Both the Eradication of the View of Self and the Realization of Enlightenment through Seeing the Mind Are Personally Realized by the Manas

"I" refers to the manas, the seventh consciousness. It is the manas that takes the aggregate of form among the five aggregates as self, takes the aggregate of feeling as self, takes the aggregate of perception as self, takes the aggregate of volitional formations as self, takes the aggregate of consciousness of the six consciousnesses as self, and also takes itself as self; only because of this does the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) arise. The six consciousnesses are of the nature of dependent origination, arising in succession, and are a tool utilized by the manas, the seventh consciousness. It is just like the relationship between the head and the four limbs within the entire five aggregates and the material body: the five aggregates always take every part of the material body as self. By the same token, the manas, since beginningless kalpas, has constantly taken every part of the five aggregates as self, and of course also takes the functions and activities of the eighth consciousness as self.

The self-nature of the mind consciousness is weak, far inferior to the powerful self-nature of the manas, and is comparatively easy to eradicate. Generally speaking, the mind consciousness, through being schooled in the principle that the five aggregates are without self and by engaging in a little deliberation, can understand the principle; whereas the manas has weak powers of deliberation and observation, and moreover, its ignorance accumulated over beginningless kalpas is profound, severely obstructing its wisdom, making it difficult for it to understand the principle. Therefore the view of self of the manas is extremely difficult to eradicate.

From ancient times to the present, those who have truly eradicated the view of self have been exceedingly rare, as scarce as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Even when the Buddha was in the world, the proportion of those who realized the fruits was not very large. Therefore it is said that the view of self mainly refers to the view of self of the manas. To eradicate the view of self, the manas must personally, together with the mind consciousness, investigate the principle of no-self, and must be able to directly perceive that the five aggregates are indeed without self—only this is the true eradication of the view of self.

If one merely relies on the mind consciousness, like a parrot repeating itself, reciting and memorizing texts in the form of reading aloud written words, without engaging in deep and subtle contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) within meditative concentration (samādhi), the manas will never be schooled and will never understand the principle. This is merely the superficial activity of the mind consciousness on the surface of words; at most one can attain an intellectual understanding that the five aggregates are without self, but cannot realize through personal experience that the five aggregates are without self, and therefore cannot eradicate the view of self.

The eradication of the view of self is the manas's personal realization. Then, is seeing the mind and attaining enlightenment also the manas personally realizing the true mind, the eighth consciousness? The answer is likewise yes. Because since beginningless kalpas the manas has constantly taken the functions and activities of the five aggregates and the six consciousnesses as self, and has also taken the functions and activities of the eighth consciousness as self, not knowing that He Himself is nothing at all. On one end He depends on the eighth consciousness, and on the other end He depends on the five aggregates and the six consciousnesses; only in this way can He have His own so-called functions and activities of "self," and only thus can He survive within the three realms, accomplishing His illusory functions and activities of "self."

Then, in order for the manas to eradicate ignorance and accomplish the Buddha Way, on the one hand the great tree of the five aggregates must be felled so that He has nothing to depend on; on the other hand, He must be made to realize the true eighth consciousness, knowing that all dharmas are the doing of the eighth consciousness, and not His own functions and activities. In this way the manas clearly recognizes the true reality of the dharmadhātu; ignorance is bit by bit broken away, the grasping of self and the grasping of dharmas are gradually eradicated completely, there is utterly no self, and finally He becomes the World-Honored Buddha.