At birth, each person’s ego will be the same, but later they will grow and change with different personalities and aspirations. then really What is ego?, How does it affect decisions in people’s lives? How to overcome this? Let us answer the above questions with Buddhist objects in the article below.
I. What is Ego?
The meaning of the word “self” can be understood according to the Sino-Vietnamese dictionary:
- copy = bon =
- fall = i =
- Ego = 本 I = I. In short, the ego is also understood as the self, the self.
Wikipedia defines arrogance as:
- For philosophy: the self is the conscious self, which includes the characteristics that distinguish the self from other individuals.
- For psychoanalysis, the ego is a core part of personality that is relevant to the present as well as influenced by social influences. According to Sigmund Freud, the self as well as the “it” (id) and the superego are the three realms of consciousness. People become what they are as soon as they are born and exposed to the outside world. Thus the ego learns to control and act as a mediator of unconscious desires and social acceptance.
- For Buddhism, the ego is designed according to an enduring nature and is not affected by disintegration, birth and death. The original tradition of Buddhism (Theravada, Hinayana) does not recognize the existence of the self. They often misunderstand that the soul that emanates from form (body) and mentality (mind) has the ability to continuously change every moment (the smallest unit of time).
In short, arrogance is a belief, idea, or belief that one is separate, unique, separate from the rest of the world, and will be responsible for one’s own actions. Arrogance is also the process of living with the ego, developing them to assert themselves as they grow up. According to Buddhist philosophy, when that ego grows, people will commit more and more actions and mistakes. However, this is only one perspective, so improving yourself every day is not synonymous with arrogance.
See more articles related to Buddhist wisdom:
- what is happiness? Buddhism’s Approach to a Happy Life
- What is profit? Disclosure of facts about remains
Second. How does ego work?
The ego operates in a closed circle consisting of 3 stages
The ego system is a closed cycle from control to creation, maintenance, and finally to reflect, repeat.
1. Control
Control: The process by which the ego identifies and defines itself in terms of those things it controls.
For example, if you believe that you can control your body, then you believe that the body is you. Or when you believe that you can control your mind, then that mind is also you. If you run a company, the company will be yours and a part of your ego.
2. Construction and Maintenance
The ego will tend to maintain and protect control or even expand and expand them. In fact, its essence is imaginary, fake and always wants to control as much as possible in order to feel strong. This is one reason why we feel ambitious, lust for money and power, because then we feel like we have the ability to control everything. This leads to loss of control which means the death of the ego.
For example, losing a car, missing a job will make you feel sad, empty. During the battle, there was a general who identified himself with his comrades, so when he lost all his soldiers, he assumed 99% of them dead and then decided to commit suicide.
3. Reflect and Repeat
Egos would not be able to recognize or identify themselves, so they would conspire and create a multitude of different personas. From there, he evaluates himself through a reflection of the other self.
A simple example is that you yourself would not know whether you are beautiful or ugly if someone did not tell you this. Even though you are extremely beautiful, you also need the reviews and comments of others to be confident. Your ego will feel more authentic if it receives attention and reflection from others. Of course, shame comes when your self-image is worse than someone else’s, so you’ll do almost anything you can to build and maintain your self-image.
Ego seeks positive praise from others to satisfy itself
Third. Can people with strong egos practice cultivation?
It can be seen that each person’s ego will be different, some people will attach themselves to money, fame and home, others will be more attached to relatives, family etc. Then they easily feel greed, hatred, delusion, hatred, are more easily hurt by the words and actions of others.
IV. Get rid of conceit to attain saintliness
Those who have a strong ego which makes their ego-sticking too great, they should try to understand the reason for a long time, while starting the practice, be patient, persistent.
The practice of attaining enlightenment and returning to Buddhadharma is not a simple matter, possibly because there is not enough preordained connection with the Three Jewels or there is no blessing of meeting sages in the past. In addition, people with a strong attachment will also be difficult to persuade, so people with a mild ego will often find it easier to practice.
V. Ways to help you get over your ego
Ways to help you lower your ego for better growth
- Learn to accept: Sometimes things will happen in this life which you don’t want, but stop yourself and learn to accept it, don’t blame anything. Instead, find the motivation to overcome it and improve yourself every day.
- Live for the present: Don’t let yourself wallow in the past or daydream about the future, live to the fullest and enjoy the present.
- Stop comparing yourself: You are a unique individual in this world, so stop comparing yourself with anyone and do your best to improve yourself.
- Don’t blame luck: Luck is actually still drawn by you, so success or failure is also based on your own efforts. That’s why you should not rely too much on fortune telling or palmistry because those lines are also in your hands.
Because. well-thought-out ways to overcome the ego
1. Meditation
Meditation will make the mind pure, calm and happy
Meditation is the time when you can relax your whole mind as well as the best mind. At that point, you will be silent and let go of your wandering thoughts or inner words.
2. Prayer
Instead of meditating to clear your mind, you can use prayer to communicate with your higher self. Therefore, pray to stay connected to your inner strength, love and wisdom.
so over here Buddhist objects Provided readers with useful information about themselves. Hopefully, through the article, you will know more about the working mechanism of ego as well as learn how to meditate to overcome your ego in practice.
Wish you Amitabh Buddha.
