Theoretical Realization and Practical Realization
Chapter 3: Understanding-Realization and Verification-Realization in the Small Vehicle (2)
Sixteen: Understanding the principle that the five aggregates are suffering, empty, impermanent, and without self is not very difficult; the problem is that the notions are deeply rooted and hard to change. Understanding some Buddhist teachings is not very difficult; the difficulty lies in changing one's notions, in truly cognizing these dharmas. Everyone knows the physical body is impermanent and cannot be the self, but it is of no use—the view of the body simply cannot be eradicated. This is because the manas's old notions are too deeply entrenched; it simply cannot turn this corner or untie this knot. Therefore, continuous impregnation upon impregnation is needed to change its incorrect thoughts and notions.
How does one change the notion that the five aggregates are the self? Observe thoroughly the phenomena of the physical body's arising, ceasing, change, and impermanence, knowing this matter clearly and distinctly; then condense this matter into a single point, place it deep in the mind, and hand it over to the manas. In this way, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, the mind holds to this matter; even in sitting meditation one must hold to this matter, holding it high and deep. If the observation is not comprehensive or thorough, then observe and contemplate again. One day, the dull-facultied manas will have an opening of insight and suddenly understand: the physical body is truly not the self—and thus the view of the body is eradicated.
Seventeen: When using the self-suggestion method to practice contemplation (vipaśyanā-caryā) of the Buddha-dharma, the mind consciousness must frequently suggest to the manas that the five aggregates are illusory, that all dharmas are illusory, that all are the functions and operations of the tathāgatagarbha. At a certain point, the manas will give its assent, and the view of self can be eradicated, thereby unleashing one's potential and transforming oneself. This kind of suggestion is similar to self-hypnosis: adjust yourself to a relatively quiet and tranquil state, a state in which you can hear the inner voice; then you can begin self-suggestion.
Slowly and with cadence, recite the above content on eradicating the view of self, guiding the manas to accept it, and give the manas a certain buffer time to receive the information, organize its thinking, and contemplate the dharma meaning within the information. This requires a certain amount of time and a specific environmental setting—that is, letting the manas not attend to other issues and focus only on the guided content. The mind must be tranquil, stable, and peaceful, able to fully accept the guidance of the mind consciousness. If wherever the mind consciousness guides, the manas can contemplate accordingly, then the manas is relatively compliant and has been preliminarily impregnated; it just has not yet fully succeeded. The key lies in whether the mind consciousness can observe the manas's reactions, whether it has experience in guiding, and whether it truly understands the principle of non-self. Such guided hypnosis can be repeated many times in suitable times and settings. As long as the mind consciousness is proficient in the theory, knows how to observe the manas, knows how to guide the manas, and can maintain a steady and tranquil state, then after a certain period of time, the view of self will surely be eradicated.
Eighteen: Some beginning Buddhists, when contemplating the eradication of the view of self, feel some fear and dread in the mind; in fact, it is the manas that is afraid. Because the manas, since beginningless kalpas, has always regarded the five aggregates as the self and has been constantly grasping the five aggregates, when one day it encounters the truth of the Four Noble Truths, which tells it that the five aggregates are not the self but empty, the manas certainly cannot bear it at first and is unwilling to accept this factual truth, and so it feels fear, and thus does not want the mind consciousness to continue contemplating and practicing, hoping to maintain the status quo and continue grasping and clinging to the five-aggregate body. When the manas gradually can accept non-self, it will no longer be afraid, and will let the mind consciousness continue contemplating the non-self of the five aggregates, while continuously receiving impregnation; at a certain point, it will realize the non-self of the five aggregates.
Nineteen: Is it really that we cannot observe impermanence and do not know impermanence? The mind consciousness easily knows impermanence, and easily knows suffering; knowing emptiness is also not difficult, and the mind consciousness often says "no-self." Then why can it not yet eradicate the view of self and realize the fruits? Many people who believe all dharmas are impermanent and without self—even if others acknowledge that they have eradicated the view of self and realized the fruit—themselves dare not admit it inwardly. Why do they dare not admit it? Because of a guilty conscience: they feel their views are not solid, lacking real verification; deep inside they have not assented to this principle, and they themselves know this, so they dare not affirm themselves; usually they are just talking for fun.
