In becoming an
enlightened being, this does not destroy the living being, or take
it away, or lose it; nevertheless, it does mean having shed it.
Dōgen; Rational Zen
I take that the living being
is another way to say the ego. I have attended sessions where folks talk
about crushing, smashing, and destroying the ego. Nonsense! Isn’t it better not
to set myself up for failure than to attempt somehow to come to some sort of
agreement with it by letting go of it?Just the act of trying to destroy the ego is a form of
self-righteousness that leads to all sorts of abuses of power... not to mention abuses of my material body. Using doctrine, or a set of oughts and ought nots, I can pick up the
mantel of a cause and with the arrogance of a true believer completely
disregarding the opinions and beliefs of others. Yes, even as I am writing, I’m
thinking of others out of the loop on this, erroneously believing it isn’t about
me. But it is. Shedding the ego can be the simple act of being kind and
understanding to others even when they are nasty and vindictive about my core
beliefs. We pray that our President and Congress would come to some sort of
understanding on this before the nation sinks into a morass we can’t get out
of.
geo 5,524
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