In this talk, Ajahn Amaro invites us to look deeply at one of the Buddha’s most essential teachings: letting go. He begins with the Four Noble Truths: dissatisfaction (Pali: dukkha / Sanskrit: duḥkha) is part of human experience; its cause is self-centered craving; freedom from that dissatisfaction is possible; and there is a path leading to that freedom. At the heart of this teaching is a simple instruction: let go. Ajahn Amaro recalls how his teacher, Ajahn Sumedho, once reduced the practice to a simple phrase flashing through his mind: “Let go, let go, let go.”
Ajahn Amaro emphasizes that non-attachment does not mean becoming emotionally numb, indifferent, or disconnected from the world. Letting go is not about shutting ourselves off from difficult experiences or retreating into a peaceful meditation bubble. Instead, it frees us from hesitation, fear, anxiety, and self-centered concern, allowing us to become more engaged with others and more responsive to the world around us. When we release our grasping, the mind remains fully awake and sensitive, bringing clarity, spaciousness, and a natural sense of peace.
He illustrates this through meditation. When our minds become caught up in a memory, worry, plan, or distraction, we can notice the grasping and simply let it go. In that brief moment before we become attached to the next thought, there can be a sense of clarity, spaciousness, and peace. Ajahn Amaro describes this as a small taste of Nibbana—not some extraordinary or mystical experience, but the natural peacefulness of the mind when it is free from grasping. The same experience can occur in everyday life when we finish a task, sit down, and briefly experience the ease that comes before the next activity or concern arises.
Ajahn Amaro also addresses the concern that letting go might make us irresponsible or passive. He highlights the distinction between craving and wholesome desire. The Pali word taṇhā (Sanskrit: tṛṣṇā) is the self-centered craving that produces suffering, while chanda (same in Sanskrit) can be a wholesome interest, enthusiasm, or willingness to act. We need chanda to care for our families, do our work, practice meditation, and contribute to the well-being of others.
Finally, he explains that even wholesome engagement can become stressful when it is driven by “I,” “me,” and “mine”—the need to become something, achieve something, or get rid of something. These forms of craving can lead to exhaustion, frustration, and compassion fatigue. True non-attachment releases us from self-centered striving, allowing our actions to be guided instead by mindfulness (sati / smṛti) and wisdom (paññā / prajñā), helping us respond to life with greater clarity, balance, compassion, and freedom.
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From the Teacher: Don’t Cling to Anything
Dharma Talk: Don’t Cling to Anything
Don’t Cling to Anything — by Ajahn Amaro *To support Ajahn Amaro and his sangha at The Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, please visit: www.amaravati.org/support/donations/
* Ajahn Amaro (Luang Por Amaro) was born in England in 1956. He received his BSc. in Psychology and Physiology from the University of London. Spiritual searching led him to Thailand, where he went to Wat Pah Nanachat, a Forest Tradition monastery established for Western disciples of Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah, who ordained him as a bhikkhu in 1979. He returned to England and joined Ajahn Sumedho at the newly established Chithurst Monastery. He resided for many years at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, making trips to California every year during the 1990s. In June of 1996 he established Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, CA, where he was co-abbot with Ajahn Pasanno until July, 2010. At the invitation of Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Amaro returned to Amaravati in July, 2010 to assume the duties of abbot of Amaravati.
He has written a number of books, including Small Boat, Great Mountain (2003), Rain on the Nile (2009) and The Island – An Anthology of the Buddha’s Teachings on Nibbana (2009) co-written with Luang Por Pasanno, a guide to meditation called Finding the Missing Peace and other works dealing with various aspects of Buddhism.
