"In common with all schools and sects of Buddhism, the Mahayana is directly antagonistic to the ego idea. The whole of its philosophy and ethical code is directly concerned with the elimination of the "I"
thinking. It holds that this is purely a fantasy bred of childish ignorance, very much as the
mediaeval notion that the sun circumambulated the earth was the result of imperfect
knowledge. Therefore the whole of its religious and philosophic scheme is directed towards
uprooting this fantasy from the thinking of its disciples. This is the Anatta doctrine, and its
importance to Buddhism is grounded in the belief that from this fantasy spring all sorrow and
unhappiness.
European Magic, on the other hand, owes its fundamental doctrines to the Qabalah. Whilst
having much in common with the broad outlines of Buddhism, the metaphysics of the Qabalah
are essentially egocentric in a typically European way. Nevertheless, the terms of its philosophy
are so general that they may be interpreted freely from a variety of angles. Whilst decrying the
ills and limitations that accompany the false ego sense, it emphasises not so much the
destruction of the ego as, with true Western practicality, its purification and integration."
