The Inspiration of the Manas Born in Meditative Concentration

Ru Chun: These past few days my mind has been contemplating: why are the five aggregates not self, not different from self, and not mutually contained? I had no train of thought and didn't know where to begin. Yesterday I had some business and went back to my hometown. This morning I couldn't sit for long, and a feeling of pleasure slowly arose from my legs through my body. My mind was again pondering this question when, before long, the sound of someone talking on the phone came from downstairs, very loud. That sound seemed to echo in my mind for a long time without dissipating, and in an instant I seemed to understand, or rather perceive: sound is not a person, yet it is not different from a person; sound and a person do not exist simultaneously, nor is one contained in the other — that is: sound is not a person, is not different from a person, and is not mutually contained with a person. By the same reasoning: the five aggregates are not self, not different from self, and not mutually contained.

Having thought this far, my mind remained quite calm, without much reaction. In the past, when encountering such a situation, there would be a joy of sudden clarity, but this time, for some reason, there wasn't. Today my mind kept returning to this question on and off, and by the afternoon I understood: all dharmas are not self, not different from self, and not mutually contained. I felt that today, while dealing with many guests, speaking with my mouth and smiling with my face, it didn't really enter my heart; there seemed to be a kind of separation between my mind and other people, with little engagement or permeation.

Assessment: The content, process, and result of this contemplation are all quite good. As for the content: "not different from self and not mutually contained" is very hard to fathom; ordinary people don't understand it at all. As for the process: while contemplating and engaging in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) during sitting meditation, you happened to hear the sound of a phone call, inspiration appeared at that moment, and you suddenly understood the relationship between a person and sound, and then made the connection to the relationship between the five aggregates and self. This inspiration came mainly from the manas: the mind consciousness heard the sound, and the two worked together. If there had been no meditative concentration (samādhi) in the mind, the manas could not have produced such inspiration. However, this inspiration still does not count as realization. As for the result: you have understood the meaning of "the five aggregates are not self and not different from self," but rather coarsely, not deeply and minutely. Sound is not a person; no one takes sound to be a person. Yet the relationship between sound and a person cannot be severed — they are mutually dependent, yet cannot substitute for each other. "Not mutually contained" means sound is not within the person, and the person is not within the sound. 

On this basis, contemplate the five aggregates further: the five aggregates are not self, and self is not the five aggregates; the relationship between self and the five aggregates is one of mutual dependence, without mutual substitution. "Not mutually contained" means self is not within the five aggregates, and the five aggregates are not within self. The latter part of the relationship between the five aggregates and self was mostly inferred by analogy, not directly perceived, so it belongs to understanding or determination (adhimokṣa); there is still some distance from realization, and further effort is needed. But this is already very good.

Ru Chun is especially diligent. Once her karma was dissolved, it was as if she had unlocked a cheat mode — new wisdom keeps emerging. Therefore, those with heavy karmic obstructions must find ways to dissolve their karma and must absolutely not create new karma; otherwise there is no hope in this lifetime. The reason new wisdom appeared without the joy of former times is that with knowledge and experience, a person becomes deep and reserved; only the inexperienced feel joy easily. The reason human affairs don't enter or touch her heart, and there is a sense of detachment, is that she has meditative concentration: the mind is settled and unmoving, neither drawing near to people and things nor merging with them; when the mind doesn't move, it becomes somewhat numb and unresponsive.

Ru Chun has cultivated no small amount of merit, and in cultivating merit she does not pick and choose among people — she gives equally and seeks nothing, and finally she withstood her karmic obstructions. Great merit suppresses a hundred calamities; money cannot necessarily resolve disasters, but merit can suppress them. Should a clever person seek merit, or seek wealth and fame, or seek immediate personal gain? Seek nothing. Do not keep seeking worldly matters any longer — that is foolish behavior. Clever worldly people are all very foolish, while worldly fools may perhaps possess wisdom.