"Buddhism was too foreign a fantasy of escape for a deracinated westerner." This is where Cioran missed his 'escape latch' from the egocentric fear of death's

"Buddhism was too foreign a fantasy of escape for a deracinated westerner." This is where Cioran missed his 'escape latch' from the egocentric fear of death's grasp. It's challenging to explain this concisely: We die all the time. Every time you go to sleep, every time you learn something that changes your behavior, every time you leave your home, and ultimately, we die pretty much any time we engage in life. Why? Because everything about you changes over time- the cells on your body (they get replaced every ~7yrs) and the neuron behavior in your brain. The ego is an illusion the brain sometimes manufacture to internalize action. Talk to people that have experience "ego-death" via meditation or hallucinogens- they often drop the feeling of death's sting, in my experience. Death of oneself only causes the amount of fear in proportion to the attachment to 'oneself'. It's like being afraid that magic will die one day... which might be a terrible fear provided you truly believe in magic. But if you do believe in your ego, then you have no other choice than to fear non-existence. You might ask how does one carry on in the world without ego? You engage in the world much like the natural world engages with you. You live your values, which will prompt you to action. There's nothing wrong unboxing your ego when you need it from time to time, provided you dispel it when it's no longer useful... just like how we decide to believe in magic when we go see a magic show. There's an amazing class taught by Professor Kagan on Life and Death that I'd highly recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2J7wSuFRl8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2J7wSuFRl8