Maybe it was karma, or maybe it was in my genes, or both. I never liked being special. Sure, praise feels good; that’s different from being special. As a child during my Jewish religious education, I balked at being part of a “chosen people.” Although I want you to consider me a good person, I don’t want you to think that makes me different.
From a Buddhist perspective, maybe that’s what helped me when I decided some years ago to let go of my ego. It helps me now as I consider the various forms of what has become known as exceptionalism.
Throughout human history, our egos told us we were special. Not just successful or fortunate, but categorically different from everything else that exists. And whenever evidence threatens that specialness, we move the goalpost....
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There’s still time to read a free advance copy of Raising Frankenstein’s Creature: What We Owe the AI Beings We’ve Made and What Wisdom Traditions Tell Us, scheduled for release on January 20.
A Buddhist Path to Joy: The New Middle Way Expanded Edition by Mel Pine is available via Amazon and other online bookstores worldwide.
