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Ego must go

In the process of uprooting some of my abrasive qualities, my ego slipped out and I hurt a friend's feelings. We both enjoy debate, and while examining some texts in which we took opposite sides I became mindlessly critical of his methods of processing information. I hurt his feelings and feel I owe him a heartfelt apology.

I value the Sangha's wisdom so I ask for help with insight:

How to eliminate the ego? Or maybe how to accept another as they are when they are so close in relationship?

lobsterElizShoshin1Nugai

Comments

  • Ah, I see @how. This then brings me to the question about how to better identify when the ego is encroaching. In this instance it seemed to mask itself as helpful or tag along with some form of analysis or explanation and took over. I was not aware of it until after the fact and maybe I'm a bit sleepy but I'm having trouble seeing it even now in reflection. I just know it was involved but not clear on which parts.

    If I follow the emotion experienced I encounter feelings such as frustration and concern. "I" want "my" point understood. "He" doesn't see it "my" way. I can follow the why to that question to find many more questions such as concern for his welbeing which is apparently my problem, and also my own self-interest in persuading him to join me in my perspective. I can continue in this fashion with some effort...is this the way to do it?

    howEliz
  • DavidDavid A human residing in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Ancestral territory of the Erie, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Mississauga and Neutral First Nations Veteran

    This may sound a bit odd but to me, it is as if the ego is a tool we use as individuals even while the individual is a tool of expression for the absolute. Seeing the sense gates and even the individual as tools of expression makes it easier to deal with and govern, conventionally speaking.

    We are all inclusive... Be nice.

    lobsterFleaMarket
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran
    edited June 2022

    @FleaMarket said:
    Not knowing when to act, when not to act, and what to act on and what to not act on is giving me quite a headache lately.

    That is true. It is easy to say, not too lose, not too tight, but in reality there are a number of different factors that come into play, such as the right amount of determination, being able to set aside the impulses various hindrances generate, and so on. It is an accumulation of progress on the path to reach the point where the analogy of the strings on a musical instrument even makes sense.

    What I would say is being relaxed, doing one thing at a time and observing whether that was beneficial or not is generally a better approach then trying to do three things at great speed and getting confused about what’s happening. Go slow, one step at a time, like a walking meditation. And don’t forget, more often than not easy is right.

    FleaMarket
  • ElizEliz Arizona, USA Explorer

    @FleaMarket said:
    Not knowing when to act, when not to act, and what to act on and what to not act on is giving me quite a headache lately.

    @FleaMarket: Thanks for sharing this. I do this as well from time and time and regret saying something that was not skillful or not shared at the right time. I'm not sure if it helps, but I have tried to pay closer attention to my thoughts and body before I might say something that I would regret. I've noticed that there is very slight (and I do mean very slight) shift in energy before I speak if I might say something unskillful. It's almost like a pull to speak - as if "I know better" or "I have to share right now." The urgency and pull has typically indicated to me that I might need to wait and sit through the urgency. Then, if I still feel the need to speak later, I can do it in a skillful way. Often, the urgency drifts away and I realize that I really didn't need to say the thing I was thinking. I'm not sure if this is helpful, but paying attention to this energy shift and attitude shift has been useful for me. I still mess up sometimes, but a little less. :smile:

    lobsterFleaMarketperson
  • ElizEliz Arizona, USA Explorer

    @FleaMarket, I just thought of another teaching that I find very helpful.

    Thanissaro Bhikkhu's description of Right Speech has helped me very much. He says to ask yourself three questions before you speak:

    “Is it true?”
    “Is it beneficial?”
    “Is this the right time to say something pleasing or is it the right time to say something displeasing?"

    An excellent summary of his teaching is here:
    https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/CrossIndexed/Published/Meditations11/090828_ThePathtotheTop.pdf

    Shoshin1FleaMarket
  • @Jeroen said:
    It is said, the mind is just your thoughts, or the ego doesn’t exist.

    I had not heard this line before but it connected with me in a way that begs further investigation. Seeing the ego as non-existent or in the same realm as thoughts is rather relieving and fits in to other elements floating around in my understanding.

    @Shoshin1 said:
    One's ego should be viewed as a convenient analytic device"_

    My ego's a cad. Checks out. :grin:

    Thank you all for you input. These and many other points made have helped open my eyes and given me places to explore.

    JeroenElizperson
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    @FleaMarket said:

    @Jeroen said:
    It is said, the mind is just your thoughts, or the ego doesn’t exist.

    I had not heard this line before but it connected with me in a way that begs further investigation. Seeing the ego as non-existent or in the same realm as thoughts is rather relieving and fits in to other elements floating around in my understanding.

    Yes, it rather struck me the same way. “The mind is just a bundle of thoughts” was what I came across, and the ego is an illusion, a distortion made up of past disappointments and injuries.

    It rather supports a view that has been forming in me that as children we are much closer to the source of life, the original being, the luminous nature. Then as we live trauma’s slowly accumulate and make us what we are later in life, wiser but no longer as innocent or pure.

    The task of a spiritual seeker is to make supple again what has hardened, to remove blockages so that life’s juices can flow, to cherish the things in us that have been damaged, to stay close to loving and laughter.

    lobsterFleaMarketEliz
  • lobsterlobster Veteran

    If I follow the emotion experienced I encounter feelings such as frustration and concern.

    The emotions have a mind of their own, so too the body. So too the subconscious. In one sense it is 'all Mind'.

    There is also
    a superconscious/integrated/emptiness/stillness/God mode/Buddha Nature/
    … many names, ultimately 'nothing special' … and yet …

    This too comes and goes, ebbs and knows, flows away and into an emptying ocean of wonder …

    FleaMarket
  • Ego this way
    Ego that way
    Ego no way

    Bunks
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