Unexpected Freedom

Unexpected Freedomthe reason it seems so much is that we’ve put so much energyinto avoiding it.Under such circumstances it is necessary to be verypatient because sometimes we have to endure a lot for a longtime before some of this momentum can be worn out. Themomentum of clinging has created the apparent reality of‘This is too much. I can’t cope with this,’ and ‘I won’t ever beable to let go of this.’ Well, don’t be too sure. Letting go willhappen. Try to consider that letting go is something thathappens; it is not something that we do.What is called for in practice is a willingness to bear withthings, to be honest with ourselves, and to wait until thesethings start to fall away of their own accord. We don’t haveto get rid of these things. These things will fall away when wesee the reality; when we see that we’re doing the suffering.When we see that we’re the ones that are actually creatingthis pain then automatically we will stop doing it. But beforewe get to that point of seeing it we sometimes have to bearwith suffering for quite a long while and wear out – literallywear out or burn out – the momentum of avoidance ordenial, or the habit of indulgence. Whatever theaccumulated momentum is, we have got to endure it untilone day, much to our surprise, we’re still doing the same oldpractice that we’ve been doing for goodness knows howlong, but when up comes the trigger we see it differently.When some sort of temptation to get angry, greedy or afraidarises, suddenly we see it in a way whereby it doesn’t get us.We aren’t fooled by it. It’s as though we have acquired a newability. It is not that we’ve done anything different to make itappear differently. It is simply that the kammic momentumhas worn out. Though it might seem like a large heap offirewood will burn on and on, there will come a point whenthere is no more fuel and the fire will go out.172