The ego feels rather lonely and, at the same time, keeps busy trying to defend itself. It finds that it consists of a collection of desires, expectations, ideas, conclusions, memories, and many other things. This collection is too complicated for the ego to grasp; therefore, it conveniently constructs “I am” or “I am the ego” and puts this label on itself as if it were a real individual entity. Having found a name for itself, the ego has to constantly work to secure itself, because fundamentally it knows that it is not real and sound.

Chögyam Trungpa

from the book Smile at Fear: Awakening the True Heart of Bravery

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Further quotes from the book Smile at Fear:

• Joyful to be here
• Gentleness toward ourselves
• We Have to Be Honest With Ourselves
• Facing yourself
• An autumn leaf
• Using our intellect to understand life
• Goodness is always there
• Bravery
• Facing ourselves
• We are fundamentally awake
• Cultivating mindfulness
• Becoming the breathing
• Indigestion in the mind
• The strength of fearlessness
• Be there all along
• The warrior is also an artist
• The warrior approach
• Just looking at fear
• Joining fear and uncertainty with genuine confidence