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Letting Go and True Happiness
Taking Refuge in the Buddha’s way begins with the term “not abandoning,” meaning not leaving anyone behind, vowing to return to help all beings; letting go and not letting go can go together. When practicing letting go of feelings, it is important to distinguish between three kinds of feelings:
- pleasant feelings
- unpleasant feelings
-
neutral feelings
Neutral feeling is a feeling that is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, not attached, not taking sides, different from mixed feelings (both painful and pleasant at the same time). The word “letting go” comes from the Sanskrit “Upekṣā,” which is one of the Four Immeasurable Minds: loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, meaning not identifying, not discriminating, not being prejudiced.
In family and social life, the practice of letting go is the same as not abandoning, that is, not excluding anyone:
- not forming alliances of three (A joins with B against C)
- loving both father and mother, embracing everyone without taking sides
- maintaining a love that is inclusive, non-discriminatory, transcending distinctions of ethnicity, religion, or political views
The art of loving in the spirit of the Buddha requires compassion to go hand in hand with insight: love must nourish happiness, freedom, and freshness for the one who is loved. In every step, every breath, cooking rice, washing dishes, chanting, we can enter the Pure Land right here and now if we know how to let go of our attachments and live in mindfulness.