Hardly anyone's mind consciousness actually believes their own five aggregates are permanent and unchanging, so why can they not yet eradicate the view of self? Because the idea and view of impermanence has not yet penetrated to the manas. The manas does not know that the five aggregates are impermanent and all dharmas are impermanent, so the view of self cannot be eradicated. Even if others say he has eradicated the view of self, he himself has a guilty conscience and dares not admit it, because there is no evidence and no reason.
And some people differ only in the manas's determination. The dharma meaning is already clear in the mind consciousness—this is not too difficult; the difficulty lies in the manas's determination. Due to lacking meditative concentration (samādhi), the manas has not deeply deliberated; all its thoughts and notions float on the surface of the consciousness, not penetrating to the manas; the manas cannot make a determination, and the mind has no confidence in the meaning of non-self. This is the bottleneck of eradicating the view of self, and one should find a way to break through it.
The reasons for insufficient meditative power are: first, no time to cultivate concentration; second, insufficient merit; third, incomplete observance of precepts; and there are some other minor reasons—find them out yourself and overcome them one by one; then eradicating the view of self will be accomplished, and there are still greater merits to be accomplished.
Twenty: After the first fruit of eradicating the view of self, one then deeply and continuously cultivates contemplation of the illusoriness of the five aggregates and eighteen realms, and slowly begins to eradicate self-grasping. Self-grasping is even harder to eradicate than the view of self—so much so that a first-fruit person must cultivate back and forth seven times in the heavens and seven times among humans before finally becoming an arhat of the fourth fruit. Let us calculate: seven times in the heavens and seven times among humans—how much time does that add up to? Once calculated, we will know how difficult eradicating self-grasping is—far more difficult than eradicating the view of self.
What is self-grasping? It is the manas's clinging without letting go to the five aggregates as "I." Why does it still cling? Because the view of self regarding the five aggregates as "I" has not been eradicated thoroughly; in certain aspects and to a certain degree, it still takes certain functions and operations of the five aggregates as itself, and clings without letting go. Since beginningless kalpas, the habit of grasping self is too deep, ignorance too heavy, and craving for the three realms too hard to pull out—hence such a long time is needed to eradicate the affliction of self-grasping. If the manas eradicates the view of self regarding the five aggregates thoroughly in one stroke, its self-grasping is simultaneously exhausted—that would be a great arhat of the fourth fruit. And one who truly exhausts the manas's grasping at self directly becomes a Buddha, not merely a great arhat of the fourth fruit who is liberated in both ways. Therefore, the self-grasping of arhats and pratyekabuddhas has not been thoroughly and completely exhausted, and thus they cannot yet become Buddhas.
Why does the eighth consciousness not need to eradicate the view of self? Because He has no view of self, He does not need to eradicate the view of self; only one who has a view of self needs to eradicate the view of self.
Twenty-one: One feels that this supernatural power is so easy to attain—is the mind consciousness's feeling and understanding the same as realization? If it is realization, the supernatural power appears immediately; if the supernatural power does not appear, then it has not been realized, and the mind consciousness's understanding is of no avail, cannot exert any force, and cannot obtain even a hair's worth of liberating merit and benefit. It is the same with eradicating the view of self and seeing the mind: the mind consciousness's understanding has not a hair's worth of merit and benefit; it is not true eradication of the view of self. No matter how the mind consciousness believes the five aggregates are without self, it is not realization of non-self, not eradication of the view of self. Therefore, "reading a book a hundred times, its meaning reveals itself"—useless; it is still the mind consciousness's understanding, not the manas's realization. This principle is important, extremely important. I hope everyone will take it into the mind and ponder carefully, no longer honoring, magnifying, or treasuring emotional thinking and intellectual understanding, thereby misleading oneself and then misleading others.
Twenty-two: The meaning of "the mystery of the intervening aggregate" is that the mind consciousness is newly born, different from the previous life's mind consciousness; because an aggregate-body intervenes, it becomes confused and does not know the affairs of the previous life's five aggregates. But the manas continues life after life without interruption, with no intervening aggregate, and therefore is not confused; it can know the people, affairs, and things of previous lives, and sometimes can also know those of future lives. However, what sentient beings generally know is known by relying on the six consciousnesses; what the manas knows must also be known by the six consciousnesses in order to have effect.
