The True Meaning of “Feeling is Self” and “Feeling is Different from Self”

Original text of the Saṃyukta Āgama, Volume Five:「云何见受即是我？谓六受身——眼触生受，耳、鼻、舌、身、意触生受。此六受身一一见是我，我是受，是名受即是我。云何见受异我？谓见色是我，受是我所；谓想、行、识是我，受是我所，是名受异我。

云何见我中受？谓色是我，受在其中，想、行、识是我，受在其中。云何见受中我？谓色是我，于受中住，周遍其四体；想、行、识是我，于受中住，周遍其四体，是名受中我。

Explanation: How is the aggregate of feeling taken to be the self? The aggregate of feeling is the six feeling-bodies: when the eye faculty contacts form dust, eye consciousness arises, and eye consciousness has feeling; when the ear faculty contacts sound dust, ear consciousness arises, and ear consciousness has feeling; when the nose faculty contacts scent dust, nose consciousness arises, and nose consciousness has feeling; when the tongue faculty contacts taste dust, tongue consciousness arises, and tongue consciousness has feeling; when the manas contacts mental dust, mind consciousness arises, and mind consciousness has feeling. The manas takes these six feelings all as the self, believing that the self (the manas) is feeling—this is called "feeling is the self" (the manas).

How is it seen that feeling is different from the self? When the manas regards the aggregate of form as the self, then the aggregate of feeling is what the self possesses; when the manas regards the aggregates of perception, volitional formations, and consciousness as the self, it will regard the aggregate of feeling as what it possesses. This is called "feeling is different from the self."

What is seeing that there is feeling within the self (the manas)? When the manas regards the aggregate of form as the self, the aggregate of feeling is within the aggregate of form; when the manas regards the aggregates of perception, volitional formations, and consciousness as the self, the aggregate of feeling is within the aggregates of perception, volitional formations, and consciousness. The aggregate of feeling is what the self possesses.

What is there being a self within feeling? The manas regards the aggregate of form as the self, dwelling within the aggregate of feeling; the self dwells within the aggregate of feeling, which pervades the four limbs and the whole body. The manas regards the aggregates of perception, volitional formations, and consciousness as the self, dwelling within the aggregate of feeling; the self dwells within the aggregate of feeling, and the self pervades the whole body—this is called "there is a self within feeling."

The "self" in the above text refers respectively to the self that takes the aggregate of form as itself and then takes the other aggregates as its possessions; the self that takes the aggregate of feeling as itself and then takes the other aggregates as its possessions; and so on—this self is the self of the manas. If it were replaced with the eighth consciousness, the meaning of the entire sutra passage would not hold. The self here has nothing to do with the eighth consciousness; if the self were replaced with the eighth consciousness, it simply cannot be explained. So how could the conclusion of the contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) be that the aggregate of perception is not the eighth consciousness?

Here likewise the subjective self cannot be replaced with the eighth consciousness; if it were replaced with the eighth consciousness, the text before and after would be incoherent and disconnected. It is the manas that appropriates these functions and roles as its own, not the eighth consciousness. The mind consciousness also takes these as its own functions in the same way. But with regard to the functions of the five sense consciousnesses, the mind consciousness has no way to appropriate them as its own, because the mind consciousness cannot command the five sense consciousnesses; both the five sense consciousnesses and the mind consciousness are directed by the manas.

Only the consciousness that can direct and decide is the master, the so-called self. Whatever the manas wants to do, the eighth consciousness can enable Him to accomplish; once it is accomplished, the manas thinks, "I accomplished such-and-such a thing, and so on." Then the "I" emerges, the wrong view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi) emerges, and the guest usurps the host's role.

Whatever the manas intends to do, the six consciousnesses immediately do it; once it is done, it believes "I did it," not knowing that it was all done by the six consciousnesses, and it takes the functions of the six consciousnesses as its own. If it is not accomplished, it believes it failed to accomplish something, becomes dejected and unhappy, not knowing that perhaps the tools—the six consciousnesses—were simply not up to the task.

A general of an army commands thousands of troops; when about to do battle, he tells the soldiers: "Our army's morale is high; we will surely win the battle." Only the general is qualified to say "our army, our army," for he holds command authority, holds power in his hands, and has the final say over the army. Thus, once the general is subdued, the entire army is subdued, and the battle is over. But the foolish person is not like this: he goes about subduing the soldiers one by one, thinking that capturing a few soldiers means the great task is complete, beating the gong and shouting: "We have won!" Yet before long, the enemy general sweeps in with the main force, and the foolish person's troops collapse in rout and are defeated.

Being satisfied with having the mind consciousness eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) and shouting "Victory!"—yet the manas, the master, has a blazing view of self, grasping at self everywhere; the mind consciousness, having no choice, must still obey its master and do things beneficial to the self, so "my mind, my actions" still manifest as before. What use is such cultivation? A person of intelligence and wisdom who wants to fell a great tree will surely cut at the root; only a fool picks off the leaves and breaks the branches. Having broken off the branches, he thinks the great tree will surely fall; but the fallen branches do not affect the great tree's growth, and the tree will still live on.

The manas, the master, connects both ends: with one hand it grasps the functions of the eighth consciousness, and with the other it holds the functions of the six consciousnesses, appropriating them all as its own and using them all for itself. This self is formidable and hard to shake, which is why birth-and-death is so firm, with kalpa after immeasurable kalpa of transmigration—this is why eradicating the manas's view of self is so difficult. Many people, in order to eradicate the view of self sooner, have constructed a conjured city: the mind consciousness deliberates and ponders a bit and considers the view of self eradicated, then rests in this conjured city, thinking it is safe. Then one day, the master flies into a rage; the houses of the conjured city collapse, and one must still endure the wind, rain, and sun.

In fact, whether in Mahāyāna sūtras or the Hinayana Āgamas, this subjective self always covertly refers to the manas, not to the mind consciousness. Those with wisdom may go to the sūtras themselves and savor this. If I were to explain it all clearly at once, some people would go mad, unable to bear it. Nevertheless, I will still slowly, bit by bit, excavate the meaning in this regard, in order to manifest the truth and rescue the deluded multitudes.