The existence of "I" is an illusion

　

    Western philosopher and mathematician Descartes once said: "I think, therefore I am." For the time being, we will not discuss the correctness of these words, but we can discover from it: The existence of "I" is a question that needs to be answered, from ancient to modern times, from the East to the West. Some people may find it funny —— If "I" does not exist, who is reading the article now? In fact, this is just a seeming and intuitive view. If we explore it in depth, or from a scientific empirical point of view, we will begin to doubt whether "I" really exists?

　

    We all know: "Human" comes from the union of the sperm and the egg of the parent, grows in the mother's womb, and then comes to the world; then does life exist right after the union of the sperm and the egg? Or is life not formed in an instant, but gradually? Can a fertilized egg without a heart, brain, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, body, or consciousness be called life? If the "I" exists after the sperm-egg union, how does that "I" be aware of itself? How do we define the existence of "I"? On the other hand, if we say: After the sperm and egg are combined, life does not occur immediately, but after it grows in the womb, life appears; if this statement is correct, then how is life defined? Is the existence of the heart called life, or the existence of the brain is called life? The existence of the heart and brain is not formed in an instant; at what stage does life exist?

　

    In addition, how did the first heartbeat or the first consciousness come into being at the beginning of life? If there are past lives and reincarnation, when did that past life enter the growing fetus? Some other questions arise from these questions: Do people still exist after death? Do people have a soul after death? What is the process of reincarnation? Even if modern science is so advanced, there are still no definite answers to these questions.

　

    There are other important questions: how to define "I"? We have been growing since we were born; from a year ago to right now,  the self has changed no matter in mind or the cells, face, and appearance of the body, then, is the self right now the same as a year ago? Does the definition of "I" refer to only the body, or does it include consciousness? If it is only the body, is the person who was amputated in the car accident the same self as the self before the car accident? If "I" includes consciousness, then if someone is given anesthesia and temporarily loses consciousness, does "I" still exist? These questions are only the tip of the iceberg. When we can't find the answer, we can only accept the vague and seeming intuition: I surely know which is "I" and which is not "I", even children won't answer it wrong. However, when these problems involve whether we can get real happiness and eliminate all pain and annoyances, we have to face them seriously and explore them to the end.

　

    According to the view of Buddhism, the existence of "I" is illusory; there are various kinds of activities of “I”, feelings of “I”, and things that are affected by “I” in the world and they are all illusions. Someone may ask: What is the profit of knowing whether I exist or not? In fact, the key point of Buddhism is here: as long as there is an "I", this "I" will bring pain and annoyances. The more a person is attached to the "I", the more and more pain and annoyances he will have. In other words, as long as a person can prove that "I" is illusory through the practice of Buddhism, he will be able to no longer attach to the “I” and free from all pain and annoyances. According to Buddhism, such a state is called "liberation", which is to be freed from the shackles of pain and annoyances. This state of "non-self" is not easy to obtain. There are many living beings in the world, and some people have never even heard the term "non-selfl" in their lives, let alone practice according to the Buddhist method to achieve "non-self". Therefore, if you are fortunate enough to meet the Buddhist Dharma, you should feel lucky; if you can go further, make up your mind and start practicing according to the Dharma, such a person is even rarer.

　

    If someone wants to pursue the meaning of life, but still full of doubts after searching for a lot of theories, then Buddhism is definitely a necessary subject. The practice of Buddhism can help us see through the falsehood and recognize the true shape of life in the universe. At the same time, through this pursuit, we can get the free and easy state of "getting away from all pains and obtaining happiness".