○Ego [6]

     People with strong egos, those with less ego, and those who exist as consciousness all tend to have similar patterns of behavior. People with similar degrees of ego attachment find each other's company comfortable and gather as friends. However, stronger egos lead to more conflicts, while less ego leads to fewer.

    A strong ego leads to dishonesty. No matter how beautiful the words of a dishonest person may be, their true intentions will eventually be revealed through their words and actions. What they say and what they do don't match.

    The ego tends to exaggerate even ordinary events when communicating with others. The mind is always judging things in terms of superiority, inferiority, good, and bad. This tendency is weaker in children but grows stronger as they become adults.

    The ego changes its attitude depending on the person it's interacting with. The stronger the ego, the more it tends to view human relationships hierarchically. It flatters and raises its tone to those it sees as superior, and it behaves arrogantly and lowers its tone to those it sees as inferior. People of the same type feel comfortable with each other and tend to gather together. When this type becomes a leader, similar types gather around, shaping the culture of the organization.

    When a person with a strong ego becomes a boss, they treat their subordinates oppressively, and the subordinates cannot express their opinions and obediently follow. The subordinates also treat their underlings oppressively, and the underlings cannot express their opinions and obediently follow. This cycle repeats. Just as happiness and suffering are two sides of the same coin, sadism and masochism are also two sides of the same coin and are characteristics of the ego.

    The ego of the lower subordinate shrinks from expressing its opinion for fear of angering the upper subordinate. Seeing this, the upper subordinate becomes frustrated, criticizes the lower subordinate, and demands improvement. However, the ego of the upper subordinate also hates being scolded by the boss, so they can't clearly express their opinion. Seeing this, the lower subordinate thinks, "You're just like me." Since the ego always looks outside rather than inside, it's hard to notice these contradictions. This is what happens in human social organizations.