Last week we looked at stubbornness and fixed views and today I want to explore what's operating behind our views and our perceptions and that is known in in this circle of dharma as egoic clinging.
It's operating behind the views.
So in some way to understand this we have to look at what is the ego.
You know in psychology ego refers to the way that we function.
So a healthy ego allows us to navigate life and set boundaries and relate to others.
So we need a healthy self-image to get dressed every day and take care of our families or take care of ourselves.
A healthy self-image provides the opportunity to make decisions and act responsibly.
And the way psychology summarizes a healthy ego is it's expressed through being adaptable and resilient and caring.
So that's kind of a really really brief overview of the psychological context of the ego and buddhism isn't denying the need for this.
You know a healthy ego in the buddhist sense would be a flexible identity.
The buddha taught that what we call ego or self is not fixed or permanent.
It's a mental construct.
And buddhist terms ego usually points to the habit of identifying with experiences,
With views,
Or our roles as who we truly are.
We're identifying with these.
When we cling to these identities of me or mine,
Generally suffering arises.
And from our exploration last week,
Fixed views are an extension of our ego.
They serve to reinforce and protect the ego.
So for example,
If we are identifying strongly with our opinions or some sort of ideology,
Defending it feels like defending me,
Right?
We're so identified with our ideology,
With our view,
That the defending is associated with this I,
This me,
This mine.
The ego clings to views for its identity.
And fixed views strengthen the illusion of ego.
So how this is experienced in daily life is the way we get defensive when our views are challenged.
And defensiveness can show up in all kinds of ways,
Right?
So it shows up as anger,
It shows up as fear or pride.
A common way I see fixed views kind of strengthening the illusion of this ego is in the way my strong views create separation.
When my strong views are operating,
What is in the forefront of the mind is the sense of self versus other.
And when I'm clinging to my views,
It's actually strengthening dualistic thinking,
Which completely obstructs wisdom.
So egoic clinging is a term used by many dharma teachers,
And in some ways it's really at the heart of our suffering.
Egoic clinging is the way that we hold on to our opinions,
Our possessions,
Our emotions.
You know,
This me,
This mine,
This is who I am,
And I must defend it.
So the unhealthy ego is this clinging.
The unhealthy ego is trying to build a permanent fixed self in what is inherently impermanent.
You know,
We cling to roles,
We cling to views,
Possessions,
Perceptions.
It's this clinging is another way of shoring up the illusion of permanence,
The illusion of permanence.
So I know this is a lot to take in,
But just to say that the Buddhist path isn't about destroying the ego,
Which is impossible.
It's more about seeing through its projections.
You know,
With mindfulness,
We begin to see and experience directly that thoughts and emotions arise,
And they pass on their own.
They're not mine in any ultimate sense.
And when we start to really understand and experience for ourselves how the unhealthy ego is dependent on clinging,
Then we can see all the ways in which it's operating within us.
And letting go of the ego or letting go of clinging,
It doesn't mean destroying the sense of self,
But loosening our grip,
Loosening our attachment to it,
Really seeing ourselves as more fluid and more interdependent.
I've been following a poet,
Rosemary Waltola Tromer,
And she wrote something about the ego in one of her poems that I really appreciate,
Another way of seeing perhaps.
And here,
I thought the path of love would look like love,
Like kindness,
Like generosity,
Like gentleness.
Instead,
It looks like me being bothered by the sound of loud chewing,
Me wanting praise,
Me needing to feel loved.
Hello,
Me.
How elegantly love has arranged for me to meet all the parts of me that would stand in love's way.
How easily it shows me that I thought of love as a destination,
But here is love with no expectations.
Here is love with no name,
No locus.
Here is love with no face,
No shape,
No promise,
No vow,
No hope.
Here is love as itself surging and flowing,
Love as it's insisting on,
Love as itself eroding all those layers of me that still think they know something about love.
And love holds me while I rail,
And love throws me back in the stream,
And love is what is still here when I am not.
So compassion softens the ego's hard boundaries.
Compassion,
Connecting with what is beyond me and what is beyond mine.
So I offer this for your consideration.
Thank you for your attention.
