Introduction to Tantra: The Transformation of Desire by Lama Thubten Yeshe, Philip Glass Read Free Book Online Page A

necessarily so. If someone criticizes what we are doing—“You are just on a weird Eastern trip!”—and we get upset, this shows we have not developed renunciation at all. Instead, it is a sign that we are holding onto our religion as we would any ordinary sense object. In other words, by our grasping attitude we have turned a spiritual practice into yet another form of ordinary attachment.
     
    What the development of true renunciation implies is that we no longer rely on sensory pleasures for our ultimate happiness; we see the futility of expecting deep satisfaction from such limited, transitory phenomena. It is important to understand this point clearly. Renunciation is not the same as giving up pleasure or denying ourselves happiness. It means giving up our unreal expectations about ordinary pleasures. These expectations themselves are what turn pleasure into pain. It cannot be said too often that there is nothing wrong with pleasure. It is our grasping, exaggerating, distorting, and polluting attitude toward pleasure that must be abandoned.
     
    DEVELOP I NG DETACH MENT
     
    The Tibetan term generally translated as “renunciation” has the literal meaning of “definite emergence.” It indicates a deep, heartfelt decision definitely to emerge from the repeated frustrations and disappointments of ordinary life. Simply stated, renunciation is the feeling of being so completely fed up with our recurring problems that we are finally ready to turn away from our attachments to this and that and begin searching for another way to make our life satisfying and meaningful. Thus the cultivation of renunciation, or definite emergence, involves detaching ourselves from those sticky habits of attachment that hold us back from experiencing our fullest human potential.
     
    There are certain times during our life (as will be discussed in Chapter 10) when our senses automatically withdraw from their objects and we experience what could be called a natural detachment, or a natural renunciation. At such times there is nothing for us to grasp onto and nothing for us to be attached to. In such a state, even the most attractive sensory object is powerless to magnetize and divert our mind. But generally we are anything but detached when it comes to the objects of our experience. We are continually attracted to and hypnotized by a never-ending stream of sense impressions and forever on the lookout for something new and different to excite and interest us. If we own a car, that is not good enough: we need two. And when we have two, it is still not good enough: we need a boat. Even the boat is not enough: we need a bigger one. And so it goes on and on to infinity. This is dissatisfaction, the very opposite of the truly renounced, or emerging, mind.
     
    Somehow we need to learn to be natural, to be naturally detached from material objects, from our grasping after this and that. I am not saying this because, as a backward Tibetan, I am jealous of wealthy Westerners. Nor am I saying that you are bad because you remain rich while others are poor. I am merely trying to answer the question: “Why are we dissatisfied?”
     
    We can always find some external cause to blame for our dissatisfaction —“There is not enough of this, not enough of that”—but this is never the real reason for our restlessness and disappointment. What is missing is inside and this is what we all have to recognize. Satisfaction is not dependent on material objects; it is something that comes from simplicity, inner simplicity.
     
    When I talk of being detached what I mean is to be simpler, more easy-going.
    Detachment does not mean totally renouncing everything. It means that you loosen your grip and be more relaxed. There are many pleasures available in the world, but as long as you are uptight and anxious, fearfully holding onto your money and possessions, your wealth will only make you more and more unhappy. If you do not know how to relax and be satisfied with