Introduction
In this article I begin with the declaration that the ego is a social fabrication, introduce the patriarchal sexist myth of the male ego, and contrast the ego to its Christian counterpart, self-will.
Then the Buddhist view of the ego will be discussed, followed by a short discussion of the healthy ego with respect to individual needs and continuing on with the view of personal spirituality as self-actualization.
Next, I will illustrate how my spiritual hierarchy of God, Jesus and the Buddha cuts through the fallacy of false dilemma.
Following that thought is the discussion of how beliefs outside the spiritual life affect myself and others.
Finally in the conclusion, I will try to show how the spiritual life has a common ground in all faiths.
Ego as a Social Fabrication
Ego is a social fabrication; the proof of this is in the media. The term "ego" is used to describe the whole psychic apparatus defined in Freud's structural model of the psyche, which he divided into three parts as id, ego and super-ego.
Examples of the ego in action in popular culture occur regularly in the media regarding not just politicians, religious icons, scientists, and sports idols, but also local celebrities and famous pop icons.
Although it isn't commonly talked about, the Western social consensus is that the ego exists.
Because ego is a social fabrication, it requires daily exercise through self-expression. The ideal of a wholesome life implies that the healthy ego needs expression in the community in socially acceptable ways.
In contrast, the unwholesome life leads to social isolation and its impact on the ego. Without self-expression in socially acceptable ways, the individual is susceptible to depression and anxiety. As a result, the ego may become the focus of one's life. Thus he becomes ego-centered, and much of his misery in life is due to his egocentricity.
The Patriarchal Sexist Myth of the Male Ego
In the minds of many people, a patriarchal sexist myth about the ego may be commonplace. In this myth, the male ego is the only thing that exists.
This does not mean that the female ego is non-existent; it just is not talked about.
This is not the true picture of the ego at all but a false view of it, which is defined by how the male ego is vilified whilst pretending women do not have one.
Yet this myth about the ego arises in the male-dominated patriarchal society for many reasons which are political and social.
While the male ego is sometimes associated with God, the female ego kept hidden, to be discussed behind closed doors between women.
However, this sexist myth about the ego is counterproductive to inner change.
Ego and Its Christian Counterpart, Self-Will
In reality, the ego exists from birth to death for everyone, young and old, male and female.
It is also known in Western religious circles as self-will, which consists of resolute adherence to your own ideas or desires and the trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior.
Self-will has the negative qualities of stubbornness, bullheadedness, obstinacy, obstinance, and pigheadedness, and the positive qualities of self-control, self-possession, possession, willpower, will power, and self-command.
Buddhist View of Ego
According to Buddhism, all people have an ego which arises from the moment of birth. The Buddhist concept of dependent arising explains in detail how the ego arises from birth until death. Indeed, the ego arises after ignorance as one of the many fabrications of the mind.
In the Four Noble Truths,
- human suffering is first identified in fine detail as misery, pain and unhappiness.
- The origin of suffering is revealed to be unwholesome desire or craving.
- Relief from suffering consists of ending suffering by allowing craving to fade away and stop, by giving up and letting go of the unwholesome desire, being free of sensual pleasures, and not relying on such existence. In this way is the ego appeased.
- Finally, the means to appease the ego by promoting equanimity is given as the Noble Eightfold Path:
- right view,
- right intention,
- right speech,
- right action,
- right livelihood,
- right effort,
- right mindfulness, and
- right concentration
Divided into three parts, the Eightfold Path consists of:
- wisdom (right view, right intention),
- ethical conduct (right speech, right action, right livelihood), and
- mental discipline, concentration and meditation (right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration).
As a result of following the Eightfold Path, specifically breath and insight meditation, the Buddhist practitioner acquires right knowledge (seeing things as they really are) which results in right liberation.
Ego with Respect to the Individual Needs
For the average person, the healthy ego requires the basic needs consisting of Maslow's hierarchy of needs:
- the physiological needs (breathing, food, sex, water, sleep, metabolic equilibrium, and excretion),
- safety needs (personal security, financial security, health and well-being, and a safety net against accidents and illness, and their adverse impacts),
- love and belonging(social needs which involve feelings of belongingness, and especially emotionally based relationships such as friendship, intimacy and family),
- esteem need (which consist of two parts:
- 1) respect for others, the need for status, recognition, fame, prestige, and attention, and
- 2) self-respect, the need for strength, competence, mastery, self-confidence, independence and freedom),
and
- self-actualization (self-mastery).
