Does Dropping Attachments Mean Detachment From The World?

Does the dropping of attachments mean detachment from the material world? No. One uses the material world, one enjoys the material world, but one doesn’t make one’s happiness depend on the material world. You really begin to enjoy things when you’re unattached because attachment brings anxiety. If you’re anxious when you’re holding on to something, you can hardly enjoy it. It's not a withdrawal from enjoyment; it’s a withdrawal from possessiveness, anxiety, tension, and the loss of something.

Transcript

Does,

Dropping of attachments,

Does it mean detachment from the material world?

No,

No.

One uses the material world,

One enjoys the material world,

But one does not make one's happiness depend on the material world.

You really begin to enjoy things when you are unattached,

Because attachment brings anxiety.

If you are anxious when you are holding on to something,

You could hardly enjoy it.

So what I am offering you is not a withdrawal from enjoyment,

It is a withdrawal from possessiveness,

From anxiety,

From tension,

From depression at loss of something.

We are taught to identify with the sufferings of Christ.

How would this link in with what I was saying about happiness?

Let me clarify this a bit further.

Maybe the best way to do it would be by means of a story.

There is a great Zen master,

They say,

Who was reported to have attained enlightenment.

One day his disciples said to him,

Master,

What did you get from enlightenment?

He said,

Well,

I will tell you this,

Before I was enlightened I used to be depressed.

After I got enlightened I continued to be depressed.

You see,

The depression has not changed,

His attitude to the depression has changed.

He is not saying,

I am not going to be happy till this depression goes away,

Because strange as it may seem,

You know you could even be serene and calm and happy while the depression is going on.

You are not fighting it,

You are not upset about it,

You are not irritated about it,

You are serene,

That is the difference.

So can one go through physical hardships and even emotional sufferings and not be upset about them?

That is the key word,

That is the operative word,

That is the difference.

Reviews

It was very helpful.
Thank you so much.

🥳🙏

Great insights, very grateful to have access to Tony’s teachings.

Beautiful as always 🙏❤️

Thanks for keeping me on track Anthony. Sometimes life is just one big bad dream.

Wow, how can three minutes change everything- de Mello continues to help me in areas where I am stuck ✨🙏✨