We’ve arrived at the end of Act IV: Ego and Ambition, which has been a very interesting topic for me to discuss. The ego has such a large presence in our Western culture and it intrigues me. Being able to understand what the ego is, what it does, why it does the things it wants to do, and being able to harness those understandings to use the ego when we need to is very important to my interpretation of Zen philosophy.
Traditional Zen teachings would sometimes have you move entirely away from the ego, which is not a “wrong” way of doing things, but I believe for us Westerners that it’s important to be able to use the masks we’ve developed to be successful in our lives. Of course, if you want to cast out the ego and become fully enlightened and live in the present moment forever, that is certainly possible too! There is no wrong way of practicing Zen.
Personally, being able to call upon my ego when needed and then putting it back into its box when its task is done is how I prefer to handle things. There are many times during my day, both professionally and as a student, that I need to call upon my ego, lest I appear to have more heads than normal, and I’m grateful for my understanding of Zen that allows me to have the best of both worlds: I can pretend without fear during the business day and then allow my true form to relax in the evening. To me, this extinguishes my anxiety, because I understand that the ego is a tool, and I enjoy using it to get materially ahead.
Is material a bad thing? Obviously not, the entire world is made up of materials and living materialistically is intrinsic to our lives. People confuse the term materialistic; they sometimes think it means someone has a poor character or that those material-focused people only care about things. This is not true.
Now, hyper-consumerism I would avoid, but using material and having products around me is just as natural as eating food. We evolved using the material of the earth. Think of the woodworker: their material is obviously wood. They enjoy their craft and use materials all the time to create material things, like furniture or spoons. Would you assign a negative connotation to this materialistic woodworker? Probably not. Now, think of someone like a hoarder, someone who buys and buys and buys, always looking for a random trinket, or perhaps they collect newspapers. Whatever the case may be, that is a consumer. There is a clear difference between being material-focused, which is natural, and focusing only on consuming.
The craft-focused person lives in the moment and uses the items bestowed by the earth, like wool, cotton, wood, and iron, to create items and improve people’s lives, either through providing a necessity or artistic expression. The consumer lives to consume, which is derived from their ego’s desire to hold onto things. Consuming for the sake of consuming is egotistical. It’s the ego’s desire to build something that will survive, something that will be there forever, but that’s never the case. No matter how much gold one hoards, or how big of a pyramid one builds on top of their tomb, or how many buildings one puts their name on, eventually, and always, all of those people will be forgotten and time will sweep away all that was collected.
A material-focused person knows this; that is why they focus on enjoying their craft and sharing their products with other people.
Grounding Ourselves in the Real
How do we use our egos without letting them consume us? That’s the fine line I walk, because it can be tempting to give into the ego’s demands. Sometimes I find myself thinking or behaving egotistically without meaning to, and I move to ground myself.
As any Western person knows, it’s easy to get swept up in the sensationalized life we live, and get jealous or envious of other people and what they may have or may not have. Sometimes I look around at big lovely houses and I’ll feel a sort of way about it. Those houses aren’t a full reality though, and many things can be going on within those walls that you wouldn’t want any part of.
To prevent your ego from wandering and to bring it back down to earth, you have to “ground it”. What does this mean?
Remind yourself that everything all around you is temporary, even the feeling that you’re having is temporary. Rein in your ego and remind it that it is going to fade one day, and that it might as well get comfortable with that fact because there’s no getting around it no matter how uncomfortable it makes you feel.
One way that I personally ground myself is I embrace some of the tattoos I have. For example, I have our solar system tattooed on my forearm, and sometimes when I get involved in a heated negotiation at work, or I have a plaintiff attorney yelling at me or acting aggressive, I look at my tattoo and remind myself how small this argument is. I see the sun, gleaming in its splendor; I see Pluto sitting out far away, chilling in the dark; and then I see our smaller planet orbiting around; but I do not see myself. That is because I am a very small part of this ecosystem of life, and the individual trifles I may face, no matter how impactful they are to me personally, hold zero sway over the solar system.
You don’t need to get tattoos in order to embrace these types of concepts. You could get a painting or frame a photograph, or you could have some sort of object on your desk that brings you knowledge and comfort. Whatever it is, you can choose what grounds you and you can choose what things mean to you. Pick something that you believe in, that you trust, and use it to anchor yourself to the here and now.
I trust the universe. I know that I am the universe and just a part of it at the same time, and I know you’re here with me while I am here with you.
Where do we go from here?
Now that we’ve uncovered what the ego is, how it acts, and discussed how to move along in Western life using it when we have to, we can move on to surrendering. That is the next step in our journey together: to discuss what impermanence is, and how we can feel good when we let go.
I have my ego mask on right now, because I am exceptionally busy in this Western world of ours right at this moment. Hence, I leave you with a shorter post today and these closing remarks at the end of Act IV:
I will be through a significant portion of what is taking a lot of my time by the end of this year. Once I make it through to 2027 I will have a lot more time to allocate to this blog and to my other writings. Believe me when I say that I yearn to write more than I am right now, but alas, time has caught me for the moment and I must use my ego to get through it, so I can be back here with you fine people.
When times are tough or they’re exceedingly busy, remember whatever it is that grounds you. I look to my tattoos and meditate. I’m very excited about the next part of our journey together, and hope to write shortly. Take care of yourself, and be kind to each other.