Renunciation

Renunciation in Buddhism means that you are dedicating yourself to spiritual pursuit. It means that you will no longer seek pleasure from the ‘8 worldly concerns’ which are generally the motivations for ordinary beings. Here’s the list:

1. Being happy when acquiring something
2. Being unhappy when not acquiring something
3. Wanting to be happy
4. Not wanting to be unhappy
5. Wanting to hear interesting sounds
6. Not wanting to hear uninteresting sounds
7. Wanting praise
8. Not wanting criticism

It is the case that for most of us, our motivations are inspired by these concerns. This is not to say that being happy or acquiring things or getting praise are bad things. It is the mind that clings to these for happiness that is the problem. Wanting in general is the problem. The mind that is full of longing to be free from problems or clinging to temporary happiness is actually tight and uncomfortable. By letting go of expectations for how things will work out our minds are immediately peaceful, open and clear. A mind free from concerns is at peace, it is complete. Seeking happiness by chasing the worldly concerns is never complete, there will always be another situation to grasp at. It is ironic that the very attempt to acquire happiness effectively blocks our attaining it, but this is the function of our ignorance. We go in exactly the wrong direction.

There is not some replacement concern when abandoning these, by the way. The mere non-grasping at happy and unhappy states is the whole of the Buddhist path. This is the door to Nirvana;lasting happiness that is completable. This does not mean that you never acquire things - it just means that you aren’t making a big deal out of everything. It’s like the saying, ‘Don’t sweat the small things, and everything is a small thing’.

What we generally call happiness is actually just ‘not suffering’. We are happy because we aren’t struggling during that time. That means our happiness is relevant only in the context of future and past suffering! So there is suffering inherent in the worldly concerns. Check it out for yourself. When you are with a great friend, at first it is very exciting! You are connected and really enjoying each other, you could go on and on - except you can’t. There is necessarily an end to that time - a feeling of tiredness or regret comes in as you move on. Your favorite beer is fine, but you have to get up and pee eventually, or you get too drunk. This is not generally regarded as a problem, but it points to the fact that the happiness is not complete. You are done talking to your friend and now you must find something else to engage with. You don’t ’stay happy’. That is because the worldly things do not last, they can not last. It is not their nature to remain, it is their nature to pass away, so happiness in reliance on them is equally transitory. Non-reliance, on the other hand, brings a state of peace - it is imperturbable and filled with bliss. This bliss does not show itself right away, but with continual acquaintance with a mind free from concern, it begins to appear.

So the first step is just to see - be aware - is the happiness that comes from clinging to the world lasting? If not, is there a happiness that will last? Is that happiness reliant on any worldly thing? Or is it that by not relying - going the complete opposite direction from our instinct that we find happiness?

When we see that the eight worldly concerns are inadequate for lasting peace, we can turn our mind away from them and towards the spiritual path. Its sort of like an exorcism of the ego - we are possessed with these wrong views and in order to remove the possession, we become renunciants. We don’t have to go sit in a cave either. We can experience renunciation while engaged in the world. This is a very laid back way of dealing with the world. You become very calm, very direct, very helpful to others.