Explicit and Systematic Instructions on Renunciation
Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 11:29 pm
If I were to fall gravely ill, or need an extra push to join a monastery, I'd like to have some strong texts within reach to help me cut off worldly attachments. The Girimananda Sutta (AN 10.60), brought to my attention by pegembara in another thread, works very well. It doesn't just detail the benefits of renunciation, but it also eloquently explains how renunciation is done.
Does anyone know of any other suttas that provide explicit and systematic instructions on renunciation, or on how to cultivate sabbaloka anabhiratisaññā?
The Sañña Sutta (AN 7.46) could be seen as a counterpart. And the Abhaya Sutta describes the qualities of the 4 types of people who live without fear.vi. "And what, Ananda, is contemplation of detachment? Herein, Ananda, a monk having gone to the forest, or to the foot of a tree, or to a lonely place, contemplates thus: 'This is peaceful, this is sublime, namely, the stilling of all conditioned things, the giving up of all substratum of becoming, the extinction of craving, detachment, Nibbana.' This, Ananda, is called contemplation of detachment.
vii. "And what, Ananda, is contemplation of cessation? Herein, Ananda, a monk having gone to the forest, or to the foot of a tree, or to a lonely place, contemplates thus: 'This is peaceful, this is sublime, namely, the stilling of all component things, the extinction of craving, cessation, Nibbana.' This, Ananda, is called contemplation of cessation.
viii. "And what, Ananda, is contemplation of distaste for the whole world? Herein, Ananda, (a monk) by abandoning any concern and clinging to this world, by abandoning mental prejudices, wrong beliefs, and latent tendencies concerning this world, by not grasping them, but by giving them up, becomes detached. This, Ananda, Is called contemplation of distaste for the whole world.
Does anyone know of any other suttas that provide explicit and systematic instructions on renunciation, or on how to cultivate sabbaloka anabhiratisaññā?