Attachment to Views & Opinions | Dhamma Talk by Ajahn Dhammasiha

It is well known that the Buddha teaches us to abandon all attachment ('upādāna'). However, attachment doesn't refer only to material things, and to feelings and emotions, it also includes views and opinions ('Diṭṭhi').In fact, the Buddha's analysis of cinging to views is one of the unique characteristics of his teaching, not to be found in that form in any other religion or philosophy. He shows that any view, doctrine, philosophy, religion, dogma, is a conditioned phenomenon, not somthing right or wrong in an absolute sense. Views arise due to certain causes and conditioning factors, and they change and pass away when the conditions change.The Buddha doesn't look only at the content of a view, he investigates where the view comes from, what are the causes for someone to develop a certain view; and what are the consequences of holding this view.If we can see all views and doctrines as a 'sankhāra' something that's put together, intentionally thought out, arising and passing due to causes, impermanent, and not me or mine, we can no longer maintain any naive belief in the 'absolute truth' of any view, and we can let go.'Letting Go' doesn't mean that we now don't have any views anymore. But it means that we're no longer identified with any view, we don't regard it as our self. We actually deliberately develop 'right view', meaning a view which is helpful and beneficial for developing the 8Fold Noble Path, weakening defilements, and leading us to the end of suffering. We deliberately form and then use a view to achieve a certain objective. Just like an engineer designs and builds a specific tool, and then uses that tool to build the thing he requires.www.dhammagiri.netwww.facebook.com/dhammagiri-forest-hermitagewww.youtube.com/channel/UCJINt0JJBfFm_x0FZcU9QJwwww.tinyletter.com/dhammagiri/archive