Attachment comes from one's own ignorance,
because we are so stubborn,
and we don't know what is really good for us.
Letting Go of Attachment
As soon as I find a certain object which is nice,
which I find quite beautiful or useful,
then I just grasp onto it.
And that produces within me something very uncomfortable,
which is attachment.
So therefore, we must take care.
We can see nice objects,
but shouldn't grasp onto them.
The Dalai Lama made some remarks in a public talk,
that whether you are driving a Mercedes or a very cheap car,
the question isn't about this.
The question is about how you grasp and how you deal with objects.
If you have very strong attachment to that very cheap car,
then it's worse to drive that than a Mercedes!
To drive a Mercedes, without having attachment,
that's absolutely alright, no problem!
Therefore it's important how we deal with objects,
this is the main issue.
To possess luxury things or good things or whatever,
well, non-valuable things can also cause attachment.
So we are talking about appearances, and grasping onto them, these two things.
Appearances don't bind us to samsara,
but grasping [onto appearances] binds us to samsara.
This is one very important quotation from an author whose name I can't remember,
but one of the great Indian masters.
Just check whether you really need something,
whether it's really good for you,
not just temporarily but in the long-run.
So for example if you go to the supermarket for shopping,
if you see some good things and then you are interested in them,
the second thought is what we need to check,
"Do I really need it?
Why do I really need it?
Do I have to buy this or not?"
Ask yourself three or four times from different perspectives,
and check it.
At the end, the answer is mostly, "Actually, not."
Because I have one watch here,
and I go to the watch shop and see a beautiful watch,
and think that I want to buy such a nice watch,
and it's not so expensive.
But then I say, "Do I really need two watches?
Why is it not enough with this watch that I already have?
Why do I need a second watch?"
Then I realise that I don't actually need,
the one I have works perfectly,
so therefore I don't need it.
Do something like this, I think.