Buddhism and Nirvana

I found it interesting reading about some of the concepts of Buddhism as I found the philosophy and observations interesting with a strong mystical appeal to it.
Although I believe in some Universal force I don’t really consider myself any particular religion as I’m sure the ones I’m interested in or know anything of are about the same Ultimate Consciousness or at least should be although in many religions God has been endowed with many human attributes. This doesn’t seem to be so much the case in Buddhism.
I think of all the different religions Buddhism might be considered one of the wisest.
This is from various sources including an article from David Loy, http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/bodhidharma/ego.html

BUDDHISM

And such is the Buddhist goal: to experience that which cannot die because it was never born, and ultimately achieve a state of Nirvana, an enduring, transcendental happiness integral to the calmness attained through enlightenment.
Important to note that we are referring to an experience here, and not some conceptual understanding.

UNBORN; ‘ I cannot die because I was never born’…In Buddhism the problem of life-and-death is resolved by deconstructing it. The evaporation of this dualistic way of thinking reveals what is prior to it. There are many names for this “prior,” one of the most common being “the unborn.” In the teaching of the seventeenth-century Japanese Zen master Bankei: “When you dwell in the Unborn itself, you’re dwelling at the very wellhead of Buddhas and patriarchs.” The Unborn is the Buddha-mind, and this Buddha-mind is beyond living and dying.

EGO; Enlightenment does not annihilate the ego. Why would someone want to annihilate something so useful and extraordinary?The mind and ego are as the creative force of our intelligence’
Consciousness is extraordinarily rich. There is intuitive knowing, feeling, gentle checking and being attentive to what is happening in our consciousness and surroundings. This movement of intelligence has a quality of self-referral which is also what we call — the ego. They are one organic whole. When we fully understand that ego is “good,” the whole issue of eliminating it drops off by itself.

THE THREE POISONS; Often the ego is addictive and considers itself blameless and a victim.Do not concentrate on elements of the ego which are often destructive. In Buddhist philosophy they are Attachment, Aversion and Ignorance. In Buddhist Psychology they appear in their most extreme forms as Greed/Lust, Hatred/Anger and Delusion/Denial of the truth
The tragicomedy is that the self-protection this generates is self-defeating, for the barriers we erect to defend the Ego also reinforce our suspicion that there is indeed something lacking in our innermost sanctum which needs protection. And if it turns out that what is innermost is so weak because it is…nothing, then no amount of protection will ever be felt to be enough and we shall end up trying to extend our control to the very bounds of the universe.

The key idea though is that every person wants to ideally spiritualize their ego and not have a negative ego. Positive ego connects you to God and allows you to help yourself and others. Negative ego is when you are seperated from God.

Its your choice to park your consciousness where you want, your glory lies where you cease to exist. To progress spiritually beyond the ego is to care for something bigger than ourselves.

Dalai Lama webpage: http://hhdl.dharmakara.net/index.html