Or non- attachment- Aparigraha the 5th Yama

Discuss………….

So many interpretations of what this means.

Many think it’s about letting go and of course it is, but it runs deeper and deeper to not attaching ourselves in the first place, until letting go is not needed.

But do we really know what we are attached to, do we have a clear view of it.

I thought I’d make a list and this is the direction it took me in.

1. Stuff, oh yes! I’m very attached to stuff, collecting it, wearing it, dusting it, buying more, yes stuff is definitely on my list.
2. But I have lived without stuff and existed well…………
3. Then there’s my opinions, I’m definitely attached to my opinions, but my opinions change and are sometimes wrong. In fact give me yours and I may adopt them and leave mine behind, and then what was absolute truth last week can be completely false this week, so my opinions change and you can’t trust them, nor can I……….
4. Mistakes, of course I make mistakes, but these are harder to acknowledge than too much stuff, and letting go of my insistence on being right, no matter what, that’s harder to let go of than a treasured piece of clothing or an ornament……….
5. Negative thoughts, we all suffer from them, what trapped us in them anyway, where did that come from, that lack of self belief that lies us low sometimes, and talks us down, how attached are we to those, because we keep going back……..
6. It’s not just beauty and treasures we become attached to, it can be ugliness and sadness too, we attach ourselves to the familiar good or bad……..
7. In fact we can become so attached to the feelings we have always felt, that we forget that we no longer have any need of them. What once was supportive becomes a trap………..
8. And then there is guilt, that if only! …..I should have done it differently!…..I could have but!……..kind of guilt, where, after fixing the problem, we forget to forgive ourselves.

We forget to forgive ourselves for being young, for not knowing any better, for making mistakes.

There are many forms of attachment, and yes letting go is a good idea, and we must practise that, until not attaching yourself in the first place becomes a better choice.

And as a very wise Buddhist monk once said, whilst taking a sip from his favourite cup, we must remember….

“The cups already broken”……..

Gill Ansty YHET Trustee.