What Does It Mean That Manas Clings to the Perceiving Aspect of the Eighth Consciousness as the Self?

The eighth consciousness perceives all dharmas, and the mental faculty, following the eighth consciousness, also perceives all dharmas. However, the appearances of all dharmas perceived by the mental faculty and the eighth consciousness differ, with distinct content. The eighth consciousness perceives non-mundane appearances, while the mental faculty perceives mundane phenomenal appearances. Relying on the perceiving aspect of the eighth consciousness, the mental faculty, after perceiving all dharmas, considers all these dharmas to be "self" and "belonging to self." This is the view of self, including the view of a personal self and the view of a phenomenal self.

Because of such a view of self, the mental faculty clings to all these dharmas, refusing to relinquish them, with pervasive conceptual clinging. Therefore, the mental faculty is also known as the consciousness of imaginary grasping. Sentient beings first develop the view of self and subsequently develop the clinging to self. Due to ignorance, the mental faculty fails to understand that all dharmas are produced by the eighth consciousness, all belong to the eighth consciousness, and all possess the attributes of the eighth consciousness. After relying on the eighth consciousness to perceive all dharmas, it mistakenly regards all dharmas as its own and belonging to itself. This misconception has persisted from beginningless eons ago until the present. Unless this misconception is eliminated through contemplative practice, the view of self cannot be eradicated, the suffering of birth and death cannot be extinguished, and the cycle of rebirth will not cease.