The Buddha recognized this problem and specified that teachings on emptiness be given only to a selective audience. To receive the teachings, one must have the right disposition. There are rules on who can listen to the teachings and who cannot.

In Introduction to the Middle Way, it is said everyone is endowed with two kinds of root virtue or capacity: one is the wisdom of emptiness, the other the accumulation of merit – also known as the roots of wisdom and skillful means. One can receive the teachings on emptiness only when his or her wisdom capacity is mature.

What are the perceptible signs of mature wisdom root in a person? If upon hearing the teachings of emptiness, a person exudes great confidence with tears running down the face and the hair on the body standing up – these are signs of mature root of wisdom. A person of this capacity will quickly realize emptiness when he or she receives the teachings. So it is necessary to give the teaching in this case.

- Quote from The Four Seals of Dhama, "All Phenomena Lack Self-Existence"

Emptiness of self in person is not difficult to understand. The three components of the self in person are the body, mind, and activities of the body and mind; apart from these, there can be no other self in person. Using the logical reasoning of the Middle Way, we can establish these three components are empty.

To start, let’s investigate the body, not the mind. To establish the emptiness of self in person, we do not need to examine the body at the microscopic level; it is sufficient to just break the body down to a certain point.

Why is that? Because attachment to self in person is formed on the basis of the five aggregates at the gross level. When we know the gross body, mind, etc. do not exist, the foundation of attachment to self in person is damaged; once it is damaged, the attachment cannot survive on its own.

- Quote from The Four Seals of Dhama, "All Phenomena Lack Self-Existence"

“Self” and “Self-Attachment” are two different concepts. For instance, when we see a bunch of flowers, the flower is the object outside; our eye consciousness is the subject inside. Like the flower, “self” is the external object; like eye-consciousness, “self-attachment” is internal, subjective, and of the mind.

- Quote from The Four Seals of Dhama, "All Phenomena Lack Self-Existence"

Strictly speaking, it is best to realize emptiness before one undertakes the practice of all phenomena lacking self- existence; however, realizing emptiness is not easy since there are many basic requirements such as the preliminaries that have to be completed.

Regardless, one who practices emptiness must at least understand the underlying concept; only then can emptiness be practiced. If we do not even know what no-self or emptiness means, we will not know how to practice emptiness. Hence, prior to teaching the practice of no-self, I shall first explain the principle of “no-self” — why there is “no-self,” that is, why the “self” does not exist. With this understanding, the practice can then proceed.

- Quote from The Four Seals of Dhama, "All Phenomena Lack Self-Existence"

Of course, our mental activity is dictated by the sixth consciousness which itself is also a mistake. Nevertheless, at the stage we are now, we can only rely on the sixth consciousness to guide us, to lead us to a certain stage whereat our speech, thought process, etc. lose their former effectiveness and functions and must be discarded, like a pair of worn-out shoes that has outlasted its usefulness.What state is the mind in after mental fabrications are discarded? At that point, it’s just direct cognition. Whose cognition? It’s wisdom’s cognition, not that of the sixth consciousness. At that point, our sixth consciousness has already transformed into wisdom. Although not yet the wisdom of the buddhas, it is the wisdom of the bodhisattvas. This is just what we need. When wisdom appears, ignorance at the gross level is immediately eliminated; we instantly comprehend the true nature of life, phenomena, and the universe. This is what’s been pointed out in Ch’an Buddhism and Dzogchen as sudden enlightenment.

- Quote from The Four Seals of Dhama, "All Phenomena Lack Self-Existence"

Although it is easy to discuss and accept the concept of “no- self,” this understanding is only of limited use to us at present.

There is a certain degree of difficulty in any investigation of the mind, since it is an entity, unlike the body, that cannot be seen or touched. The body is the first of the aggregates explained in the sutras because it represents external and substantial matter; consciousness, on the other hand, is placed at the end because it pertains to mental phenomena which are the most difficult to examine.

For most of us, the best way to investigate the mind is to analyze it in relation to time.

- Quote from The Four Seals of Dhama, "All Phenomena Lack Self-Existence"

Sakyamuni Buddha always instructed his disciples not to seek victory by challenging others, but to find everlasting victory by contesting oneself – specifically, one’s self- attachment. As a true Buddhist practitioner, we must do battle with our afflictions and with our self-attachment.

- Quote from The Four Seals of Dhama, "All Phenomena Lack Self-Existence"

In general, when we see a flower, we believe the flower that is here today was also here yesterday, and that it exists even if it is replanted elsewhere. We would not entertain the idea that it is not a flower, as it would only be a pile of particles after being broken down into molecules, atoms, etc. This kind of attachment is “attachment to self in phenomena.” And the object of this attachment is the flower.

- Quote from The Four Seals of Dhama, "All Phenomena Lack Self-Existence"