- Understanding Renunciation

Dhamma practice entails more than just calling ourselves a Buddhist or making superficial changes in the way we live our life. It embodies integrating the Buddha’s teachings with our mind.

We see that it’s true that no “Inherent-I” can be found. This doesn’t mean we don’t exist at all. Non-existent cannot be the answer, because we are analysing how we exist. We neither exist as simply as the ignorant mind supposes, nor do we not exist. Gaining an understanding of the true nature of the self requires thorough insights and sustained meditation practice of who am I ?

To reify ourselves as the ‘body of I’ is a source of suffering because we have no firm basis for a sense of security and well-being. Ultimately this ‘body of I’ will decay and leave us. Upon what, then, is our sense of well-being or security to rest ? Realising that there is no possibility of finding security in an insecure samsara existence leads us to seeing the Dhamma.

When at the end of the day, once we recognise that no matter how comfortably we live in the samsara world, no matter what type of rebirth we gain, it will be subject to death, and we become sufficiently disillusioned with it, that enough is more than enough, we will generate the spontaneous aspiration to get out of it. This pure, spontaneous aspiration to be free from samsara is renunciation.

Where do we start ?

Generally there are two ways to developing renunciation. The first is to meditate on the first two truths of the Four Noble Truths, namely the nature of suffering and the causes of suffering. The second way is to meditate on the 12-links of dependent origination (how they are personally experienced, on top of the scriptural explanation).

How do we start ?

We may start off having an effective way to ensure our own happiness and welfare by contemplating the various non-virtues we have committed or intend to commit and their results. When we contemplate the suffering we will have to bear as a result of our negativities, we will give birth to the strong indestructible wish of not to experience all this misery. By doing this, we could gradually advance further to develop renunciation as one of the ten paramis, or perfections in the Theravada tradition.

The Buddha, “If, by forsaking a limited case, he would see an abundance of ease, the enlightened man would forsake the limited ease for the sake of the abundant.” [Dhammapada, verse 290]

Considering how all beings want to be free from suffering, but are caught in a net of suffering from which they cannot escape, leads to compassion. We can train our mind to develop the wish for all sentient beings to be completely parted from their sufferings.

How wonderful it would be if we could generate this ‘bodhicitta’ thought within ourselves !