with a slight view of the body rarely cares about or pays attention to the state of the physical body, does not spend much effort specifically caring for it, is not overly concerned about the safety of the body, and has little fear. Such a person, because they do not cling much to the physical body and the five aggregates, finds it easier to eradicate self-view and realize the fruit. Because they do not care much about the physical body and five aggregates, their mental hindrances are few, making it easier to attain meditation. Contemplating the five aggregates can proceed deeply; contemplation becomes effective, making it easier to eradicate self-view.

Practitioners in the past had deep roots of goodness and merit. Surviving in a world with underdeveloped material life, they were not controlled by material desires, had few desires, did not crave enjoyment and entertainment, nor did they unnecessarily consume their own blessings. Therefore, they could single-mindedly make continuous progress on the path. People today are different; they crave comfort and enjoyment too much. Their minds are obscured by various desires; karmic obstructions not only cannot be eliminated but may even increase, making it very difficult to make any progress on the path.

Arhats in the past were able to practice asceticism (dhūtaṅga) because they had no view of the body or self-view, having eradicated self-attachment. Within their minds, there was no fear regarding the safety or danger of "self"; they did not care about the environment surrounding the physical body, only wishing to extinguish all mental activities to attain the remainderless nirvāṇa. Modern people, however, care deeply about the physical body—nutrition, maintenance, health preservation. Due to karmic obstructions, few have managed to maintain the body particularly well, yet their view of the body has increased, making breakthroughs in practice very difficult. Meticulous care for the physical body ultimately proves to be a case of gaining little at great cost, not knowing what is light and what is heavy. All this is due to the influence of the modern living environment, coupled with insufficient roots of goodness and merit, leading to blind and reckless consumption of one's own blessings.

Therefore, to quickly eradicate self-view and self-attachment, do not always care about your own physical body and five aggregates, do not take too much care of yourself, try to regard yourself and your living environment lightly, and focus your mind on the path. At the same time, be careful not to unnecessarily and casually consume your own blessings. Blessings are extremely important for cultivating the path. Even with the blessings of great bodhisattvas, do not easily deplete them. Accumulate blessings bit by bit to eventually achieve the blessings of a Buddha.

VIII. Judging Accurately Whether One Belongs to the State of Eradicated Self-View

Question: After progressively observing the five aggregates as impermanent, suffering, non-self, and no longer generating views of self or what belongs to self regarding feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness, how can one further advance? What is the subsequent direction? Or, after maintaining this uncontrived, quiescent state for a period of time, will one automatically realize "birth is exhausted, what was to be done is done, there is no further becoming"? Because in practice, within a very short time after emerging from meditation (one or two hours), the "monkey mind" returns, wanting to grasp and contrive again. This cycle repeats. I feel there might be some place where it hasn't fully connected with the Buddha's teachings.

Answer: "I have directly known: Birth is exhausted, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no further becoming"—this is the state of a fourth-fruit great Arhat. Let's not think about that yet. First, securely and truly attain the first fruit, then consider what comes later. For those who have never eradicated self-view in past lives, attaining the first fruit is already extremely difficult.

While observing the five aggregates subject to clinging as suffering, empty, impermanent, and non-self, it is crucial to correctly judge whether one truly considers the five aggregates subject to clinging to indeed be suffering, empty, impermanent, and non-self. This is extremely important, a very key point. One cannot simply assume that "non-self" means non-self. During contemplation and reflection, the mind may seem very pure. But when not contemplating, out of meditation, the mind still has a "self" and is impure again. This indicates that self-view has not been truly eradicated; it is not genuine non-self. Then one must continue contemplating, continuing the practice.

IX. Reflecting on One's Own Mind

Hearing someone praise or boast about oneself, the mind feels happy and comfortable—what mind is this? Hearing someone blame or mock, one feels anger—what mind is this? Seeing people, things, or events unrelated to oneself, one doesn't care—what mind is this? Seeing people, things, or events closely related to oneself, one pays special attention—what mind is this? How do these minds arise? How do they change? How do they cease? At this time, which of the five aggregates causes this mind? Is this five aggregates you? Does everyone cling to this mind, cling to this feeling?

X. The Expedient and Ultimate Cessation of Suffering and Its Origin

The order of practice for the Four Noble Truths is: Know suffering, abandon its origin, aspire to cessation, cultivate the path; or Know suffering, aspire to cessation, cultivate the path, abandon its origin. Abandoning the origin (samudaya) is divided into expedient abandonment and fundamental abandonment. Expedient abandonment is when, without meditation or realization, the mental consciousness suppresses and restrains itself from creating unwholesome kamma, creating less unwholesome kamma. Fundamental abandonment is ultimate abandonment: after afflictions are eradicated, the mental faculty no longer has the thought or motivation to create unwholesome kamma; without the suppression and restraint of the mental consciousness, it automatically and consciously refrains from creating unwholesome kamma. Thus, old unwholesome kamma seeds are eliminated, new unwholesome kamma seeds are not accumulated, and there will be no suffering in future lives.

