11–20 of 103 posts
Hilariously strange article... It starts with the unbelievably blunt (and imo, true): "the self is an illusion." Then is proceeds to go on about how this illusion can be either magnified or diminished by doing certain things! What!? How can something that doesn't exist be manipulated? I know "I'm" being a bit dense on purpose here, but really!
There is a big difference between ego and narcissism. Many people have low self-esteem, which means that they are constantly doubting themselves, feeling less worthy than others, feeling destined for failure, feeling too timid to take reasonable risks, etc. Meditation helps to restore correct ego functioning in humans, creating a balanced perspective where the self can thrive and does not inflict self-harm by allowin…
Hilariously strange article... It starts with the unbelievably blunt (and imo, true): "the self is an illusion." Then is proceeds to go on about how this illusion can be either magnified or diminished by doing certain things! What!? How can something that doesn't exist be manipulated? I know "I'm" being a bit dense on purpose here, but really!
It is a trash article, though.
>> Though yoga and meditation were originally intended as ways to calm the ego, many non-Buddhist practitioners do these activities with an eye to self-improvement or calming personal anxieties. I have noticed meditation being pitched more and more as a self-help/productivity tool/cure all for a range of issues. Is the main difference between 'traditional' (for lack of a better word) and Western meditation just the m…
Wikipedia: "He uses the term [Spiritual Materialism] to describe mistakes spiritual seekers commit which turn the pursuit of spirituality into an ego building and confusion creating endeavor, based on the idea that ego development is counter to spiritual progress." [1]
Very interesting read, a good friend of mine gave it to me early on in my path on meditation. I think it's really a necessity for anyone seeking deeper meaning beyond using yoga & meditations as an ego pursuit.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutting_Through_Spiritual_Mate...
People need to understand that the stuff like meditation that's popular right now and gets taught is just a very small subset of Buddhist practice. Real Buddhist teachings go much further. Same for yoga. Yoga is meant to be a way of life but what most Westerners see is just a form of aerobics with a few spiritual words sprinkled in.
I wonder, is this what ego means in Buddhism? Also, is this what ego historically meant in Buddhism? For a long time, people in Buddhist communities would call you crazy if you meditate. Having followed one theological course on Buddhism at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, I am convinced that whenever you study meditation, you need a theologian specialized in Buddhism next to you in order to see if you're comparing the same constructs.
I also wonder if only meditation is supposed to have an effect on diminishing the ego, according to Buddhism. Buddhism in general is much more than only meditation. It's probably analogous to teaching people to pray and through prayer they'll figure out the 10 commandments. The result is interesting in the sense of how meditation affects someone from a western culture (someone like me). But it is dangerous to imply that this applies to Buddhism. They could've easily circumvented that by putting the scientific terms in the title.
>> Though yoga and meditation were originally intended as ways to calm the ego, many non-Buddhist practitioners do these activities with an eye to self-improvement or calming personal anxieties. I have noticed meditation being pitched more and more as a self-help/productivity tool/cure all for a range of issues. Is the main difference between 'traditional' (for lack of a better word) and Western meditation just the m…
The reality, at-least for me is that it is a productivity tool. After meditation, I just do things I normally would procrastinate on like its not a big deal. Chores don't seem like chores etc.
And as usual, correlation is not causation. Was there a control group with another physical activity? Reading? Solving Sudoku puzzles? One could also postulate a perfectly reasonable-sounding theory that people's egos get bigger with any activity where there's a surge in endorphins, regardless of whether that activity is yoga or not.