Being without the ego, or transcending the ego does not mean that we reduce our sense of self. As the ego reduces to its true function and becomes a servant rather than the dictator, then actually we become more self-confident. We think that self-confidence is to be found in a very strong ego. We need an ego, it serves a good purpose, but true self-confidence comes directly from the self, not from the ego. So a sense of the strong ‘I’ is good. The Dalai Lama speaks about this when he speaks about the capacity to show compassion or to serve others. The strong ‘I’, when we think of the I as being the true self, allows us to resist the forces of the ego that would otherwise overwhelm us and hijack us.
( The Brick Wall of the Ego 2 by Laurence Freeman OSB )
