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Venerable Ajahn Brahmavamso -
Attachment
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 criticize 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!
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