I am just overlooking my neighbor’s magazine, as once again I cross the Atlantic. (You can’t blame me; these US Airways flights don’t have video screens. OR power sources for our gadgets. Seriously! How are we supposed to stay stimulated non-stop for 8 hours?!
It’s everywhere! Attachment is everywhere! And along with it are the inevitable stories of heartbreak: “Dismayed Will after photo of ex’s kiss in nightclub”, “Is Dan cheating on Camilla?” (Don’t bother googling all this, I made up some names to protect the famous.) On a related subject, “Your anti-wrinkling solution” – we’re all gonna need some of that. And the lesson never learned, “I’m open to dating again, I am not daunted.” That is, until next time.
Attachment is constant craving for objects we feel we need in order to experience pleasurable feelings. We have to learn to control our attachment or for sure it’ll control us. If we are not careful, we could end up with our whole life gone — spent scheming/fantasizing, indulging, and recovering with nothing to show for it.
Buddha identified 3 root or principal delusions that afflict living beings: attachment, anger, and ignorance. He likened getting rid of anger and ignorance from our mind to washing dirt from cloth, and getting rid of attachment to washing oil from cloth because it is so deeply soaked into our minds (although it is still not part of our essential nature). No wonder Buddha also called us humans “desire realm beings” — we never forget our objects of desire.
Attachment therefore is a sticky delusion, and a deeply conditioned bad habit, so how are we going to get unstuck? Luckily Buddha Shakyamuni taught us a very special way to do this … Tantric practice.
In Guide to Dakini Land p 37, Geshe Kelsang says that in the practice of Secret Mantra, or Tantra:
We transform our enjoyment of desirable objects into the spiritual path. This transformation is one of the special attributes of Secret Mantra.
Ordinarily, with respect to objects of attachment we are like moths to flames. An object of attraction appears, then, Boom! We want it. Yet most times we can’t have it, or we don’t have it in the way we want it, or it doesn’t deliver the goods, so there’s an instant feeling of agitation in the mind. Ideally, in the world of moths, there’d be a flame education program… “Listen guys, when you next see that bright shiny thing, fly around it and not into it. Discover how to enjoy its warmth and beauty from a safe distance and you’ll be happier – trust me!” Similarly, with Tantric practice, we can learn how to enjoy the mere appearance of attractive things, and use the desire energy they arouse to create blissful satisfied feelings, rather than falling into the flames of attachment, craving, or addiction and experiencing a world of hurt.
By indulging our objects of desire, instead of finding satisfaction we ironically stimulate dissatisfaction. Instead of quenching our thirst, we find ourselves ever thirstier. As it says in Joyful Path of Good Fortune:
We may think that if we keep travelling about, we shall eventually find what we want; but even if we were to travel to every place on the globe, and have a new lover in every place, we would still be seeking another place and another lover.
In Buddhist Tantra we discover a way to use our attachment energy to create satisfaction and even bliss. Tantric meditation is like surfing – mastering our desire energy to our best advantage, transforming our enjoyments into the spiritual path. If we do not learn to surf, we will be crushed by the huge ocean waves; but, if we become a skilled surfer, the energy of waves can become a source of bliss and liberation.
Till next time!
(This article is the fourth in a series on Tantra. The previous one can be found here.)
12 Comments
I just love this article. Using plain English and analogies most people can understand really allows buddha’s teachings to be valuable and so accessible. These teachings help me to have better relationships so I am not grasping and seeing my partner for example as my route for happiness but a person to cherish with everyone else.
Thank you so so much – please keep them coming xx
Attachment is like oil soaked into cloth. How true that is. And how wonderful it must be to be able to surf skilfully or to be a moth drawing heat from the flame, rather than being burned alive or staying so far away it is cold and miserable.
I love analogies, because they allow me to understand that what seems impossible is just down to lack of faith and practice.
Great comment mikehume. Happy Je Tsongkhapa day!
Thank you for explaining this in such an accessible way
I’m glad it’s helpful.
I can’t WAIT for your next article. I have attachment…………..!!!❤️❤️❤️
Great article,willing to read the second part ! thanks Luna !
Waiting for the second part Luna,thanks for this wonderful article !
An old fashioned cliffhanger! My attachment can’t be happy until I read the subsequent article!
I have to admit when I read the part about the lover in every place, my mind wandered away for a bit……. I think what I know in my head needs to move to my heart. Thanks for the great post!
Tantra….I’m lovin’ it!xxx
What a great article, Luna, and just what I need! I am excited to read the next article and try out the technique you brought up. Thank you for all of your enlightening posts! Cindy in Maine