The Importance of Contemplative Practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and Attaining the Felt Realization of Selflessness

Sentient beings all take feelings and sensations as real, as "self," and as belonging to self; then they pursue feelings and sensations, seek to satisfy and comply with them, and for the sake of their own feelings and sensations they do not hesitate to create all kinds of karmic actions, especially unwholesome karmic actions.

If we wish to liberate ourselves from the suffering of birth and death, we must contemplate the illusory, unreal,幻-like, empty, and not-self nature of feelings and sensations through contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā). In this way we can realize that feelings and sensations are indeed empty, illusory, and unreal; then we will no longer attach importance to them or pursue them. On the one hand, this eliminates the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi); on the other hand, the mind can gradually attain tranquility (praśama), and the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion gradually fade. When we no longer pursue feelings and sensations, we will no longer create the unwholesome karma of ignorance—greed, hatred, and delusion.

How are feelings and sensations empty and illusory? Where do they come from? Feelings and sensations are mainly those of the six consciousnesses. In fact, the feelings and sensations of the manas behind them are also extremely important. If the manas had no feelings and sensations, it would not prompt the six consciousnesses to create karma of greed and defilement, nor would it be possible for one to seek liberation and diligently cultivate and study the Buddha's teachings. The feelings and sensations of the six consciousnesses come, on the one hand, from the manas, being influenced and directed by it; on the other hand, when the six consciousnesses themselves discern the six sense objects, they are influenced by those objects, developing greed for or aversion toward them; when the associated mental factors (caittas) arise, feelings of suffering or happiness are produced.

How do the feelings and sensations of the six consciousnesses arise? The tathāgatagarbha outputs the seeds of consciousness, forming the six consciousnesses. Once the six consciousnesses are generated, they begin to operate; the five universal mental factors and the five particular mental factors appear, and thus they discriminate the six sense objects, grasp at them, and develop feelings and sensations toward the objects. Afterwards, they take these feelings and sensations as real and as self—being greedy toward what accords with themselves and hateful toward what opposes them—and so they create the karma of ignorance such as greed, hatred, and delusion, after which the retribution of birth-and-death saṃsāra continues without end. Therefore, when we contemplate feelings and sensations as empty, the minds of greed and hatred can be subdued. This matter is extremely important: realizing that the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) are without self, and that feelings and sensations are also not self—this is the most important thing.