Inter- Faiths Dialogue

Detachement > from desires

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E ven as vapours darken the air and allow not the bright sun to shine; or as a mirror that is clouded over cannot receive within itself a clear image; or as water defiled by mud reflects not the visage of one that looks therein; even so the soul that is clouded by the desires is darkened in the understanding and allows neither the sun of natural reason nor that of the supernatural Wisdom of God to shine upon it and illumine it clearly.

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quote 3462 | Saint John of the Cross
Ascent of Mount Carmel. Trans. E. Allison Peers, Book 1, Chapter 8, Paragraph 1

T he poor in spirit (Mt. 5:3) have no attachment to the things that are present, nor are they even in thought passionately involved with them, not even to the extent of simple enjoyment.

church

quote 3416 | Saint Symeon the New Theologian
The Discourses, p. 52, Trans. C.J. de Catanzaro. Ramsey, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1980.

F or desire is drawn towards three things: the pleasure of the flesh, vain self-glory, and the acquisition of material wealth. As a result of this senseless appetite it scorns God and His commandments, and forgets His generosity; it turns like a savage beast against its neighbour; it plunges the intelligence into darkness and prevents it from looking towards the truth. He who has acquired a spiritual understanding of this truth will share, even here on earth, in the kingdom of heaven and will live a blessed life in expectation of the blessedness that awaits those who love God.

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quote 3374 | The Philokalia
St. John of Damaskos in On the Virtues and the Vices: ("The Philokalia (Vol. 2)", p. 339)

S ome one asked, "What is the Way?" I said, "This way is to abandon desires."

Oh lover of the King! Know that your way is to seek the pleasure of that Generous Lord. When you seek the Beloved's desire and pleasure, seeking your own desire is forbidden.

mosque

quote 3311 | Jalâl ud Dîn Rumi
The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, pp. 216-217, Trans. William C. Chittick. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1983

D esire for the world has deprived man of the Object of his desire.

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quote 3308 | Jalâl ud Dîn Rumi
The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, p. 36, Trans. William C. Chittick. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1983

W hen all desires that surge in the heart are renounced, the mortal becomes immortal.

temple_hindu

quote 3215 | The Upanishads
Katha Up. Part 2, 3:14, p. 97 in The Upanishads. Trans. Eknath Easwaran. Tomales, CA.: Nilgiri Press, 1987

T hose who dwell on and long for sense-pleasure are born in a world of separateness.
But let them realize they are the Self and all separateness will fall away.

temple_hindu

quote 3214 | The Upanishads
Mundaka Up. Part 3, 2:2, p. 116 in The Upanishads. Trans. Eknath Easwaran. Tomales, CA.: Nilgiri Press, 1987

I f there are no desires, the mind naturally looks up toward God.

temple_hindu

quote 3182 | Ramakrishna
Mahendranath Gupta. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Trans. Swami Nikhilananda. New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1942, 1948, 1958, p. 346

N o salvation is possible for a man as long as he has desire, as long as he hankers for worldly things.

temple_hindu

quote 3181 | Ramakrishna
Mahendranath Gupta. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Trans. Swami Nikhilananda. New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1942, 1948, 1958, p. 325

T hose who have striven for Our sake, We guide them to Our ways (Koran 29:96).
Al-Junayd said: "[The verse means] Those who have striven against their desires and repented for our sake, we shall guide them to the ways of sincerity. And one cannot struggle against his enemy outwardly except he who struggles against these enemies inwardly. Then whoever is given victory over them will be victorious over his enemy. And whoever is defeated by them, his enemy defeats him."

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quote 3134 | Al-Junayd
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, al-Fawa'id, ed. Muhammad `Ali Qutb (al-Iskandariyya: Dar al-Da`wa, 1992) p. 50.

W hat is the first and most important duty
for a man of right understanding?
To cut through the bonds of worldly desire.

temple_hindu

quote 3101 | (Adi Shankaracharya) Shankara
Prabhavananda, Swami, and isherwood, Christopher, trans. Shankara's Crest-Jewel of Discrimination. New York: New American Library, 194 7, pp. 119-127.

D eliver yourself from the fetters of lust and passion. God did not create you to be their captive; they should be your servants, under your control for the journey that is before you, to be your steed and your weapon, so that you may use them to pursue your happiness, and when you have not more need of them, then cast them under your feet.

mosque

quote 2956 | Attar
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.247

Y ou do see some people at peace, saved from the disease of ambition though they have less than you do while you are in pain and oppressed by all that you have.

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quote 2945 | Sheikh Muzaffer
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.144

O ne who can control himself when in anger, in passion, in fear, and in attraction is safe from the hands of the devil and the fires of hell.

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quote 2916 | Muhammad
Hadith, Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.88

G uard your heart from heedlessness, protect your lower self from desires, guard your intellect from ignorance, and you will be admitted into the company of the vigilant. It is a duty for everyone to seek knowledge; that is, knowledge of yourself.

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quote 2907 | Abou Bakr As-Siddiq
Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.84

W hen you commit a sin but do not carry the pleasure of it with you, that is repentance. There is not so much harm in the act of sinning as in the desire and thought of it: the act is but momentary and passing, whereas the desire is continuous. It is one thing when the body indulges in a pleasurable act for an hour and an entirely different thing when the mind and heart chew on it endlessly.

