Fear of Loss

~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~

Fear of loss cripples us. It makes us grasp too tightly to the things and people we love. It makes us anxious. It makes us angry with anything or anyone who threatens us with loss. In a time of rapid change, fear, anxiety and anger provoked by the prospect of loss spread through the world like viruses.

The Buddha’s teachings emphasize the observation and study of the nature of change. The more deeply we understand how things arise and pass away according to causes and conditions, the more we become aware of the limits of what can be controlled, and the less we suffer. Most importantly, the more closely we look at our minds the clearer it becomes that the owner of experience, the one threatened by loss, cannot be found. It is not that the owner of experience has to learn to let go, but that we need to penetrate a profound truth: there is, in fact, no owner; only the mistaken idea of one.

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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.

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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.