Which One is Truly Me? Teachings from Namo Amituofo

Words of Namo Amituofo, recorded and transcribed by Namo Amituofo’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe.

On the fifth of April, 2025, during the noon offering, Namo Amituofo provided these teachings.

The Original Face

You may often ask yourself, "Which one is truly me?" When we speak in terms of the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way, the answer is clear. You are the original face you possessed before your parents were born. You are a vast storehouse of light. While you may appear to be nothing, you actually encompass all things in the universe.

Unless you have realised your true nature, everything else you identify with is not you. Only the realised true self is you; all else is merely a temporary manifestation. You might wonder, "Is the self I experience right now truly me?" You must ask yourself, "Where am I?"

The False Self and True Cultivation

The body you inhabit at this moment is formed by the combination of multiple Causal Conditions—earth, water, fire, and wind. Because it is a temporary construct, it is called the "false self." We engage in True Cultivation to use this false body as a vessel for practice. Through this process, we seek to rediscover the original face we possessed before our parents were born.

This physical body is merely a shell. The true self is able to manifest only because this shell exists. Before the true self manifests, its heart is covered. This heart is the spirit of wisdom, not the physical heart of flesh and blood. The physical heart is part of the false body, an entity born from the combination of multiple Causal Conditions. It is just like your internal organs or the countless cells within your body.

The Universe Within

Your internal organs are composed of countless, uncountable cells, much like the human body itself is a composite of many parts. Through the purification of this false body, the spirit can rediscover the Truth. By the same logic, the spirits that exist within your organs and cells can also find the Truth through the practice of these organs and cells. This means that just as a human can become an awakened being, so too can the organs and cells within the body.

The human body is like a universe; it is an organic entity that possesses life. It contains countless beings, whether they are visible or invisible, and all of them possess spirits. If karmic creditors, attached spirits, or demon crowds are spirits without a body, they can still participate in group cultivation through the practice of the human body to rediscover their true self.

The Source of Countless Manifestations

This is the source of the countless manifestations of those who have realised their true nature. Every spirit without a body that rediscovers its true self becomes one of these countless manifestations. The spirits residing within your cells or organs use those cells or organs as their own shells. Just like a spirit with a body, they can engage in True Cultivation to rediscover their true self.

So, which one is truly me? Before one has realised their true nature, the one who acts as the master of this body is not the true self. The true self is currently unable to take charge because it is obscured by the eight consciousnesses and the fifty-one mental factors. It is not the true self. Only when the eight consciousnesses and the fifty-one mental factors are transformed into wisdom, and the true self is able to act as the master, will you have realised your true nature. That is the only true you.

Namo Amituofo