Revoked

Thursday, April 16, 2026

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Via Tricycle: The Buddhist Review \\\ Three Teachings on Non-Attachment

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April 16, 2026

Interest vs. Clinging

In the Latukikopama Sutta (MN 66), the Buddha tells a story to the Venerable Udayin about a quail who is tangled in a rotting vine and unable to free itself. Even though the vine is weak, the quail is ignorant and cannot escape. This sutta, known as the Discourse on the Simile of the Quail, reminds us that even minor attachments can be powerful, keeping us ensnared in unconscious habits or thought loops if left unchecked and unacknowledged.

It’s important to note, however, that it’s not the attachment—big or small—itself that poses the threat, but the attitude toward it. As Theravada monk Bhante Henepola Gunaratana explains, there’s a difference between interest and clinging. We can have interests—even desires to enjoy and succeed—without attachment.

Poet Jane Hirshfield zeroes in on the difference between the terms “detachment” and “nonattachment,” arguing that the latter leaves room for the interest, or passion, that fuels art. As she says, “Detachment implies the extinction of feeling. In non-attachment the river-life of emotion continues, only our relationship to it alters.” The artist creates out of desire or passion, but lets go of the finished product.

In this way, we don’t have to disconnect from our daily lives or abandon our passions. Our task is to refrain from clinging, and this week’s Three Teachings offers different stories to help us understand this crucial distinction.

Clinging

By Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

In a teaching from his book Dependent Origination in Plain English, the Sri Lankan Theravada monk known as Bhante G drills down on the difference between interest and clinging, using the Discourse on the Simile of the Quail and also the metaphor of a hang glider to illustrate how overcoming grasping leads to freedom.

Six Small Meditations on Desire

By Jane Hirshfield

Encouraging us to embrace the world as it is, including our desires, poet Jane Hirshfield implores us to see the difference between preference and attachment, and adds, “The taste of awakening is not flavorless, the energies of practice are not apathy or depression.”

A Single Handful

By Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

Telling a story about the Buddha in the forest, Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa Bhikkhu explains that non-clinging is the heart of Buddhism, and the most important teaching to grasp. Holding a handful of leaves in his palm, the Buddha says that his knowledge is like all the leaves in the forest, but the only information a practitioner needs in order to escape dukkha, or suffering, is akin to the leaves that fit in the palm of his hand: “Nothing whatsoever should be clung to as ‘I’ or ‘mine.'”

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Via Daily Dharma: Be More Resolute

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Be More Resolute

What are you still attached to? What are you still infatuated with? Try to be more resolute! We come into this world alone, and we go alone.

Ajaan Funn Acaro, “To Be a Person Is to Be a Mara”

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‘Erasure’ and Other Poems
By Chen Yuhong

Enjoy three poems by the Taiwanese writer Chen Yuhong, translated by George O’Connell and Diana Shi.

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RIGHT ACTION
Reflecting Upon Bodily Action

However the seed is planted, in that way the fruit is gathered. Good things come from doing good deeds; bad things come from doing bad deeds. (SN 11.10) What is the purpose of a mirror? For the purpose of reflection. So too bodily action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61)

When you have done an action with the body, reflect upon that same bodily action thus: “Has this action I have done with the body led to the affliction of another?” If, upon reflection, you know that it has, then tell someone you trust about it and undertake a commitment not to do it again. If you know it has not, then be content and feel happy about it. (MN 61)

Reflection

While contemplative practice emphasizes remaining in the present moment, there is also value in the skillful use of memory. Reflecting upon past actions is one form of this, when you can review whether you have acted appropriately or not in the past. When you admit your mistakes, you can undertake a commitment to act differently in the future. It is a way of openly acknowledging that you have learned from your mistakes.

Daily Practice

It is healthy to be truthful with yourself about actions you have done in the past that may have caused harm. A sure way to get such deeds out of the shadows and into the light is to share them openly with someone you trust. It is not that the other person will absolve you in some way, but by bringing things into the open you unburden yourself. Try admitting a misdeed to a good friend and see how it makes you feel. It will lighten the load.

Tomorrow: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings
One week from today: Reflecting upon Verbal Action

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