Introduction

The root of all suffering and afflictions is precisely this “I”. Now let us carefully dissect: what exactly is this “I”?

By observing the changes in body and mind from different perspectives, we will discover a profound truth: the “I” we have been clinging to is actually an ever-changing illusion.

From the Perspective of Physical Size

At three years old, thirty, and eighty, the body’s size is completely different:

• Tiny in childhood
• Largest in prime adulthood
• Shrunken again in old age

Question: Which of these bodies is the real “you”?

From the Perspective of Bodily Substance (Mass/Weight)

At three perhaps only a few kilograms, at thirty tens of kilograms, at eighty lighter and thinner again. The total material mass keeps changing.

Question: Which weight represents the true “you”?

From the Microscopic Perspective

Cells in the body are constantly arising and ceasing. By thirty or eighty years old, not a single cell from age three remains; the entire material composition has been completely renewed.

Question: If “I” depends on these cells, in which phase does it exist?

From the Perspective of Mind and Mental States

Mental states change with age:

• At three: Innocent and ignorant
• At thirty: Possibly very learned and experienced
• At eighty: Perhaps nearing decline, memory loss, or even dementia

Question: Which mental condition is the true “you”?

About Thoughts

Some claim the continuous stream of inner monologue and thoughts is the self. Yet every moment the content differs; one thought perishes, the next arises.

Question: Which momentary thought is the real “you”?

About Viewpoints and Experiences

Others say accumulated opinions, viewpoints, and life experiences constitute the self. Yet even toward the same person or situation, views shift over time:

• What was liked yesterday may be disliked today
• What was cherished before may be released now

Question: Among these contradictory views, which one is truly “you”?

About Methods and Standards

When dealing with different people, you apply different attitudes, standards, and ways of relating. For different matters, methods and resulting experiences vary.

Question: Which attitude, which standard, which experience is truly “you”?

If the Entire Changing Process Itself is “You”

Then there is no single, fixed “you” at all — only countless successive, momentary “yous” appearing one after another and disappearing again.

Conclusion

All the above observations clearly demonstrate: everything we have clung to as “I” is merely a continuous stream of phenomena undergoing ceaseless transformation and evolution.

These are not “I”.