Ego is a combination of ignorance, confusion and fear. It puts our true self to sleep and takes over our lives, distorting our perceptions and leading to negative emotions like anger, hatred and the wrong deeds that follow. When we recognize that the way we habitually perceive our self and others is mistaken, we begin to move toward wisdom. In this lesson, Gelek Rimpoche describes how—through hard spiritual effort—Buddha realized how to cut through this distorted sense of self. As a result, Buddha left us instructions so that we can do the same.