In this excerpt from the 39th Kopan Course, Lama Zopa Rinpoche discusses ignorance, the root of samsara.

In this video extract, Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains that we live our entire life grasping at the real I, but in Buddhism we learn that the way the self appears is a total hallucination.

The I appears to exist from its own side, but it is merely imputed by the mind

Teachings given at Tara Institute, Australia on June 2, 2006.

Compassion for all living beings is at the heart of Mahayana Buddhist practice

Self-grasping ignorance believes the I to be concrete and inherently existent

The I appears to exist, but it can't be found anywhere on the aggregates

We are responsible for the happiness, peace and success of all sentient beings

The good heart as the source of all happiness

An audio recording and unedited transcript of Chapter One of "How Things Exist."

Geshe Ngawang Dargyey gave this teaching on the nature of the self at Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre, Delhi, in 1980.

Investigating the nature of the self or I, which exists in mere name on a collection of parts.