Everyone in the world has self. Since we were born, and from childhood, we subconsciously form the self. We usually express the self as ego. But actually, one’s ego is not one’s intuition but the human mind inherited from the parents. If we compare ourselves to nature, nature does not have ego that is the self. It just lives as it is, following the nature’s flow without the self. It diligently carries out its own role, and has no complaints or greed about life. Only humans have ego and humans keep trying to obtain and gain more with greed, in order to satisfy the self that is ego.
The reason why human has difficulties and agonies is because of what he wants does not work out as he wishes. Students also learn competition at school. We believe that we can have a happier life if we are more outstanding than others, or we can be happy if we have a lot of money. Without realizing, we are more familiar with ‘competition’ than ‘coexistence’, and as human becomes older his ego becomes stronger. As the ego that is the self becomes stronger and more rigid, the pain he suffers becomes stronger and bigger. All of the mental illnesses also come from here. What we truly have to learn is not how to win over others, how to become rich or how to gain more knowledge. We have to learn how to empty out the self. We have heard phrases such as “you need to empty your mind.” Then, how can we empty out the self? Actually, our parents did not teach us how, and school also did not. Humans must learn how to empty out the self. Otherwise, it becomes more difficult for one to live in this world as time passes.
There has been shocking news recently: the very much loved actor Robin Williams has committed suicide. Many people didn’t understand why he had done it to himself because it seemed he had everything and he had been receiving love from many people. He was a very bright person and gave many people happiness and laughter. However, it seems that he himself could not be happy.
So you should understand that happiness comes from within, not from outside conditions. When you throw away and empty out your mind, a great sense of happiness comes along. These days, especially, people are interested in spirituality and meditation. It means that people struggle to find happiness in modern society. It is natural that the wealthier society gets materially, the more stringent it becomes spiritually. For meditation, too, you should choose the one that actually teaches you how to really empty out the mind of yourself. It is not about simply sitting and suppressing your mind, but finding out the minds of anxiety and stress that are hidden deep in your mind and actually throwing them away. Such a meditation method is the real method of letting go of the self. Now, do not search for happiness outside but find it within so that you can change your precious life that comes only once, to a life of pure happiness.
