“Teacher, I understand that many things have passed or will pass, but why can’t I let go?”
“Because you’ve not seen through it. You must first let go of “I”.”
“Let go of you?”
“Silly disciple, let go of the big “I” in you.”
“Haven’t I been telling my students that our lives are “non-self”? Then, how do we let go of something that does not exist?”
“Indeed, when we experience and verify the ultimate reality, there is “non-self”. However, before we experience and verify, living beings will be attached to the surface appearance as “I”. Letting go of “I” means letting go of the image of “I” in our mind, until you experience and verify that there isn’t an “I” originally and there’s nothing to be attached to.
“Teacher, what you say is difficult to imagine.”
“The Buddha did not say this can be thoroughly understood by using imagination! This can only be done when we use the tool beyond thoughts, that is to see things as they really are. These words can only play the role of a map at best.”
“Then, how can we see things as they really are?”
“My good disciple, practice well. Practice samatha and vipassanā, practice morality, concentration and wisdom.”