All That Is Seen by the Self and the Self-View Itself Are to Be Abandoned

The view of self is difficult to eradicate, being deeply ingrained, and the view of what belongs to self is also extremely difficult to eradicate, being deeply ingrained. When one takes a portion of the functions and activities of the five aggregates as the self, one then takes another portion as what belongs to the self, firmly grasping them as "I" and "mine."

The self and what belongs to the self are not one; they are different, distinct. For example, if one considers the aggregate of feeling to be the self, then the aggregate of form is not the self but belongs to the self. While this may seem to eliminate the view of the body (i.e., the view that the aggregate of form is the self), in reality, considering the aggregate of form as belonging to the self is also a form of the view of self. The view of what belongs to self is deeply ingrained and is also a wrong view, not in accordance with the Dharma, and must be eradicated. After eradicating the view of self, with correct understanding established, one will realize that the view of self and the view of what belongs to self are not different; both are the view of self and must be eradicated. The aggregate of feeling is not the self; the aggregate of form is neither the self nor what belongs to the self; neither of them is the self.

Before eradicating the view of self, one takes the aggregate of feeling as the self and the aggregate of form as what belongs to the self, believing that feeling exists within form, and form exists within feeling, each mutually existing within the other, pervading each other's substance. After eradicating the view of self, with correct understanding established, one realizes that feeling is not the self, form is not what belongs to the self, feeling does not exist within form, and form does not exist within feeling; they do not mutually exist within each other, because the five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness—are not the self.

This matter is difficult to comprehend conceptually; it requires suspending the question in the mind during meditation, suspending it within the faculty of intellect (manas). One day, understanding will dawn, and the meaning will become clear. Once this knot is untied, the obstacle to eradicating the view of self will be removed, and resistance in contemplation practice will diminish.