The wise human individual lives forever, because he understands that "I" refers, not to his illusory self, but to the larger thing of which he is a part.

The wise person understands, instinctively if not explicitly, that self is illusion. This is the true meaning of the theme in Christianity that if an individual dies to self, he will live forever. Such a person "lives in the spirit", which means that he or she lives in a state of love for the larger thing that he or she is a part of. For such a person, "the boundary between self and other still exists, but becomes unimportant". (Approximate or exact quote of Martin Buber,. ["I and Thou"], 1923 (german).)