The Ego and Tantalus

[Staples]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantalus

"He was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the water always receding before he could take a drink.'

Tantalus is essentially the Greek's embodiment of the unsatisfiable nature of the ego. 

"Tantalus offered up his son, Pelops, as a sacrifice. He cut Pelops up, boiled him, and served him up in a banquet for the gods."

Tantalus, in an effort to gain favour with the gods, hurts the people he loves in the process. The Greeks are essentially suggesting that attempting to manipulate reality or forcefully fulfil a desire will only lead to pain.

The Greeks never got around to telling the story of Tantalus' redemption, but is it not enlightenment? If only he realised that HE IS the water and the fruit.

Edited August 19, 2018 by Staples