The manas does not correspond to language and words, and therefore cannot express its own knowledge and views; the mind consciousness corresponds to language and words and can contemplate, analyze, reason, and judge; therefore many of the manas's activities must rely on the mind consciousness and the six consciousnesses to be realized. Whatever the manas knows, the mind consciousness does not necessarily know; even if the manas understands the land of bliss (sukhāvatī), understands everything about its own previous lives, the mind consciousness does not necessarily know.
Therefore, when encountering major matters, the manas has no choice but to alert the mind consciousness in various ways, letting the mind consciousness gain some knowledge so as to contemplate, handle, and resolve them. For example, when ghosts and spirits are around the body, the mind consciousness does not know, but the manas knows; the manas can then cause the body-faculty's scalp to tingle and the whole body to feel uneasy. Then the mind consciousness feels something may have happened, and the mind consciousness may possibly guess what it is.
When in this life one first encounters images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, because the manas has believed in the Buddha, recollected the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), and studied Buddhism life after life, and has a special affection for Buddhas and Bodhisattvas—this is called deep good roots—it cannot help shedding tears, even weeping bitterly, while the mind consciousness does not understand why. Meeting relatives from previous lives is the same: the mind consciousness does not recognize them, but the manas does, and so one feels very close and moved, while the mind consciousness does not know why it is so moved, why there is this special affection.
Therefore, if the manas eradicates the view of self in this life, its manifestation in the next life will differ from ordinary people. But the mind consciousness is new and has the mystery of the intervening aggregate; it does not know the view of self was already eradicated in the previous life, does not know the five aggregates are without self, and so upon encountering the Buddha-dharma it still must contemplate the principle of the non-self of the five aggregates. But because the manas has already realized non-self and has been impregnated, knowing the five aggregates are without self, the mind consciousness need not contemplate and practice excessively, need not undergo a long period of cultivation, and will quickly realize the non-self of the five aggregates—much faster than one realizing the fruit for the first time. Those of the third and fourth fruits may realize the fruit upon hearing just one sentence, without needing to deliberately contemplate and practice, because there is no need for the mind consciousness to contemplate carefully in order to impregnate the manas—sparing this especially troublesome process, realizing the fruit is especially fast.
Twenty-three: In modern society, information is developed, obtaining sutra books is easy, and the mind consciousness's comprehension is strong. When others explain the arising-ceasing, impermanence, and non-self of the five aggregates, fifty percent of people's mind consciousness can understand the non-self of the five aggregates, knowing the physical body is not real but an illusory false shell. Even some people who do not study Buddhism often say with their mouths that the physical body is a false shell, a stinking skin-bag, arising-ceasing and impermanent. But saying is one thing—not one of them has eradicated the view of the body or the view of self; each still grasps self very severely.
If the mind consciousness's belief that the five aggregates are without self counted as eradicating the view of self, then realizing the fruit would be too easy: more than half of Buddhists could eradicate the three fetters, be freed from the suffering of the three evil destinies, and become sages. Then what would Buddhism have to worry about, and sentient beings would have nothing to worry about either; Śākyamuni Buddha could rest assured about the Sahā world, without concern that Buddhism might perish. But the facts are not so.
Those who have merely understood non-self with the mind consciousness, believe they have eradicated the view of self, and then believe their afflictions are slight and they have cultivated to the second fruit will be in great trouble at the time of death and will suffer greatly in future lives. It is best, in the remaining time of this life, to think about how to remedy this, adopt some effective and feasible measures, and again carefully contemplate the five aggregates to truly eradicate the view of self, eliminating the great karma of false speech.
Now in the Buddhist world it is hard to say how many second-fruit people there are; it seems like an age of sages emerging in droves—but what is it actually like? Very chaotic. If the third fruit were not gated by first-dhyāna concentration, without the hallmark of eradicating desire of the desire realm, who knows how many people would claim to have realized the third fruit. Right now there are people propagating that realizing the third and fourth fruits does not require first-dhyāna concentration, and that first-bhūmi and second-bhūmi bodhisattvas previously did not need to cultivate first-dhyāna concentration. What such propaganda portends can be imagined. Further on, there will be no boundary between ordinary beings and sages: as long as one understands some Buddhist teachings, one is a sage. These so-called sages are actually mere disciples of intellectual understanding.