How does suffering come about? In the very beginning of life, there was no five-aggregate world, nor was there suffering. Due to ignorance, the mental faculty clings outwardly, wanting to know. Thus, the Tathāgatagarbha gives rise to the world, then gives rise to the five-aggregate body. The five aggregates live in the world. Due to the ignorance of the mental faculty, they create some unwholesome kamma that is not in accordance with principle. Thus, kamma seeds accumulate, leading to suffering retribution in future lives. After studying Buddhism and practicing, one continuously contemplates the truth of suffering, understanding that the source of suffering is the unwholesome kamma accumulated in past lives. Thus, one will find ways to abandon suffering, begin cultivating the path to no longer accumulate unwholesome actions. Only after realizing non-self and eradicating ignorant afflictions does one gradually cease suffering.

XI. Insufficient Contemplation Prevents Changes in Views

Question: While contemplating that consciousness is not the self, I cannot find any evidence. You said that consciousness ceases after discerning one mental object, then operates on another mental object. But I feel this knowing consciousness is still me. Although it keeps changing, the nature of this "knowing" hasn't changed. I am quite troubled.

Answer: You have not yet observed accurately; your contemplation is insufficient, leading to inadequate understanding and inability to change your view. Regarding the truth of suffering (duḥkha-satya) among the Four Noble Truths: suffering, empty, impermanent, non-self—note the order the Buddha taught the truth of suffering: impermanent, empty, suffering, non-self. This is a chain, each step sequentially connected. When contemplating, one needs to contemplate step by step according to this sequence. When one fully contemplates and realizes the first, it should lead to or result in the second conclusion. When one contemplates and realizes the second, it should lead to the third conclusion. When one contemplates and realizes the third, it should lead to the fourth conclusion. If not, obstacles and resistance appear. What is the obstacle? It is the inherent thought patterns from beginningless kalpas that obstruct oneself, making it impossible to reverse previous views and form new views and understanding. For example, an impermanent dharma is empty, unobtainable, ungraspable. If you only know it is impermanent but cannot enter into the thought of emptiness, then you stop and cannot proceed further in contemplation.

If one can fully contemplate the stage of emptiness but cannot form the thought and view that emptiness is suffering, then an obstacle arises; contemplation stagnates and cannot proceed further. If one contemplates that the five aggregates are all suffering but cannot conclude that what is fundamentally suffering is not the self, then the final bottleneck appears. How to break through this bottleneck? Or how to break through each bottleneck and change previously fixed erroneous thought patterns? We need to reflect deeply, again and again. Among these, upholding precepts, meditation, reflecting according to principle, as well as merit and vow power are very important. One should focus on cultivating these aspects.

XII. Eradicating Self-View Does Not Mean Changing the Physical Body

Eradicating self-view is contemplating the unreality, emptiness, and non-self nature of the five aggregates. It is not about changing the body into some form, nor is it about making the body incomplete or disabled to then confirm that the physical body is non-self. Changing the body relies on the power of meditation; one doesn't need to eradicate self-view. Merely cultivating meditation can change the physical body. Aren't those who are paralyzed or disabled still heavily burdened with self-view? If one could turn the physical body into gold through contemplation, perhaps self-view would become even heavier. The key lies in the understanding and cognition—directly perceiving that the physical body is false, empty, and unreal. Change the thought; there's no need to change the body. Don't contemplate becoming a disabled person; what if concentration power increases and the body really develops problems? Wouldn't that be bad? Just contemplate that the body is assembled.

XIII. The Crucial Point in Eradicating Self-View Lies in Changing Views

To eradicate self-view, one first needs to change old thought patterns, establish new thought patterns, and have a new cognitive system. One must have a clear cognition of impermanent phenomena, fully and soberly recognizing the impermanence of the five-aggregate world—its arising, ceasing, and changing—thereby establishing these arising, ceasing, changing dharmas as empty and without self. However, establishing such thought patterns is very difficult. Phenomena are easy to observe; views are hard to change. Establishing correct, principle-based views is many times harder than contemplating the impermanence of worldly dharmas. Impermanence is actually easy to observe; it's just that due to the habit of "existence," it's hard to confirm as "empty." Knowing it's empty, one still cannot confirm it as "non-self" because the old view of "self" is hard to break through.

This requires intentionally training to change views. How to train? For example, take a toy car, disassemble it, assemble it, then observe: Is there a real toy car in this? Is a pile of metal sheets assembled into something a toy car? Is there such a thing as a toy car? The toy car is a dependently arisen dharma, not autonomous, subject to arising, abiding, changing, ceasing—arising, ceasing, changing. It is inherently empty, without the nature of self. One can also disassemble and reassemble a plastic doll, observing the conditional nature of the doll's formation, the impermanence and emptiness of the doll itself arising, ceasing, and changing. Through repeated experimentation and observation, one gradually breaks the view of "existence" and establishes the view of "emptiness," forming new cognitive views. Only then can self-view be eradicated.