How to Contemplate the Emptiness of the Grasper and the Grasped to Sever the View of Self

The grasper is the seven consciousnesses, while the grasped are the six dusts and all phenomena. Observing the emptiness of both grasper and grasped requires a state of relatively stable meditative concentration to engage in contemplative practice and reflection. The prerequisites are: First, meditative absorption must be sufficiently attained. Second, one must have a rough understanding of the principle that the five aggregates are illusory. Then, based on this understanding, one should progressively engage in contemplative practice and reflection, thoroughly realizing the emptiness of the grasper, the seven consciousnesses. This observation must be clear and penetrating. Internally, one must acknowledge the illusory and non-self nature of the six consciousnesses and observe the grasped—the six dusts and all phenomena—clearly and thoroughly, including the worldly phenomena of the five aggregates. All must be contemplated to reveal their illusory, arising-and-ceasing, changing, and unreal nature.

The illusory nature of the six dusts is relatively easy to contemplate. In the Saṃyukta Āgama, the World-Honored One taught how to contemplate the illusory nature of the six dusts. While reading, one should reflect on how the six dusts are illusory, contemplating each point individually, step by step. Follow the text in contemplation, follow the text in reflection. When reflection becomes thorough, one can acknowledge those principles. Without reflection or contemplation, the superficial knowledge held by the conscious mind alone is useless. Logical reflection can identify reasons and evidence to prove the correctness of the theory. When contemplation is achieved, the mind will say: "Oh, so it is like this!" Then the manas (root consciousness) acknowledges it.

Contemplation always involves a process. In the end, the mind will say: "So this is how it is!" At this point, it is genuine knowing—this is the acknowledgment by the manas. Otherwise, it is merely the superficial knowing of the conscious mind, which often holds little practical value. Many people can recite the principles, yet in reality, their own minds do not truly acknowledge them. This is because the manas does not understand or comprehend these principles; it does not know the ultimate reason why. For the manas to understand and comprehend, the conscious mind must reflect upon and contemplate the content of these theories. The process of contemplation subtly influences the manas, informing it: "This is how it is; this is the principle," and the reasoning must be sufficient. Every piece of content analyzed by the conscious mind is transmitted to the manas, enabling the manas to know this content and understand the principle. If the conscious mind does not contemplate or reflect, the manas remains unaware and cannot sever the view of self.