There is a Zen story, which is told in many versions, about two monks, an old and a young one. It was a rainy day, and they were traveling together down a muddy road, when they came across with a beautiful woman in kimono dress. She wanted to cross the road (or the river), but unable to do so. So the old monk helped her by carrying her on his back. Then both of them left her and walked several distance ahead. On their way to the temple, the young monk felt so uneasy and angered that he burst out and blamed the old monk for carrying the woman, which, to his knowledge, is a grave mistake; for monks do not go near women, let alone carry one. He thought that such an act is dangerous for them as monks, particularly in following their rules of conduct. The old monk calmly responded, "I have left the woman, but why do you still carry her?"
The story is among the well-known koans, or Zen riddles, which provoke both humor and wisdom. In its simplicity and directness, the story has encapsulated what is so called attachment, and how understanding this will allow us to understand detachment (which I discussed in four parts last year). When a friend asked me how to release one's attachment, it would simply be achieved by understanding it. Yet, the way to understand it is quite vague for most of us, since our attachments are blind spots that we rarely identify in our everyday experiences.
The story of two monks captures our 4 most common attachments. These attachments are perhaps universal in nature, for they are all manifesting in many ways in which we feel negative and pessimistic, both sabotage our precious opportunities to become happy and Loving. Identifying them is an arduous task, and calls for one's vigilance and equanimity. Learning our attachments can lead us enough to master the art of detachment, for both are sides of the same coin.
In the following articles, we will explore these 4 attachments, how they grip us and how we can let them go.
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