Sundays With Buddha

Week 24



Let go of anger. Let go of pride. When you are bound by nothing you go beyond sorrow.
                                                                                                                 --Buddha






"Let go of anger".

Easier said than done, sometimes. That often requires forgiveness of some sort. But, it can be done. Pride, however, is a little more difficult to define; or at least to let go of. What is pride? Being proud of your accomplishments can be a noble feeling. But, when you base your identity on those accomplishments, such as awards, recognition for your work/job, house, car, possessions, even your looks, that's when danger arises. What I feel the Buddha is teaching here is that when you form attachments to these things, identifying with them, priding yourself on them, what happens when you no longer have those things?

A lot of anger, for one.  And disappointment.  Not only should we try to let go of our attachment to all of these things that make us believe we are happy, we also need to let go of the anger that is a result of losing these thing, should they leave us. Furthermore, learning to become unattached to these things will, inevitably free us of our anger, as we are not bound any longer to them. Life is cyclic. Everything works on cause and effect.

I believe it is perfectly ok to have goals of attainment, but when it becomes "all you've got", what you've got is trouble.

What have you lost in the past that has been devastating? Job? Car? House? Relationship? Why did it upset you so? Did it leave a void? Were you worried about what everyone might think? You identified with those things, making them a part of you. When they went away, did you then think, "Who am I, now? What will people think of me? I just lost my house!!"?

Sorrow is caused by such strong identification and attachment. The same goes for anger. If you stay bound by your anger, and can't let that go, you can't live a free life. You mustn't stay attached to your feelings of being wronged by someone; not the people who took your house, or repossessed your car, the boyfriend who cheated or the co-worker who stole your thunder.  The act of forgiveness isn't just to bring another person peace, it's to bring yourself peace of mind, as well. Don't harm yourself by keeping anger bottled up inside of you. Sad, sorrowful, angry people live a sad, sorrowful, angry life. Let go of attachment. Let go of anger. When you are bound by nothing, you go beyond sorrow. You are truly free.

Thank you for reading today.

Namaste


Nanette