True Self

After months of meditation practice and contemplative study with no discernible insights, young Wu asked his teacher to elaborate on the concept of the “larger true Self,” which had been emphasized as the ultimate realization of spiritual practice.

His master caustically replied, “The one asking cannot know that Self!” Wu sighed and turned to walk away when the master caught his arm, saying, “Wu! Think of the ocean as representative of the larger true Self and the wave as the individual seeking that Self. The ocean is the wave is the ocean. Earnestly ponder this.”