One time some students from out-of-town came to visit me. After doing some T’ai Chi Chih together, the conversation became more general. As is usual, someone asked about reincarnation (a bad term).
I pointed at the trees in the courtyard. “It is autumn now, so the leaves are falling from the trees,” I explained, “but they will be back in the spring. Is that what you mean by reincarnation?” “Oh, those will be different leaves!” they rushed to point out. “Why identify with the leaves?” I asked. “Why not identify with the tree?”