~ Reflection on Renunciation ~
I once saw a cartoon strip about a character called Hagar the Horrible. It really summed up what so many people seem to feel about renunciation: They don’t want to do it.
In the first frame, Hagar is slowly climbing a very steep mountain and in the second frame you see this very wise-looking sage with a long white beard sitting on the top of the mountain. Hagar looks up and says to him “Oh great sage, please teach me the secret of happiness.” In the third frame, the sage says, “Simplicity, self-restraint, renunciation.” And in the fourth frame you can see Hagar pausing, and saying “Is there anyone else up there I can speak to?”
Renunciation is not a popular topic because most of us don't want to do it, however, it is an important part of Buddhism as well as Christianity.
At the age of 29 Siddartha, who was to become the Buddha, renounced his life as a prince and left his wife, infant son, and family to follow the spiritual path. Ever since then, Buddhist monks and nuns have committed themselves to a life of renunciation.
Renunciation is easy to see in the lifestyle of simplicity, celibacy and restraint of Buddhist monastics but what might it look like in the lives of lay people, like us? I think this is an excellent question to reflect on.
I find it helpful to think of renunciation as letting go, releasing, or freeing oneself. Interestingly, the dictionary says it is about abandoning a belief, and idea or course of action. So it’s not only about fasting or getting rid of luxuries; it is also about changing the way we think, speak and act.
In other words, renunciation is a way of working with our minds. Seen this way, it’s about giving up the beliefs, assumptions and expectations that stand between us and true, deep happiness. It’s about not being attached to how we want life to be and it’s about truly being in the present moment and accepting whatever happens – whether it feels pleasant or unpleasant.
At its heart, renunciation is about understanding that everything arises and passes away – in other words that everything is impermanent. And that if everything is temporary and provisional then it just doesn’t make sense to cling to anything or to try to escape anything. As Suzuki Roshi said “Renunciation is not giving up the things of this world, but accepting that they go away”.
This is not the usual understanding of renunciation. We tend to think of it as giving up things we like – chocolate, coffee, ice cream – and then suffering because we crave whatever it is that we’ve given up. Renunciation becomes a way of forcing ourselves to deny our desires. But whenever there is a forcing or a denial, renunciation can become a form of violence towards ourselves.
When the Buddha advocated renunciation, he did it not see it as a form of forcing or denial. Rather, he taught it as a way of letting go to achieve a greater happiness. But it can be difficult to let go of our beliefs, assumptions and expectations about ourselves and others and sometimes, letting go is very frightening. And at other times, we are willing to take a chance that our attachments and aversions will bring happiness, even if they’ve led us to suffer in the past.
This is because our attachments and aversions give us a sense of security, safety and identity that we don’t want to lose. So renunciation can call for a lot of patience. But if we persist, it has many benefits.
In particular, we develop an inner strength to work with and change unwholesome and harmful ways of thinking. And we understand that we don’t have to live with the suffering that comes with attachment and aversion. This realization is very liberating and freeing. It also gives us more energy to work for the happiness and wellbeing of others.
I’d like to close with some words of the Buddha:
“Who so has turned to renunciation,
Turned to detachment of the mind,
Is filled with all-embracing love
And freed from thirsting after life.”
In the first frame, Hagar is slowly climbing a very steep mountain and in the second frame you see this very wise-looking sage with a long white beard sitting on the top of the mountain. Hagar looks up and says to him “Oh great sage, please teach me the secret of happiness.” In the third frame, the sage says, “Simplicity, self-restraint, renunciation.” And in the fourth frame you can see Hagar pausing, and saying “Is there anyone else up there I can speak to?”
Renunciation is not a popular topic because most of us don't want to do it, however, it is an important part of Buddhism as well as Christianity.
At the age of 29 Siddartha, who was to become the Buddha, renounced his life as a prince and left his wife, infant son, and family to follow the spiritual path. Ever since then, Buddhist monks and nuns have committed themselves to a life of renunciation.
Renunciation is easy to see in the lifestyle of simplicity, celibacy and restraint of Buddhist monastics but what might it look like in the lives of lay people, like us? I think this is an excellent question to reflect on.
I find it helpful to think of renunciation as letting go, releasing, or freeing oneself. Interestingly, the dictionary says it is about abandoning a belief, and idea or course of action. So it’s not only about fasting or getting rid of luxuries; it is also about changing the way we think, speak and act.
In other words, renunciation is a way of working with our minds. Seen this way, it’s about giving up the beliefs, assumptions and expectations that stand between us and true, deep happiness. It’s about not being attached to how we want life to be and it’s about truly being in the present moment and accepting whatever happens – whether it feels pleasant or unpleasant.
At its heart, renunciation is about understanding that everything arises and passes away – in other words that everything is impermanent. And that if everything is temporary and provisional then it just doesn’t make sense to cling to anything or to try to escape anything. As Suzuki Roshi said “Renunciation is not giving up the things of this world, but accepting that they go away”.
This is not the usual understanding of renunciation. We tend to think of it as giving up things we like – chocolate, coffee, ice cream – and then suffering because we crave whatever it is that we’ve given up. Renunciation becomes a way of forcing ourselves to deny our desires. But whenever there is a forcing or a denial, renunciation can become a form of violence towards ourselves.
When the Buddha advocated renunciation, he did it not see it as a form of forcing or denial. Rather, he taught it as a way of letting go to achieve a greater happiness. But it can be difficult to let go of our beliefs, assumptions and expectations about ourselves and others and sometimes, letting go is very frightening. And at other times, we are willing to take a chance that our attachments and aversions will bring happiness, even if they’ve led us to suffer in the past.
This is because our attachments and aversions give us a sense of security, safety and identity that we don’t want to lose. So renunciation can call for a lot of patience. But if we persist, it has many benefits.
In particular, we develop an inner strength to work with and change unwholesome and harmful ways of thinking. And we understand that we don’t have to live with the suffering that comes with attachment and aversion. This realization is very liberating and freeing. It also gives us more energy to work for the happiness and wellbeing of others.
I’d like to close with some words of the Buddha:
“Who so has turned to renunciation,
Turned to detachment of the mind,
Is filled with all-embracing love
And freed from thirsting after life.”