The original self that is manifest when we let go of thought

But the more we practice opening the hand of thought, the clear it becomes to us that "self" is not the same as "thought." We come to see decisively that the true self is not something made up in our heads. True self is the self of everything, the self of the whole dharma world, the original self that is manifest when we let go of thought. In other words, if we practice for a long time, there will be some result. Even if we said only for a short time, that is all right, there is no question that we become aware of reality in our city. Beginners' zazen and zazen after ten years of practice are not two different things.

Chapter 8 - The Wayseeker: Section - Seven Points of Practice, page , Opening the Hand of Thought by Zosho Uchiyama