{"id":287,"date":"2014-11-24T15:43:09","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T15:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/escrituras-eremitas.com\/english\/?p=287"},"modified":"2014-11-25T14:48:06","modified_gmt":"2014-11-25T14:48:06","slug":"what-does-it-mean-to-let-go-buddhism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/escrituras-eremitas.com\/english\/2014\/11\/24\/what-does-it-mean-to-let-go-buddhism\/","title":{"rendered":"What does it mean to \u201clet go\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image by Adam Greenfield<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The Buddha taught us to observe how we constantly create suffering for ourselves by grasping onto the body and its senses, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, emotions as being \u201cme\u201d or \u201cmine\u201d. Learning how to abandon that habit is learning how to \u201clet go\u201d. It is not possible through an act of will. Letting go occurs naturally when the trained mind is keen enough to perceive that there is nothing to be found in our direct experience which corresponds to the concept of \u201cme\u201d and \u201cmine\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe\u201d and \u201cmine\u201d are not, however, mere illusions; they are extremely useful social conventions, and the Buddha taught that they should be respected as such. Although the body, for example, is strictly speaking \u201cnot mine\u201d, that does not mean that it should be neglected. Letting go of the body does not mean giving up on exercise, bathing and a healthy diet. It means not allowing one\u2019s life to be defined in terms of the body. It means freeing oneself from all the anxiety, insecurity and vanity, and all the fear of aging, sickness and death that accompanies an unwise relationship to the body.<\/p>\n

\u201cLetting go\u201d is also an idiom used for intelligent effort. Knowing that no effort we make exist in a vacuum, that it will always be affected to some degree by conditions over which we have no control, we let go of our demands and expectations for the future. We create the best possible conditions for reaching our goals, and then let go of the results.<\/p>\n

More questions and answers about Buddhism HERE<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/span><\/p>\n