Commentary on The Sutra of the Compendium of Fathers and Sons (167)

How to Eradicate the View of Self and Attain the First Fruition?

In the practice of the Hinayana path, upon reaching a certain level of realization, one fully comprehends that all phenomena of the Five Aggregates in the mundane world are empty, and that all dharmas of the Eighteen Realms are empty. This eradicates three fetters within the mind: the view of self, attachment to views, and doubt. Thereafter, one advances toward liberation, freeing oneself from the suffering of birth-and-death cycles.

The practice involves realizing that the so-called "self" is empty: the physical body is empty, the mind is empty, sensations are empty, thoughts are empty, mental activities and perceptions are empty, and volitional actions are empty. The Five Aggregates—form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness—are all empty. The Eighteen Realms are all empty: the six sense bases—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—are empty. The objects perceived by the six sense bases are empty: visual forms are empty, sounds are empty, smells are empty, tastes are empty, tactile sensations are empty, and mental objects are empty. The six consciousnesses are all empty: eye-consciousness is empty, ear-consciousness is empty, nose-consciousness is empty, tongue-consciousness is empty, body-consciousness is empty, and mental consciousness is empty. Finally, the mental faculty (manas) itself is also empty.

By fully realizing the emptiness of all Five Aggregates in this way, one eradicates the view of self and attains the first fruition.