Embrace Ego and Leave It Behind

Buddhists say that ego is the source of all sufferings.

I am familiar with this because I was born and grew up in Japan, a country where the majority of people identify themselves as Buddhists. And this idea permeated throughout the primary and middle school education. So it is in my blood and bones.

So am I free from suffering? Not at all!

I think this theory itself is largely correct. But brutal suppression of ego never makes a happy person.

Suppression simply makes ego angrier and even stronger. It would make a person very angry. It also would make a person very apathetic. Anyway, making ego angrier will never help us remove sufferings.

From my experience, giving attention to and affirmation of the self work much better than suppression of ego. Just as we would not strongly demand food when we are full, we would not demand much attention when we receive due respect. So I believe we can satisfy our ego by paying attention to it and kindly embracing it.

When our ego is satisfied and calms down, we can quietly leave it behind. I wish I had known it long before but it's still not too late...