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
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