mindfulness

05:57 pm - Attachment - Ajahn Brahmavamso

"Attach without fear to your precepts, your meditation object and to the path for it will lead to Nibbana.



"NAMO TASSA BHAGAVATO ARAHATO SAMMASAMBUDDHASSA



Probably the most misunderstood term in Western Buddhist circles is that usually translated as 'attachment'. Too many have got it into their head that they shouldn't be attached to anything. Thus jokes abound such as the one on why the houses of Buddhists have dirt in the corners - because they don't allow even their vacuum cleaner any attachments. Some misguided pseudo-Buddhists criticise those living a moral life as being attached to their precepts and thus praise immoral action as a sign of deep wisdom. Bah! Others in traditional Buddhist circles create fear of deep meditation by incorrectly stating that you will only get attached to the Jhanas. It all goes too far. Perhaps the pinnacle of mischievous misinformation was said by Rajneesh who claimed "I am so detached, I am not even attached to detachment" and thus conveniently excused all his excesses.



The Pali work in question is UPADANA, literally meaning 'a taking up'. It is commonly used indicating a 'fuel', which sustains a process, such as the oil in a lamp being the fuel/upadana for the flame. It is related to craving (TANHA). For example, craving is reaching out for the delicious cup of coffee, Upadana is picking it up. Even though you think that you can easily put the cup of coffee down again, though your hand is not superglued to the cup, it is still Upadana. You have picked it up. You have grasped.



Fortunately not all Upadana is un-Buddhist. The Lord Buddha only specified four groups of Upadana: 'taking up' the five senses, 'taking up' wrong views, 'taking up' the idea that liberation may be attained simply through rites and initiations, and 'taking up' the view of a self. There are many other things that one may 'take up' or grasp, but the point is that only these four groups lead to rebirth, only these four are fuel for future existence and further suffering, only these four are to be avoided.



Thus taking up the practice of compassion, taking up the practice of the Five Precepts or the greater precepts of a monk or nun, and taking up the practice of meditation - these are not un-Buddhist and it is mischievous to discourage them by calling them 'attachments'.



Keeping the Five Precepts is, in fact, a letting go of coarse desires like lust, greed and violence. Practising compassion is a letting go of self-centredness and practising meditation is letting go of past, future, thinking and much else. The achievement of Jhana is no more than the letting go of the world of the five senses to gain access to the mind. Nibbana is the letting go once and for all of greed, hatred and delusion, the seeds of rebirth. Parinibbana is the final letting go of body and mind (the Five Khandhas). It is wrong to suggest that any of these stages of letting go are the same as attachment.



The path is like a ladder. One grasps the rung above and lets go of the rung below to pull oneself up. Soon, the rung just grasped is the rung one is now standing on. Now is the time to let go of that rung as one grasps an even higher rung to raise oneself further. If one never grasped anything, one would remain spiritually stupid.



To those without wisdom, letting go may often appear as attachment. For example a bird on the branch of a tree at night appears to be attaching firmly to the branch, but it has actually let go and is fully asleep. When a bird lets go and the muscles around its claws begin to relax they close on the branch. The more it relaxes, the more the claws tighten. That's why you never see a bird fall off a perch even when they are asleep. It may look like attachment but, in fact, it is letting go. Letting go often leads to stillness, not moving from where you are, which is why it is sometimes mistaken as attachment.





So don't be put off by well-meaning but misinformed L-plate Buddhists who have completely misunderstood Upadana and attachment. Attach without fear to your precepts, your meditation object and to the path for it will lead to Nibbana. And don't forget to purchase the attachments for your vacuum cleaner too!"



Ajahn Brahmavamso, BSWA Newsletter, December 1999

http://www.bswa.org/modules/icontent/index.php?page=50



Further reading - "Travelogue to the four jhanas" also by Ajahn Brahmavamso is here



This is quite different to what I frequently read here and in other places, but at the same time consistent with other teachings. Is this a doctrinal difference between different schools? I'm pretty happy with fully mindful 'attachment' to what the Ajahn sets out myself, but discussion on this is very welcome. I've been meaning to post this for awhile, but today has been timely for both my posts.



