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Superiority
I notice I spend quite a lot of time being 'high and mighty'. Thinking that my insights make me better than everyone else. Even when it comes to compassion or sympathy, there's a feeling of pity which puts me above them. I believe some of my 'compassionate' actions are motivated by what I think they will do for me, like making me a better person. Even posting this thread and admitting my faults is an attempt to assure myself that I'm 'one of the good people'.
I believe some refer to this as the god realm?
How do you deal with superiority? How do you not get caught in the mindset of being "above it all"?
I believe some refer to this as the god realm?
How do you deal with superiority? How do you not get caught in the mindset of being "above it all"?
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Comments
Maybe ask yourself what it would mean if you were, in fact, not better than anybody else at all. If you were 100% ordinary. I've felt this way before. In fact, I feel this way a lot. But feeling "above it all" comes with downsides. It can lead to feeling isolated, to feeling like a hopeless case because you're not like the rest. Tremendous compassion is generated when we realize that yes, we really are like everybody else! We all go through the same things, feel the same feelings, the same joys and sorrows. I've lost track of how many times I've teared up while walking around stores or riding in a car, looking at people and realizing how alike we all are.
Simply put, there are more benefits to being just like everybody else than there are to being "better." Also, it's just the way things are so you might as well make peace with it. We're all in this together. Let that fact soften your heart and mind. Best wishes.
http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/pema/tonglen1.php
This kind of rang a bell for me (or five of them
Don't try to think "I'm not high and mighty" in dualistic opposition of your self thoughts. Perhaps you could just notice what the feeling is, and how it has no solid substance to it. Let it float away from you. Don't grasp and own the idea or try to counterattack it... there is no need. There is plenty of room in your mind for this kind of thought to arise and dissipate without aggression aimed at it. When ego enjoys the place it is in, then compares to others, this high and mighty sense is normal... I've seen it lots and lots in every field.
In fact, I would even say that you are not special for this exact reason. It would be more special to not be looking inward at all... but that's just me being ironic.
With warmth,
Matt
Sorry I have not read all posts...
Maybe what you need too work with is not superiority feelings but with the opposite.
Might it be that the reason you are constantly comparing yourself to others is because you have inferiority issues?
To get rid of these kind of attachments from others I try to always formulate my goals in life disattached from comparison to other peoples achievements.
Like instead of
"I am going to jump higher than 2m because my friend did"
just
"I am going to jump higher than 2m" wihtout the reference to a second person.
/Victor
All that we do is natural. Nothing unnatural exists. Nothing unnatural can come into being.
Choosing the Buddhist path is as natural as not-choosing the Buddhist path. It depends upon conditions, nothing more. We do not own the conditions or the results.
Human suffering is natural, but it happens to not be very desirable.
That's just you being special! We're all special! Therefore none of us are!
Hey Guy . how was your retreat?.:)
The doubts I had before the retreat are gone now...perhaps not permanently, but I at least realise that the doubts I had weren't so important when I just did the practice. The doubts went, but sloth and torpor took up the reins quite a bit.
Noticing your thinking that your insights make you better than everyone else is a good place to start. You are not your thoughts and these thoughts just dissolve if you leave them alone until the next one comes along.
Maybe, you could observe the humble reality that, no matter who we are, we are all somebody's servant.
Peter Murphy tunes
By remembering that everyone, deep down, has Buddha nature and is actually already a Buddha. Even people like George Bush :eek:
I say keep trying to be as superior as you can make yourself feel and think. See what happens.
Pain, probably.
It reminds me of an Ajahn Chah story where a woman came to him asking for help with her anger problem, she claimed that she was ALWAYS angry. Ajahn Chah told her to sit in front of a clock and time herself to see how long she can be angry for and see if she can break her record. Obviously she couldn't sustain it for very long. These states of mind come and go; they are anicca (impermanent); anatta (not-self).
Last night Ajahn Brahm gave a talk about "winning and losing" and talked a bit about conceit. I am sure it will be uploaded soon, watch this space: http://www.youtube.com/user/BuddhistSocietyWA
I have a LOT of self-delusion issues where I think I'm one thing but deep down I know or believe I'm another. This post rang true for me as I constantly struggle with self-esteem issues.
(kidding..)
Mtns