Twenty-four: Who Is the One That Grasps in the Five Grasping Aggregates?
The grasping in the five grasping aggregates is certainly done by the manas. Because the manas exists life after life without ceasing, and is the master-consciousness, since beginningless kalpas it has always regarded itself as the master of all dharmas; therefore it must grasp all dharmas and cling to all dharmas for all dharmas to exist without ceasing. If the manas no longer grasps, all dharmas certainly do not manifest, and the self must disappear. Because the manas grasps the form aggregate, the feeling aggregate, the perception aggregate, the volitional formations aggregate, and the consciousness aggregate, the five aggregates arise and cease, cease and arise again, being born endlessly, never cut off, never disappearing. Why is this so? Because the tathāgatagarbha forever complies with and cooperates with the manas, knowing the manas's mental activities and wishes; if the manas grasps, the tathāgatagarbha will manifest, and the five aggregates will not disappear and cease. Of course, karma seeds and karmic conditions are also required. If the manas no longer grasps, the karma seeds are extinguished, the karmic conditions do not arise, all dharmas do not appear, and the five aggregates disappear.
The manas grasps the form aggregate, clinging to marks, seizing and coveting the physical body; therefore it likes a life of fine clothes and exquisite food, coveting enjoyment everywhere in eating, clothing, dwelling, and use, tending and caring for the physical body in every way. The manas grasps the feeling aggregate, coveting sensations, clinging to feelings—for example, when drinking tea, finding the tea delicious, reaching out to take the cup and pour tea, cup after cup, slowly savoring its flavor until fully satisfied. Who directs the conscious mind to covet the tea's flavor and the sensations in this way? It is the manas that directs and leads. Because the manas clings to the tea's lingering charm and clings to feelings, it does not hesitate to waste precious time savoring tea; some even crave the taste of alcohol, indulging in addiction, not caring about harming the body.
Another example: when sitting in meditation and the body and mind feel comfortable, the body does not want to move, the mind becomes lazy, unwilling to consider problems—this is because the manas does not want to move, covets the comfortable feeling, and does not let the body get up and move; because meditative absorption is comfortable, the manas grasps the feelings of sitting meditation and does not want to move, does not want to leave samādhi. The manas unknowingly grasps and covets many feelings without knowing it itself, because the manas can hardly introspect on its own coveting of these feelings. Only through the mind consciousness, after awakening through studying the Dharma, continuously suggesting and restraining the manas can the manas be subdued, so that it no longer covets and clings to feelings and is not bound by feelings—only then can liberation be attained.
The manas grasps the perception aggregate: of all matters under heaven, great and small, there is none it does not want to know; it attends to all domestic and foreign news; other people's affairs, whether related to oneself or not, all interest it; whether or not it should know, it wants to know everything—both ears hearing all affairs under heaven, both eyes viewing all scenery under heaven, the mind packed full of past, future, and present. Because the manas grasps the perception aggregate, every day it must watch television and read newspapers, collecting all kinds of information and materials—all of these are the manas grasping the perception aggregate and directing the six consciousnesses to act.
The manas grasps the volitional formations aggregate: throughout the day it acts without stopping, unwilling to rest even a moment, unwilling to abide quietly even briefly. If there is business in the east, it goes east; if there is business in the west, it goes west—wherever there is business, there it shows itself; bodily, verbal, and mental actions never cease. With the manas grasping the volitional formations aggregate like this, how can there be concentration?
The manas grasps the consciousness aggregate: eyes watching six directions, ears listening to eight quarters, inner thoughts churning, initial application and sustained examination (vitarka-vicāra) unceasing, past and future associations floating endlessly, unwilling to let the mind quiet down and rest. Because the manas clings to the consciousness-nature of the six consciousnesses, unwilling to let the six consciousnesses cease, seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing continue unbroken. If the manas is pure and does not want useless activity, the six consciousnesses can settle into tranquility.
Since the manas has so many grasping tendencies, worldly afflictions are deeply rooted; since beginningless kalpas it has been trapped in the burning house of birth-and-death, unable to escape. Therefore we must extinguish the manas's grasping mind. To extinguish the manas's grasping mind, one must first eradicate the manas's view of self, letting the manas understand the five aggregates are without self; only then can one realize the non-self of the five aggregates, gradually exhaust the grasping mind, and attain liberation from worldly afflictions.
