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Aparigraha



Sanskrit अपरिग्रह Usually interpreted as "non-attachment, non-grasping, non-possessiveness" but with much deeper meanings than simple renunciation of material goods. Aparigraha is a quality of conscious non-grasping, that does not attach psychologically to anything, but remains aware, observant, without fixing itself on limited perceptions. In Kabbalah, this is described as "not worshipping idols," to not create and enthrone false impressions in the mind, such as beliefs, ideas, theories, memories, etc. but instead to have the mind empty and open, without conception. At its base, it is to not have desire: the craving or grasping at any sensation, thought, emotion, concept, image, idea, or belief.

  1. From परिग्रह parigraha as "activity, understanding" with the negating prefix a-, to literally mean "without activity, without understanding." To indicate psychological stillness, and absence of thought.
  2. From परिग्रह parigraha as "property, possession" with the negating prefix a-, to literally mean "without possession, without property." To indicate psychological non-attachment, and indifference to external conditions.

“What is non-grasping (aparigraha)? It is not grasping permanence or impermanence in form, as well as in feeling, perception, formative factors or consciousness; it is not grasping suffering or happiness in form, as well as in feeling, perception, formative factors or consciousness; it is not grasping the self or selflessness in form, as well as in feeling, perception, formative factors or consciousness; it is not grasping the beautiful or the ugly in from, as well as in [feeling, perception, formative factors or] consciousness; it is not grasping emptiness or non-emptiness in from, as well as in [feeling, perception, formative factors or] consciousness. [...]”. - Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta