Buddhism is all about losing

Yet really there’s nothing to lose

I recently attended talks in France by Khandro Rinpoche where she spoke about renunciation in Buddhism. Khandro Rinpoche is a brilliant woman master in the Tibetan tradition who lives in northern India and, for me, her words are dynamite. They really shake me up and get me to think. My article is inspired by what she and other Tibetan masters have said on this subject.

Buddhism is all about losing. To put it another way, we could say that all Buddhists are losers!

Photo: stockstudioX.istock

When a Buddhist attends a talk, sits in meditation or does a retreat, he or she is not hoping to gain or achieve anything. There is no expectation of getting something you long for but don’t have, in fact there’s no hope involved at all. The reason for that is because we have it all already. Mental peace is a natural quality of the mind and is always here, we just need to tap into it. Clarity, love, confid…