Twenty-five: Evidence That the Manas Takes the Five Aggregates and Six Consciousnesses as Self
If the manas did not cling to the five aggregates and six consciousnesses as self, whence would our view of self and eradication of the view of self come? Then there would be no need to eradicate the view of self, no need to eradicate self-grasping, no need to eradicate afflictions and ignorance. Then all sentient beings would be without self, and there would be no need to cultivate the Small Vehicle dharma—how easy and pleasant! But in fact every sentient being has severe view of self and self-grasping, which are quite difficult to eradicate.
If the manas did not cling to the six consciousnesses as self, then in a state of unconsciousness, why does the manas always try to wake up? Because the manas needs the six consciousnesses to cognize the six sense objects; the manas needs to know the six sense objects—the six consciousnesses are itself, and it will not do for itself not to know the six sense objects. When bound by others, why does the manas always want to break free of the bindings? When blindfolded, why does the manas always try to remove the cloth? Because the manas takes the physical body and the five faculties as itself; being bound is absolutely unacceptable. When gagged and not allowed to speak, why is the manas unhappy? Because the manas takes the mind consciousness—which can examine and speak—as itself; not speaking makes it feel miserable.
With self, the manas is unhappy; without self, who would be unhappy? Language is a function of the mind consciousness; the manas takes this function as its own function, so when gagged and not allowed to speak, it feels uncomfortable. The manas takes the five aggregates and mind consciousness as self; when gagged, it feels it has lost face. The manas takes the seeing-nature of the eye consciousness and mind consciousness as self; when blindfolded and unable to see forms, it feels uncomfortable—He must see forms and grasp forms. The manas takes the functions of the five aggregates and six consciousnesses as self, takes the volitional formations aggregate of the six consciousnesses as self; when bound and unable to move, He feels uncomfortable—being without the volitional formations aggregate will not do. The manas takes the physical body as self; when the body is beaten and damaged, He is unhappy and must take revenge on the one who beat him. The manas takes the feeling aggregate as self and craves enjoyment; when not allowed to enjoy, He is unhappy. The manas takes the knowing-nature of the six consciousnesses as self; when the six consciousnesses are not allowed to see, hear, be aware, and know, not knowing the six sense objects, He is unhappy.
A long-term ill patient lies in bed for a long time, unable to move—imagine what the manas feels! A vegetative-state person's mind consciousness is weak, with little sensation of pain. The one who feels the pain must be the manas, always trying to get out of bed, always trying to know the circumstances, yet always feeling powerless. Since the manas takes the five aggregates and six consciousnesses as itself, as "I," eradicating the view of self must be done by the manas; eradicating only the mind consciousness's view of self does not solve the problem of birth-and-death, and moreover cannot eradicate the manas's self-grasping.
In studying and cultivating Buddhism, one must not die at the letter; one must not merely recite famous sayings and phrases. Deep understanding and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), and contemplation in accordance with the truth, are most important. If one cannot contemplate in accordance with the truth, there is a deficiency in some respect; one should find a way to discover where the deficiency lies, then remedy and perfect it. Examine your own bodhi mind: do you have a bodhisattva's vows and mental conduct? Is your merit sufficient?
Twenty-six: After a person is born, the process of gradually forming various common-sense cognitions through living is similar to the process of eradicating the view of self. Since they are similar, when eradicating the view of self, one can refer to the cumulative process by which we formed common sense, and in the same way contemplate the principle of the non-self of the five aggregates, finally letting the non-self of the five aggregates become a common-sense cognition deep in the mind, thereby eradicating the view of self and never regressing from the path of liberation.
From birth, from the state where the mind consciousness knows nothing, to knowing all dharmas of the worldly realm and all the rules of the human game—that is a process of forming common-sense cognition. First, the mind consciousness, through contact with people, affairs, and things in life, learns the rules; then through observation and practice, it confirms these rules, thereby forming the manas's common sense. Without the mind consciousness thinking, it habitually abides by these rules, forming the manas's unbreakable notions. Until another new rule breaks the old rule, the notion is updated, the common sense changes, and the manas's habits also change.
