‘Clinging to Illusion’ is the fourth animated illustration in a series called “Unseen”.
If you can’t see something it doesn’t mean it’s not here. Don’t try to see, just know it is.
If you can’t see something it doesn’t mean it’s not here. Don’t try to see, just know it is.
There are four different kinds of clinging or attachment: sensual attachment, attachment to opinions, attachment to rites and rituals, and attachment to the idea of selfhood. Attachment is the root of all suffering.
Non-attachment, then, is an antidote to the attachment/clinging problem. If attachment/clinging is a condition of finding life unsatisfactory, it stands to reason that non-attachment is a condition conducive to satisfaction with life. It is important to note, that the advice is not to detach from the people in your life or from your experiences, but rather to simply recognize the non-attachment that is inherent to begin with.
When we reject the illusion that we have a “self” that exists separately and independently from other people and phenomena, we suddenly recognize that there is no need to detach, because we have always been interconnected with all things at all times.
"You need two things to have an attachment: the thing you’re attaching to, and the person who’s attaching. In non-attachment, on the other hand, there’s unity. There’s unity because there’s nothing to attach to. If you have unified with the whole universe, there’s nothing outside of you, so the notion of attachment becomes absurd. Who will attach to what?"
John Daido Loori
The book.
Illustrations by Bogdan Magenta.
Animation, SFX and music by Timid Kiddom.
Animation, SFX and music by Timid Kiddom.
