Madhyama Āgama: Mahānidāna Sūtra (The Great Causes Sūtra)

Original text: 阿难。要如何观察我耶。阿难。对于受。或以受是我之我。或以受实非我之我。不得感受者。即是我之我。阿难。如是观察我。或以受实非我之我。又不得感受者。亦非我之我。我应依我之领纳。即受之法。始是我之我。阿难。如是观察我。 

Explanation: The Buddha said: Ānanda, how should one contemplate the self? Regarding the aggregate of feeling (vedanā), one may take feeling to be the self within the self, or one may take feeling to be truly not the self within the self, and that which cannot feel is the self within the self. Ānanda, contemplating the self in this way—or taking feeling to be truly not the self within the self, and also that which has no feeling is not the self within the self—I should rely on my own experiencing, that is, on the dharma of feeling, for that alone to be the self within the self. Ānanda, this is how to contemplate the self. 

Original text: 阿难。此中对于言受是我之我者。不得不如是言。友。此受有三。是乐受苦受。不苦不乐受。此等三受之中。汝见何为我耶。阿难。若于某时。领纳乐受。其同时不领纳苦受。又不领纳不苦不乐受。其时应唯领纳乐受。阿难。若又于某时。领纳苦受。其同时不领纳乐受。又不领纳不苦不乐受。其时应唯领纳苦受。阿难。若又于某时。领纳不苦不乐受。其同时不领纳乐受。又不领苦受。其时应唯领纳不苦不乐受。 

Explanation: Ānanda, here, regarding those who say that feeling is the self within the self, one cannot but speak as follows: Good friend, there are three kinds of feeling—pleasant feeling, painful feeling, and neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. Among these three kinds of feeling, what do you regard as the self? What dharma do you see as the self? Ānanda, if at a certain time one is experiencing pleasant feeling, at that same time one does not experience painful feeling, nor does one experience neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling; at that time one experiences only pleasant feeling. Ānanda, if again at a certain time one is experiencing painful feeling, then at that same time one cannot experience pleasant feeling, nor can one experience neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling; at that time one can only experience painful feeling. Ānanda, if again at a certain time one is experiencing neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, then at that time one cannot experience pleasant feeling, nor can one experience painful feeling; one can only experience neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. 

From this passage, the self becomes easy to contemplate. If feeling were taken as the self, and feeling has three kinds, then the self would have three kinds. Yet at any single moment, only one kind of feeling can exist, so only that one feeling would be the self, and the other two kinds of feeling would not be the self. Clearly this is wrong. A contradiction arises, which shows that feeling is not the self. If feeling were the self, all three kinds of feeling should simultaneously be the self; but since the three kinds of feeling cannot exist at the same time and are mutually exclusive, this shows that taking feeling as the self is mistaken. Some will say: feeling is of course not the eighth consciousness, but can these words and the content of this contemplation be connected with the eighth consciousness? Clearly not, because the śrāvakas were all incapable of directly observing the eighth consciousness in the present moment. Especially the ordinary śrāvakas who had not yet eliminated the view of self were unable to attain enlightenment and realize the eighth consciousness; their sequence of contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) was inverted, so realization was impossible. Nor could they imagine an eighth consciousness to contemplate—what is imagined is called conjecture and speculation, and it serves no purpose at all.