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Let Go
upekka
Veteran
when we say 'Let Go' what does it mean?
is that as same as the 'Let Go' meant in Buddhist Teaching?
is there any difference?
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Question (@upekka) : What do YOU think it means? Be specific, cite examples.
Thanks.
To let things just be without grasping at them or pushing them away. Easier said than done though.
Perhaps this will answer your question 'renunciation'
A hand is grasping a bird - the hand opens, the bird flies free. Which one is us, the hand or the bird?
In conventional usage, we are the hand. In Buddhist usage, which is it? One, or the other? Both, or neither?
as for the moment, according to my understanding 'if we know whatever we experience (through six sense bases) is just a perception (emptiness/sunyata), let go (not grasping) happens instantly, automatically'
so first of all we have to know that all experiences are just perceptions (through Insight meditation)
and
then be mindful about that knowledge whenever an experience happens through six sense bases
i have no specific citation apart from my own understanding through Insight meditation done using all the reading and listening of Dhamma that i have so far
hand is a perception (emptiness- emptiness is form, form is emptiness)
bird is a perception (ditto)
Indeed.
Unfolding, unknotting, accepting, being present.
This is what we learn and do in formal meditation. That is why letting go flexes our psychological and spiritual capacity into ease, peace of mindlessness, piece of unmind, emotional and physical outbreath ...
The plan that says, 'no change required' is not likely to let go of the hard hearted, lazy, running away, existence is perfectly OK in Dukkha snooze button. How does that hold up? Such a condition - 'no change required', does emerge in time but for now past and future, mind and mine need loosening ...
One must first realize what one is letting go of.
Not clinging and grasping. In a Buddhist context I think this is a natural result of practice, and not an act of will. If you really see that stuff is impermanent and insubstantial you are less likely to hang on to it. Things, people, self-view, ideas and opinions, all of it.
Letting go implies that one has held on. So I think opening one's grasp, severing one's clinging, saying goodbye, reducing one's emotional attachment to zero, letting it float freely away. These things are for me all part of the process.
I thought @Lonely_Traveller's definition of not grasping, not pushing away was interesting, but for me a little initial push is an essential part of letting go. It is a question of how do you let something float free which you have for a long time clasped closely, creating some distance is for me part of that.
A gentle all seeing peaceful awareness is what letting go feels like.
Quite so.....
I have heard it put in a couple of ways:
The first being that, if you clutch a bird tightly in your hand, you risk squeezing the poor thing to death, and thus, keeping it so tightly will in the end create suffering both for the bird, and for you. In your eagerness to keep hold of the bird, you have caused tension pain and sadness, and you ultimately lost it anyway....If instead you gently cradle the wee mite in your open palm, releasing tension, relaxing your hold, it may nestle there for a few moments, and then fly with confidence and gladness, and be heart-lifting for you...
It's life purpose is to soar, fly and be free. we should be of such a mind when realising all we have and hold, will someday do likewise.
The other thing to consider is that, if we clutch an egg hard and fast in our outstretched fist, palm-downwards, once we open our hand, the egg we are clutching so intently will fall fast and suddenly to the ground, and will shatter in the process.
If instead, we hold the egg in our upturned palm, we don't even have to secure it with our fingers; it will remain there for as long as we hold our hand thus....
The key is to be gentle with ourselves...
For me, the hard part is recognizing that I can let go, not the letting go itself.
I guess from a Buddhist perspective one could say letting go of ignorance
...and from a non-Buddhist perspective also letting go of ignorance
In the ultimate and conventional sense there's really no difference...(well apart from the sort of baggage/stories one tends to attach to things)
what exactly is ignorance in ultimate sense and conventional sense/? in Buddhist perspective and non-Buddhist perspective?
is it same/ different?
letting go of views.
It all stems from views, view of self at the core. Identity view is a burden the Buddha says, and through that all other things that we need to work on letting go come from (greed, hatred, judgment, etc).
when I practice letting go, especially of thoughts. It's not a suppression, nor even an ignoring per say. You created the conditions for that thought to arise in the past, so it is natural that it arises now. When you see a thought arise you have the choice to attach to it, or to let it be. I'll remind myself " I don't need to accept this thought as mine, nor identify with it as me or myself, it can go as it came". So the thought can come and go, unhindered, and you did not create further cause for it's continued existence or return later, you let it go.
OMGoodness. I just realised I do that, a lot...I have thoughts which may be unskilful or inappropriate pop into my head, and I follow with "That's unfair, you should not let such thoughts gather" or words to that effect. usually more abrupt and self-deprecating, if I'm honest...
It's getting easier..... Now, I catch them almost before I'm finished thinking them....
Why do you ask ?
Is ignorance something you can let go of? It seems to me that it is a form of chaos, an ill-defined jumble of almost-knowledge given shape by past habits and thoughts, and so likely to give rise to wrong views. Such a thing one cannot let go of - it exists beyond the realm of what you have learned, and at most you can find better sources of knowledge to give it definition. One can learn to apply oneself to logic and insight to give it better shape.
Disengage, detach, relinquish, etc. The opposite of "holding on".
No difference in the term. The only difference is in the context. When we say let go, we're normally referring to some particular situation or thing. For example, "I'm upset! I lost my money (or whatever)." Let that go, no more problem. Meanwhile, when Buddhism say let go, it's referring to everything.
you already provided a good link, thanks for it
but
i always, always like to read your own words
when i see @Shoshin i jumped to open that thread
i humbly honer you and your posts
same goes here @seeker242
what do you mean by 'everything'?
The six senses and their objects.
Hand is a perception? Is not the hand empirically evidenced?
"Hand" is a label, which is part of the perception process.
Get rid of those pesky concepts which you carry from life to life. Don't be afraid to not know.
The Noble Eight Fold path is conceptual too. Don't let go until you are truly ready or more to the point, letting go happens when the time is right.