So then we do the actual meditation on letting go of this sense of identity,
Separate sense of self.
Get yourself comfortable and upright.
Begin with a few deeper breaths,
Calming the mind and calming the body.
One more long breath in,
Long breath out.
And then we set our intention to be practicing,
Focusing not on ourselves,
But focusing on others and being here for the benefit of every single living being.
Then bring your attention into the present moment.
No need to be anywhere else.
Start by bringing your attention to your breathing.
And for the first few moments,
Just be there with your breath going in and your breath going out.
And so then we begin by trying to get a strong sense of the self that we believe in.
Think about a time when you're criticized or when you're very angry or upset or embarrassed or nervous.
Maybe standing at the top of a cliff or in a high building.
And notice that strong sense of self that comes up.
This me,
This identity,
Based upon your looks maybe or your education,
Your thoughts,
Your feeling about yourself,
Whatever it is.
Bring that strong sense of a self into your mind,
Some sort of autonomous,
Intrinsic entity which is me.
And try and keep that in your mind for the rest of the meditation,
That sense of self,
As clearly as you can.
And consider that if such a self does exist,
It should be findable either within your body and mind or somewhere else in the world.
These are the only two possibilities.
Just be sure of that.
And then keeping that image of yourself,
Strengthening it again if you need to,
Begin to look first through the body.
Sink that sense of self into each part of the body,
The head,
The arms,
The legs,
The torso,
The internal organism.
Ask that question,
Is that me?
Is this this self which I believe in?
Check every part of the body,
Sinking that image of yourself into it.
Asking that question,
Is that this self?
Is that me?
Or maybe we believe the whole body is ourselves,
In which case if we lost a limb then we will become less of me.
Or whenever we cut our hair or cut our nails we will be less of who we are.
That clearly is not the case.
But be sure that no part of the body is you,
Is this sense of self.
And then keeping that sense of self in your mind,
Refreshing it if you need to,
Bring back that feeling of me,
This identity.
And then begin to look in your mind,
Ask is your happy thought you?
Is a sad thought you?
Is a memory or thought you got up with this morning you?
Thought you went to bed with last night,
Is that you?
Planning for something in the future,
An emotion or a feeling,
Ask.
Sinking that sense of oneself into all the thoughts and feelings and ask that question,
Is that me?
Is that this self?
Don't forget to check the thought which is looking for yourself.
Is that me?
Or is it just another thought which is looking?
Until you come to the conclusion that nowhere in this body,
Nowhere amongst the mind,
The thoughts and feelings,
Is this self.
There's merely a body and mind,
No intrinsic autonomous self.
And then just to be sure,
Make sure the self doesn't exist somewhere else,
At home or in your bedroom or in your kitchen or at work or some other country or place.
Just make sure that's not a possibility also.
The self cannot be found somewhere else.
And then if this sense of identity self can be found nowhere in the body,
Nowhere in the mind and nowhere else in the world,
Then the only conclusion we can come to is that it's completely non-existent,
Just a figment of our imagination,
Just a concept.
It has no basis in reality.
And rest your attention on that complete sense of non-findability,
That it's just not there.
Rest with that emptiness of there being such a thing existent anywhere in the world,
Anywhere within the body and mind.
It just isn't there.
If you can come down to a feeling within you and be with that feeling of complete non-findability of such a self,
Rest with that for a few moments.
It's just not there.
Whenever that sense of self comes back through a thought or feeling or sensation,
Again look for it,
Notice it,
Observe that feeling of me and look quickly through the body and mind and get to that sense of not finding.
It just doesn't exist.
And be with that.
Rest there for one more minute in that sense of complete non-findability.
It has no existence.
And we dedicate our practice.
May it bring relief and freedom from suffering and the cause of suffering,
That belief in a separate self to all living beings.
And may it bring complete happiness to every single living being.
Thank you.
