Freedom From Liking and Disliking

If you spend much time reading the works of Buddhist masters, you might come across rather shocking ideas: Liking and disliking things is harmful, and the practice of Dhamma leads to their end. What?! We may hear about equanimity, and how it is one of the most important mental states the Buddha told us to cultivate. If we misunderstand it, it sounds like apathetic indifference. It sounds like leaving behind the greatest things in life and reducing existence to a constant gray blah.

But then we meet one of those masters. We watch a video from an Ajahn, or meet a monastic who has been in robes for more than a decade. We see how happy they are. They don't look like their lives are a constant gray blah! They smile, they laugh, and they are warm and kind. Maybe their writings sound a bit harsh at times, but in person they radiate a simple joy. They may even look happier than we've ever imagined possible.

Freedom from liking and disliking is the secret.

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