More thoughts on Ego

Today, I'm reading an article in Tricycle Magazine that strikes me as interesting.
The article is a conversation with Rev Dr. Alfred Bloom, a leading teacher of Shin Buddhism. Jodo Shinshu Buddhism is a distinctly Japanese denomination of Buddhism. Its founder, Shinran Shonin (1173-1262), was revolutionary in his focus on making Buddhism available to all people. Prior to that in Japan, Buddhism was largely reserved for the highly-educated elite. Jodo Shinshu teaches that the insights of the Dharma (teachings of truth) are accessible to everyone.

This is what made me think "hmmm...":  Dr. Bloom says...

"Usually religious practice is based on the practitioner thinking 'What do I get out of it?' But Shinran said, 'You have nothing to get - you already have it. It's already given to you."

"For Shinran, the problem with religious practice based on achieving something, on calculation, is that it actually reinforces the ego. You think: 'I'm good, I meditate,' or 'I follow the rules,' or 'I've attained something special.' and so forth. As soon as that happens, you've defeated the whole purpose of Buddhism. Shinran realized that because of our pride, religion is a dangerous thing, it's spiritually destructive to people. When we do religious practice with the idea that we can make ourselves better, we underestimate the trap of cloaking egoism in the guise of religious effort. Rather than focus on how one should practice, Shinran talked about the importance of one's attitude."