He was sitting at the root of a tree and invited me to join. I sat down in front of him and crossed my legs to mirror his posture.
“Give me your hand,” I asked while reaching out my left palm toward him.
He executed. I racked up the soil of the forest with my right hand, grabbed a handful of the winter debris, and put it in his palm.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
-I am giving you a piece of me,” I replied.
He lifted his arm away from me and turned his palm upside down. The dried, crushed leaves twirled slowly down whereas the dry mud and the tiny branches fell faster.
“What are you doing?, I asked, amused.
-I am giving back…”
We are not what we think we are. Since our birth, we have been depending on so many people, plants, animals, and light. This body is the locus of so many interactions that the hypothesis that we are individuals is untenable.
I encourage you to contemplate all the interactions and exchange processes you have had since you were born. How your mother breastfed you and taught you how to walk and ride a bike. All your academic knowledge was given to you by professors until you made it yours. Where do all your viewpoints come from? Don’t you exchange air with your neighbor on the bus? Don’t you depend on the sunlight and the nutrients contained in your food? That animal you are eating will transform into cells in your body. You might be made up of material coming from thousands of stars.
Contemplate my friend! Contemplate that flow, the unfolding of life that is not you.
You might realize you cannot be found anywhere.
Nibbana Unplugged 
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