You alone see what you see. You alone feel what you feel. But does that mean there’s someone at the center? This article explores what happens when experience unfolds without a self.
When I look out the window, I see something that only I can see – from exactly this angle, at exactly this moment.
When I feel something, no one else feels it in exactly the same way.
So it seems obvious: There must be someone who has this unique experience, right?
But this is where the great confusion begins.
We mistake the fact that every perception is unique for the assumption that there is a separate, central “I” who owns that perception.
But what if uniqueness is simply a quality of experience itself – without an owner?
In direct experience, it becomes clear:
Yes, every perception is individual, every perspective one-of-a-kind.
But there is no separate perceiver who controls or possesses that experience.
Seeing happens. Feeling happens. Thoughts arise.
But if we look closely, we find no one at the center who is doing it or having it.
At first, this feels paradoxical.
After all, we’ve always been told: “That’s you! That’s your feeling! Your view of the world!”
But with open eyes and honest looking, we realize:
That’s just a story layered on top of the raw experience – after the fact.
Experience itself knows no self.
And in that realization lies an incredible freedom:
Nothing needs to be guarded, defended, or maintained.
Life flows, moves, happens – unique, yes, but without a center, without weight.
And maybe that is what real simplicity and peace are.
Would you like to explore this for yourself?
Then take a moment to sit quietly.
Feel: What exactly is experiencing right now?
Is there really someone who sees, hears, feels?
If you want to explore this more deeply, I’d be happy to accompany you – one-on-one or within our small Stream-Entry Community.
Together, we walk this path step by step, through what the Buddhist tradition calls the ten fetters.