Summary

In the middle of one meditation retreat, Wright became aware of two things simultaneously. He heard a bird sing, outside the window, and felt his foot tingle. Rather than feeling, conventionally, like the tingling feeling was a part of him and the birdsong was external, he felt them at it the same level. He did not identify with one more than the other, which he feels exemplifies the a central part of Buddhist philosophy. This is because this perception blurred the boundary between the self and the external world.

One’s own body is not the only division between the self and the external world that we perceive, however. Many see their kin as close to the self, closer than other aspects of the external world. This is because of natural selection, as they can pass on our...