"Our problem is that the power of thought allows us to construct symbols of things, separate from the things themselves. This includes our ability to create a symbol, an idea of ​​ourselves, outside of ourselves. Because idea is much easier to grasp than reality, and symbol is much more stable than fact, we learn to identify with our idea of ​​ourselves. Hence the subjective feeling of an "I" that "has" a mind, of an isolated inner subject that goes through its experiences involuntarily. With its characteristic emphasis on the concrete, Zen shows us that our precious self is only an idea, useful and quite legitimate if taken only for what it is, but disastrous if identified with our true nature. The unnatural awkwardness of a certain kind of self-consciousness occurs when we are aware of a conflict or contrast between the idea of ​​ourselves on the one hand and the concrete, immediate sense of self on the other."