Knowing Is Easy, Doing Is Difficult

Knowing is easy, but practicing is difficult. The key lies in where this knowing is actually established, and which consciousness's knowing it is. If it is only established in the mind consciousness, then practice need not even be discussed—it is mere talk; one cannot practice, and one cannot be one's own master. If the manas does not know, the darkness of ignorance within the mind cannot be broken through, and one cannot take corresponding action; thus practice becomes difficult upon difficult. When the mind consciousness knows that the five aggregates are without self, there is not the slightest benefit of liberating merit and fruition. Therefore, a person of the srotāpanna fruit absolutely does not merely have the mind consciousness knowing that the five aggregates are without self—the manas must necessarily know it as well. Only in this way does the eradication of the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) carry the benefit of merit and fruition, and only then can there be initial liberation, establishing a clear dividing line from ordinary beings (pṛthagjana). If a person of the srotāpanna fruit has attained partial realization of buddhahood and possesses some measure of liberating merit and fruition, then the principle that the five aggregates are without self must certainly be realized by the manas. If it is merely realized by the mind consciousness, there will be no benefit of merit and fruition, because the manas has not attained partial realization of liberation.