The Distinction Between True and Counterfeit Renunciation in the World

The aversion to worldly phenomena can be categorized into superficial aversion arising from consciousness and profound aversion arising from the mental faculty. Superficial aversion is merely a sense of boredom or meaninglessness perceived by the conscious mind, expressed in words but not genuinely acted upon. Words do not match actions; greed persists unchanged as before, making this a superficial aversion. However, when genuine aversion arises in the heart, it manifests directly in one’s actions. One no longer seeks ways to avoid worldly affairs and people, preferring simplicity over complexity, and ceases to cling to the world. This profound aversion arises from the mental faculty and is a mind connected to liberation. Achieving this level of action is not easy; it stems from wholesome roots cultivated over many lifetimes. Beginners will absolutely not possess such mental and behavioral resolve.

How to attain profound aversion arising from the mental faculty? First, it is necessary to cultivate meditative concentration (dhyana). Within this concentration, one contemplates the five aggregates (skandhas) as suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. After initially realizing impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self, one still cannot generate aversion toward the world. It requires continued, deeper contemplation until the attainment of the first dhyana, where attachment and afflictions are severed. Only then does genuine aversion toward the world arise—a desire to cease wandering through birth and death, wasting time in the world, and a mind oriented toward liberation and renunciation. Therefore, both the renunciant mind and the mind of aversion are inseparable from profound meditative concentration and wisdom. Without cultivating meditative concentration, one only has verbal aversion while remaining deeply attached in reality—utterly devoid of aversion, with words and thoughts at odds.