Buddhist Concept
Why You Should Hold on to Your Ego, According to Buddhist
To grow as a spiritual being, you need to let go of your ego.
You’ve heard it so many times that you don’t question it anymore.
You may not know how to put it into practice yet. But erasing the ego seems to be an obvious step forward.
In the mainstream talk about mindfulness and spirituality, the ego is usually pictured as something bad or at least – redundant. You’re told that as long as you’re controlled by your ego, you can’t surrender to the natural flow of life.
Abandoning the ego seems necessary to attain the bliss of equanimity and mindfulness that you’re after.
But when it comes to letting go of your ego in the real world – what does it actually mean? How does this translate into your actions and choices?
To start with, try to accept your ego as it is right now. From that place of acceptance, it will be easier to discipline yourself and cultivate a practice that allows you to expand your sense of self.
Your Ego Will Lead You To Liberation
You just learned a lot about the Buddhist concept of egolessness and cultivating a healthy sense of self. Hopefully, you understand the role of the ego better now.
But how can you act upon this new understanding?
First of all, remember that there’s nothing wrong with having an ego. On the contrary, it’s a necessary part of any person’s psyche.
Further, there’s a big difference between selfish behaviour and having a healthy sense of self. According to the Buddha, the latter helps you reach for authentic happiness.
Trying to forcefully erase your ego altogether won’t lead you to happiness. Building a healthy one instead is where you should start.
A healthy ego will show you that happiness isn’t a zero-sum game. Your happiness doesn’t happen at the cost of another.
Instead, the authentic happiness you source from within will naturally add to others’ sense of wellbeing – alongside your own.
As your sense of self becomes more established, it helps you see which behaviours and attitudes are useful for this authentic happiness. This will allow you to access inner wisdom that you’ve always had within you.
Over time, your more skilful concepts of self help you attain higher and higher levels of happiness.
Then, one day, when the ego is the only thing standing in your way to experiencing ever greater bliss… it may just naturally let go of you.
Tags: Buddhist Concept Curiosity Desires Ego Recognize Ego True Nature
