1. The Obsession with "I" Notice that every single question in that list revolves around the word "I" or "Self" (Was I? Shall I be? Am I?). The person is taking for granted that there is a permanent "Me" and is trying to figure out its history and destiny.

• Past: "Was I in the past?" (Trying to find an identity in a previous life).

• Future: "Shall I be in the future?" (Worrying about what happens after death).

• Present: "Am I? What am I?" (Confusion about one's current existence).

2. Why it is a Trap The Buddha teaches that these questions are a dead end.

• If you answer "Yes, I was," you fall into Eternalism (believing you have an unchanging soul).

• If you answer "No, I wasn't," you fall into Annihilationism (believing death is the absolute end).

Both answers are wrong because they assume a static "self" exists. The Buddha teaches that what we call a "person" is just a flowing process of physical and mental events (Dependent Origination), not a solid entity.

3. The Correct Approach (Wise Attention) Instead of asking "Who am I?", the Sutta suggests you should look at the experience directly:

• "This is suffering."

• "This is the cause of suffering."

By changing the question from "Who?" (Identity) to "What is happening?" (Process/Causality), you stop spinning in speculation and start understanding reality.

1. The view: "Self exists for me"

• What it means: You decide, "Yes, I definitely have a permanent soul or self."

• The Trap: This is Eternalism. You believe there is an unchanging "you" inside the changing body/mind.

2. The view: "No self exists for me"

• What it means: You decide, "I have no self at all; when the body dies, I just vanish."

• The Trap: This is Annihilationism. This is not the Buddhist teaching of Non-Self (Anatta). This is the materialist belief that you are just a biological machine that gets deleted at death, denying any moral continuity (karma).

3. The view: "I perceive self with self"

• What it means: You believe your "Self" is looking at your "Self."

• The Trap: You identify the Observer as the Self, and you believe it can look inward at its own nature. It’s a philosophical loop of trying to find the "knower" inside the knowing.

4. The view: "I perceive not-self with self"

• What it means: You believe you have a "Self" (a soul) that is looking at "Not-self" things (like your body, thoughts, or the world).

• The Trap: You see yourself as a permanent pilot inside a temporary vehicle (the body/mind).

5. The view: "I perceive self with not-self"

• What it means: You use something that isn't a self (like your mind, feelings, or body) to try to find a self.

• The Trap: You are confused about the instrument of perception. For example, identifying the feeling of being alive as the Soul.

6. The "Agent" View (The most detailed one)

• The text: "It is this self of mine that speaks and feels... and it will endure as long as eternity."

• What it means: This is the belief in a "Little Man in the Head." You believe there is a specific entity inside you that:

  • Makes decisions ("speaks").

  • Experiences pleasure and pain ("feels").

  • Travels from life to life ("experiences here and there").

  • Never changes ("permanent, everlasting").

• The Trap: This is the ultimate delusion of a separate, unchanging identity.

Why does the Buddha call this a "Thicket" or "Wilderness"?

The Buddha calls this a "thicket of views" (diṭṭhigahana) because getting lost in these debates is like getting stuck in a dense jungle.

• If you say "I exist," you cling to a permanent soul (which doesn't exist).

• If you say "I don't exist," you cling to the idea that actions don't matter (which is dangerous).

The Solution: The Sutta says the correct way to think is not "Who am I?" but rather "This is suffering, this is the cause of suffering." (The Four Noble Truths). This shifts the focus from identity ("I") to process (cause and effect).