In Zen practice, when we do deep meditation, our identity and ego structure dissolve. Over time our minds become more transparent and therefore more spacious, with less attachment to any ideas and preconceptions about who we are. In that state we discover our oneness with life. We see that we are not just who we thought previously, we're the entire universe. Every creature, every person, every phenomenon is just another aspect of who we are. A little girl, a mother, a killer, and a policeman are all aspects of who we are. . . . We are the feelings and thoughts of all these people, who are nothing other than aspects of ourselves. We are not attracted or repelled, for we are them.
— Bernie Glassman, Bearing Witness