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Author of this essay:

Yao Xiang Shakya
(September 25, 2011)

NON-ATTACHMENT, STUPID!
by Yao Xiang Shakya

In Bill Clinton's 1992 successful campaign for the Presidency, the slogan "It's the economy, stupid!" became a catch phrase that captivated the electorate and helped him to win. His campaign manager, James Carville, hung a sign on Clinton's door in Little Rock, giving him some clear directions on the work at hand:

Much like James Carville, I hope to post this sign for those of you who want to run a successful campaign to get to the top of the mountain or at least to get beyond base-camp. It reads:

SIGNPOST #1: Change, not more of the same.

The admonition here requires us to remember, "Nothing whatsoever is to be clung to."

This admonition applies to all our plans in everyday life. If we keep banging away with the same old methods and getting the same inconsistent results, we are fooling ourselves. We are not only clinging to a losing strategy, but to one that puts our self-interest above all other considerations. This is a formula for bitterness and pain.

We need a sign to remind us that even if we win one battle, there will be others. Here's an account of my latest ego-combat which should illustrate the stubborn nature of the problem.

In the late spring of this year I decided to offer a fall residential retreat, the kind in which a small group could come together to study The Wheel of Birth & Death through the use of expressive art forms. I invited another Zen practitioner to help with the "art" part of the retreat, while I took responsibility for the Dharma talks about the Wheel. This being agreed, I made the proposal for a residential retreat to the sangha. Everything depended on the enthusiasm the proposal received. When I asked who was interested in attending such a residential retreat, I faced a room full of raised hands. It was unanimous: a fall residential retreat was the perfect way to advance our understanding of this aspect of Buddhist dogma. As I looked at the eager faces, I had visions of this retreat being the first in a series of new and exciting approaches to the Dharma that I would introduce.

I wasted no time getting started with the logistics. I contracted for an appropriate space at a residential center and obtained the required liability coverage. I sent out an informative flyer to all those I thought might be interested in attending. And then I began to worry. My contract was for only twenty-three separate bedrooms for the weekend, and I feared that I had not reserved a sufficient number of rooms. (Remember that "show of hands!"?) OK, you are probably laughing already at my absurd trust in that old "show of hands" enthusiasm. But let me go on before I address the fool and the foolish trust.

I anxiously awaited a deluge of reservation requests. In the next weeks there came a trickling total of five requests.

As you already guessed the "show of hands" did not match the numbers of either the retreat center or most importantly my wishful visions. It is the wishing part that is the most pertinent to the topic at hand - the requirement: "nothing whatsoever is to be clung to." The emphasis had shifted away from the Dharma and had moved, inexorably, towards my attachments to my own ambitions. Such wishes always lead to a place of misery - a place that is, if nothing else, familiar to me. I banged away at my attachment to fill the rooms. What I needed to do was to change from that "more of the same" perspective of seeing myself as the person in charge.

Humbly, I list my attachments: 1. I wanted those who raised their hand to follow through and sign up for the retreat. 2. Worse yet, I wanted them to be reliable. 3. And the most humbling of all, I wanted them to support me. PFHAT!

It's funny how the teachings seem to come alive in the middle of whatever we are doing at the time. It's true. Over and over again, whenever we find what we regard as our place, the fundamental point finds a way to show itself as the real deal. This, I think, is a universal truth. If we take the time in solitary practice and listen to what we're saying and doing, we begin to see what our fist is holding and how we create the struggles that we constantly grumble about.

SIGNPOST #2: Non-attachment, stupid!

As the retreat date drew closer, I felt more urgency to fill the twenty-three rooms which I had contracted to fill. It's not that I do not know how to "market." I do. In my former 'conventional' life, I marketed services that were of a commercial nature, i.e., computers. I didn't want to be in the business of marketing the Dharma, but I also did not want to pay for all these empty rooms!

The closer the retreat date, the more irritable I became. I began to listen to myself make "hard and fast rules" about the future. I'd never do this again. No, Never again! I began to watch my mind seek relief in consolation; and I also noticed that I wanted to blame someone. From this point on, most of my remarks were gripes, complaints, and expressions of disappointment. All of these protests were symptoms of the Craving Disease; but I managed to ignore them.

Using my marketing skills I began a campaign to induce people to attend the retreat. I pressed so hard that I became another person, a hostile one. After there was no one else to alienate, I turned on myself. Only then did I realize that I was the one to blame for the disaster. I was attached to my own welfare. Disseminating the Dharma was far from my mind.

When we catch ourselves complaining because things didn't go as we expected, we need to look at what is really happening. We can go off by ourselves and as ruthlessly as possible, look at the situation we caused. What had initially motivated us? When we first noticed that things were going wrong, why did we dig ourselves into a hole of recriminations and complaints about others. Were our actions helping the Dharma or hurting it? Was the Dharma our real goal or was it a wish for importance in Zen circles, for being a center-point in innovative approaches to gaining enlightenment?

You can also do what I did. I looked at myself in the mirror and I shook my head and asked, "What the hell were you thinking!"

So, Stop. Look. Listen. Let it be! When catching ourselves in a mistake, accept it and move on. To get stuck trying to justify an error for the sake of our ego's reputation, gets us into the rut of making more mistakes.

Non-attachment, stupid!

SIGNPOST #3: Don't forget Dharma health care.

Back to basics, baby! It took a bit of discipline but I finally considered the Dharma health care in terms of the Four Noble Truths:

1. There is universal struggle.

2. The cause of this universal struggle is craving (wishes).

3. There is an end to the struggle.

4.There is a Way that leads to end the struggle.

The retreat draws closer. Ten participants have replied "yes"; five have sent checks. I am laughing as I write these statistics. I hope you are too. I can see my mind sniff around as the Wheel rolls past with its cravings, vexations and partitions; and all of them versus moi!

Gladly I can say I am now onto the one who wants to go for a spin. I restrain her with the recollection of the Second of the Four Noble Truths, and I pray this prayer:

Help me to fulfill completely all intentions of the victorious ones.

Help me to utterly destroy clinging to the reality of appearances and be able to use whatever arises as the path.

Help me to know that all beings are my Kind Beloved and be able to work sincerely to help others.

Help me to let go of grasping and be able to taste the freedom of non-attachment.

Translated by K.Mcleod Revised by efh

Remember, the only thing to cling to is the Dharma. Everything else you cling to leads to suffering. And when suffering arises have a look at the Second Noble truth, and ruthlessly hunt out the craving.

The Way to protect our happiness is to pay attention to what we're doing with our body, our thinking, and our speech.

I strongly suggest that we cry out periodically through the day, "What was I thinking? What am I thinking?" Then take some time to examine our thoughts. We can do the same with our body and speech. And also, we can strengthen our resolve with memorizing the prayer which, if preferable, we can put into our own words.

The signpost for success is:

Humming Bird