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Nonattachment, non-attachment, or detachment is a state in which a person overcomes their emotional attachment to or desire for things, people or worldly concerns and thus attains a heightened
perspective. It is considered a
wise virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...
and is promoted in various Eastern religions, such as
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
,
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...
,
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...
and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. It is also a key concept in Christian spirituality (often referred to by the Greek term
apatheia
Apatheia ( el, ἀπάθεια; from ''a-'' "without" and ''pathos'' "suffering" or "passion"), in Stoicism, refers to a state of mind in which one is not disturbed by the passions. It might better be translated by the word equanimity than the word ...
), where it signifies a detachment from worldly objects and concerns.
Importance of the term
Detachment as release from desire and consequently from suffering is an important principle, or even ideal, in
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
,
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...
,
Stoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century Common Era, BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asser ...
,
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...
and
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
.
In Buddhist and Hindu religious texts the opposite concept is expressed as ''
upādāna
''Upādāna'' is a Sanskrit and Pali word that means "fuel, material cause, substrate that is the source and means for keeping an active process energized". It is also an important Buddhist concept referring to "attachment, clinging, grasping". ...
'', translated as "attachment". Attachment, that is the inability to practice or embrace detachment, is viewed as the main obstacle towards a serene and fulfilled life. Many other spiritual traditions identify the lack of detachment with the continuous worries and restlessness produced by desire and personal ambitions.
In the reality of non-attachment, rather than focusing on the potential outcome, one should strive to focus on one's actions and decisions. Detachment, or non-attachment, is not only a religious principle, yet a philosophical concept that has a strong meaning towards the quality of life.
Jainism
Detachment is one of the supreme ideals of
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...
, together with
non-violence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
. Non-possession/non-attachment is one of the
Mahavrata
Jain ethical code prescribes two ''dharmas'' or rules of conduct. One for those who wish to become ascetic and another for the ''śrāvaka'' (householders). Five fundamental vows are prescribed for both votaries. These vows are observed by '' ...
s, the five great vows
Jain monks
Jain monasticism refers to the order of monks and nuns in the Jain community and can be divided into two major denominations: the ''Digambara'' and the ''Śvētāmbara''. The monastic practices of the two major sects vary greatly, but the maj ...
observe. Detachment is meaningful if accompanied by the knowledge of self as a soul; moreover, it can serve as the means for attaining
self realization. According to Jain saint
Shrimad Rajchandra
Shrimad Rajchandra (11 November 1867 – 9 April 1901) was a Jain poet, mystic, philosopher, scholar and reformer. Born in Vavaniya, a village near Morbi, he claimed to have recollection of his past lives at the age of seven. He performed '' ...
, for those who are lifeless ritualists, mere bodily restraint does not become helpful in attaining self-realization — detachment and such other attributes are the requisites for attaining it. Therefore, he suggests one should undertake such activities, but one must not get stuck there. One cannot get rid of the root cause of birth and death without self-realization. As such, a Jain must understand and apply detachment for the purpose of gaining realization. However, he states that if one bears hardships that do not lead to a reduction in defilement, one becomes strayed from the path to liberation.
Baháʼí Faith
The second definition is in the Words of Wisdom:
Buddhism
Regarding the concept of detachment, or non-attachment,
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
texts in
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
mention ''nekkhamma'', a word generally translated as "renunciation". This word also conveys more specifically the meaning of "giving up the world and leading a holy life" or "freedom from lust, craving and desires."
The writings of
Milarepa
Jetsun Milarepa (, 1028/40–1111/23) was a Tibetan siddha, who was famously known as a murderer when he was a young man, before turning to Buddhism and becoming a highly accomplished Buddhist disciple. He is generally considered one of Tibet's m ...
are canonical
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
Buddhist texts that emphasize the temporary nature of the physical body and the need for non-attachment.
Detachment is a central concept in
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
Buddhist philosophy. One of the most important technical Chinese terms for detachment is ''"wú niàn"'' (無念), which literally means "no thought." This does not signify the literal absence of thought, but rather the state of being "unstained" (''bù rán'' 不染) by thought. Therefore, "detachment" is being detached from one's thoughts. It is to separate oneself from one's own thoughts and opinions in detail as to not be harmed mentally and emotionally by them.
''The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch'' translated by Philip B. Yampolsky
/ref>
Christianity
Eastern Christian monasticism
Eastern Christian Monasticism is the life followed by monks and nuns of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Church of the East and Eastern Catholicism. Eastern monasticism is founded on the Rule of St Basil and is sometimes thus ...
cultivated practices of detached watchfulness which were designed to calm the passions and lead to an ongoing state of calm detachment known as apatheia
Apatheia ( el, ἀπάθεια; from ''a-'' "without" and ''pathos'' "suffering" or "passion"), in Stoicism, refers to a state of mind in which one is not disturbed by the passions. It might better be translated by the word equanimity than the word ...
.
In Western Christianity, Ignatian spirituality Ignatian spirituality, also known as Jesuit spirituality, is a Catholic spirituality founded on the experiences of the 16th-century Spanish saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order. The main idea of this form of spirituality comes from ...
encourages detachment, sometimes referred to as ''indifference'', in order to maximize a person's ''availability'' to God and to their neighbors.
Hinduism
The Hindu view of detachment comes from the understanding of the nature of existence and the true ultimate state sought is that of being in the moment. In other words, while one is responsible and active, one does not worry about the past or future. The detachment is towards the result of one's actions rather than towards everything in life. This concept is cited extensively within Puranic
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
and Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
literature, for example:
Vairagya
Vairāgya (वैराग्य) is a Sanskrit term used in Hindu as well as Eastern philosophy that roughly translates as dispassion, detachment, or renunciation, in particular renunciation from the pains and pleasures in the temporary materi ...
is a Hindu term which is often translated as detachment.
Taoism
The Tao Te Ching
The ''Tao Te Ching'' (, ; ) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion d ...
expressed the concept (in chapter 44) as:
Fame or Self: Which matters more?
Self or Wealth: Which is more precious?
Gain or Loss: Which is more painful?
He who is attached to things will suffer much.
He who saves will suffer heavy loss.
A contented man is rarely disappointed.
He who knows when to stop does not find himself in trouble.
He will stay forever safe.
Stoicism
The Christian practices of detachment derive from ancient Greek philosophy, most notably Stoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century Common Era, BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asser ...
. According to the Stoics, ''apatheia,'' which can be translated as equanimity, was the quality that characterized the sage
Sage or SAGE may refer to:
Plants
* ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb
** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family
** ''Salvia'', a large ...
.
Whereas Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
had claimed that virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...
was to be found in the golden mean between an excess and a deficiency of emotion (''metriopatheia''), the Stoics thought that living virtuously provided freedom from the passions
''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and pro ...
, resulting in ''apatheia''. It meant eradicating the tendency to react emotionally or egotistically to external events, the things that cannot be controlled. For Stoics, it was the optimally rational response to the world, for things cannot be controlled if they are caused by the will of others or by Nature; only one's own will can be controlled. That did not mean a loss of feeling, or total disengagement from the world. The Stoic who performs correct (virtuous) judgments and actions as part of the world order experiences contentment (''eudaimonia
Eudaimonia (Greek: εὐδαιμονία ; sometimes anglicized as eudaemonia or eudemonia, ) is a Greek word literally translating to the state or condition of 'good spirit', and which is commonly translated as 'happiness' or 'welfare'.
In wor ...
'') and good feelings ('' eupatheia'').
References
{{Simple living
Religious philosophical concepts