The Person that calls itself 'I'
If you want to deal with Koans it's good to know about the two very different sides of yourselfs.
It's not difficult. Just read and look at the pictures.
They show how step by step a black shaped 'Person' develops a coloured and detailed identity, becomes Person 'I'.
... and please don't forget your daily meditation! Its the best way to pic up the meaning of this page.
The first side of Person 'I'
(pics: A Person is like black shapes on white)
Person one
First of all you're a bipedal mammal, species homo sapiens, median lifetime 75 years etc. That's your basic condition.
Person two
It never changes from birth to death. You're a biological creature not "dog", not "horse" but "person".
Not every Person is the same. It's obvious the patterns of Person one, Person two and Person three look quite different.
Person three
The empty spaces and the dots, lines and shapes point to genetic differences in sex, color, brain potential etc. that every Person has.
You, personally, are a very specific "Person" (with capital "P") from the beginning of your life.
The second side of Person 'I'
(pics: The minds adds color to the Person)
Person one
with color
On the other side, although, you remain the same Person, body and brain are socially changed throughout your lifetime.
Person two
with color
Lots of things, from mother tongue to professional knowledge, are learned, academic degrees or manual skills are attained.
Person three
with color
All these "additions" to a Person are controlled by the mind. And the mind creates an 'I' out of them.
During your lifetime the mind-created 'I' grows bigger and bigger and it even swallows 'Person' and forgets about it.
The two Creations of Person 'I'
(pics: The Mind adds more Details)
Person one
more details
In short, a human being is created twice.
First, the biological creation as 'Person' and second, the social creation as 'I' through learning and achieving.
The mind brings the two creations together and makes every human "the Person that calls itself 'I'", in short "Person 'I'".
Person two
more details
Buddhists believe that only the first creation, the "Person" is real. The second creation, the 'I' is just a dream or a piece of cloth a Person tailors for itself and wears every day.
Person the
more details
For most people it's the other way around.
Only the second creation, 'I', is important.
The originally created Person is sucked into the 'I'.
There is no "Person that calls itself 'I'", but just the 'I'.
How Person 'I' deals with Koans
(pics: The mind has created Person 'I')
Person 'I' one
Dealing with Koans is difficult, because the 'I' can't solve them, despite all its ambitions, abilities and knowledge.
That's difficult to grasp, because we won't believe it.
At the end the omnipotent 'I' we trust in, gets frustrated and more and more desperate.
Person 'I' two
It takes quite some time before Person 'I' gives in and accepts, like Buddhists do, that 'I' is just a piece of cloth, the Person (you) is wearing.
Person 'I' three
To trust in this Person is a big step. But it's needed. Only the Person is able to enter
Zen's World where it will intuitively "understand" a Koan and find an answers.
Download the free e-books with
"Miscellaneous Koans".
They
give lots of simple training cases, to discover the "Person" you are and to become confident that Person will solve all Koans!
Go to Zen Koans
Go to Mummonkan Introduction
Return to Home Page from Person 'I'