Who Am I?

Extract from "Wisdom on How to Live Life"

This question is of monumental importance because if the answer is “I am the body,” we will live our lives one way. If the answer is “I am not the body,” we will live our lives in a completely different way. This article examines whether it is wise to identify ourselves with the body.

If somebody asked me “Who am I?” By this society’s convention, I’ll probably give the following answers:

(1)   I’m Harry,

(2)   I’m 89 years old,

(3)   I’m 1.7 m tall,

(4)   I weigh 65 kg,

(5)   I’m a Singaporean,

(6)   I’m a lecturer,

(7)   I teach,

(8)   I live in a house,

(9)   I drive a Japanese car,

(10) I’ve one thousand two hundred and thirty-four dollars,

(11) I like reading spiritual books, and

(12) I support a football team called Arsenal.

These twelve points appear to comprehensively describe who I am. Now let’s examine them point by point:

(1)   this is the name for the body and it can be changed,

(2)   this is the age of the body and it changes every year,

(3)   this is the height of the body and it changes,

(4)   this is the weight of the body and it changes,

(5)   this is the nationality of the body and it can be changed,

(6)   this is the amount of money owned by the body and it can change - by the minute,

(7)   this is the job title for the body and it can be changed,

(8)   this is the job function of the body and it can be changed,

(9)   this is where the body lives and it can be changed,

(10) this is the car driven by the body and it can be changed,

(11) this is a liking of the body and it can be changed,

(12) this is the football team supported by the body and out of all the points, this is the only one that can never change – ha ha!

So it appears that everything to do with the body changes. In fact, our body keeps on changing and eventually, it disintegrates and reduces to ashes. So is it wise to identify ourselves with the body?