Like an addiction to alcohol or drugs, ego addiction can cause one to view the world with distorted perceptions. When we place ourselves and our egos at the center of the universe we continually perceive the world in terms of what will bring us pleasure and pain, in terms of what will gratify our own egos. Because of this strong clinging to ego-consciousness, attachment/desire, anger/hatred arise and repeatedly gain strength.
The ego feeds on activity, which brings it strength. The more we solidify our views of like and dislike, attachment and greed, the stronger our ego becomes and the more concrete our selves seem. The ego depends on desire to grow. The ego is projected desire, and desire is projected ego. The more we go on generating desire the ego seems very real. When desiring stops the ego then appears as an illusion.
So is desire fundamentally bad? Not exactly. Buddhism has no problem with say, the experience of joy, it is the attachment to joy that causes the problems. To observe something beautiful is ok, to cling to the experience is suffering. So the natural “desire” of the universe toward pleasure and away from pain is outside of the concept of “desire” which brings suffering? A seeming paradox. We cannot eliminate desire without desiring to do so. I guess it isn't really accurate to say that the root of Buddhism is to remove desire. A better way to think of it is decreasing unhealthy desires that lead to bad behavior and incorrect thinking about how the world works. Plus, without any desire whatsoever it would be hard to get anything done. We desire to take out the garbage because the alternative is a stinky kitchen. This is ok, beneficial even.
In the end, the English word “desire” has too broad a definition to bring clarity to the Buddhist way of ridding of one's desires to be egoless and thus free of suffering. Better to use the phrase 'to be free of attachment’ because it better defines the cause of suffering.
10 comments:
quick comment - maybe it is not so much that desire is the problem, but, rather, misdirected desire. seeking to fill the existential void that we carry, we desire the wrong things, and thus cause unhappiness to ourselves and others.
sincerely, tiredintexas
Good desire, bad desire. Methinks there's a problem with that. Who decides what the "wrong things" are? The more I think about it, the more I like defining the problem as "attachment". Where is this existential void of which you speak? Is it within us? Or is it conflict between the ego and the rest of reality? I don't really know...
maybe 'reality' decides, by tecahing us and molding us; maybe it's true what the sufi mystics posit - that this is the "vale of soul-making"** and we are here to learn and play and suffer and grow [or not].
the existential void i think is within us. it is the hunger that drives us on. the ego is definitely part of it. but i think the ego is there to be harnessed, not obliterated.
**see Kabir Helmsinki: "The world is a place for fashioning the soul, in the sense that soul is not given to us automatically, despite our assumptions to the contrary. Our interiority, our presence must be created from within the distractions and forgetfulness of everyday outer life, from within the constant clash of pleasure and pain, happiness and loss. Our soul is a space for our experience; it makes the difference between being nominally alive and consciously alive. It makes a real connection possible between the ego and Spirit."
[http://www.sufism.org/books/sacred/souloss.html ]
"Our interiority, our presence must be created from within the distractions and forgetfulness of everyday outer life, from within the constant clash of pleasure and pain, happiness and loss. "
This is a very good way to look at it. Our essential nature formed at the nexus of dualism. I don't know if I accept the existence of a soul or even an "I" which stands apart from our ego aggregate. If we do have something akin to a soul I think it is more like a universal consciousness tending toward the good.
This article is the best explanation of the Buddhist view of the soul and the idea of continuing personality:
http://www.enotalone.com/article/4090.html
Hey Jughead --
The invisible world as well as the visible world, man included, is nothing other than a derivation or emanation from God. God is true happiness for man; but as man cannot reach full knowledge of God by reason, so also he cannot possess happiness of himself; his intellectual knowledge is not sufficient. Man needs a superior help in order to reach God and to possess Him. This superior help comes from God who, beyond all forces of reason, manifests Himself to man, and makes him happy. Oops - I was just sniffing my stinky kitchen garbage. You must being doing the same as evidenced by your blog. There must be a biological hazard in your kitchen. Take the garbage out, Mark.
Wow! A christian wing-nut! I didn't think there were many of you around any more. There certainly won't be after the 2008 election. You must be very secure in your faith that you have to post anonymously. Come on, don't hide your light under a bushel basket.
Let he who is without a bio hazard in his kitchen cast the first stone or something like that. Distracted by, from, etc. I've seen Mark's kitchen. It's always been rather clean. Your comment on the other hand is pretty darn toxic. At any rate, my kitchen always stinks. Just can't find time to take out the garbage. But I'm working on it--and my smelly feet, too.
Thanks Cormac. Mr. blind faith apparently can't see beyond the end of his bible. You can't reason with someone who doesn't believe in, well, reason.
When you embrace your ego as King Soul, you will embrace being called Jughead. You will leave the Bodily Kingdom of Rebel King Ego and your Auditory Estate will be ruled by Prince Truth-Listener as opposed to Prince Flattery. No need to respond with any anger. I think it's kind of funny!
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