I was having a firy discussion with friends yesterday, who claimed that everything we do is selfish and that there’s no such thing as altruism. To me there’s not really much difference, since when you help other people it often really helps yourself as well. On the other side when you’re a complete asshole, it might give some shortlasting satisfaction but you will always end up feeling miserable. So this is some sort of mean unmature selfishness. People who tend to live in a more sociable way, do this not only because others will benefit from it, but also they themselves. So in a way this is selfish, but a more mature version of selfishness. I think that this realisation in people can grow without limits, with the boundaries of selfishness and altruism fading more and more. I think ego is a healthy part of human beings, it keeps you alert, and usually has some sense of truth in it. But she needs to be tamed, because if she gets too much attention, she becomes spoiled like a difficult child. Chogyam Trungpa always referred to ego as a cocoon, we might feel as if it were comfortable, but deep inside we want to break out. I think we never really get rid of the cocoon, but instead will start wearing it as a beautiful suit, we still wear it, but it does not limit us in any way.
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