The initial knowing-nothing is of course the mind consciousness. Gradually, the mind consciousness is impregnated by daily life, contacts and learns some everyday knowledge; in the process of learning this knowledge, it can continuously test and verify some common sense; the manas comes to understand and personally verify it, knowledge becomes common sense, and then a habitual cognition forms—without the mind consciousness deliberating, one naturally conforms to common sense.
For example, a small child does not know the concept and function of fire; through adults' repeated telling—mostly forced memorization—and then observing adults using fire, and learning to use fire oneself, the child comes to know fire's uses and dangers. Only in the process of use can one verify and test fire's characteristics. Without actual observation, it is only the mind consciousness's knowing; the manas does not know fire's characteristics and dangers, and sometimes will play with fire. When playing causes an incident, at that point the manas personally verifies and knows fire's characteristics; after being frightened, it dares not casually play with fire, and bodily and mental conduct change.
Cooking is the same: at first one does not know how a knife is used or what its characteristics are, does not know how to wash rice and put it in the pot; through repeated watching and learning, then personal verification and experimentation, one later can cook, gaining the common-sense experience of cooking. Without the mind consciousness deliberating how to do it, the manas operates skillfully. The earlier stage is the mind consciousness learning and being impregnated; the later stage is the manas receiving impregnation and personally verifying. After verification, habit and common sense form; without special deliberation, one can cook with practiced ease.
A child's learning to walk, speak, and cognize all dharmas is all this learning process, then forming common sense, forming habits, changing one's former ignorance, changing bodily, verbal, and mental actions. All these learning processes, these processes of forming common sense, must be experienced by both the mind consciousness and the manas; both must change from the state of ignorance. If the common sense has been known by the manas since previous lives, the mind consciousness need not learn it again—it comes naturally; for example, being able to suckle at birth, being able to cry, knowing pain, knowing hunger and warmth, and so on.
From these impregnation processes of worldly dharmas, we can draw lessons to impregnate the principle of the non-self of the five aggregates, forming the cognition of non-self, letting non-self become common sense; then the habits of self-grasping will gradually be exhausted, and liberation can be attained.
Twenty-seven: After the Manas Thoroughly Eradicates the View of Self, Can It Quickly Eradicate Self-Grasping?
The first fruit of eradicating the view of self is very, very far from the fourth fruit of eradicating self-grasping. The reason self-grasping cannot be eradicated after eradicating the view of self is that the depth of the non-self principle realized by the first fruit is still shallow and its scope still narrow, making it impossible for the manas to eradicate self-grasping in one stroke. One must, after the first fruit, continue ceaselessly contemplating the principle of the non-self of the five aggregates; as the contemplation becomes ever deeper, the realization of non-self becomes ever deeper; when first-dhyāna concentration arises and afflictions are eradicated, self-grasping becomes ever fainter, clinging ever lighter, and self-grasping can quickly be exhausted.
If there is the support of fourth-dhyāna concentration, then at the same time as eradicating the view of self, one can eradicate self-grasping in one stroke, because meditative concentration can subdue all afflictions; the grasping at the body is slight, lacking only the wisdom of negating the five aggregates as self. Once one possesses the wisdom that the five aggregates are without self, one can exhaust self-grasping and become an arhat of the fourth fruit—the non-Buddhist practitioners at the Buddha's time were like this. If the view of self is thoroughly eradicated, that is eradicating self-grasping.
Twenty-eight: Different Views Lead to Different Afflictions of Deliberation
If an ordinary being has views like the Buddha's, the ordinary being is a Buddha; if an ordinary being's views are the same as an arhat of the fourth fruit, the ordinary being is an arhat of the fourth fruit; if an ordinary being's views are the same as a third-fruit person, the ordinary being is a third-fruit person; if an ordinary being's views are the same as a second-fruit person, the ordinary being is a second-fruit person; if an ordinary being's views are the same as a first-fruit person, the ordinary being is a first-fruit person; if an ordinary being's views are the same as one oriented toward the first fruit, the ordinary being is oriented toward the first fruit, about to eradicate the view of self. Here "views" refers to the manas's view-ground, which of course also includes the mind consciousness's view-ground. What the manas sees, it does; what the mind consciousness sees, it cannot do.
