I define the ego to be all delusions. The same belief creates all delusions. It is the belief that things inherently exist and are not causally created.sschaula wrote:Well, the ego is a bit different than other delusions.
My reason tells me to lump all delusions together because delusions are delusions. They have one single identity, "delusion". They have one meaning.
This is a "philosophical system of thought" being applied to your experiences. Do you not see that?I don't think you can see through [ego] by having a philosophical system of thought and applying it to experience.
Delusion arises because of valuing it more than less.The ego is too tricky for that, and it adapts to the new way of thinking so it's never truly seen through.
It's probably the case that after a lot of experience no longer valuing delusional thoughts, and testing oneself in a range of situations, the physical brain processes that are responsible for delusion just dry up. It is probably the case that synapses are incapable of uptaking certain brain chemicals.
So I reject this entirely. I'm reminded of a passage by Hakuin:What's needed is some external means, like the discipline of mind and body with Vipassana.
andEihei has said: "The experiencing of the manifold dharmas through oneself is delusion; the experiencing of oneself through the coming of the manifold dharmas is satori." This is just what I have been saying. This is the state of "mind and body discarded, discarded mind and body". It is like two mirrors mutually reflecting one another without even the shadow of an image between. Mind and the objects of mind are one and the same; things and oneself are not two. "A white horse enters the reed flowers; snow is piled up in a silver bowl."
In the Shurangama Sutra the Buddha says, "You have continued to undergo transmigration in the cycle of birth and death from the beginningless past right on up to your present existence because you have acknowledged a thief as your son and heir and thus have remained unaware of the fundamental and changeless truth of your own true nature."
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