[Buddha-l] re. means of ego-inflation

[Robert Ellis]

Piya Tan wrote:
<<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.>>

Dear Piya,
I do agree that self-effacement is just as much of an ego-trip as self-promotion. But do you really think "there is really no way out"? The whole point of the Middle Way is to offer a way out which consists in neither extreme. 

However, integrative psychology (such as Jungian psychology) offers a clearer application of the Middle Way in relation to ego than anything I have come across in traditional Buddhism. There is no idea there of removing the ego or becoming egoless, but rather of stretching ego identifications and unifying them with opposing desires and beliefs, to remove the false dichotomies we constantly create in our interpretation of the world. The constant reference in Buddhist language and symbology to idealised selfless and pure states is the main reason why I have stopped calling myself a Buddhist: but the central insight of the Middle Way nevertheless offers a way forward that avoids being stuck in dichotomies of the self.
Best wishes,
Robert


Robert Ellis

website: www.moralobjectivity.net