The Dude De Ching: New Annotated Edition

by Oliver Benjamin

Self-importance and self-righteousness are among most divisive and dangerous habits humans can adopt—they preclude us from sympathizing with others and prevent us from apprehending anything new. All fundamentalism is a form of addiction, but to a stance rather than a substance. So just as a physically healthy person moderates their intake of food and alcohol, so should we monitor our intake of ideas. In this way, we can be quick to recognize when a casual dalliance begins to morph into a dangerous and delusional necessity.