Ego and enlightenment

The awakened mind experiences Oneness with all that is. In truth, everything that you see is part of you, and vice-versa. All is part of the same continuum of Being, all is One.

Infinite love, forgiveness, compassion, unity, and gratitude, all blend together into a single flowing emotional river of Oneness. To experience this directly is the enlightenment state. All thought of duality and separation departs from the awakened mind as the Oneness of Being is experienced directly. The thought of harming another is inconceivable, because the unity of all things is seen by the observer, not as an intellectual abstraction, but as the underlying nature of things as they really are

“Love thy neighbor as thyself” [1] – not “as much as thyself”, for that would imply separation and duality, which is correctly seen as unreal. Literally, “as” thyself – because the reality is that you are both aspects of the One Consciousness, that happen to be temporarily manifested now in the illusory world of form.

At one level of consciousness, the ego is the enemy. That thought-stream of monkey mindedness that flows through our brains is frustrating for many of us, even (or perhaps especially) if we don’t recognize that it arises spontaneously. The difference between us and the noisy homeless person talking to himself on the street corner is that we keep our stream of random thoughts inside our heads, where it won’t scare other people. Unfortunately or fortunately, we’re more similar than we think. Some of us identify with that stream of thoughts – we feel guilty when we have thoughts that we aren’t proud of, we feel angry in response to angry thoughts, we feel sad as a reaction to sad thoughts. Identifying with the judging, evaluating, and criticizing part of the mind is a common thing for people to do, and also tends to lead to uncomfortable and negative moods.

At another level of consciousness, we recognize the Oneness of all things and the impossibility of the existence of a real “enemy”, especially one that is just a part of our own mind. Seen from this level, the ego can be experienced as a difficult, but nonetheless cherished, friend. It is the pain of ego-bound living that inspires us to practice meditation every day, to work toward awakening, and, once awakened, to help others to do the same [2]. Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing – we would have no reason to awaken. Everything would be good enough. Sleepwalking through life would be good enough. Ego-based discomfort, as experienced within the world of form, ignites the fire within that drives us to awaken from the dream, and to see the world with new eyes.

In the awakened state, what happens? Awakening reduces the volume of our stream of thoughts. It is associated with longer and longer gaps between unintentional thoughts. These gaps in thought behave like episodes of connection with timeless Being, during which we simply exist, and observe the world around us. Even when thoughts do occur, the awakened mind is far more able to recognize the illusory and transient nature of those thoughts.

In the usual state of existence – sleepwalking and daydreaming – we identify with our thoughts, and actually believe the thoughts we are thinking at any given moment. In this state, it’s common to treat our thoughts as reality. Conversely, in the awakened state, as the silent observer, seeing the dream from outside, it’s easier to recognize the temporary nature of thoughts. We’re able to experience and play with the ego as one facet of our Consciousness and our Self, without believing that it represents the whole.

—

[1] Leviticus 19:18 – Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD.
[2] Compare to the Four Vows of the Bodhisattva – All living beings without number, I vow to liberate. Endless blind desires, I vow to uproot. Dhamma gates beyond measure, I vow to enter. The great way of Buddha, I vow to attain.

--


If you enjoyed reading this article...

1. Please get my premium personal development tips here, featuring special content not published on the blog.

2. Please follow the thirtytwothousanddays RSS feed here for up-to-date, practical, and inspiring resources that will put you on the fast track to personal growth and happiness.

3. Please follow me on Twitter here.

4. Please share this article with a friend, or anyone else you think could use a little extra peace and happiness today! 🙂

Thank you!