The Relationship of Association to Attachment

It is interesting how the mind associates. We separate and then create an ideal of characteristics that become common ground for a belief. Then we proceed to edit our belief so that it will fit our individualistic goals. In order to believe in an ideal we must constantly modify our perception of "what is" so that it conforms to what we have associated ourselves with. For example if I am of the opinion that Buddhism is a belief system and I want to follow that system, then I will associate my self perception with "things" Buddhist. I will create a relationship out of things that I perceive as "Buddhist". So the mind moves through the conceptual ideals of a belief system that limits, contradicts, and ultimately creates an atmosphere of separation and division.

This activity of mind is the result of the dual nature of thought. But it is not enough to understand the conceptuality of ones dual nature through association and conceptual analysis. Clearly a person cannot truly "realize" through a mind that is caught up in its own self defined efforts. The mind must be clear of all associations. Associations of any kind create and support the dualistic nature of thoughts seeking. What is sought is always the illusion of the self created. All the formulations of systems of belief are merely the result of the desire for association and identification. They never deliver what is sought only the illusion of accomplishment. The illusion of accomplishment becomes the conflict of attachment. Attachment becomes the violence of position and opposition.

If you are aware of the whole process, without judging or concluding, then you will be "experiencing" the freedom of the undefined. That freedom is all that is needed to negate the conflict of association and attachment. When there is no longer a thing to be sought, then there is the dissipation of duality. Thinker and thought meld into the realization of the moment.