How do we cultivate renunciation? Take the Four Preliminary Practices as an example—how do we practice them? There are two ways: on-the-cushion practice and off-the-cushion practice.
The Four Preliminaries are meaningly, in fact, just an outline. We need to take this outline and integrate it into our details lives—into what we see, what we hear, and what we personally experience—so that we can genuinely contemplate the contents pointed out by these outlines.
In fact, all these teachings on the Four Preliminary Practices are simply an outline. We need to take this outline and integrate it into our lives—into what we see, what we hear, and what we experience—so that we can truly contemplate the meaning behind these headings.
Take “the faults of cyclic existence” as an example. According to the texts, it might be explained in just a few sentences, or one page—at most two or three pages. It will say things like: “Whatever comes together will eventually disperse; whatever is accumulated will eventually be exhausted; whatever is born will eventually die; whatever is high will eventually fall. From beginningless time, everything will decay…”
These faults of Samsara, these sufferings of the hell realms-because we do not perceive them through direct valid cognition (Pratyaksa), we can only rely on imagination.How terrifying hell is remains, for us, merely a concept. In reality, when someone says, “Hell is terrifying,” their body is often in a rather comfortable state at that very moment.They have not directly experienced or witnessed the suffering of hell beings or hungry ghosts. Therefore, it is extremely difficult for our minds to give rise to genuine ,visceral fear of such suffering.
If one were to see such suffering directly, the situation would be completely different. There is a well-known story from the Buddha’s time: a man named Nanda.His wife was considered the most beautiful woman in India Later, through the Buddha’s skillful means, he ordained as a monk—yet even after ordination, he continued to long for his wife every single day.
So the Buddha took him to the heavenly realms. The moment Nanda arrived, he exclaimed, “Wow！Five hundred celestial maidens, so beautiful!” The Buddha then asked him, “Who is more beautiful—your wife or these celestial maidens?” Nanda replied, “Compared to these maidens, my wife is like a monkey. The celestial maidens are far more beautiful.” From then on, he practiced desperately to see those maidens as soon as possible.
Later, the Buddha took him to the hell realms. ThereNanda saw a massive cauldron, with many beings stoking a fire beneath it. He approached and asked the hell wardens, “Who are you waiting for?” The wardens replied, “We are heating this cauldron for the Buddha’s cousin. He is currently practicing in the human world. After that, he will be reborn as a god, attended by five hundred celestial maidens. Once hehas finished enjoying that pleasure, he will end up right here.”
Having directly witnessed this scene, he returned and practiced diligently, eventually becoming foremost in discipline. Because he had directly seen the suffering of hell, his practice attained great power, and he later became one of the Buddha’s ten great disciples.
As for us, our sense of suffering is severely insufficient and extremely limited. In fact, our minds are filled with attachments of this kind. Because of this, we can not give rise to genuine renunciation; our renunciation is largely pretense. This falseness may not seem like a big deal to you. But in practicing actual practice without a solid foundation of renunciation, trying to practice lofty teachings—such as emptiness or bodhicitta—will get nowhere. No practice will truly take hold it all becomes mere messing around, blind flailing about.
Many people say, “I’ve been practicing for so long—why is there no result?” If you don’t even have renunciation, how could there possibly be any result?Renunciation is not a concept ; it is a state of mind. Once that mind truly shifts—once genuine,non-conceptual, renunciation arises—it will inevitably produce its corresponding effect
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
