We all have a life, but we are not always aware of how precious it is. And we all have an ego, but we do not always take enough responsibility for it. Our sufferings, or our doomed attempts to avoid them, all too often keep us mired in obsessive attachment, greed, worry, or despair.

There are those, like the hermit in Nepal, who are attracted to spiritual pursuits because they seek a means of escape from life. They view enlightenment as a way out. But this attempt to leapfrog over the ego is counter productive. There is no getting around it. If we wish to not perpetuate suffering, we have to take a hard look at ourselves. Making one’s life into a meditation is different from using meditation to escape from life.