Lama Ole’s answer:
Yes, if one transforms it. Normally it only blocks communication and is our worst enemy. But if one transforms the ego from thinking “How great I am!” to thinking “How great we all are!” then one’s experience goes straight from hell to paradise.
If you think, “I am so great and so much smarter than everyone else,” you are always lonely and in bad company. But if instead you think how great everyone else is and what they are capable of, then you’re always in good company and can learn something from everybody. You can give something to everyone and the world becomes more and more beautiful.
If a teacher stands in front of his class and thinks, “What are those thirty gorillas doing here?” he might as well leave immediately, because you can’t teach gorillas anything. But if he thinks, “What are those thirty Einsteins doing in my class?” then suddenly it is fun because the students can learn a lot.
Heaven and hell happen between your own ears or ribs, depending on where you imagine the mind to be. If you see people and everything in the world as great—this is heaven. If you see dangers, difficulties, and pain everywhere, then you are in hell.