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

[Piya Tan]

Dear Robert,

I was thinking of the Madhupindika Sutta (M18) where the Buddha
declares that the world (we) tend to be caught up in a duality
(either...or) of something "is" (existence) and "is not"
(non-existence), an Aristotelian duality?

Then in another sutta (Vacchagotta SUtta?) he adds that to say there
is the ego would be to side with eternalism, and to say there is none
would be pointing to annihilationism. Very Madhyamika.

So you must be right: calling oneself a Buddhist is one extreme, not
calling oneself a Buddhist is the other. (I thought you are a
Dharmachari.)

Is that the sound of the Buddha's smiling?

With metta,

Piya Tan


On Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 5:24 PM, Robert Ellis <robertupeksa at talktalk.net> wrote:
> 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
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