The Non-Self of Manas

The selflessness of the manas has several aspects: first, not taking the manas as real; second, not taking the five aggregates as real, as oneself; third, not taking the functions of the six consciousnesses as real, as the manas's own functions; fourth, not taking the functions of the eighth consciousness as the manas's own functions.

When eradicating the grasping at a self of the person, He must know that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are not the self. Gradually, He begins to eradicate the attachment to the five aggregates and eighteen realms, and begins to contemplate that this function of the five aggregates is also not the self, that that function is also not the self, and that all functions of the five aggregates are not the self. In this way, bit by bit, He can eradicate the manas's attachment to the five aggregates and become an arhat of the fourth fruit. After the manas has eradicated the attachment to the five aggregates, He reaches an initial stage of being untainted, and His imputed nature (parikalpita-svabhāva) is partially eliminated. Before becoming an arhat of the fourth fruit, one is constantly subduing the manas's attachment to the self, subduing it slowly, bit by bit, starting from the moment of attaining the first fruit and becoming a person of the first fruit, until the arhat of the fourth fruit completely eradicates the grasping at self.

Bodhisattvas at the first bhūmi begin to eradicate the grasping at a self of dharmas, portion by portion. To eradicate the grasping at a self of dharmas, one must attain the wisdom of tolerance of the non-arising of dharmas (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti), realizing the selfless nature in all dharmas, realizing that all dharmas lack autonomy and are all illusorily manifested by the eighth consciousness. Through contemplation, one discovers that in all dharmas there truly is no self existing, and none of them is the self. The manas then accepts that all these dharmas are not the self, nor are they possessed by the self. Only in this way, bit by bit, can He eradicate the grasping (upādāna) toward all dharmas. Only when the manas reaches complete selflessness, without attachment to any dharma, with the mind utterly empty and pure, can one attain buddhahood.