Renunciation or Non-Attachment? | Ajahn Dhammasiha | Dhamma Talk at Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage

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Ajahn Dhammasiha responds to a question:

"Is renunciation or non-attachment the better practice?"

Ajahn explains that both terms are often used largely synonymous, and that therefore it's not so much a question of 'either-or'. Both practices are concerned with 'letting go'.

But it's also possible to understand these two terms with different nuances of meaning.

On the one hand, one can 'renounce' something, even if one still has attachment to it. For example, someone may observe 8 precepts and not eat in the evening. He is 'renouncing' the evening meal for that day. However, he may still be attached to eating in the evening. It takes deliberate effort and determination to 'renounce' the evening meal, even though one would enjoy it, even though one is still attached to it.

The term 'non-attachment', on the other hand, usually implies that desire, craving and clinging to the evening meal are really gone. It doesn't require any effort anymore to 'renounce' it, as the attachment is no longer there.

Usually it's easier to develop real non-attachment by first renouncing. E.g. monks and nuns give up all their money before they ordain. But there may still be attachment, which even after giving it all up physically, takes a much longer time to truly overcome.

It's more difficult to cultivate non-attachment to things we can't fully 'renounce'. Like for example food, or our physical bodies. Without food we couldn't live, we have to take food while we practice, we can't 'renounce' all food. Instead, we have to cultivate non-attachment while we're still taking food every day. This is much more difficult, and there's a danger that we may delude ourselves into thinking we're not attached, even though we're actually are.

How deeply we're attached, we often only notice once we can't get the object of our attachment any more. Whenever possible, it's best to practice both, renunciation and non-attachment, together at the same time. First giving it away, or not indulging in it any more, and at the same time using wisdom to gradually abandon any remaining attachments.

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