Exploring Renunication
byDzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
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(Taken from NSS 2002: Talk 1: July 20, 2002)
The idea of renunciation is very complex, and quite interesting as a general theme. It is even more interesting to notice how people react to the idea of renunciation. When we speak about renunciation, some people immediately feel lighter. They feel a sense of joy because the burden that they carry—whether consciously or not—feels lifted from them. We all feel burdened to some extent, but some people have become fed up with their burden and with the suffering that comes from carrying it uninterruptedly. So, for them, when renunciation is encouraged or emphasized, they can immediately make the connection to let go.
But for other people, on hearing the same word, “renunciation,” it”s as if they say to themselves, “Oh no! I can”t renounce. I don”t want to renounce. I”m not ready to renounce. How can I go on living if I renounce everything
How is it possible for me to renounce—with all my needs, and knowing how important they are to me
What would be the point of renouncing anyway
” So all this interpretation happens in the mind. And it is the exact same word! My point here is that the way people are with themselves creates different reactions to the word “renunciation.” And that is fine! We don”t all have to have the same responses to the teachings.
Whether we have a positive response or a negative reaction to the idea of renunciation, our response must be analyzed. If the response is not analyzed, if we just go on without understanding where this response comes from, then there won”t be any effect produced by that response. When the response is analyzed, our own self-reflection and wisdom minds are present. With genuine openness we can look at our own minds and circumstances without being biased regarding concepts of good and bad, or right and wrong. We have to be able to see ourselves very clearly. In seeing ourselves clearly, we also see that there is no difference between ourselves and all other human beings. All of us are human beings, so we are all experiencing the same basic conditions of being human.
No matter how much we may desire to be unique and different from other human beings, we cannot be completely different from the rest of humanity. We have to accept that we are human and therefore share the same human condition as everyone else. We have all the needs that are basic to human beings, so we must face our human life as something that we share in common with all human beings. For this reason, we need to be grounded and down to earth in accepting ourselves as human beings. From that place we can consider wisely and clearly the following questions. What applies to our lives that is helpful
And what does not apply to our lives, or is not helpful
With this way of thinking we can connect meaningfully to all other human beings— not only to those who are similar to us or in similar situations. We can expand our reach and go beyond our typical habits to connect with the rest of humankind. Otherwise we are living in a bubble. Even though we watch the world news on TV, at some point we become immune to the sufferings of others, as if these exist only in that little box that we watch, and not as a part of life. When we live in our own bubble and cannot escape it, what happens outside of us does not really seem a part of our own lives or suffering.
When we accept ourselves as human beings—having similar needs, similar conditions, and similar basic experiences as all others—then we can think of our suffering as human suffering rather than my particular suffering, pain, or misdeed. Yes, it might be your misdeed, but it is still a human being”s misdeed.
When we can think in this way, we can relax. We …
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