Trying To Let Go and Be Free

The First Noble Truth in Buddhism states that suffering is a part of life. The Second Noble Truth says that this suffering is a result of desire. As Lama Surya Das writes in Awakening the Buddha Within, "we crave satisfaction in ways that are inherently dissatisfying." This is because we become attached to people and to things, and everything in the world is impermanent. We don't know what we'd do without cell phones and iPods and laptops and become angry when these things break. We love our family and our friends and we have deep romantic relationships with other people. When a family member dies, a friend moves away, or we are going through a breakup, we hurt. Sometimes this pain is so bad that it can put us into a depression and we start to become consumed by negative thoughts. We may get stuck in such a negative place that we do not know how to get out.

The Third Noble Truth gives us hope, in that we can find freedom from suffering. The Fourth Noble Truth offers a solution, in the form of the Eightfold Path: right view, right intentions, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. We can use these things to free ourselves from the desires that lead to suffering.

I am writing this because at this point in my life I am experiencing suffering because of an attachment to a person and to a friendship that I may have permanently lost. I will be the first to admit that although I believe in these truths, they are very difficult to actually live by. It is very hard for me to imagine myself being able to completely separate myself from desire because I love the people in my life a lot. But somehow recognizing where my suffering right now is coming from and trying to let go as much as I can help a little.


"You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection"

-The Buddha