True Renunciation

Tony, my friend and tenant, recently asked me to summarize Buddha’s key teaching. I said, “All suffering comes from attachments.” If I remember it right, that was Bhikkhu Buddhadasa’s reply when someone asked him to summarize Buddhism in one short sentence.

In order to end suffering, one needs to give up one’s attachments. Attachments differ depending on the individual. Jesus too taught the importance of non-attachment. There is a story about a nice young man who asked Jesus when he had to do in order to be perfect. Jesus reminded him of the commandments. Beyond the commandments, Jesus said that he also had to sell all he had and give to the poor. The young man was greatly saddened. For he had great wealth. Wealth was his greatest attachment. For other people, the attachment may be on different things. Some people’s greatest attachment is another person.

To give up one’s attachments is to renounce. Traditionally, to become a renounciate is to become a monk or a nun. In Buddhist parlance, it is to “leave home.” But does going through the rituals of “leaving home” necessarily represent true renunciation? Does joining the order of monks or nuns really end suffering?

Happiness is a funny thing. The more you pursue it, the more it runs away from you. Thus, if you become a renounciate in order to find happiness or bliss, you may become very disappointed. Being in the…