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Chains of Attachment
a Sufi Teaching Story
[parable]
There once was a man who visited a great mystic to find
out how to let go of his chains of attachment and his prejudices. Instead
of answering him directly, the mystic jumped to his feet and bolted
to a nearby pillar, flung his arms around it, grasping the marble surface
as he screamed, “Save me from this pillar! Save me from this pillar!”
The man who had asked the question could not believe what
he saw. He thought the mystic was mad. The shouting soon brought a crowd
of people.
“Why are you doing that?” the man asked. “I
came to you to ask a spiritual question because I thought you were wise,
but obviously you are crazy. You are holding the pillar, the pillar
is not holding you. You can simply let go.”
The mystic let go of the pillar and said to the man, “If
you can understand that, you have your answers. Your chains of attachment
are not holding you, you are holding them. You can simply let go.”