Nickolas Grabovac:
Ian And:
Ideally, what you want to eventually be able to do is to attenuate and eliminate the "sense of self" from the underlying tendencies (the asavas) of the mind when viewing reality in real time.
So, are you saying that, it is not so much eliminating the asavas themselves, rather it is eliminating the construction of a "sense of self" from the asavas?
No. That's a mis-reading. The asavas
contain the sense of self and are wrapped up in the underlying tendencies to view self as being part of every experience you have. You have to eliminate the asavas altogether.
Sometimes the traditional Theravada way of explaining this can become confusing in this way. At AN 6.63 the three taints are defined as being (1) the taint of sensual desire, (2) the taint of desire for becoming, and (3) the taint of ignorance (in viewing reality).
"I-making" is regarded as the function of wrong view (the view of self), "mine-making" of craving. The root conceit is the conceit "I am" (
asmimana), so conceit is also responsible for "I-making."
Thus, related to the Three Taints are the asavas, or mental fermentations of: sensual passion, states of being, (wrong) views, and ignorance. These are also referred to as four bonds. Release or security
from these four bonds is tantamount to achieving
arahatta (arahatship) or
nibbana.