Who Eliminates Self-View, and Whose Self-View Is Eliminated?

Is the self that takes the six consciousnesses of the aggregate of consciousness as "me" the true self—the eighth consciousness—or the false self—the manas? Does the elimination of self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) mean having the manas eliminate the view that the aggregate of consciousness is the self, or having the eighth consciousness eliminate the view that the aggregate of consciousness is the self? At the very end of contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), is it the manas that comes to realize the aggregate of consciousness is without self, or the eighth consciousness? The result of eliminating self-view is that the manas comes to realize that the aggregate of consciousness and the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) are not the self and are not possessed by the self. It is not about making the eighth consciousness realize that the aggregate of consciousness and the five aggregates are without self and without what belongs to the self; the view of self and the view of what belongs to self have nothing to do with the eighth consciousness.

Contemplating that the aggregate of consciousness is suffering, empty, impermanent, and without self should mean contemplating the impermanent nature of arising, ceasing, and change within the aggregate of consciousness, as well as the selflessness and unrealness of the aggregate of consciousness—that it is not the false self, the manas, and is not possessed by the false self, the manas; in fact, there is no such false self or illusory self at all—all is empty. It is not contemplating that the aggregate of consciousness and the five aggregates are not the eighth consciousness.

Who is it that carries out this contemplation? It is not the eighth consciousness that contemplates; rather, it is the manas that personally contemplates on the basis of the mind consciousness's contemplation. In the end, the manas comes to understand that the aggregate of consciousness is not the self and is not different from self (na m’eso attâ ti), and that the self and the aggregate of consciousness do not exist within or contain each other.

"Different from self" means the aggregate of consciousness is not the self but is possessed by the self. "Not different from self" means the aggregate of consciousness is neither the self nor what belongs to the self; both the self and what belongs to the self must be eliminated.

Who is it that realizes the aggregate of consciousness is without self and is not the self? Who realizes the aggregate of form (rūpa) is without self? Who realizes the aggregate of feeling (vedanā) is without self? Who realizes the aggregate of perception (saṃjñā) is without self? Who realizes the aggregate of formations (saṃskāra) is without self? Who eliminates the self-view that takes these aggregates as the self? Whose view is the self-view? To which "self" does the "self" in self-view refer? The view that the five aggregates are the self is a wrong view/false view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi); the view that the five aggregates are not the self is right view. Who holds the wrong view, and who has attained the right view? From which self is the wrong view eliminated? Which self has attained the right view? Who realizes that the five aggregates are not the self? Who takes the five aggregates as the self? Which self does the "self" in "the five aggregates are the self" refer to? Is this view a right view or a wrong view?

Whether it is right view or wrong view, the eighth consciousness has neither. The eighth consciousness itself does not give rise to views; it does not study Buddhism and does not cultivate practice; it has no view-delusion or affliction-delusion, and thus there is no need for it to eliminate view-delusion or affliction-delusion. Therefore, at the beginning of contemplative practice, it is the sixth and seventh consciousnesses that contemplate; at the end of contemplative practice, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses no longer take the five aggregates as the self, and they also know there is no so-called self—the five aggregates and the eighteen dhātus are without self.

If the conclusion of contemplative practice were that the five aggregates are not the eighth consciousness, then before attaining realization of the fruits, one would have to believe that the five aggregates are the eighth consciousness. Yet sentient beings, from beginningless kalpas, have never had such an awakening and do not know there is a true self, the eighth consciousness; they all take the five aggregates to be the illusory self, possessed by and used for the self. Whoever has self-view, eliminate self-view in that one. The mind consciousness and the manas have self-view; therefore, eliminating self-view means eliminating the self-view of the mind consciousness and the manas. Eliminating self-view is discarding the false. Seeing one's true mind (mingxin) is acknowledging the true. Only after the manas and the mind consciousness have discarded the false can they proceed to acknowledge the true.