If you truly wish to succeed in your spiritual practice, you must learn to sever and detach from various worldly matters within your heart. It is important to understand that this act of severing and detaching is a continuous process, not a final result. It is a fundamental, non-negotiable condition for any practitioner who seeks to achieve the state of an awakened being and to fulfil the vow of saving both oneself and all other suffering beings.
How, then, should a practitioner approach this? What exactly must one sever from the heart? There is a precise method to this, and only by following this path with sincerity and diligence can one hope to achieve true success.
The Art of Releasing Worldly Burdens
First, you must sever yourself from the deep-seated confusion and darkness of ignorance that clouds your true self. Second, you must learn to sever your attachment to the worldly concept of having. We must realise that this attachment to possession is the very root of the karmic cycle of being reincarnated. To break free, you must learn to lighten your attachment to the , which are often described as the five roots that lead to the hells:
Wealth:
The constant craving for material gain and financial security.Sex:
The pursuit of sensual pleasure and physical gratification.Fame:
The desire for recognition, status, and the approval of others.Food:
The indulgence in taste and the obsession with culinary satisfaction.Sleep: The attachment to comfort, laziness, and excessive rest.
You must adjust your relationship with these five areas until you can fully sever your attachment to them, ensuring that you are no longer controlled by these worldly forces. When you are no longer a slave to these desires, you have taken a significant step toward liberation.
Purifying the Inner Landscape
Beyond the Five Desires, there are deeper layers of the mind that require your attention. You must also work to sever the following negative patterns:
The :
You must work to eliminate greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt from your heart.Emotional Entanglements:
You must sever the cycle of resentment, hatred, and the complex web of emotional conflict.Discriminations:
You must stop comparing yourself to others and cease the constant mental cycle of judging right and wrong.Negative Mental States:
You must let go of jealousy, the obsession with gain and loss, and the heavy burden of arrogance.Ego-Attachments:
You must sever your attachment to the ego, your personal views, and the trap of selfishness.Harmful Habits: You must release all malicious views and the constant pursuit of selfish, worldly desires.
We must understand that these desires, thoughts, and cravings are all manifestations within our . They arise according to our past actions and lead us further away from our true self. By clinging to them, we remain trapped in the cycle of being reincarnated.
Returning to the True Self
Once you have successfully severed these attachments, you can enter a state of no-thought, no-desire, no-mind, and selflessness. Your heart will become as still as a calm lake, completely unmoved by external appearances. This is the moment you rediscover your true self and achieve the state of an awakened being.
From this state of profound stillness, you can return to the world to save those with whom you have karmic connections. This is the state of being at ease with conditions, where your wisdom can be put to its greatest use. May you practise with diligence and find your way back to the of Ultimate Bliss. This teaching was recorded by the Buddha's disciple, Venerable HaiZe.
