Self Inquiry - Direct Path to Self Realization, Awakening

Self Realization or Awakening is beyond all religions, and it is not a personal achievement.

Spiritual teachers do not have anything new to teach you. They just remind you what you already know deep in your heart, but which has been obscured by the conditioned mind. Below is just a method or path provided from a certain perspective, which is not complete or absolute.

What I want to share with you here is inquiry and recognition about the true self which came through some direct experiences.

Who am I really? What cannot be doubted is “I exist”. Apparently, I am that (the subject) which is aware. What is the subject of the awareness then?

The most significant aspect of the human mind is conceptual thinking. Everyone starts to form a “me concept” soon after birth, under the influence of one’s family and society: first you get a name; then you form some kind of idea about one’s appearance, sex, personality, etc; then you have family roles such as a daughter, a son, a wife, a husband, a mother or a father, etc.; then you have social roles such as a student, a doctor, a nurse, etc; some may have religious roles such as a Christian or a Buddhist, etc. Most people never question the reality of the “conceptual I”. However, it is obvious that I am not any concept (the object which I am aware of). I am the one (the subject) who is aware of all concepts. What is the subject that is aware of everything then?

Apparently, the true answer to this question cannot be conceptual as I am the one who is aware of all concepts. Since the human mind is used to complex thinking in addition to the influence of religions, cultures, etc., a common sense question such as this seemed to have become mysterious. The true answer to this question is within everyone but dormant in most people. That is why self realization is also called awakening.

When facing the question “what am I”, the conditioned mind will habitually come up with all kinds of conceptual answers. The most common assumption is “I am a body with a mind”. The true self is that which is aware of all organ senses (see, hear, smell, taste, touch, feel, etc.) and all thoughts. What is aware of all this?

Some people may sense "I am not just the body with a mind". Hence imagination of what "I" might be in the spiritual world arises, and this "I" then appears to be somewhere out there and unreachable. Again, what is aware of all imaginations?

When the mind is quiet, you may be able to sense that you are the awareness itself. There are many other words used for pointing to the true answer: consciousness, beingness, stillness, presence, spirit or emptiness, etc. It is necessary to point out: Since humans are used to seek answers through thoughts or concepts, it is a common trap to mistake pointers as the answer in self inquiry. The principle is the same with "finger pointing to the moon is not the moon itself". The seeker needs to see the moon in the direction the finger is pointing to. Just like the moon’s physical existence, the existence of the awareness (the self) is beyond doubt. What does the awareness point to then?

This seemingly simple question has puzzled humans since the beginning of time. This is because the true answer to this question cannot be spoken. Self inquiry will inevitably exhaust the conditioned mind. No objects, including thoughts, feelings, emotions and phenomena can be you because you are that which is aware of them. They cannot stop you from being the awareness but they can be obstacles to its self recognition. When the mind eventually gives up and stops its attempt to come up with any conceptual answers to the question "what am I", the grace for the awareness to reveal itself may come. For example, there are people who believed in Buddhism for many years or even decades only experienced self realization (awakening) after they set aside all Buddhist teachings and face the question directly. Of course, there is no certain way as to how the experiences of the self recognition or awakening happen. Eckhart Tolle, author of “The Power of Now”, had such an experience when he was 29 years old. Here is the paragraphs from the book:

“'I cannot live with myself any longer.' This was the thought that kept repeating itself in my mind. Then suddenly I became aware of what a peculiar thought it was. 'Am I one or two? If I cannot live with myself, there must be two of me: the ‘I’ and the ‘self’ that I cannot live with.' 'Maybe,' I thought, 'only one of them is real.'

I was so stunned by this strange realization that my mind stopped. I was fully conscious, but there were no more thoughts...”

Then Eckhart had a spiritual awakening experience...

When the true answer to the question "what am I" is revealed or recognized through direct experience, it is seen that the awareness itself (your true self) does not come and go. It is not born and it cannot die. The awareness is always present. It is beyond space and time. It is untouchable and unchanging. It is limitless and timeless. Nothing can then really disturb the deep peace within you...