May all beings be free from suffering.

From: ex_zarathus122 Date: December 30th, 2005 08:59 am (UTC) (Link) This is a fantastic post... I thought I already had a good gist of attachment... perhaps I've got to stop worrying so much about attachment to get rid of it?



Mmm. Interesting.



Thank you. Metta. Reply ) ( Thread From: mindfulness Date: December 30th, 2005 11:34 am (UTC) (Link) You're welcome and thanks for the feedback.



As for your question, rhetorical as it might be, I try to rather than worry, be mindful of the impermanent, non-self and suffering nature of my desires and express loving-kindness to my experience of them, and turn to other things. At least, that's the plan.



Metta. Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: ex_zarathus122 Date: December 30th, 2005 11:38 am (UTC) (Link) Expressing loving kindess to the experience of attachment, for teaching you how to be free of attachment and transcend suffering? Brilliant.



I hope I got that right... did I? Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: mindfulness Date: December 30th, 2005 11:42 am (UTC) (Link) Sounds right to me. I'll show you a pg version of my mental dialogue.



"Grrr %$%!!!!!



Oh, anger again



*loves anger*



*loves my experience of it and me*



*knows it will pass, isn't me etc*



Now to other stuff..."



I've been getting into metta meditation a bit lately. Soothes the savage beast. Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: ex_zarathus122 Date: December 30th, 2005 11:45 am (UTC) (Link) :)



Oh my, the smile that is on my face now is quite sublime.



You're just too cool not to do this:



Friend you on LJ? Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: mindfulness Date: December 30th, 2005 11:58 am (UTC) (Link) Yay for sublime smiles!



And, hey, I do uncool equally well.



And sure, you're welcome to friend me. I don't actually do a personal me talking journal, but the content of my journal is basically a lot of quotes from books I like and poem and once in a blue moon a political thing. And I don't friend people back. livejournal is solely for research and therapy for me. Sounds a bit rude and it'd be nice to be more social here, but them's the rules I set myself for my therapy to work (and i need therapy).. That said I like to chat in comments and stuff and will check out people's journals occaisionally, so it'd be cool to be friended. It's never easy to write that. Usually I just say 'check out my user info'. :-)



Metta Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: ex_zarathus122 Date: December 30th, 2005 12:02 pm (UTC) (Link) Works for me :)



Thanks. Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: mindfulness Date: December 30th, 2005 11:36 am (UTC) (Link) Oh, and the credit must go to Ajahn Brahmavamso. He's a great teacher and pretty entertaining too. I've gotten a lot out of his mp3 dhamma talks at http://www.bswa.org/ Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: nagasena Date: December 30th, 2005 12:08 pm (UTC) (Link) I love Ajahn Brahm. Have you picked up a copy of Who Ordered this Pile of Dung? It's fantastic and full of funny, heart-warming wisdom.



metta! Reply ) ( Thread From: vegan27 Date: December 30th, 2005 02:32 pm (UTC) (Link) You're just attached to understanding Buddhism correctly!! I understand TRUE non-attachment, so I'm going to drink some alcohol and kill some animals now. :P



(Just kidding, everyone...)



Seriously, I'm very happy that Ajahn Brahm wrote this. :) Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: mindfulness Date: December 30th, 2005 06:23 pm (UTC) (Link) Hahahahaha. You make me smile! Thanks. Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: mindfulness Date: December 30th, 2005 06:22 pm (UTC) (Link) I haven't heard of it, but my curiosity is piqued. Thanks for mentioning the (great) title.



Metta Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: gillan Date: December 30th, 2005 02:28 pm (UTC) (Link) Thanks! Great read!



I think attachment to meditation and to the teachings is possible, and is bad, but is different from what he's talking about - it would likely be something akin to obsession. Can he say that meditating for hours on end until it begins to affect one's physical health isn't attachment? Can he say that being so attached to the precepts that one finds no room for exceptions in them isn't attachment? And are either of these positive? No fucking way.



And anyone who uses "detachment from detachment" as a way of excusing excesses is just being a doofus.