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quote 2880 | Others Sufis Teaching
Bushanja, Essential Sufism, by James Fadiman & Robert Frager, Harper SanFrancisco, p.59

W hat counts is to restrain the blaze in the hour of desire and let it flow into the hours of prayer and service.

synagogue

quote 2782 | Martin Buber
Martin Buber’s ten rungs, collected Hassidic saying, p.95

M oreover, Subhuti, the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas, in teaching the Dharma to others, should first be free themselves from all the craving thoughts awakened by beautiful sights, pleasant sounds, sweet tastes, fragrance, soft tangibles, and seductive thoughts. In their practice of charity, they should not be influenced by any of these seductive phenomena. And why? Because, if in their practice of charity they are uninfluenced by such things they will realize a blessing and merit that is inestimable and inconceivable.

temple_buddhist

quote 2516 | The Maha Prajna Paramita
Diamond Sutra, 4, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible

I f, whilst regarding a certain object, there arise, account of it, in the disciple evil and demeritorious thoughts connected with greed, anger and delusion, then the disciple should, by means of this object, gain another and wholesome object. Or, he should reflect on the misery of these thoughts: Unwholesome truly are these thoughts! Blamable are these thoughts! Of painful result are these thoughts. Or, he should pay no attention to these thoughts. Or, he should consider the compounded nature of these thoughts.
Or, with teeth clenched and tongue pressed against the gums he should with his mind restrain, suppress and root out these thoughts; and in doing so, these evil and demeritorious thoughts of greed, anger and delusion will dissolve and disappear, and the mind will inwardly become settled and calm, composed and concentrated.

temple_buddhist

quote 2491 | Buddha Sakyamuni
Majjhima Nikaya, 20

W hat now is the effort to overcome? There the disciple incites his mind to overcome the evil and demeritorious things, that have already arisen; and he strives, puts forth his energy, strains his mind and struggles.
He does not retain any thought of sensual lust, ill-will or grief, or any other evil and demeritorious states, that may have arisen; he abandons them, dispels them, destroys them, causes them to disappear.

temple_buddhist

quote 2490 | Buddha Sakyamuni
Anguttara Nikaya, V 13,14

T hus, whatever kind of Feeling one experiences,-pleasant, unpleasant or indifferent-one approves of and cherishes the feeling and clings to it; and while doing so, lust springs up; but lust for feelings means clinging to existence (upadana); and on clinging to existence depends the (action-) Process of Becoming (bhava, here kamma-bhava); on the process of becoming depends (future) Birth (jati); and dependent on birth are Decay and Death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair. Thus arises this whole mass of suffering.

temple_buddhist

quote 2463 | Buddha Sakyamuni
Majjhima Nikaya, 38

T he main thing is for the mind to make an effort to get rid of selfish human desires and preserve the Principle of Nature.

candle

quote 2430 | Wang Yangming
Wang Wen-ch'eng Kung ch'uan-shu, or Complete Works of Wang Yang-ming, Instruction for a Practical Living, 1:3a-4b, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 35

W hen the mind is free from the obscuration of selfish desires, it is the embodiment of the Principle of Nature, which requires not an iota added from the outside.

candle

quote 2429 | Wang Yangming
Wang Wen-ch'eng Kung ch'uan-shu, or Complete Works of Wang Yang-ming, Instruction for a Practical Living, 1:3a-4b, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 35

A lthough the mind of the small man is divided and narrow, yet his humanity that forms one body can remain free from darkness to this degree. This is due to the fact that his mind has not yet been aroused by desires and obscured by selfishness. When it is aroused by desires and obscured by selfishness, compelled by greed for gain and fear of harm, and stirred by anger, he will destroy things, kill members of his own species, and will do everything. In extreme cases he will even slaughter his own brothers, and the humanity that forms one body will disappear completely. Hence, if it is not obscured by selfish desires, even the mind of the small man has the humanity that forms one body with all as does the mind of the great man. As soon as it is obscured by selfish desires, even the mind of the great man will be divided and narrow like that of the small man. Thus the learning of the great man consists entirely in getting rid of the obscuration of selfish desires in order by his own efforts to make manifest his clear character, so as to restore the condition of forming one body with Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things, a condition that is originally so, that is all. It is not that outside of the original substance something can be added.

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quote 2417 | Wang Yangming
Wang Wen-ch'eng Kung ch'uan-shu, or Complete Works of Wang Yang-ming, Inquiry on the Great Learning, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 35

W hen, influenced by external things, he begins to be active, that is desire arising from his nature. As one becomes conscious of things resulting from this impact, one begins to have likes and dislikes…. When [as a result of these likes and dislikes] one is unable to return to his original mind, the Principle of Nature is destroyed. "(1) Here is the origin of the theory that principle is from Nature whereas desire is from man.

candle

quote 2404 | Lu Hsiang Shan
Complete Work of Lu Hsiang-shan (Hsiang-shan ch’uan-chi), 34: 1 b, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 33

(1) The term Principle of Nature of course does not appear in the Lao Tzu. Lu was evidently thinking of the general Taoist doctrine of having no or few desires in chs. 3, 19, 34, 37, 57.

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