Letting Go of Attachment: Teachings from Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju

Recorded and transcribed by Namo Amituofo’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe.

16 August 2025

Teachings from Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju:

The Barrier to Our True Nature

Attachment refers to the stubborn insistence and persistent clinging of the mind. It is a deeply ingrained trait within our personality that acts as a profound barrier to realising our true self. When Shakyamuni Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree and witnessed the morning star, He attained Buddhahood and proclaimed: "How wondrous! All beings possess the wisdom and virtue of the Tathagata, yet they cannot realise it due to their delusions and attachments." From these words, we can understand how deep and immense the harm caused by attachment is to all beings.

Attachment can be light or heavy, yet regardless of its intensity, it is still a form of "existence" that belongs to ego-attachment. It keeps us bound to the cycle of rebirth, preventing us from seeing the clarity of our original nature.

The Many Faces of Attachment

Attachment manifests in countless ways in our daily lives. We often find ourselves clinging to various aspects of our existence, such as:

• Our physical body: The constant concern for our health, appearance, and comfort.
• Specific individuals: Clinging to loved ones, friends, or even those we dislike.
• Material objects: The desire to possess, maintain, or accumulate worldly goods.
• Events and circumstances: Being fixated on how things should happen or how they have happened in the past.
• Internal states: Clinging to our own emotions, fleeting feelings, and personal thoughts.

In truth, everything that exists or that we perceive can become an object of our attachment. We must recognise that these attachments are not permanent; they are merely products of our own minds.

The Illusion of Karma

Because of our Causal Conditions, the seeds we have sown in the past have matured into the behaviours and mental states we experience today. This is the nature of karma. When we cling to these experiences, we are merely reacting to the fruits of our past actions. We must recognise the truth of the situation: whatever we are attached to is caught within the cycle of cause and effect. It is a part of our karma, and like an illusory dream, it will eventually fade and disappear.

If we do not recognise this truth and continue to grasp tightly to these things, we will inevitably suffer. The suffering we experience is the result of our own inability to let go. Therefore, we must learn to let go of attachment.

The Path to Purity

How do we transcend this? When you are chanting the Buddha's name, Namo Amituofo, you must hold firmly to the name. Do not let your practice be interrupted by wandering thoughts or attachments. If you can truly let go of attachment and enter the state of non-attachment, you will attain purity and see your true self. This is the path to leaving suffering behind and finding true happiness.

Namo Amituofo