Buddha has taught that Sabbe Dhamma Anatta. I agree , however being an ignorant fellow , I believe I am body, I am eyes , I am intelligence ,I am consciousness, my wife is mine , my son is mine.
What do you find as you , yours or yourself , honestly?
(This question attempts to find out depths of our ignorance)
What I experience; except for the sense objects that seem to be out past the limits of "my" mind and body. Even though everything you experience is IN the mind, including the sounds you hear outside the window; otherwise, it doesn't happen, as far as you know. It's like the hypothetical tree in the wilderness that no one hears fall.
What's mine is what is "given" -- e.g. I bought a bike, they "gave" it to me, and now I have a right to use it. I recognize it in the street as mine, "there is my bike, which I'm allowed to use, and for which I have the key".
There is also "duty" -- to family, neighbours, colleagues, employer, teachers, society, etc. I think of the word "duty" as being primarily non-Buddhist, e.g. the subject of the Bhagavad-Gita, but I suppose it's Buddhist too -- e.g. what I remember as "the sutta of the six directions" i.e. Sigalovada Sutta (DN 31) -- though it's also called a "dusty path".
Ultimately, I strive to perceive myself as an ever-evolving dynamic process that is intricately intertwined with the vast processes of the universe. However, after my meditation practice, I recognize that I view myself as a somewhat fixed entity, one whose identity is largely shaped by various relationships, thoughts, feelings, possessions and personal attributes.
Part 1)
I believe I am body, I am eyes , I am intelligence ,I am consciousness,
Look here, Name & Form.
My body is not me.
So how come someone says this collection of disappearing and popping up objects me? It's an illusion.
Part 2)
Neither Mind nor Matter is static. (not static means, not keep their form continue). But rather they are(both) dynamic.
Part 3)
Thought (Mind /consciousness) has three (3) states.
So, at death, thought (consciousness) completes the last cycle in the last(dying body) body. Next popping up happens in a new body. (rebirth body).
Then cycles continue in this new body.
Part 4)
Impermanent of the Matter - Rupa Kalāpa / Matter
Part 5)
more cycles than 1000000000per second . That's why we feel everything is continues. because of high frequency. Not awake and deep sleep. It happens with every single thought.
Thanks for this question.
"Who are you...?"
This is a great question that all of us need to find an answer to.
If someone says, ‘I’m George. : well, that’s not really him. That’s just a word assigned to him by his parents to be used as his name
If someone says, I'm a Doctor. : well, that’s just a profession—there are so many doctors, it’s not just you.
If someone says, I'm the wife/husband of a famous person : they are not talking about themselves, but rather using a reference point to introduce themselves.
If someone says I'm 6 foot handsome young man, or I'm the prettiest girl in the world: they are talking about their body and its features. But we all know that’s not how they were born. So, when they were a child, were they not the same person? Was that someone else?”
All these answers clearly show that we really don’t know who we truly are.
With the questions and answers above, I believe I have addressed your interpretations of who you are I believe I am body, I am eyes , I am intelligence ,I am consciousness, my wife is mine , my son is mine.
If I softly touch on these points again: If you are the body, then who were you 30 years ago (assuming you are 32 now)? Was that someone else? You would say, “my body has changed over time,” but earlier, you said, “I am the body.” The same applies to your eyes—their size has changed. Or consider when you (or rather, your body) grow very old, and even your eyes may stop working. But you will still be alive. So, if you introduced yourself by saying, “I am my eyes,” then when you are old and even if your eyes were removed (just as an example for context), you wouldn’t say, “I am dead.” You would say, “my eyes were removed.”
Even though past lives and future lives are mentioned in Buddhist and some other teachings, I’ll try to answer without referencing them, as we don’t have any direct experience of those within the human body.
So who are we?
We are called humansa name we use to distinguish ourselves from the rest of the things in nature. But when we think about it deeply, we realize that we are nature, not just a part of it. Trees are nature, animals are nature, and we are nature too.
The unique thing about us (I’ll use "I", "me", “us” or “we” to distinguish humans for the sake of this explanation) is consciousness. However, all living beings, including animals, have consciousness, so no one can identify themselves solely as “I am consciousness” because many others also possess it. If you’re interested in the quantum world, take a look at the double slit experiment which reveals a lot about the relationship between consciousness and reality.
We feel like there is someone consistently living, and we refer to this as “me,” “I,” or “myself.” But in reality, it’s just a flow of thoughts. These thoughts are like energy reactions (karmic energy). They arise based on causes, emit energy into the universe, and this emitted energy stays in the universe. Later, when the right conditions emerge, that energy returns as karma. This karmic energy also seems to contain information that can be revealed or “read” during the process of arising thoughts (or a mind). Because of this information, the mind feels as if there is an ongoing existence.
It’s similar to a climbing plant. Imagine if a climbing plant had a mind, it might feel as though it’s continuously growing. But what’s really happening is that, due to causes like nutrients, sunlight, and other factors (these are the causes), the plant grows (this is the effect). This is similar to how the human body grows. But is there any “person” behind this growth? Is there a doer making it happen? No. It’s just nature. If there are no nutrients, the plant or the human body dies. All of this happens according to the causes that exist.
Similarly, in the mind, thoughts arise one after another based on causes. To the mind, there seems to be a past and an assumed future, but what truly matters is only the “present.” However, with the fabrication of past, present, and future, and the world constructed through the senses (colors & eyes, sounds & ears, smell & nose, taste & tongue, touch-feeling & skin) the mind assumes that there is a consistent person living in the body who is experiencing all of this. But even science has proven that there are no inherent colors, sounds, smells, tastes, or tactile sensations in the world. These are all generated by the brain. In reality, everything is energy and vibrations.
For example, our throat creates vibrations, not sounds, and similarly, a speaker creates vibrations, not sounds. But the human ear picks up those vibrations, which cause it to vibrate as well, sending signals to the brain/mind. That is where the actual perception of sound is generated.
So, based on all these processes, the mind can’t fully grasp what is truly happening; instead, it assumes there is a “person” experiencing it all. This assumption leads to feelings like greed, jealousy, love, kindness, and so on. These emotions, in turn, emit energy back into the universe. This is how the flow continues, forming the sansara chakra (the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth).
Note: This is not based on one sutta or one sermon. This understanding comes from years of experimentation, reading Dhamma books, listening to sermons from many monks, meditating, and studying/thinking alone, while also considering scientific perspectives like quantum physics. I’m just a regular person trying to find and follow the path that the Buddha showed.
