All suffering, all sickness, possession by spirits, loss of wealth, involvements with the law and so on, are without exception the result of clinging to the 'I'. We should not blame anything on others. Even if some enemy were to come and cut our heads off or beat us with a stick, all he does is provide the momentary circumstance of injury. The real cause of our being harmed is our self-clinging and is not the work of our enemy.

A basis for ego-clinging has never at any time existed. We cling to our 'I', even when in fact there is nothing to cling to. We cling to it and cherish it. For its sake we bring harm to others, accumulating many negative actions, only to endure much suffering in samsara, in the lower realms, later on.

It is not possible to point to a moment and say, 'This was when I started in samsara; this is how long I have been here.' Without the boundless knowledge of a Buddha, it is impossible to calculate such an immense period of time.

Our minds which cling to the illusion of self, have brought forth misery in samsara from beginningless time. How does this come about? When we come across someone richer, more learned or with a better situation than ourselves, we think that they are showing off, and we are determined to do better. We are jealous, and want to cut them down to size. When those less fortunate than ourselves ask for help, we think, 'What's the point of helping a beggar like this? He will never be able to repay me. I just can't be bothered with him.' When we come across someone of equal status who has some wealth, we also want some. If they have fame we also want to be famous. If they have a good situation, we want a good situation. We always want to compete. This is why we are not free from samsara: it is this that creates the sufferings and harm which we imagine to be inflicted on us by spirits and other human beings.

The degree of self-clinging that we have is the measure of the harms we suffer. It is only if we really have the wish to put an end to the ego-clinging which has brought us pain and loss from beginningless time - it is only then that we will be on the path to enlightenment.

From Enlightened Courage, by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Copyright 1993 by Editions Padmakara (Padmakara Translation Group). Published and distributed by Snow Lion Publications. Used by permission.