When I was little, I would point at things and ask my mother, “What’s that?”
And my mother would patiently reply “that’s a tree”, “that’s a car”, and so on.
As I kept asking the question, other voices would say, “That’s how things are.””This is life and this is death.” And so on.
So when I am looking at the world, looking at myself, it is always as if I am looking through the eyes of someone else.
And the mind’s eye, likewise. That’s why, when we practice, it’s very important that we soften our gaze. The world comes to us, not in the familiar way, but an intimate way. Seeing this way becomes an aspect of a broader felt sense. The breath moving inside us. Our weight. The birdsong touching our ears.
Self or no-self? Isn’t the answer obvious?