People are self centered by nature and rare is the path that leads to liberation from egoism, and more rare still the person willing to climb this mountain. From a Zen and Buddhist point of view, happiness is a result of wishing for the happiness of others, as well as learning to live for the benefit of all. The Zen path is liberation from the entire paradigm of a separate self, plus an ongoing, deep, and insightful investigation into those habits of mind and body that keep us locked in self-centeredness.
Taking a spiritual path in Zen means committing to healing and to transforming the dynamic and endless interplay between greed, hate, and self-centeredness (delusion), all three of which are at the center of the Buddhist wheel of life. Although it may seem simplistic, I find it a fair generalization and helpful to think of internal and societal ruptures in the fabric of peaceful living from a standpoint of these three root distortions. Greed is an egoistic distortion of generosity, hate a distortion of loving kindness, and self-centeredness a distortion of Buddha nature, our innate interconnected wise and whole being.
How do we shine a light on our egoism? Are we even willing to ask this question?! I find the world is always giving us feedback about it. People tell us they feel misunderstood, comment on our faults, present difficulties in relationships, disappoint us in their behaviors. Until we can listen to the messages coming our way about how stuck we are in our own point of view, we will have a difficult time healing and transforming. How can we learn to take a non-defensive posture in the face of feedback, criticism, upset, requests for change, and challenges? Non-defensive behavior is the face of open mindness and curiosity. It requires humility, courage, and perseverance to let the world inform you of your character weaknesses, and then to act from your Buddha nature rather than react from conditioned egoism.
Liberating Egoism
