Self/ego is a buffer, a filter or lens through which the world is experienced. By the time I perceive it, the world has already been coloured and tainted by my mood and my conditioning. Without the lens of self, everything, even the slightest thing, would be too much, and I would be overwhelmed and blasted to kingdom come. It is a long and arduous task, acquiring the strength, the deep sanity, to cope with reality as it is.