Personal Spirituality as Self-Actualization
Once these needs are satisfied, self-actualization also consists of meeting my spiritual needs, which is satisfied by maintaining a spiritual life. Within the context of spirituality, the ego refers to a "sense of doership" or sense of individual existence. The ego-centered life is the life where the illusion of such existence prevails. As a result of that illusion, I may believe myself to be a human being and that I must fight for my rights to make it in this world. Yet, throughout it all, I remain unaware and unconscious of my true nature until a series of spiritual experiences show me that the God-centered life is essential to my spiritual well-being Within context of a God-centered life, it is a fallacy to believe that the social conventions of pronouns (I, me, my, mine) reflect the ego-centered life. Rather, by focusing on God from the start of every day to its very end, the use of pronouns just make the God-centered life more personal.
My Spiritual Hierarchy Cuts Through Fallacy of False Dilemma
To a person who sees the world through the fallacy of either as God-centered or Buddha-centered, the following statements would seem complicated and unwieldy. Such a false dilemma overlooks the fact that both God and Buddha are manifestations of the Higher Power, which is God as each of us knows Him to be. 
Does the God-centered life conflict with my belief in Buddhism? No, since both God and the Buddha are different aspect of the Higher Power, and since God, being Creator, made the historical Buddha to realize His mysterious works, I do not see any conflict between my faith in God and my belief in the Buddha. For God is at the core of my hierarchy of the spiritual life, with my belief that Jesus died on the cross for us as coming second, and then the Buddhist principles defined by the Eightfold Path. Outside of these three core beliefs are the multitude of beliefs we hold about life and ourselves.
Beliefs and Its Relationship to Self and Other
These other beliefs which lie outside the spiritual life are still a vital part of it, because they subtly influence how I view my hierarchy of core beliefs about God, Jesus and the Buddha. Yet how I view God, Jesus and the Buddha reflect my spiritual views, which influence how I see life and its effect in my daily existence, and how other people see me. With my heart focused on God as the center of my spiritual life, my faith in Him is validated by my belief that Jesus died for our sins, and is tempered by the underlying Buddhist principles of dependent arising, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. By making God the core of my spiritual beliefs, the ego becomes healthy because my growing reliance on God depends on fellowship with like-minded people. By relying on God, I develop a need for Him which deflates my ego, leading me to practice humility. With prayer and meditation, it is possible for me to moderate my life, encouraged by the fact that salvation is the free gift of God, the belief that Jesus died for our sins, and a growing faith in God inculcated by reading the Bible.
Conclusion: The Spiritual Life as Common Ground Between All Faiths
Thus I see the common ground between Buddhism and Christianity since each faith help to enrich a person's spiritual life. Indeed, both faiths continue to enrich my life through my willingness to practice a form of spiritual plurality. Rather than water down Buddhism and Christianity, spiritual plurality helps me to maintain a balanced view of both faiths. Using what I know of Buddhist meditation to moderate my behavior (thought, speech and action), I am able to apply its use to seek God through careful prayer and meditation. As well, the spiritual insights gained by reading the Bible can also help me see Buddhism in a refreshing new light. As an example of such insight, both Christianity and Buddhism emphasize loving-kindness but use it differently. In Christianity, a loving God sacrificed His Son, Jesus Christ, so that all Christians are saved by faith in Him, with salvation freely given by God's grace. Salvation in Buddhism starts with a mytho-poetic Buddha named Amida of a Buddhist "heaven" (the Pure Land of Bliss) who is reborn from an angelic Bodhisattva (Dharmakāra) who was once the king of a mythical land. Inspired by a Buddha of a previous age, this former king made a series of vows of which the most important vow allows all Buddhists who revere that Buddha to be reborn in that Pure Land as "angels" so that they may listen to the Buddha preach before being reborn in the earthly realm to help other people come to know the Buddha. In this way Buddhism enriches my spiritual life as much as Christianity does, and my faith in God is complemented by my belief that Jesus died for my sins and my belief in what the Buddha taught! For the spiritual life is the common ground that all faiths share.
Reference:
Id, ego and super-ego: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id,_ego,_and_super-ego
Ego as doer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_%28spirituality%29
Higher Power: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Power
Maslow's hierarchy of needs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs
Buddhism and Christianity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Christianity
