to be detached from the world in the
sense that Buddhists and Daoists and
Hindus will often talk about detachment
does not mean to be non participative
you can have a sexual life very rich and
very full and yet all the time be
detached by that I don't mean that you
just go through it mechanically and have
your thoughts elsewhere I mean a
complete participation but still
detached and the difference of the two
attitudes is this on the one hand there
is a way of being so anxious about
physical pleasure so afraid that you
won't make it that you grab it too hard
that you you just have to have that
thing and if you do that you destroy it
completely and therefore after every
attempt to get it you feel disappointed
you feel empty because something was
lost and therefore you want it again you
have to keep repeating repeating
repeating repeating because you never
really got there and it's this that is
the Hana this is what is meant by
attachment to this world in an evil
sense
but on the other hand pleasure in its
fullness cannot be experienced when one
is grasping it I knew a little girl to
whom someone gave a bunny rabbit
she was so delighted with the bunny
rabbit and so afraid of losing it the
taking it home in the car she squeezed
it to death with love
and lots of parents do that to their
children
lots of spouses do it to each other
they hold on and on and so take the life
out of this transient beautifully
fragile thing that life is to have it to
have life and to have its pleasure you
must at the same time let go ahead
and then you can feel perfectly free to
have that pleasure in the most gutsy
rollicking earthy lip-licking way ones
whole being taken over by a kind of
undulating convulsive ripple which is
like the very pulse of life itself this
can happen only if you let go what I
mean
happiness what exactly do you mean by
happiness if you translate a particular
sensation as happiness you call it
happiness a particular sensation that is
there you separate yourself and use that
knowledge about the happiness that is
put in there and translate that and tell
yourself that you're happy you
understand all sensations are very
shortly they can't last forever so the
moment you separate yourself from a
particular sensation and tell yourself
that you are happy the demand to keep
that going longer than it's the duration
of life is inevitable so what all you
are doing to stretch that and keep that
going on and on has turned that into the
opposite unhappiness you are stuck with
unhappiness same is the case with the
pleasure you want to be in that state of
pleasure all the time it is just not
possible so you are turning pleasure
into pain you know we are not ready to
accept you and all those religious
jokers tell us we have some ways we
teach you the techniques of meditation
yoga this that and the other and you
will be in a permanent release the
demand for permanence in every area of
our existence is the cause of human
there is no such thing as Cartman in
saqqaq well I keep saying it
de-emphasize anxiety reassured people
you meet people who sing and I'm really
scared and I'm scared about my job I'm
scared about my relay I'm scared scared
scared and seized you don't know enough
to worry that's God's truth who do you
think you are that you should worry for
cryin out loud
I mean it's a total waste of time it
presupposes such a knowledge of the
situation that it is in fact a form of
Huber's you know now what you do is just
pay your bills and you know pack heat if
you need to and don't worry that's all
worry is praying to the devil that's
great worry is betting against yourself
you know we po yang that a great Chinese
Taoist who wrote many many commentaries
on the in Ching he was asked at the end
of his life what was his conclusion of a
life of studying the chain and he said
worry is preposterous
