Professor Lin Chong'an: No-Self and Emptiness, Lecture 1: Refuting the Eternal Self, Abandoning the Self Separate from the Aggregates

No-Self and Emptiness, Lecture 1

Refuting the Eternal Self, Abandoning the Self Separate from the Aggregates

Lin Chong'an (2007)

○ Universal truths have always existed, throughout all of reality; these are what we call the True Dharma. ○ Walking the path of the True Dharma boils down to accumulating the provisions of merit and wisdom, which include both calm abiding (samatha) and insight meditation (vipashyana). ○ The provisions for calm abiding and insight meditation come from listening, reflecting, and practicing: that is, keeping company with virtuous friends, hearing the True Dharma, contemplating in line with the Dharma, and living in accordance with the Dharma. ○ The foundation for the provisions of insight meditation is right view, above all else a firm grasp of the meaning of no-self and emptiness. ○ Through careful reflection, we come to understand the faults of the cycle of birth and death (samsara); next, we recognize "self-grasping" as its root cause. To sever self-grasping, we must seek the correct method to uproot it, gain unshakable conviction in the "right view of no-self," and then meditate on that meaning over and over – this is an indispensable part of the Bodhisattva path.

【Textual Evidence】(Verses from the Introduction to the Middle Way)

Externalists posit a permanent, substantial self as the experiencer, who is without qualities, inactive, and not an agent; based on minor differences in their assertions, various externalist schools have formed.

Like a son of a barren woman, the selves posited by these externalists do not exist at all; they are also not the basis of innate self-grasping, as they are not accepted to exist even in conventional reality.

【Explanation of the Eternal Self】 Key tenets of the Samkhya school: (1) All objects of knowledge are divided into 25 tattvas (categories of existence):

1. Purusha (the Eternal Self, also referred to as the "self" or "person")
2. Primordial Nature (prakṛti, also called the "Lord")
3. Mahat (the "Great," or cosmic consciousness)
4. Ahamkara (egoity, or "I-maker") 5–9. The five subtle elements 10–20. The eleven faculties 21–25. The five gross elements The five subtle elements are: form, sound, smell, taste, and touch. The eleven faculties are made up of: the five sensory faculties, the five motor faculties (also known as the five sense organs of action), and the mental faculty. The five sensory faculties are: the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin. The five motor faculties are: the mouth, hands, feet, excretory organs, and reproductive organs. The five gross elements are: earth, water, fire, wind, and space.

(2) The "Eternal Self" has five defining traits: (a) it is the experiencer, undergoing pleasure, pain, and other sensations; (b) it is a permanent phenomenon; (c) it is not an agent that undergoes change; (d) it is devoid of the qualities of "joy, sorrow, and delusion"; (e) it is all-pervasive, and therefore has no specific function. It is called "permanent" because it is permanently independent. Note that "joy, sorrow, and delusion" are alternative names for "pleasure, pain, and ignorance."

(3) Primordial Nature is the source of all effects. It produces effects only when the "Eternal Self" awakens a desire: when Primordial Nature perceives that the Eternal Self wishes to enjoy objects like sound, it aligns with the Eternal Self and manifests all kinds of phenomena for the Eternal Self to experience.

(4) The process of change emanating from Primordial Nature unfolds as follows: first, Primordial Nature gives rise to Mahat (the Great). Mahat is another name for consciousness, defined as that which can simultaneously project the images of both external objects and the inner self. From Mahat arises Ahamkara (egoity). Egoity is divided into three types: mutable egoity, egoity of joy, and egoity of delusion. From mutable egoity arise the five subtle elements (form, sound, smell, taste, touch). From egoity of joy arise the eleven faculties. The five gross elements then arise from the five subtle elements. The five sensory faculties, such as the ear, are empowered by the mental faculty to take in the five objects, such as sound; they become conscious of these objects and give rise to attachment. The Eternal Self then contemplates the meaning of what consciousness is attached to, and awakens a desire to enjoy these objects. Sentient beings do not understand that all phenomena are transformations of Primordial Nature, and so they cycle through samsara.

(5) One day, a yogi hears the key instructions from their teacher, and gains unshakable certainty from these teachings: "All these phenomena are merely transformations of Primordial Nature." They then gradually let go of attachment to external objects, contemplate the faults of all objects, abandon all desires, and practice meditative absorption. Through sustained meditative absorption, they develop the divine eye, and use this divine eye to observe Primordial Nature. When Primordial Nature is perceived by the divine eye, it is like a mistress discovered by a legitimate wife: she bashfully withdraws all her manifested transformations back into Primordial Nature, separating from the Eternal Self. At this point, all conventional appearances vanish from the yogi’s mind; the Eternal Self remains alone, no longer enjoying external objects, and this is called liberation.

【Refuting the Eternal Self】 (1) The "Eternal Self" posited by all externalist schools is a "self separate from the aggregates." Madhyamaka masters lay out logical arguments to refute it:

The self posited by all externalist schools cannot exist in ultimate reality, as it is unarisen – just as a son of a barren woman does not exist.

The self posited by all externalist schools cannot be the basis of innate self-grasping, as it is unarisen – just as a son of a barren woman does not exist.

(2) There is no Eternal Self with a distinct, separate nature existing apart from the aggregates. This Eternal Self has no connection to the aggregates at all; practicing to realize it is entirely wasted effort.

(3) The "basis" of person-self-grasping, as described by Madhyamaka masters, is the "self" or person (sentient being, pudgala) that is a composite of the aggregates – an impermanent phenomenon. The object that appears to person-self-grasping is the "self of a person," which does not exist. As for the Eternal Self posited by all externalist schools, it does not exist not only in ultimate reality, but also in conventional reality.

【Explanation】 In daily life, the "objects" of our worry seem to be external things: family, careers, and so on. But if we look closer, what we are truly anxious about is the "self made up of our own body and mind" – this is the "basis" of person-self-grasping, and this is the true object (basis and focus) of Chan meditation, not the Eternal Self. Deep down, we carry the vague sense that there's an independently existing self behind our body and mind, called the "permanent, singular, autonomous self." This is a mistaken perception: we treat this "self" as a master, and our body and mind as servants to command and use. This kind of self is exactly the "self separate from the aggregates."

【Practice】 Cultivate calm abiding through practices such as walking meditation. Cultivate the "right view of no-self" through listening, reflection, and similar practices, then move into insight meditation, first working to refute the "self separate from the aggregates."