Disadvantages of Attachment

Disadvantages of Attachment

Date Posted:
August 2009

Rinpoche made the following comments on the disadvantages of attachment.

My attachment wants to prevent me from enlightening numberless sentient beings, from achieving enlightenment, from achieving all realizations, and from achieving liberation from samsara for myself and a good rebirth in the next life. It destroys my happiness.

There is a quotation from the Vinaya (oral transmission):

Craving for small pleasure
Cannot achieve great pleasure

By craving for small pleasure, it is impossible to achieve great pleasure. Renounce the happiness that produces suffering, and cherish the happiness that comes from suffering.

Think: Now I will bear hardships to have good morality, then I can achieve enlightenment.

Attachment obscures the mind from realizing emptiness. It creates negative karma, like the ten non-virtuous actions, and causes you to break the three vows: the Pratimoksa vows, which are the foundation, the ground, the earth from which liberation comes, the bodhisattva and tantric vows, which enable you to achieve enlightenment quickly.

Attachment cannot cut the root of samsara, and one will abide in samsara endlessly, suffering. Therefore, I must win over my delusions and defeat my enemy—attachment.

Attachment keeps me in samsara and has from time without beginning, and lets me suffer in the six realms of suffering.

Attachment is like a cannibal, like honey on a sword, appearing to help me but in fact destroying and cheating me.

With attachment, your whole life is so tremendously painful. You have so many projections, so many worries, and fears, and if something changes or happens to your object of attachment it is worse.