The feeling of “I” create a sense of Ego. Ego how it create & where it is in you. It is very well answered in this inspiring Zen story.
The well-revered monk Nagsen was sent for by the Emperor Malind, to grace his court. The messenger went to Nagsen and said, ”Monk Nagsen, the emperor wishes to see you. I have come to invite you.”
Nagsen replied, ”If you want me to, I will come. But, pardon me, there is no person like Nagsen here. It’s only a name, only a temporary label.”
The courtier reported to the emperor that Nagsen was a very strange man: he had replied he would come, but had said that there was no such man as Nagsen there. The emperor was struck with wonder.
Nagsen arrived on time, in the royal chariot, and the emperor received him at the gate. ”Monk Nagsen, I welcome you!” he exclaimed. Hearing this, the monk started to laugh. ”I accept your hospitality as Nagsen, but please remember there is nobody named Nagsen.”
The emperor said, ”You are talking in riddles. If you are not you, then who is accepting my invitation? Who is replying to this welcome?” Nagsen looked behind him and asked, ”Isn’t this the chariot I came in?”
”Yes, it is one and the same.”
”Please remove the horses.” It was done.
Pointing to the horses, the monk asked, ”Is this the chariot?”
The emperor said, ”How can the horses be called a chariot?”
At a sign from the monk, the horses were led away, and the poles used to tie the horses were removed.
”Are these poles your chariot?”
”Of course not, these are the poles and not the chariot.”
The monk went on, ordering the removal of the parts one by one, and to each inquiry the emperor had to reply, ”This is not the chariot.”
At last nothing remained. The monk asked, ”Where is your chariot now? To each and every item taken away you have said, ‘This is not the chariot.’ Then tell me, where is your chariot now?”
The revelation startled the emperor. The monk continued. ”Do you follow me? The chariot was an assembly; it was a collection of certain
things.
The chariot had no being of its own. Please look inside. Where is your ego? Where is your ‘I’?”
