What is attachment and why does it persist despite causing suffering?
Synthesized from Source
definition
"Attachment is the mind's clinging to illusions of pleasure, and it persists because we have yet to awaken to the truth of our own suffering."
According to Osho, attachment is the mind’s clinging to people, things, and hopes for pleasure, which inevitably produces sorrow when truly seen. It persists because we haven’t realized this by our own experience; we still secretly expect enjoyment, postpone awakening, and are misled by the crowd’s example. In the rare presence of the awakened it is obvious, but absent that vision, clinging continues until firsthand seeing makes it drop effortlessly.
We keep holding a hurting thing because we still think it will feel good, and everyone around us is holding it too—only when we clearly feel the hurt ourselves do we let it go.
Why this matters practically
- Turn teachings into experiments: notice in real time how craving creates tension and pain.
- Seek the company of the awakened and limit crowd influence that normalizes grasping.
- Practice awareness/meditation so the cost of attachment is seen directly, making release effortless.
- Seek the company of the awakened and limit crowd influence that normalizes grasping.
- Practice awareness/meditation so the cost of attachment is seen directly, making release effortless.
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