I have no desire for wealth or possessions, and so I have nothing. I do not experience the initial suffering of having to accumulate possessions, the intermediate suffering of having to guard and keep up possessions, nor the final suffering of loosing the possessions.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a Zen-like perspective on materialism, emphasizing that a lack of desire for possessions leads to freedom from suffering.
In this quote, Milarepa articulates a profound understanding of materialism and the suffering that often accompanies it. By renouncing the desire for wealth and possessions, he claims to be free from the burdens of acquiring, maintaining, and ultimately losing these worldly items. This perspective suggests that true contentment stems from detaching oneself from material desires, thereby avoiding the cycle of suffering associated with ownership.
In practice
During a mindfulness workshop, referencing this quote can inspire attendees to reflect on their attachment to material goods.
Life is short and the time of death is uncertain; so apply yourself to meditation. Avoid doing evil, and acquire merit, to the best of your ability, even at the cost of life itself. In short: Act so that you have no cause to be ashamed of yourselves and hold fast to this rule.
All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death. Knowing this, one should, from the very first, renounce acquisitions and storing-up, and building, and meeting; and, faithful to the commands of an eminent Guru, set about realizing the Truth. That alone is the best of religious observances.
He who knows that all things are his mind, That all with which he meets are friendly, Is ever joyful.
When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick
When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick: every time a stick is thrown, you run after it. Instead, be like a lion who, rather than chasing after the stick, turns to face the thrower. One only throws a stick at a lion once.
In the gap between thoughts_x000D_ nonconceptual wisdom shines continuously.
My diary seems to keep me whole.
Intelligence is a moral category.
We all live every day in virtual environments, defined by our ideas.
I want to live perfectly above the law, and make it my servant instead of my master.
All along we find that social life - religion, politics, art - reflects the stages reached in the development of the knowledge of self; it shows the social uses made of this knowledge.
Life has no meaning except in terms of responsibility.
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