Cultural Conditioning and the "Self"...
Buddhism teaches that no innate self exists. That we are interconnected, and that the ego self is really an accumulation of our experiences. Which includes the conditioning by parents, teachers, spiritual guides, employers, and all the societal norms of the culture one lives in. Given all the influences and pressures exerted by those who want to "mold" children into something they themselves are comfortable with and approve of it's easy to lose the sense of who or what they really are. If the conditioning is deep enough it is quite possible, the child never fully realizes the "real" them. When a child is born, they are like the sponge you wash your dishes with. Bright eyed and non-judgmental (it takes adults to teach children to be judgmental) they look at experience (phenomenon) with wide eyed curiosity and wonder. The early years, when children are most malleable and easily influenced, are the years that set the child on the p...