The Path of Severing: Teachings on Letting Go

During the Thrice Yearning Ceremony and the Noon Offering, Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju provided profound guidance on the necessity of severing our attachments. To sever, to cut off, and to release the grip of the 'self,' personal ego, and selfishness is the essential work of the practitioner.

The Illusion of the Self

In your original state, you are empty, silent, and pure. There is no self to be found. However, because you began to identify with thoughts and actions, you created a sequence of events. This led to the formation of habits, which eventually solidified into what you now call the 'self,' personal ego, and selfishness. These habits act like a powerful, industrial-strength adhesive. They bind themselves tightly to your body and your heart, creating a prison from which it is difficult to escape.

The Weight of Habitual Living

Because you are glued so tightly to these habits, your body becomes rigid and difficult to transform. Your heart, in turn, cannot expand or find peace because it is constantly being pulled and dragged by the demands of the physical form. You have become so accustomed to living a life of the 'self,' personal ego, and selfishness that you have forgotten the freedom of your original nature. You have lost touch with the state of no-self, the state of selflessness, and the cool, refreshing clarity that exists when the 'self,' personal ego, and selfishness are absent.

The Necessity of Radical Release

If you wish to achieve success in your practice, you must learn to be indifferent to worldly distractions and then, ultimately, sever your ties to them. You must recognise the Five Desires, which are the five roots of the hells:

• Wealth: The pursuit of material gain that clouds the heart.Sex: The physical cravings that bind us to the cycle of rebirth.Fame: The desire for recognition that feeds the ego.Food: The attachment to sensory pleasure.Sleep: The indulgence in lethargy that dulls the spirit.

These desires cultivate all afflictions and must be severed. Furthermore, you must decisively cut off the Five Poisons, which only serve to cultivate endless afflictions:

• Greed: The insatiable hunger for more.Anger: The fire that burns away your merit.Delusion: The ignorance that prevents you from seeing the Truth.Arrogance: The pride that keeps you from learning.Doubt: The hesitation that stops you from trusting the path.

Returning to the Original Face

The 'self,' personal ego, and selfishness must be severed. You must be willing to act decisively, to cut them off immediately, and to do so without a single moment of hesitation. When you let go of everything, when you return to nothingness, and when you bring everything back to zero, you will finally see your original face. This teaching was recorded by the Buddha's disciple, Venerable HaiZe.