Is Ego Fundamental ?
The Forgotten Starting Point of Consciousness and Liberation An exploration of the ego through Buddhist wisdom, self-inquiry, and the nature of human suffering. What Is More Fundamental — Ego or Consciousness? For centuries, philosophers, scientists, and spiritual seekers have wrestled with one of humanity’s deepest questions: What is consciousness? Is it produced by the brain, independent of matter, or fundamental to the universe? But we have overlooked a more immediate question: Who is asking these questions about consciousness? In a conversation with Robert Lawrence Kuhn on Closer to Truth, Acharya Prashant challenges the conventional approach. Before investigating consciousness as an object of knowledge, he argues, we must investigate the “I” that claims to be conscious. This leads to a provocative proposition: the ego is fundamental. The Buddha, however, did not teach that the ego is an eternal, independent entity. Early Buddhist discourses sh...