What is this "I"?

Who am I? For thousands of years people have wrestled with this question. Many religions and philosophers both new and ancient have put forth their theses on this. Who’s right? Has anyone figured it out?

As Buddhists, this may be the most important issue we work on. Interestingly, Buddhists approach this problem using logic and reasoning based on the idea that if we can identify what the “I” is not, and can’t be, then we are left with what it can only be.

First, let’s consider how we come up with this idea of an “I”. From birth we somehow have an innate sense of I. We think I am hungry, I’m happy or I’m uncomfortable in a wet diaper.

As adults we say the same types of things. All through our lives we express things this way. Further we will refer to I as the body or mind. I’m sick or I’m hurt relates to the body. I’m excited or I’m sad refers to the I as mind.

However, this I is not completely identifiable with our body, because if we could exchange our old, wrinkled, sick body for a fresh, youthful, healthy body, we would do so. Deep down we feel there is a self who would benefit from this exchange.

Similarly, if we had the opportunity to exchange our afflicted, confused mind with a buddha’s fully awakened one, we would probably do it. This suggests that we don’t completely identify with our mind either.

We somehow believe that somewhere in the depths there is a separate person, an I, who is neither body or mind, but not separate from either one.

In our naïve, ordinary sense, there is a feeling of self, of a being who is intricately involved with the body and mind and is the master who can control them. Yet the I feels independent of both body and mind, with its own distinct identity.

Although the body and mind constantly change, and have arisen dependent due to causes and conditions, we have the sense of an I that endures over time when we say “I was young and now I’m old. Many religions say that this I can also go to heaven or hell, or be reborn in another body, I suppose with another mind as well.

So, what is this “I”?

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