In case someone wants to further chronicle the myriad of tortures suffered by the unreal man - and can I claim to know who the unreal man is? - please permit me to add a few to the list.
Yes, I would like to help some struggling seeker by telling him, "In the words of Buddha, you must first think of one thing, then of everything, and then of nothing, but it's impossible to think of nothing."
Or several hundred other friendly phrases I have picked up over the years.
The only trouble is, I know and everybody else knows that I don't have the goods to back up such a statement. And the (absurd) humiliation of them knowing that would feel far worse than the simple distress of not knowing.
Oh, you caught my slip of the tongue? That the ego is hurt because he doesn't know the truth that would destroy him? Right, and I have some land in Florida to sell you.
Wait a minute, please don't tell me - he says defensively - I already know that the ego itself is my problem.
Sure I do, I figured that out a long time ago, no need to chide me with that, you know, in front of everybody, all those people I want to help.