Commentary on the Sutra of the Compilation of Father and Son (207)

Self-Conceit and the Habitual Tendency of Self-Conceit

This supreme bodhi can eradicate all self-conceit in the world. Sentient beings in the mundane world all possess deep-seated self-conceit. What is self-conceit? First, sentient beings believe that a self exists, taking the five aggregates as the self: the material body is the self, feelings are the self, perceptions and consciousness are the self, volitional formations are the self, and the activities of body, speech, and mind are the self. Ordinary people take this as the self and then cling fiercely to it. Due to the view of self and the mind of self-attachment, they give rise to self-conceit, believing that their own five aggregates and eighteen elements are superior to those of other sentient beings, and that they surpass other sentient beings in certain aspects of worldly affairs. Consequently, they exalt themselves inwardly and oppress other sentient beings.

Conceit is divided into seven types: conceit, excessive conceit, conceit beyond conceit, self-conceit, arrogant conceit, inferiority conceit, and perverse conceit. All arise due to the so-called self; thus, self-conceit is fundamental, giving rise to the other forms of conceit. The other forms of conceit must first be eliminated through cultivation, while self-conceit is eliminated last. Hinayana practitioners eradicate self-conceit at the fourth fruition stage of Arhatship, but the habitual tendency of self-conceit remains. Mahayana practitioners eradicate self-conceit at the first ground Bodhisattva stage, but the habitual tendency remains. This habitual tendency of self-conceit is only fully eradicated when one reaches the eighth ground Bodhisattva stage, demonstrating how deeply ingrained this habitual tendency is.

What is the habitual tendency of self-conceit? For example, when a repulsive insect falls from a tree onto one's body, an ordinary person will instinctively shake it off immediately—without thinking, without deliberation, reacting swiftly and subconsciously. This is the mental faculty's habitual tendency to protect the self, reflexively avoiding danger and rejecting what one dislikes. This is the habitual tendency of self-conceit. Why do all sentient beings have this tendency? Because since beginningless kalpas, the mental faculty of sentient beings has continuously clung to the five aggregates as the self. This tendency is deeply ingrained. Even after eradicating the view of self and eliminating self-conceit, deep within the mental faculty, the concept and notion of the five aggregates as the self remain. Habitually, the shadow of the five aggregates persists and is not yet cleared away. Only seventh and eighth ground Bodhisattvas can eradicate this habitual tendency of self-conceit. Arhats can prevent self-conceit from manifesting, but it is only from the first ground Bodhisattva stage onward that one gradually begins to eliminate the habitual tendency of self-conceit and the habitual tendencies of greed, hatred, and delusion. Even when Arhats eradicate afflictions, they eradicate the manifestation of afflictions; all habitual tendencies only begin to be gradually eliminated from the first ground Bodhisattva stage onward.