I think what the author is talking about here isn't attachment at all, but is simply the Middle Way. Reply ) ( Thread From: mindfulness Date: December 30th, 2005 06:37 pm (UTC) (Link) Oh yeah those are pretty unreasonable scenarios, unless of course you're a monk who does that sort of thing extreme Buddhist sports sort of thing. *shrugs*. Which reminds me of the movie Samsara. I think it would be attachment intelligently and compassionately to the idea and practice of meditation and the precepts. For example, I'm very attached to concentration meditation, but I don't do it regularly due to my health and so focus on mindfulness for now, but I know concentration would be good for me. I think it would be good for everyone, but I don't tell everyone I meet that. There's mindful attachment and then there's obsession.



As for what he's talking about, and what you are talking about regarding definitions, well I'm not sure where the Venn diagrams overlap and where they don't. I just keep thinking there's ranges of attachment. There's creepy stalkerish attachment and there's mindful compassionate attachment. I'm happy with experiencing the latter. Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: gillan Date: December 30th, 2005 07:05 pm (UTC) (Link) Yeah, I am too. I just wonder if "mindful compassionate attachment" is really the same attachment we're talking about with the 2nd Noble Truth, and if it's not, then why call it attachment at all? Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: mindfulness Date: December 31st, 2005 05:36 am (UTC) (Link) Good point and this is where the language has tricked me. They are two different words. In the 2nd Noble Truth, the word used is tanha or craving, while attachment is upadana. In the Dependent Origination thing it says "With Craving (Tanha) as condition, Clinging (Upadana) arises" so one precedes the other. The nuances of their difference I'm not fluent with yet. I've often read "Tanha is like a thief putting out his hand to steal an object; upadana is when he grasps hold of the object" but that's only some help for me in understanding.



I've created in my mind a whole lot of mental associations with the word attachment, and I'm still unreeling them slowly. If you've got any ideas I'm damn interested and also it might be worth asking in the main community as there are language scholars and other people who might have great explanations.



I've got some ideas that a healthy attachment would be grasping without craving. Habitual usage without being emotionally shattered if the habit must change. This doesn't apply to the four attachments the Buddha outlined however. These just delude the mind. and of course attachment to the five senses covers a lot of ground.



Thanks for making me think before breakfast! Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: notfromvenus Date: December 31st, 2005 04:14 am (UTC) (Link) that sort of thing extreme Buddhist sports sort of thing.



Like meditating upside-down while hanging off the edge of the Empire State Building? ;) Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: mindfulness Date: December 31st, 2005 05:37 am (UTC) (Link) With a dozen scorpions placed in your pockets! :-) Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: ex_qlippoth737 Date: December 30th, 2005 03:27 pm (UTC) (Link) i just wanted to show my appreciation to you for being someone who embraces truth wherever it is found. thank you for sharing and best wishes to you! Reply ) ( Thread From: mindfulness Date: December 30th, 2005 06:44 pm (UTC) (Link) You're very welcome and thanks heaps for the kind words. I read today in an online profile someone wrote under 'vices' one word - curiosity. I kachinged with empathy. So your words have meant a lot to me. Things you've written here and in theravadins have been quite enlightening for me.



Best wishes to you too. :-) Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread From: dangerbabies Date: December 31st, 2005 08:21 am (UTC) (Link) thank you for posting this!

it's perfectly timely, because lately i've been saying "TO HELL WITH IT! I AM ATTACHED TO COMPASSION! IS THAT SO BAD?!"

i didnt get to read all of it, but i will come back soon!

thanks again. you post a lot of good-spirited things that i enjoy reading. Reply ) ( Thread From: mindfulness Date: January 1st, 2006 04:50 pm (UTC) (Link) Hehehehe. Sounds great regarding the compassion.



And you're very welcome. Thanks for the feedback. I need the good-spirited influences myself so when I find something I like I often wonder if it's something I can share Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread (Deleted comment) From: mindfulness Date: January 1st, 2006 04:59 pm (UTC) (Link) That's a great metaphor, and your thoughts on compassion sound spot on to me. Thanks for sharing it. Reply ) ( Parent ) ( Thread