Who am I? is not just the Disciple’s question—it is humanity’s question. This chapter invites readers to join the Disciple in their contemplation, to sit in the garden’s stillness, and to turn their gaze inward. It is a journey of peeling away the stories we tell ourselves, of realizing that beneath the surface lies the unshakable truth of who we truly are.
Disciple: Master, who am I? This question haunts me. I don’t mean my name or my job, but the 'me' beneath it all. Who am I, really?
Zen Master: A fine question, my child. Strip away your name, your job, even the roles you play—parent, friend, dreamer. Who is left?
Disciple: I don’t know. If I take those away, it feels like nothing remains.
Zen Master: Yet something remains, does it not? A quiet awareness that notices even this uncertainty.
Disciple: Yes, but it’s so subtle. It’s just a feeling of existence.
Zen Master: That is the essence of who you are. Imagine waking with amnesia, forgetting your past, your identity. Still, a part of you would know, 'I exist.' That awareness—pure, unshaped by thought or memory—is your true nature.
Disciple: But we’re so tied to our stories. How can I separate myself from them?
Zen Master: Begin by observing them. Like clouds in the sky, your thoughts and stories drift through your awareness. You are not the clouds; you are the vast, open sky. Watch your thoughts arise and fade. They do not define you—they merely pass through.
Disciple: So, I’m not my thoughts. But then, who am I?
Zen Master: You are the observer of your thoughts. You are the space in which they arise. The journey is not about finding yourself in stories but peeling them away until only stillness remains.
Disciple: That stillness… is it enough?
Zen Master: It is more than enough, for it is unshakable. In stillness, you will find the boundless, infinite truth of who you are.
Excerpt from the book "The Enlightened Path" by Ervin K. Kery