"Instead of fighting the world, kill your ego." #stoicism #life #philosophy
Not all those who fight the world, do so because of ego.
Some see injustices in the world that affect everybody, and feel honor-bound to struggle against the wrongs.
It does not sit well with the conscience to passively witness injustice, and do nothing, for the sake of one's own comfort. To the conscientious, it does not bring comfort at all.
Thank you for this comment. I came here to say something similar.
Stoicism is a great thing, but it needs to be interpreted in a way that does not lead to a capitalism-compatible milquetoast philosophy that is then used by privileged people to justify their apathy and egoism.
(similar is true for the way how many westerners understand eastern spiritualism and are then happily more concerned about their yoga mattress and shit than of the living beings around them).
Taking these pitfalls in mind, stoicism and meditation-ish self-care can help a lot to avoid breakdown while fighting this horrible machine.
@stoicteacher I've found that in Buddhism, every teaching needs to be understood in the context of the other teachings. I don't know if this applies to Rumi.
For example, the dharma teaches that ego can be a big obstacle, and needs to be tamed, but also that we should love ourselves, which is a function of ego.
So I'd be careful of interpreting this quote from Rumi as meaning "Never try and change anything" or "Your goal should be to have no ego at all" without knowing the context.