The Principle of Eradicating Self-View Without Descending into the Three Lower Realms

After severing the view of self and attaining the first fruition, one will no longer fall into the three evil realms to suffer retribution. Why is this so? Because their mind has transformed; their mind is no longer aligned with the karma of the three evil realms, and thus they will not commit actions that lead to the three evil realms, nor will they fall into them to suffer. When the mind realizes selflessness, it becomes empty. A mind that is empty cannot possibly commit actions that lead to the three evil realms. What are the actions that lead to the three evil realms? They are actions that violate the Five Precepts and the Ten Wholesome Deeds. Only by upholding the Five Precepts can one attain a human body and avoid the bodies of beings in the three evil realms; only by upholding the Ten Wholesome Deeds can one attain human or heavenly bodies and avoid the bodies of beings in the three evil realms. Those who have severed the view of self and attained fruition have eliminated their coarse and heavy afflictions; their mental conduct must align with the Five Precepts and Ten Wholesome Deeds, thereby freeing them from the karma and bodies of the three evil realms.

So, which mind is this mind that has severed the view of self, that aligns with the Five Precepts and Ten Wholesome Deeds, and that is not aligned with the karma of the three evil realms? Consciousness (vijñāna) certainly is such a mind, but the most crucial factor is the mental faculty (manas), which absolutely must be such a mind. Moreover, the mental faculty is a continuous mind. Only after severing the view of self will the mental faculty uninterruptedly possess the combined merit of vipaśyanā (insight) and śamatha (calm abiding). Whether asleep, unconscious, dead, or in the bardo state at any time, the merit of severing the view of self remains with them. They will then rely on this merit to take rebirth, be reborn, and enter the womb. Therefore, whatever the mental conduct and karma of the mental faculty are, they will obtain a corresponding womb-body. To avoid falling into the three evil realms, it is necessary for the mental faculty to sever the view of self and possess all merits. Only the wisdom gained from hearing the Dharma, the wisdom of reasoning, the wisdom of conjecture, and the wisdom of emotional understanding and intellectual comprehension possessed by consciousness cannot absolutely guarantee the cessation of the arising of coarse and heavy afflictions, cannot guarantee refraining from committing actions that lead to the three evil realms, cannot guarantee not violating the Five Precepts and Ten Wholesome Deeds, and thus cannot guarantee not falling into the three evil realms at the end of life.