Tossing the Ego’s Playbook
It only takes a cursory scan of world history to see a number of stubborn recurrences. Inequitable economies, divisive political ideologies, religious wars, and dictatorships—these fill volumes of history. I think we could write one book and just fill in the variants by year. Some of the stickiest recurrences involve dictatorships. I watched a wonderful series on public television entitled, “The Dictator’s Playbook,” and saw the uncanny similarities with our current presidential administration.
Of course, as I view all things as symbolic, I watched the series with dark interest and saw how a dictator arises just like an out-of-control ego. When we adopt a worldview of cultural dominance we are mirroring the dominance of self-absorbed motivation. The illusion of control establishes corresponding illusory boundaries. Nature does not function this way. Balance only comes from recognizing our interconnection with vast uncontrollable natural phenomena, not by creating suffering in the name of governmental efficiency.
I often wonder why we do not teach about the vagaries of ego in high school so we can gain perspective about our personal development. I produced a little film at that time in my life entitled, “Roles and Jam.” It was meant to depict the dilemmas created by the various ego identifications we indulge in order to fit into some imaginary pecking order. This drama intended to show how the masks we wear become little dictators controlling our life. What happens when we are asked to drop the mask and live more authentically?
At some point in our lives we may notice the facade of ego is quite painful, and the dictates of that delusion can also cause suffering for others. That is why bodhicitta is so important. We work to dissolve the ego boundary in a solution of loving kindness and compassion for others. It is not so easy when our role models support a sense of separateness as a means to happiness. Some people seem to think this is the safest approach. I wonder how safe we feel in America First, a cultural delusion in which only part of our society believes.
Maybe this recurrence of history will be samsara’s last straw; we will see the emperor has no clothes and become courageous enough to point it out. It takes a lot of courage to strip ourselves bare of ego grasping, to fearlessly evolve into a luminous emanation of unconditional love. Powers and principalities, masks and delusions, cannot survive that light for too long.