Buddhism: Who am I?

the realisation of oneness

We come into this world

A clean slate

Free from experience.

As we grow and learn

We start to ask of ourselves

"Who am I?"

I have my community.

I have my family.

I have my home.

I have my work.

But these are things
That are separate from me,

Things that are mine,

So they can't be me.

I have my actions

I have my decisions

I have my past

I have my future

But these are things
That are separate from me,

Things that are mine,

So they can't be me.

I have my body

I have my mind

I have my feelings

I have my thoughts

But these are things
That are separate from me,

Things that are mine,

So they can't be me.

What is left?

All that I think is me

Is only things

That are separate from me

That I call mine

I'm left with one answer

To the question

"Who am I?"

...

Nothing

...

Then from the stillness of the nothing

Comes the quiet voice of realisation

That before I could not hear

And grows louder and more confident.

The problem all along

Was with the idea

That there is a separate me.

That all the things

That I say are mine

Are actually separate from me.

The thoughts.

The feelings.

The mind.

The body.

The future.

The past.

The decisions.

The actions.

The work.

The home.

The family.

The community.

The experience.

The slate.

The world.

They aren't mine

They are me.

Nothing that is

Is separate from me.

All that is

Is me.

And I am it !

Reviews

[Aethereal]

I'm a flow of indestructible information. It has been calculated by Physicist that the only thing that survives passing through a Black Hole is information. There’s static information and flowing information. Information flows from source to sink. Energy flows from source to sink. Perhaps information = energy. I’m energy! I’m the source, and I’m the sink. I’m Mystery! Energy is the ability to do work. Work is measured in foot-pounds. I’m some kind of foot-pound. I’m a circular argument. I’m very good at pounding my feet. I’m also a chipmunk! Have a good day.

[Rogie-Dodge]

I like chipmunks :D .. particularly Chip and Dale !!

[Aethereal]

It's been fun. Chipmunks are now just coming out of their Winter underground nests with their offspring. It's going to be a good chipmunk Summer. Just saying that you're everything in no way tells you what everything truly is. Everything's a mystery, and knowledge of this mystery is our eternal goal. Above all else, I’m wise enough to know that I'm naive! I have no followers, nor do I wish to have any. I don't play that power game. All I do is watch and wait.

[Rogie-Dodge]

That's the way to be :D

[Brittany Zedalis]

╰☆╮I love love love love this! I've thought about this before and came to the same conclusion in the end. Great work!╰☆╮

[N!LoC]

What the hell?! This is way too deep for a blonde bimbo like me to really truly understand lol

[Rogie-Dodge]

Nawwwww .. don't put yourself down !!!
And I do have some less deep and less overly philosophical writings here.
It's a 'phase' I'm going through :D :D

[Tina Louise UK]

Brilliant! what a thought provoking piece, enjoyed :) x

[I Am Svetlana]

We always continue to ask ourselves who we are, completely forgetting to realize all that we already have. A loving family, siblings, school, clothes, shelter, food. So much stuff our parents pay for and we still feel like we don't belong due to our own actions in life...we should learn to dig deeper, find out who we really are, what we truly desire so we can feel like and become better people. We need to accept and understand that we aren't alone in this world, that there are people who are willing to help us through whatever may come and love us unconditionally. Sometimes, that love and care may seem to have run out...but that's just what our minds want us to think!

[Saddam]

All that I think is me
Is only things
That are separate from me
That I call mine
I'm left with one answer
To the question
"Who am .

Very beautiful poetry. It the question we think usually every day. Love this one. Great.

[Rogie-Dodge]

Thanks. I'm glad you appreciate it. I don't think its particularly beautiful, but for me it is significant. The question of who I am has been on my mind.
I like the idea that one cannot see behind one's own eye .. the eye does not see itself. In the same way anything that I am aware of cannot be me. And that is what meditation teaches us, to see our thoughts and feelings as just thoughts and feelings, and not me. It is only after you understand that, that you fine that actually it all IS you and that you were looking inside to find yourself when really you need to look outward into the universe, and that is where you find 'me'.