Awareness Dissolves Attachment

Friday, March 26, 2010, 15:10

Awareness dissolves the deceiving attachment and makes one realise one's true nature as the very awareness itself. When one is aware, there is no question of attachment with springs from one's deep rooted idea that one is the body. When the association with one's body is removed what remains is nothing but pure awareness. A short story by Osho conveys the point.

A thief once approached Nagarjuna, a Buddhist mystic saint and said that he had seen a lot of masters and they had all instructed him to give up robbing.

The thief said, “I can't give up robbing. So guide me if you can in a different way other than asking me to stop robbing"

The master condemned the other masters' instruction and came up with a new way for the thief to follow. He said, “No, I will not ask you to stop robbing. All I ask you to do is to be aware and alert whenever you are about to rob"

A fortnight passed and the thief returned to the master and called him a cheater!

He then related the consequence of following his guidance.

The thief had broke into the palace to rob the king. To his joy he found a lot of precious gems which he wanted to whisk away. But he remembered the master's instructions to be alert. He said, “Each time I tried to be alert while trying to rob, my hand ceased to move and when my hand moved towards the booty, I was not being alert"

The master said, “Well this is exactly the result of being alert and you have understood it correctly!"