Can Detachment Bring Us Peace?
Many changes in consciousness happen within very short spans of time. This, especially coupled with stress and anxiety, can push us into becoming attached to the changes, and sometimes even becoming the changes themselves. However, I believe that the Buddhist conception of detachment can help us combat this problem, especially in our reactions to changes.
One does not always notice themselves being pulled into a state of change. For example, a stressful situation can induce unhappiness or anger, and thereby reduces our self-control. Detachment is a conscious effort to maintain those emotions, to prevent them from dancing around in a subjective whirlwind. One may not realize what their subjectivity does to them, since being aware of it is extremely mentally demanding. One is often frustrated when they fail at something, unhappy when their expectations aren’t met, and angry when something offends them.
Let’s think about it through the perspective of someone who became enlightened. There is a reason why Sakyamuni Buddha decided to renounce his royal status, his family, his own selfhood, even; when he saw an old, dying man, he came to understand the meaning of mortality for the first time, and this drove him to go to the Boddhi tree and meditate. He didn’t eat or drink for a very long time, and this led him to realize that austerity, self-deprivation, does not lead us in the right way. Only then did he understand the Middle Way, and conveyed that to his disciples.
In renouncing ourselves, we begin to understand what our body, mind, and soul actually needs. First we renounce the ego, the concept of self, the many hopes, desires, and ambitions we might have. Though it is very difficult to let go of what makes one feel important, this process leads to a purity of thought. Then we renounce the pleasures of the body, although this demands a lot from a person. It depends on what we are trying to achieve, but renouncing lust, greed, and envy is definitely a good thing. The last thing to renounce is attachment in any form, and therefore, to find peace with all aspects of the world, not preferring one thing over another.
One is not being detached in order to be unemotional. This is a sort of misunderstanding. One is being detached in order to be stronger, to handle the world with greater grace and intensity. It doesn’t make sense to completely disconnect oneself emotionally — that sounds more like the symptoms of clinical depression or anxiety. Rather, I believe the significance of Buddhist detachment lies in its ability to handle everything equally, i.e. with equanimity. We cannot deceive ourselves into thinking this process is easy, but the benefits cannot be denied. Detachment is a working cure for the multitude of stressors in any possible life.
We must move with life, not against it.
Thank you.
