Where Did I Come From?

Should “I” be an inherent existence, what is the basis of “I”? Is it the body or consciousness?

If thoughts are equivalent to “me”, I should possess all the ideas and knowledge from birth. Yet, the truth is that I must acquire knowledge from amassing external education and learning. All the external elements constitute an “I” but not an “inherent-I”. If all the knowledge learned to represent "I", there should be infinite subdivisions of "I". However, that is not the case at all.

Should this body be “me”, I should have a complete mastery to make it immortal and invincible from aging, illness, and death. Oppositely, that’s not the case at all. The body stays out of my command which cannot equate to “I”.

If we are negating the body and the consciousness as “I”, then, where did “I” come from? What am “I”? If and inherent “I” is valid, it is substantial. However, should we have mistaken the illusory “I” as real, we’re making a big mistake.

As we look for “I”, we must analyze carefully. The whole idea of “I”, is it real? If we can’t anything permanent about it, then we must negate the “false idea of I”. If “I” am real and substantial, no changes should ever occur. Yet, our thoughts and body are constantly changing. Everything is flickering moment by moment. We cannot identify any part that is substantial and permanent. That being said, “I” am not real but a delusion of consciousness.

Take a cup as an example, it is a mixture of all sorts of elements before coming into the formation of a cup. It is devoid of inherent existence. The cup only comes into existence by causes and conditions. It did not show up as it is. The same principle applies to all phenomena. We often perceive things on the surface, yet, they are not what we thought if we take an in-depth examination. The discovery of “I” is the same idea that must be analyzed deeper.

Therefore, “egoless” isn’t about abandoning anything deliberately. Everything comes into existence by causes and conditions. When the effect exhausts, changes happen and things fall apart. We must understand the source of “I” and the force behind it. The force is where the truth lies.