Integrate the practice of weariness of samsara in daily life

How to integrate the practice of weariness of samsara in daily life?

When we hear teachings like “Develop weariness toward samsara and its ways,” many assume this means we must renounce all our wealth, enjoyments, even virtuous roots. In my view, this is a complete misunderstanding.

We shouldn’t give things up indiscriminately. The so-called “samsaric perfections,” all the beneficial and necessary aspects of conditioned existence, can be wisely utilized. We need them to sustain the body and to support our path toward liberation and omniscience. Temporarily, all sentient beings require food, clothing, shelter, even reputation. These elements help us build, benefit, develop, and improve both ourselves and others. Whether one is a monk, lama, or layperson, the need is the same. In this respect, we are all alike. From my perspective, these are not things to be abandoned.

What needs to be given up is the reification, the clinging to samsaric things as truly existent. It is the mistaken mind, the ignorance that concretizes things that we must abandon.

We must let go of the grasping mind that clings to the idea of concrete reality. Reification, this grasping at things as real, is what creates samsara. You could say that reification, called “ignorance,” is the mother of samsara. It is the root: the self-cherishing mind, the tight fixation, the solidification of what in truth lacks inherent existence. That is what must be eradicated. That is what generates samsara.

Work and wealth may meet our temporary needs. We all require shelter, food, clothing, and other necessities—not just for ourselves, but for all beings. Even this one short life is sustained by the wealth and efforts of countless others. Our existence depends on their generosity and labor. So these things are needed. Though death comes to all in the end, the pursuit of wealth remains necessary for the welfare of sentient beings. What the teachings advise is not to reify or become attached to it.

To think, “I must abandon this! I don’t need it! Any attachment means grasping, so I must reject everything,” is, in my opinion, a serious mistake. For example, we all need good health, and there are many valid reasons to maintain and improve it. Health is genuinely needed. It does not need to be abandoned.

So, what must be given up? In short, it is the clinging to a sense of self, our habitual reification.

All phenomena arise through dependent origination and therefore lack inherent existence. When we fail to recognize this, we misperceive what is impermanent and interdependent as if it were unchanging and independent.

This reification must be abandoned. It is the source of all ruin. It is ignorance itself. Without letting go of this clinging, it becomes extremely difficult to cultivate the correct view and conduct.

All of us seek happiness and wish to avoid suffering. So, what are the conditions for freedom from suffering? Though the pleasures offered by samsaric perfections are fleeting, they serve a temporary purpose. To accomplish both temporary and ultimate welfare, we must eliminate the reifying mind. And this cannot be done through wealth or power, but only through exceptional wisdom. The moment this wisdom directly sees dependent origination and suchness, reification dissolves.

This is how one uproots samsara by eradicating ignorance and reification. Otherwise, if one believes that being a practitioner means needing nothing—not food, not any basic support—and must instead adopt a life of austerity, I would say that is a grave misunderstanding. If one can abolish reification, even necessary things won’t generate strong preference or attachment.

That is authentic wisdom: the recognition that this body is necessary within relative phenomena to perform actions that benefit oneself and others, even temporarily.

When people say we don’t need this body, it sounds almost absurd. While it’s true that this body arises from karma and afflictions—driven by self-grasping ignorance, the mind that clings to a sense of self and reifies phenomena—it nonetheless serves as the essential basis for benefiting ourselves and others. If we truly understand that all things arise through dependent origination, then even illusory appearances become fertile ground for cultivating compassion, patience, meditative concentration, wisdom, altruism, and more. In this light, the body and samsaric conditions should not be rejected.

We often speak about grasping or clinging, yet in reality, grasping can take many forms. As it is said, “One can grasp without becoming attached.”

Naturally, we grasp things, and this is necessary even for practicing the six pāramitās to cultivate bodhicitta. Take śīla, or ethical integrity, as an example. It is our reification, the grasping at things as real that gives rise to afflictions such as attachment, which in turn becomes the very reason to practice ethical integrity. If there were no grasping, ethical discipline would be unnecessary. We engage in morality precisely because of our strong attachment.

In our ordinary perception, grasping is inevitable, whether toward the discipline itself, the person who upholds it, or the reasons behind it. We grasp at these perceptions. However, when we realize the nature of attachment, we see that the ethical discipline itself, the person who holds it, and the circumstances for doing so lack even the slightest independent existence. Through this realization, supported by wisdom, we perceive the illusory nature of phenomena, and see the drawbacks of attachment. As a result, ethical discipline is upheld with ease.

The same applies to the practice of patience.

Patience is not about being rigidly stubborn. Any object we grasp, whether a thing or a being within relative phenomena, is also where our wisdom is applied. When we apply wisdom to that object, we perceive its lack of intrinsic existence and recognize its tendency to seek happiness and avoid suffering. From this, compassion naturally arises, and excellent patience is born. When drawn out by compassion and wisdom, the patience that arises is naturally excellent. Without them, patience hardens into stubborn rigidity. Even if maintained for years, it becomes like water behind a dam, eventually overflowing and unleashing immense suffering.

The same applies to meditative concentration, in which we aim to bring the mind to a state of one-pointed focus. But what lures us away? Clinging and attachment create the discursive thoughts that distract us. Yet when we apply wisdom, we begin to see that the very nature of our attachment, our clinging, and the thoughts they generate is neither real nor solid. In truth, the one who clings, the object of clinging, and the clinging itself are all empty of inherent existence, and none of them truly disturb meditative concentration. With this realization, one attains perfect self-liberation without needing to abandon afflictive emotions. Seen in this way, there is no longer a need to “practice” meditative concentration as something separate. It becomes meditative concentration itself.

When transcendent wisdom is present, we naturally engage in the practice of meditative concentration. The same applies to all the other pāramitās.

If we seek happiness, we must cultivate its causes: genuine engagement in virtuous actions. In practicing the six pāramitās, it's through wisdom that we recognize the absence of any concrete or solid existence in all things. From this insight, compassion, patience, meditative concentration, pure aspiration, diligence, and other virtuous qualities arise naturally. When that happens, many conditions become favorable, for which we are deeply grateful. Precisely because things lack concrete, inherent existence, such practice, when infused with wisdom, becomes deeply precious. Without the presence of wisdom, the pāramitās remain nothing more than empty words and wishful thinking. One remains incapable of authentic practice.

We often engage life with a reifying mindset. But by cultivating the perfect wisdom of non-reification, we gradually recognize that bodhicitta and the view of emptiness, identical in essence, pervade all phenomena. This wisdom spans the three times and infuses every facet of our daily lives. Since this wisdom is involved in our personal and shared experiences, when properly applied, it lessens our negative grasping and wrongdoing. It also increases all positive qualities in our work, activities, meditation, and everything we do.

Actual realization is like this: the mind becomes kinder, more subdued, more compassionate, and this is a deeply pleasant experience, which is what realization truly entails. Otherwise, merely seeing unusual visions or hearing things isn't what realization is about. If it were, then scientists would have already attained it and placed it in our hands. After all, a single device now reveals much of the world, and technological wonders abound.

But that's not the realization we're speaking of. Unlike worldly achievements, the authentic realization we discuss is unchanging. It is supreme, exquisitely beautiful, radiant, and infinitely abundant. Grounded in exceptional wisdom and compassion, it makes all forms of happiness, temporary or ultimate, attainable.

While this physical body will die, exceptional wisdom and compassion, along with the luminous nature of mind, are imperishable. When that realization becomes evident, it's of immense benefit. With it, we no longer fear birth, aging, sickness, or death.