[Buddha-l] Means of ego inflation

[Piya Tan]

Guys,

The first fact I know about myself is that I do have a BIG ego, and
that's all I have at the moment. And I'm not sure what to do about it
exactly.

I want to be a serious scholar and a serious meditator, even is it
means having to deal with a big ego. I think that's what being a
Buddhist is about. There are those who talk about big ego, and there
are those who worth with it.

On the other hand, self-effacement is also a form of ego trip. In
fact, I think it is one of the biggest ego trip. So you see there is
really no way out: be proud, you are ego-bound, be humble, you are
ego-bound, too.

Even streamwinners by definition may have a "big" ego in the eyes of
non-streamwinners. Arhats by definition have no ego.

Do we have arhats amongst us?

We all have big egos, but the difference is there are those who know
about it and those who do not.

I suppose we (mostly traditional Asians) tend to define being
"selfless" (without ego, or having small ego) as being submissive,
obsequious and politically correct (that is, very Confucian).

Having said that, yes, I do agree many Buddhist teachers (incl myself)
floating around in Singapore are really "I-pods" of self-views. This a
phase we must outgrow for Buddhism to be meaningful and effective
here.

An important way out of ego Buddhism is to learn a thing or two from
the western development of Buddhism, where Buddhism is accepted for
what it is, and not as a cultural or ethnic faith. We need to go
beyond "Chinese" or "Thai" Buddhism, etc, if we are to be globally
effective.

Buddhisms are very competitive today. Mahayana has come to mean "big
business". "Big ego" should not mean "I don't like such people," but
we need  to work harder so that we can do something about it. The
Buddha noticed the ego of Brahmanism and did something about it.

Ethnic Buddhism will always be there, but we need to work on a more
selfless Buddhism.

I'm stuck with ego Buddhism because it's so difficult to get people to
work on a not-ego platform.

We all love memes: big temples, air-conditioned rooms, nice crowd,
some back-slapping, and VIPs nearby..

The start of bursting the ego begins, I think, with trying to be
sincerely friendly to others despite everything (this is also called
compassion), I find this very hard to do sometimes, but I know I have
to start there.

Shian and Weng Fai are two sincerely selfless friends I know in
Singapore.They are each doing great Buddhist work in their own
remarkable way.

Piya Tan


On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 2:07 PM, [DPD CDT] Shen Shi'an <shian at kmspks.org> wrote:
> When anyone considers oneself a 'serious scholar' or a 'serious
> meditator/ practitioner', chances are that s/he has taken his/her 'self'
> too seriously. And the irony is that such seriousness based on self
> impedes true advancement in one's work and practice. The self is always
> in the way till it's realised to be illusory.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Weng-Fai Wong [mailto:wongwf at comp.nus.edu.sg]
> Sent: Tuesday, 03 March, 2009 1:59 PM
> To: 'Buddhist discussion forum'
> Subject: [Buddha-l] Means of ego inflation
>
> My casual observation: both "practice" and "studies" seems to work well
> as means for ego inflation. I have met both "serious
> meditators/practitioners"
> as well as Buddhist scholars who have very big egos and think the world
> of themselves.
>
> W.F. Wong
>
> _______________________________________________
> buddha-l mailing list
> buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
> http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l
>
>
> __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus
> signature database 3903 (20090303) __________
>
> The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
>
>  Email message - is OK
>  Email message - is OK
>
> http://www.eset.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> buddha-l mailing list
> buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
> http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l
>



-- 
The Minding Centre
Blk 644 Bukit Batok Central #01-68 (2nd flr)
Singapore 650644
Tel: 8211 0879
Meditation courses & therapy: http://themindingcentre.googlepages.com
Website: dharmafarer.googlepages.com