Renunciation

The third of the 10 Buddhist Perfections is “renunciation” (Nekkhamma parami). Renunciation is not always so easy for people. More so, it is often misunderstood. When we see a monk one of the first thoughts is often the idea that they have renounced all possessions. Their robes, their begging bowl, their beads are tools of devotion and symbols of their faith. Their possessions have been relinquished so that they may be free of desire.

That is only the superficial aspect of renunciation. It is the kindling that starts the fire of pure renunciation – the renunciation of thought in mediation, the giving up of desire in all its forms.

I have possessions. To some people, I have quite a few. To others, not so many. I have a laptop and I have a storage unit full of things and I have some clothes that I probably don’t need. I have a bank account and credit cards and I have a shopping list of things I would like to own someday. Have I abandoned the pursuit of enlightenment in exchange for materialism? It would be pretty easy for a purist to argue that I have done just this. However, life is a little black and a little white and many shades of gray.

My laptop is a tool which I use to write, to share thoughts with others, to send emails of encouragement. My storage unit holds mostly books; I use them to enrich my experiences. My bank account, although it does more shrinking than growing, allows me to be self-sufficient so that I am not a burden on society. I am not a captive of my own possessions, instead the physical possessions I choose to have liberate me in some way. And I know, because I have done it before, I could give up nearly everything other than shoes, shirt and pants and be just as tied and untied as I am today.

The biggest possession – the most significant shackle around my ankles – is my thoughts. They, at times, control me instead of the other way around. Years ago, I was a very angry young man – for no other reason than I did not know better. I held on to these thoughts and emotions as if they were the foundation of everything that I am. I gave up much of that, and I am happier for it. But my thoughts still comprise the heaviest of my possessions. In time, I hope, I can renounce all of them and only perceive with absolute clarity. (I have a long way to go!)

Renounce your thoughts and you will be free to perceive this world without any mental modification. This was the definition my teacher gave for Enlightenment. I have not been to nirvana, but if I do go, I think I will bring along a laptop.