Non-Attachment with Noah Levine

October 26, 2020 What's the difference between non-attachment and detachment, avoidance, dissociation, dismissiveness or complacency?

All of these things that can masquerade as non-attachment, but they're not really non-attachment. They’re a kind of avoidance, or suppression; an ignoring.

The non-attachment that we're going for, is one that is fully engaged and connected with all of the pain and all of the joy…Even just saying this, I pause because I feel most of us would say, “Oh yeah, that's really painful so I'd like to not be attached to that ‘painful’ thing. But wait a minute…I have to let go of the joy too? I don't want to let go of the pleasant stuff. I want to hold on to that. I want to cling to those moments of joy and passion. I want to continue to be passionate.”

There is a Pali word that is often translated as an encouragement to be dispassionate. I ******* hate that. Dispassionate? It sounds like disengaged, like avoidance or something, but it's not what is meant. What is meant by that description “dispassionate” is being connected without clinging.