If an ordinary being's views are the same as a bodhisattva who has seen the mind, the ordinary being sees the mind and is enlightened; if an ordinary being's views are the same as a first-bhūmi bodhisattva, the ordinary being becomes a first-bhūmi bodhisattva; if the same as a second-bhūmi bodhisattva's views, the ordinary being becomes a second-bhūmi bodhisattva; if an ordinary being's views are the same as a bodhisattva of equal enlightenment, the ordinary being becomes a bodhisattva of equal enlightenment. Here "views" is still the manas's view-ground, the manas's wisdom, including the mind consciousness's wisdom.
Wherever the view-ground reaches, there one's practice reaches; if the view is not ultimate, the practice is not ultimate—this refers to the manas realizing the corresponding wisdom of the Buddha-dharma. Between the first fruit and the fourth fruit, wisdom and views are completely different, so practice is different, actions and conduct are different, and bodily, verbal, and mental actions are different. Who could claim the first-fruit person's view-ground is the same as the fourth-fruit person's view-ground? Who could claim the view-ground of a bodhisattva who has just seen the mind is the same as the view-ground of a bodhisattva of equal enlightenment and the Buddha? Because view-grounds differ, wisdom differs, ignorance differs, words and deeds differ, bodily, verbal, and mental actions differ, and the fruits differ.
Because the first-fruit person's view-ground is not yet thoroughly clear, one still needs to continue studying the Four Noble Truths, needs to continue contemplating the non-self nature of the five aggregates and eighteen realms; as wisdom advances further, one becomes a second fruit; continuing cultivation, growing wisdom, the view-ground becoming somewhat clearer, meditative concentration arising, wisdom advancing, afflictions eradicated, one becomes a third fruit; continuing contemplation, the view-ground becoming clearer still, afflictions exhausted, one becomes an arhat of the fourth fruit. The Great Vehicle dharma is the same: all because view-grounds differ, wisdom differs, afflictions and ignorance differ, and thus conduct differs.
Afflictions of deliberation arise because incorrect views cause afflictive delusions in one's thinking. If views are completely correct—correct like the Buddha's—then there are no afflictions of deliberation at all, no afflictive habits or ignorance, and no further need to cultivate. Therefore, the non-eradication of afflictions of deliberation is the result of views not being thoroughly clear. Within the same fruit, view-grounds differ, conduct differs, afflictions of deliberation differ, and the time to cultivate to the next fruit also differs. If view-grounds were all the same, there would be no arguments and disputes.
A first-bhūmi bodhisattva must realize the clarity of the hundred dharmas; a second-bhūmi bodhisattva must realize the clarity of the thousand dharmas; a third-bhūmi bodhisattva must realize the clarity of the ten thousand dharmas. Each dharma a bodhisattva realizes, one ignorance is broken, one wrong view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi) overturned, one view-ground gained, one portion of wisdom grown, one portion of afflictions of deliberation or habits reduced, and one's conduct becomes one portion purer. Until all dharmas are realized, all ignorance and view-delusions are broken, one gains the wisdom view-ground like the Buddha's, afflictions of deliberation are exhausted without remainder, and the Buddha-way is completed. The Small Vehicle dharma follows the same principle: regarding the principle of the non-self of the five aggregates, whatever degree is realized, that degree of ignorance is broken, that degree of view-ground gained, that degree of wisdom grown, that degree of afflictions of deliberation broken or eradicated.
To summarize: whatever degree the view-ground reaches, that is the degree conduct reaches. Real verification is saying and doing; false verification is saying but not doing—mere lip service. Therefore, the view-ground is the manas's wisdom, the liberating wisdom gained by the manas's realization of the Buddha-dharma, not merely the mind consciousness's wisdom.
Twenty-nine: Liberation of the mind is liberation with the manas as the primary: both the mind consciousness and the manas are free from the afflictive bonds of craving and aversion. If the manas is not liberated, the six consciousnesses cannot be liberated, because the manas's afflictions inevitably drive the six consciousnesses to create afflicted karma, which then incurs the bondage of karmic power. The six consciousnesses arise and cease moment to moment and cannot be the master; the liberation of the six consciousnesses alone is useless—one is still restrained by the master, the manas. Afflictions mainly refer to the manas's afflictions: it is the manas that is bound, so the six consciousnesses cannot but be bound. From eradicating the view of self, the manas has one portion of liberation; the second fruit has two portions of liberation; the third fruit has three portions of liberation; the fourth fruit is completely liberated; the Buddha-ground is ultimately and thoroughly liberated.
