c12 on Nostr: That’s the part where I’m undecided. I can certainly see the appeal of rejecting ...

That’s the part where I’m undecided.

I can certainly see the appeal of rejecting ego entirely.
But then why would it exists in the first place if its only purpose is to be eliminated?
The usual interpretation I hear is that it’s meant to be a selection mechanism, to see who gets tempted and who doesn’t.

But something about that interpretation seems shallow to me. It sounds like a kind of story that a human would tell themselves. A clear distinction between good and evil, allowing the ego to say ‘look at me, I’m rejecting evil and choosing good’ - a deceptive illusion of enlightenment.

So my interpretation would be that having the ego included simply results in a deeper universe. Without it we’d all just be living in stillness, not much would happen. The garden of eden sounds like a very boring place.
I think the richness of experience that comes from the struggle between the unbounded awareness and the ego is what God ‘optimizes for’.
That’s the purpose of adding Satan (ego) into the mix.
The Goal isn’t to achieve the perfect ‘good’ - if that was the case the story would end in its first chapter. The goal is a deep experience.

I think this is also expressed in our perception of art. We don’t seem to be attracted to art that’s too harmonious or too chaotic - the most beautiful works are those somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, showcasing the full depth of the human experience.
I think this reaction that we have to art expresses a deeper goal of this entire universe.