While we are learning to let go gradually, is realizing anatta
is still the fundamental way or does it complement with letting
go...? (<---my question)
Here's how I understand the "lay of the land"...
First off, true and lasting liberation can only be had when one
fully understands that there isn't really a Self behind all that
thinking, doing and being. This basically means that, yes, at
some point one must enter the stream and truly experience
Anatta.
Much of what we currently think of as letting go is simply us
"psych-ing" ourselves to be less grasping, less... obsessed (lol).
For most of us who haven't directly known Anatta,
letting go and putting down is more of a mental/emotional
dissociation from events and situations.
Examples:
I tried my best to give my child the best guidance in his
schoolwork. I personally coached him, even employed tutors
for him, but he still came back with a less than satisfactory
report card. Sigh... nevermind, what will be, will be.
I've tried my best and so has my child.
There's this girl at the workplace that really catches my eye.
I want to go after her and get her to be my girlfriend.
I try striking up conversations with her, do her small
favours at the office, lend her an umbrella when it's raining, etc.
She's unimpressed and the other day, I actually spied her at
Orchard Road holding hands with another guy. Sigh,
nevermind... it's not meant to be.
The above examples of letting go are mental/emotional
dissociations. While it's not the most liberating, I
personally think it's still better than nothing in that, one gains
some semblance of peace if one can talk oneself out of a hangup.
The problem is that those hangups can keep recurring (lol)
and one would have to talk oneself out of it again...
Those with a direct knowing of Anatta and/or
Sunyata have described that thoughts and emotions do
self-liberate when one directly fathoms the the two Emptinesses;
both Emptiness of Self and Phenomena. Thoughts and emotions
don't "stick" but may instead slide off like water off a duck's
back.
A stream enterer (sotapanna) isn't eliminated of all
desires and habitual tendencies, but I'd imagine it would be much
easier to let go due to a direct knowing of non-inherency.
Stream entry (Anatta) is the first step towards
ultimate liberation. Continual practice and meditation will
be necessary to eliminate all latent tendencies; which in all
likelihood would be deeply-rooted, given how many millions/billions
of times we must have been reborn.
If I remember correctly, Simpo ever mentioned that we can only
truly begin letting go upon stream entry.
Wonder if any of the sotapannas here want to respond to
give us more understanding...
