Sunday Reflections — The path of non-attachment
This week, Sunday Reflections brings you select quotes on non-attachment:
“[D]etachment means letting go and nonattachment means simply letting be.” ~ Stephen Levine
“The attitude of letting go, of letting things be as they are, of non-attachment, does not imply a condition of reactive distancing or detachment, and is not to be confused with passivity, dissociative behaviors, or attempts to separate yourself even the tiniest bit from reality. It is not a pathological condition of withdrawal adopted to protect yourself. Nor is it nihilistic. It is exactly opposite: a supremely healthy condition of heart and mind. It means embracing the whole of reality in a new way.” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
“Non-attachment is not the elimination of desire. It is the spaciousness to allow any quality of mind, any thought or feeling, to arise without closing around it, without eliminating the pure witness of being. It is an active receptivity to life.” ~ Stephen Levine
“Our journey is about being more deeply involved in life and yet less attached to it” ~ Ram Dass
“Don’t get attached to anything. This attachment takes you away from your real being; you become focused on the thing to which you are attached. Your awareness gets lost in things, in money, in people, in power…Remember, non-attachment is the secret of finding yourself…” ~ Rajneesh
“To remember non-attachment is to remember what freedom is all about. If we get attached, even to a beautiful state of being, we are caught, and ultimately we will suffer. We work to observe anything that comes our way, experience it while it is here, and be able to let go of it.” ~ Sharon Salzberg
“This is the whole secret of non-attachment: live in the world, but don’t be of the world. Love people, but don’t create attachments…But don’t cling…Love, but don’t create desire. Live, live beautifully, live utterly, abandon yourself in the moment. But don’t look back. This is the art of non-attachment.” ~ Rajneesh
“Imagine craving absolutely nothing from the world. Imagine cutting the invisible strings that so painfully bind us: what would that be like? Imagine the freedoms that come from the ability to enjoy things without having to acquire them, own them, possess them. Try to envision a relationship based on acceptance and genuine care rather than expectation. Imagine feeling completely satisfied and content with your life just as it is. Who wouldn’t want this? This is the enjoyment of non-attachment.” ~ Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
