Big Ego

By Dhammacaro

People always like to compare things: this is bigger than that and that is smaller than this. What is the point of making such comparisons? If done with good intentions, this is not such a bad thing to do. But if done with the intention to inflate the ego, it is not a good idea. There is a story, which illustrates this well. Here is the story:

There were two pilgrim monks who met one another in the jungle. They had a conversation about where they came from. The first one said, “The drum in the temple where I am from is the biggest anywhere!” The other one argued against this, saying, “No, you are wrong! The biggest drum is in my temple!” The two monks continued arguing with one another. It then happened that another monk joined the conversation and said, “The drum in my temple is not as big as your ego!”  When the two monks heard this, they stopped arguing about the size of their respective drums and turned to look at their own egos. The third monk added, “What is the point of this argument? It just builds up your ego. Both of you are here to do meditation and should be talking about how to let go of your ego.”

This story gives us a good example that challenges us to reflect on whether we stop our egotism, or feed it. In our daily lives, if we live carelessly, we can feed our own ego by careless thought, speech, and action. So it is good to reflect on how we live our life before we are consumed by our own ego.

I am a pure land Buddhist;

I am a Theravadin Buddhist;

I am a Tibetan Buddhist;

I am a Zen Buddhist;

In the midst of all this Egoism and attachment…

Listen! Buddha never says a word. (Zen Graffiti; Azuki p 62)