Episode 160 - Attachment To What Is Non-virtuous
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
Release Date: 02/08/2023
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
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“Praise and blame, fame and shame, gain and loss, pleasure and pain come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all.” ― Buddha We're exploring a truth so simple yet profound it almost feels like a secret; every problem we have comes from just one thing, our own mind. Specifically, our problems come from misperceiving reality: we see our worries, fears, and stresses as big, immovable mountains. In reality, they're more like clouds, shifting and changing with the winds of the mind. Nothing is as fixed as it seems. Everything depends on perception...
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We're exploring a truth so simple yet profound it almost feels like a secret; every problem we have comes from just one thing--our own mind. Specifically, our problems come from misperceiving reality: we see our worries, fears, and stresses as big, immovable mountains. In reality, they're more like clouds, shifting and changing with the winds of the mind. Nothing is as fixed as it seems. Everything depends on perception (even that thing you're stressing about right now). Could we change our perception and enjoy whatever arises? Buddhist Teacher, JoAnn Fox, offers two ways to practice...
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The Buddha taught that dukkha—suffering and dissatisfaction—doesn't come from the outside world. Our problems don't arise from difficult people or hardships. Our problems come from within our own mind, from the way we react to life. The same is true for happiness. We spend so much of our lives trying to control the world around us—fixing this, avoiding that, chasing after happiness like it's some rare butterfly. But what if we've been looking in the wrong place? What if the source of both our problems and our joy has been inside us all along? in this episode, we explore how...
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Attachment has a sneaky way of making us hold on too tightly—to things, to people, to our own comfort zones. We cling, we grasp, we hesitate to let go, fearing we might lose something essential. But what if the very act of giving could set us free? In this episode, we explore the transformative practice of giving as an antidote to attachment. Discover how generosity can help you break free from the things that hold you back. Buddhism teaches that generosity is not just a nice thing to do; it is a powerful practice of liberation. From the bodhisattva’s perfection of giving to the four...
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Giving, or dāna, is one of the most fundamental and beautiful practices in Buddhism. In this episode, we explore how giving is not just an act of generosity—it is a path to freedom, a way to dissolve the tight grip of self-centeredness and open our hearts to others. The Buddha taught that giving benefits both the giver and the receiver, creating the karmic cause for an abundance of whatever we give, be it materially, love, Dharma, or fearlessness. Giving also reduces attachment, and deepens our sense of interconnectedness. Four Ways to Practice Giving: - Materially - Dharma - Fearlessness -...
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Attachment is like a rope that binds us—tying our happiness to people, possessions, and circumstances. In Buddhism, attachment isn’t just about clinging to things we love; it’s the grasping, craving, and fear of loss that keep us trapped in cycles of dissatisfaction. The tighter we hold on, the more suffering we create. But don’t worry—there are antidotes to this challenging habit of attachment! In this episode, we’ll uncover practical tools from the Buddhist path to help us shift from attachment to true freedom. How can we love without clinging? Enjoy without suffering?...
info_outlineBuddha said, “with effort, we have all attainments.” We can achieve any goal, no matter how lofty, with enough continued effort, even becoming a bodhisattva and attaining enlightenment. So why do such noble goals seem so hard to achieve? Because there are obstacles to effort, and, often, they playa do,I aTM role in our life.
The three main obstacles to effort are as follows:
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Procrastination
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Discouragement
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Attachment to what is meaningless or non-virtuous
It is said that if you have one of these obstacles, you have all three. In this episode, we look at attachment to what is meaningless or non-virtuous, and how it keeps us from putting energy into what is most important to us. The weekly mindfulness practice that follows is to watch our mind and see how attachment is functioning to impede the attainment of important goals and investing effort into what we value most.
The Story of Culadhanuggaha, speaks of attachment impeding one young monk’s goals to keeping his vows.
“While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verses (349) and (350) of this book, with reference to a young bhikkhu, who was a skilful archer in one of his previous existences.
Once a young bhikkhu took his alms-food in one of the shelters specially built for bhikkhus in town. After his meal he felt like drinking water. So he went to a house and asked for some drinking water, and a young woman came out to give him some water. As soon as this young woman saw the young bhikkhu she fell in love with him. Wishing to entice him, she invited the young bhikkhu to come to her house whenever he felt thirsty. After some time, she invited him to her house for alms-food. On that day, she told him that they had everything they could wish for in the house, but that there was no male to look after their affairs, etc. Hearing those words, the young bhikkhu took the hint and he soon found himself to be more and more attached to the young, attractive woman. He became very much dissatisfied with his life as a bhikkhu and was getting thin. Other bhikkhus reported about him to the Buddha.
The Buddha called the young bhikkhu to his presence and said to him, "My son, listen to me. This young woman will be your undoing just as she had been to you in a previous existence. In one of your previous existences you were a very skilful archer and she was your wife. On one occasion, while the two of you were travelling, you came upon a gang of highwaymen. She fell in love with the gang leader. So, while you and the gang leader were engaged in fighting and you called out to her to give you the sword, she gave the sword to the robber who promptly killed you. Thus, she was the cause of your death. Now, too, she will be the cause of your ruin if you go after her and leave my Order for her sake."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 349: In a man who is disturbed by (sensual) thoughts, whose passions are strong, and who keeps seeing objects as being pleasant, craving grows more and more. Indeed, he makes his bondage strong.
Verse 350: A man who takes delight in calming (sensual) thoughts, who is ever mindful, and meditates on the impurity (of the body, etc.) will certainly get rid (of craving); this man will cut the bond of Mara.
At the end of the discourse, the young bhikkhu attained Sotapatti Fruition.”
References and Links
Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. (Kindle). Shambala, Boston and London, 2011. (Link)
Buddha (1986).The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories. Translated by Daw Mya Tin, M.A. (Website). Edited by Editorial Committee, Burma Tipitaka Association Rangoon. Courtesy of Nibbana.com. For free distribution only, as a gift of dhamma.
https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=348
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