Probably about two years
ago, my good friend Mark and I were musing about life and love, and Buddhism,
and inevitably reached the topic of attachment. Mark mentioned that, in a
nutshell, Buddhism teaches non-attachment; the idea that we have to get rid of
the desire to possess things, to attach ourselves to things externally, as this
produces discord and addiction. The ideal way of thinking about this can be
summed up in the following quote by Zen teacher John Daido Loori:
"[A]ccording to the Buddhist point of view,
nonattachment is exactly the opposite of separation. You need two things in
order to have attachment: the thing you’re attaching to, and the person who’s
attaching. In nonattachment, on the other hand, there’s unity. There’s unity
because there’s nothing to attach to. If you have unified with the whole
universe, there’s nothing outside of you, so the notion of attachment becomes
absurd. Who will attach to what?"
An amazing concept, but
quite a feat to comprehend and employ in real life. From the moment we are
born, we survive on the concept of attachment. It is a necessity for a child to
depend on their mother for food, warmth, comfort. As we grow older, attachment
is a means of carving out our world, being led by example, and forging our own
path from the comfort and safety of a trusted source. Attachment is a means of
survival.
But as we grow older, we
may find attachment to be somewhat troublesome and addicting. First love, first
heart break; first problems, first vices. Sometimes attachment becomes the kind
that inhibits us from continuing on the path and expanding our world and
consciousness; moving forward…
Love is the best example of
this. How can a person NOT attach themself to the person they love? How can we
live a seemingly emotionless, unattached existence from someone who is so
close, someone who we exchange feelings and emotions with continually?
The sheer exchange of
emotions plants memories, dreams, hopes and expectations in our minds and
hearts. And these linger, especially in trying times, when these no longer
match the current emotion experienced. Furthermore, discord occurs when the
feelings experienced by two people no longer match, and therefore these dreams,
hopes and expectations are not forged. This is where the attachment occurs.
Emotions come and go, but the outcomes attached to these can stick around for a
long time. A person does not get attached to emotions, they get attached to the
predicted outcome of these emotions.
So knowing this how is it
possible to live life unattached, yet happy and unified with others? Take a
stroll down by the sea on a good surf day. There will be moments when surfers
sit on their boards and wait for the waves to roll in, and there will be times
they are catching each wave as it comes. What you will notice, every day, is
that high or low tide, the waves never stop. Whether you experience the surf to
be good or bad, is a subjective opinion. But the waves never stop, there is
constant motion. That is the law of nature, of the sea.
Buddha taught the same
principal: to live life in harmony and accept life as it is. To accept that
life has ebb and flow, things which come and which go, things that are
experienced as joys, and others that are experienced as troubles.
In accepting the unity, the
perfection of the entire experience of life, we become non-attached. Because
there is nothing to attach to, the experience is in us, and we are the experience.
We live life in flow, in motion, in harmony; aware of the dichotomy, yet
appreciating the perfection of life as it is.
Copyright © SoulSurfer 26 October 2012 at 10.42am
0 comments:
Post a Comment