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Post by Satori on Dec 28, 2005 23:22:55 GMT
Hmmmm.... English is very clumsy where buddhist concepts are concerned... One look at online Pali-English dictionary made that very clear. So what is "non-attachment" anyway? Neither "attached" nor "detached." "Non-attachment" allows us to empathize so that we can understand and relate, yet be objective enough to do something about the situation in question.
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Post by ironfeather on Dec 28, 2005 23:46:11 GMT
Ahhhhh, the elusive balance that is always just beyond reach 90% of the time for Libra ascendants... UGH.
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Post by monkeymind on Dec 29, 2005 19:11:35 GMT
Perhaps you could characterize attachment as conditioned behavior that could hinder chances for self-actualization and/or less than optimal "functionability" of an organism! It could be viewed as a spectrum of behaviors that have varied results and impacts. When we choose not to act in conditioned ways how does that open up our perspective or awareness?
Re: how do we lose it w/o turning into an automaton or "borg?" Mindfulness, I say. By practicing mindfulness in meditation and in our actions we can choose to act in conditioned ways that increase or decrease our chances to accept what is in any given situation and not be stressed about it. Is this, detachment or non-attachment? What is mindfulness to you?
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Post by Satori on Dec 29, 2005 19:31:34 GMT
Re: how do we lose it w/o turning into an automaton or "borg?" Mindfulness, I say. By practicing mindfulness in meditation and in our actions we can choose to act in conditioned ways that increase or decrease our chances to accept what is in any given situation and not be stressed about it. Is this, detachment or non-attachment? What is mindfulness to you? You're describing non-attachment, not detachment. Non-attachment ... being mindful of and not choosing the extremes of either attachment or detachment.
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Post by ahbleza on Dec 30, 2005 20:28:55 GMT
I am attached to: my house/family/work/mp3-player serious!/my cat I am not attached to: my car/my bike/my books/my clothes/my money/my plants/my furniture/my statue of the Buddha/my stereochain/my videos/my cd's dvd's/material stuf/ i take good care of these ones, but i would not care if something got lost (except the car maybe-replacing costs money ) Once in a while i go around the house and see for unusefull stuff and get rid of it, give it away, and i rarely miss them. But real attachment is not all about material things.I found out some of these are easy to do without.
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Post by Satori on Dec 30, 2005 20:34:08 GMT
I am attached to: my house/family/work/mp3-player serious!/my cat I am not attached to: my car/my bike/my books/my clothes/my money/my plants/my furniture/my statue of the Buddha/my stereochain/my videos/my cd's dvd's/material stuf/ i take good care of these ones, but i would not care if something got lost (except the car maybe-replacing costs money ) Once in a while i go around the house and see for unusefull stuff and get rid of it, give it away, and i rarely miss them. But real attachment is not all about material things.I found out some of these are easy to do without. Attachment is more of an addictive quality. I would say from what you described about your family, work, cat, etc., you are describing people and things that you love. However, if any of them dominate your thoughts every second so that you can't function very well, then you could consider yourself attached to them. Some people are attached to other people, but that has to do with addiction, not love. Love is respectful and honest, not possessive and controlling. Remember, it's not relationships and things that we have to let go of, but our attachments to those things.
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Post by ahbleza on Jan 1, 2006 10:44:10 GMT
Do i see this right? Some one who has his house filled with all kinds of stuff, so many that he wouldn't even notice if there were a few missing, is not really attachted to the objects, but symply attached to either buying things or having things, or perhaps impressing other people. Someone who has got allmost nothing, can also be attached to WANTING to have something, but not being able to buy it makes his suffering. I also found out that just getting rid of things is in fact not the way to get non-attachment. What difference can possessing or not possessing an object make. The object can have no influence on your thoughts, its me who gives it its reason. (On the other hand, if you get it out, you don't have to dust it or clean it how do you say this ? ) A great help to me is a sentence from the Rolling Stones "You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need." If i could make this true in my life, i'd be a happy man. But it's not easy _/\_
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Post by JCL on Jan 1, 2006 11:17:56 GMT
I am attached to: ... my cat i know the feeling!
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Post by ahbleza on Jan 1, 2006 20:11:12 GMT
Just reading a book on creation of the universe. In fact there's no better way to non-attach. Big bang = Hydrogen (consisting of 1 proton) blown into space...clinging together creating stars (suns)... in order to exist, stars need to create energy against collapsing...they do this transforming hydrogen into helium (consisting of 2 protons) when all hydrogen is transformed, helium needs to transform... adding one more proton, until up to 28 protons (and neutrons, but these don't count) from up to 29 until 98 protons, energy is taken away, in this way causing collapse of the star, creating a supernova or a black hole. Non here it comes/ these 98 transformations are the 98 elements we know, from hydrogen to carbon to oxygen to iron, gold, uranium... Everything on this world consists of ASHES from stars blowing themselves into space. Rebirth is not an option, it's a necessity. So in fact everything is the same, just a change of protons. A golden ring is just iron or carbon with a few protons added. Suppose you're attached to a statue, a sculpture... it's just stone...ashes...in its basics. If anyone would care to get to know some more, i'm reading on, i'll post it later...about the end of the universe and stuff like that love it!
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Post by Satori on Jan 1, 2006 20:51:10 GMT
We're all really composed of energy. And energy can't die, it can only transform. Thus, the energy is permanent, but the various forms it takes is impermanent. One of the reasons I believe in reincarnation. Of course, from what you wrote, the forms keep transforming too.
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Post by Satori on Jan 1, 2006 21:08:56 GMT
Do i see this right? Some one who has his house filled with all kinds of stuff, so many that he wouldn't even notice if there were a few missing, is not really attachted to the objects, but symply attached to either buying things or having things, or perhaps impressing other people. Someone who has got allmost nothing, can also be attached to WANTING to have something, but not being able to buy it makes his suffering. I also found out that just getting rid of things is in fact not the way to get non-attachment. What difference can possessing or not possessing an object make. The object can have no influence on your thoughts, its me who gives it its reason. (On the other hand, if you get it out, you don't have to dust it or clean it how do you say this ? ) A great help to me is a sentence from the Rolling Stones "You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need." If i could make this true in my life, i'd be a happy man. But it's not easy _/\_ Yes, absolutely!
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