When we contemplate impermanence, illness, aging, death — and all the other aspects of our precious human birth, we see how fixated we are, how strong-willed and tenacious we've been about our version of reality. It's clear that this fixation has caused us suffering and pain: the more self-involved we are, the more anger, jealousy, pride, and other traumatic emotions we have. Whenever we seek more self-satisfaction, we end up with more suffering, from minor to extreme. In every case the suffering results from some kind of selfish intent.
— Sakyong Mipham, Turning the Mind Into An Ally