THIS QUESTION HAUNTS US, MOST FREQUENTLY ON A SUBTLE LEVEL, THROUGHOUT ALMOST EVERY MOMENT OF OUR DAILY LIVES. TRY AS WE MIGHT, WE CAN'T REALLY FIND AN "I", THOUGH, CAN WE? OUR OPINIONS SHIFT AND OUR RELATIONSHIPS TO OTHERS REFLECT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF "I." OUR BODIES ARE GOING THROUGH CONSTANT CHANGES. SO WE BEGIN BY LOOKING FOR AN INHERENT "I" THAT CAN'T BE DEFINED BY CIRCUMSTANCES. WE ACT AS IF WE HAD AN "I" TO PROTECT, AVOIDING PAIN AND SEEKING COMFORT AND STABILITY. WHEN PAIN OR DISCOMFORT OCCURS, WE SEEK TO REMOVE OURSELVES FROM IT, AND WHEN SOMETHING PLEASANT OCCURS, WE SEEK TO ATTACH OURSELVES TO IT. THE IMPLICATION HERE IS THAT PAIN AND PLEASURE, COMFORT AND DISCOMFORT, AND SO ON, ARE SOMEHOW EXTRANEOUS TO THIS "I."
WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT "I" THAT IS PERMANENT OR UNCONDITIONED BY EXPERIENCE?
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