Renunciation
Renunciation is a big word, for me it simply means really looking at life, and inward at myself and realizing I already have everything I need to be truly happy. Living a simple life and using ones own natural abilities and talents to improve the quality of life (instead of thinking you can buy improvements) reminds me of a story about the Buddha:
One day the Buddha was sitting in the woods with several monks. They had an excellent lunch and were enjoying the company of each other. A farmer was passing by and was very unhappy. He asked the Buddha and the monks whether they had seen his cows passing by. The Buddha said they had not seen any cows passing by. The farmer then informed everyone of how unhappy he was. I have twelve cows and I always must chase after them and tend to them. I have also a few acres of a sesame seed plantation and the keeping the insects from eating everything takes up my time when I am not tending my cows. The work is almost too much to bear.
The Buddha said, My friend, we have not seen any cows passing by here. You might like to look for them in the other direction. So the farmer thanked him and hurried off. The Buddha turned to the monks and said, My dear friends, you are some of happiest people I know. You have no cows to lose and enjoy the natures land without the need to possess it. If you were to own these things, you would be very busy with little time left for living.
The lesson is simple, but who is willing to let go and live a simpler life? Part of being happy is realizing that we have to learn the art of cow releasing. We release the cows one by one. In the beginning we think that those cows were essential to our happiness, and we tried to get more and more cows. Quickly we start you realize (hopefully) that cows are not really conditions for our happiness; they constitute an obstacle for our happiness.
That is why I am determined to release my cows. How about you?
One day the Buddha was sitting in the woods with several monks. They had an excellent lunch and were enjoying the company of each other. A farmer was passing by and was very unhappy. He asked the Buddha and the monks whether they had seen his cows passing by. The Buddha said they had not seen any cows passing by. The farmer then informed everyone of how unhappy he was. I have twelve cows and I always must chase after them and tend to them. I have also a few acres of a sesame seed plantation and the keeping the insects from eating everything takes up my time when I am not tending my cows. The work is almost too much to bear.
The Buddha said, My friend, we have not seen any cows passing by here. You might like to look for them in the other direction. So the farmer thanked him and hurried off. The Buddha turned to the monks and said, My dear friends, you are some of happiest people I know. You have no cows to lose and enjoy the natures land without the need to possess it. If you were to own these things, you would be very busy with little time left for living.
The lesson is simple, but who is willing to let go and live a simpler life? Part of being happy is realizing that we have to learn the art of cow releasing. We release the cows one by one. In the beginning we think that those cows were essential to our happiness, and we tried to get more and more cows. Quickly we start you realize (hopefully) that cows are not really conditions for our happiness; they constitute an obstacle for our happiness.
That is why I am determined to release my cows. How about you?
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