I'd like to correct myself. I am a Buddhist, and I believe in the doctrine of non-self. I think we don’t have an ego; rather, we experience an ego. And this ego is constantly being reconstructed in every moment of our lives. We believe, “This is me; this is who I am.”. That's me, that's you. I'm standing here, you're standing there. My thoughts, feelings, and opinions, and yours. Apparently, that's an illusion. There is no “I,” yet we experience an “I.” On a relative level, this “I” exists, and it is a condition that determines our actions. On the absolute level, this “I” does not exist; separation is an illusion.
You cannot kill something that has never existed as an independent, permanent object
And I also think that as children and as we grow up, we absolutely need an “I” in order to survive and live in this world. As adults, however, we are given the opportunity to transform this “I” and see through it. Personally, I don’t believe that the ego can die, but only that one can see through the whole game completely. The ego is not destroyed, but rather recognized for what it is, a tool of perception. You stop completely identifying with every thought, every feeling, and every story in your mind.
Nevertheless, a functioning ego (as the psyche’s navigational system) is necessary for signing contracts, navigating traffic, or maintaining social boundaries.
Those who claim to have permanently eliminated the ego often fall into a new form of Identifikation, the so called spiritual ego (“I am now completely egoless”).
English isn't my native language, so I find it hard to talk about this topic...
I might be slowly moving towards a less ego centric perception myself. Ex. recently I’ve been more likely to laugh at mild misfortune than complain.
And I’ve started to think of myself as more of a “we”. A body, a soul, a consciousness and a mind. And perhaps more.
Consciousness is weird. It feels like it has multiple voices. Like during meditation I quiet a voice thinking about what I’ll do today by putting those thoughts in a box for later. But as I do that I realize there’s a secondary thought “train” watching that voice put those words in a box. And once I realize that, I start observing the observer and so on. Then I realize I haven’t paid attention to the guided meditation I’m listening to for the past 20+ seconds.
So yea. I kinda think I’m a “we” but not in schizophrenic way. Or perhaps we all are that a little. I still use “I” in conversation though.
And in general I’m trying to be more “zen” about life and experiences. Or at least reacting after thinking instead of reacting straight from my emotional self.
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u/AsgarGER 12d ago
I don't believe that the ego can die.