Is it possible to eliminate all attachments?

Upvote:1

If the legend is true that the Buddha attained highest happiness, and if it is true that contemporary practitioners realised nibbana, then empirically speaking, we can assertively answer with 'yes', although, personally, I haven't met an enlightened person (be it astream winner or any of the other four stages).

Generally, people do not talk about whether they experienced any liberation whatsoever, which makes it hard to prove it empirically.

This being said, if it is possible to rid oneself off of some attachments, then logically I would conclude that it should be possible to eliminate all greed, hatred & ignorance, albeit with good friendship, a lot of practise, determination, motivation & time.

Regards

Upvote:1

Yes the middle way is the path.Buddhism is about eliminating suffering not attachment because as you said there are stuff we are bound to be attached to as long as we are in this body and in this life.

The Buddha lived in luxury and in asceticism in both he had a hard time dealing with suffering.Why make life hard on yourself by dealing with the suffering of losing something that caused you great pleasure or the suffering of not having basic human needs.

So suffering is the core problem You just make life easier for yourself by taking the right decisions that minimize the suffering.They are not only mental or spiritual decisions they are live hood decisions as well.

Upvote:1

I just added an answer to the previous question you mentioned. Basically, "Attachment is a mental process... Non-attachment is when that mental process does not develop."

So when there is non-attachment, there is no attachment to non-attachment. Just the processes of attachment stopped to develop.

To understand that, it's useful to analyze the mechanism of attachment. In case of a baby, he has needs - to be fed and so on. He acts on the basis of such needs. It is regulated by sensations.

Correct?

Then naturally some things get associated with those feelings. The person who feeds you gets associated with feelings of satiation, and so on.

In our mind, that person is perceived as an object we get attached to.

Later, if we practise Dharma, we can realize that in terms of experiential reality (phenomena, dharmas) there is no such object, and never been. It's just a mental concatenation of momentary experiences.

Then we can abstract THIS moment experience from dependencies on the past and the future, those imaginary things.

Thus mental processes of attachment wither away. But the ability to live naturally does not cease. We eat when hungry and sleep when tired, and answer those who need help.

Upvote:3

According to Buddhism, attachment(Upadana) is caused by Tanha(craving) and according to the Second Noble Truth, craving is the cause of all suffering. According to the Third Noble Truth there is a cessation of all suffering. According to the Fourth Noble Truth, there is a way to achieve the aforementioned cessation of suffering.

Hence it is one of the core claims of Buddhism that all attachments can be eliminated. There is no Buddhism without this claim.

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