Are Ownership And Egolessness Incompatible?

[Pav]

It seems like it would be quite difficult to live in society without the concept of ownership. Does ownership imply an ego? Is there a fundamental incompatibility here? How do egoless people view property? Would an egoless person necessarily renounce all material possession? 

[vizual]

I guess by an egoless person you mean an enlightened person, right? To answer your question, enlightened people don't really have a view on anything because there isn't really a separate person inside that body. They 'know' that every kind of separation, whether material or personal, is illusionary. That does not mean they give up living in a house, having a car etc. But they 'know' that nothing is everyone's property, and everything is no one's property, if that makes sense? By having a view you mean a world view, a world view is by definition subjective and therefore discarded as false. You can get to this realization yourself by doing some basic self enquiry.

If they would renounce all material possession that would mean they would resist the current manifestation of reality, only ego's resist reality. Even lies are a part of the ultimate Truth. 

 

[Leo Gura]

An egoless person would see the truth of the matter behind the concept of ownership: there cannot be a "thing" that owns another thing. That entire structure is silly if you really think about it. What is the thing doing the owning? What establishes ownership? What are you really saying when you say, "I own that thing over there"?

Ownership is a convenient fiction we've created to make our lives easier. There's nothing wrong with using this fiction. It is handy for everyday living. Just understand that there isn't really anyone doing the owning, and that ownership is a completely arbitrary relationship.

I could claim that I own you. It would be no more true than saying I own the Moon or that I own a car or that I own my body.

Now, does this mean I don't use a car in everyday life? Of course not! I have a car and I use it, and if someone tried to steal it, I would make an effort to stop them.