Act Against Your Attachments

I am ashamed to admit but I will do it anyway -- I am addicted to food. I like to eat, indeed, I like it so much, to the point I will eat the foods I like, also the stuff I do not like. I will eat foods that are good for me, and also those bad for me. I will eat at mealtime and also in between meals.... This has created problems: weight, health, to name just a few. That is why I say I am an addict.

What is wrong with addiction? Well, an addict like me can say a lot here. To begin with, you are a slave to your addiction. Does anyone prefer being enslaved to being free? I think not. Addictions make you miserable. I cannot imagine anyone will enjoy misery. If your food addiction is as bad as mine, you get fat and sick. And quickly.

And you get depressed too, because you constantly struggle between what you want to do (of course eating for me), which is usually not good, and what you should do, which is usually good. For an addict, your worst "want" almost always wins despite your best intentions to do otherwise. Is there anything more depressing than this?

Addictions are essentially a spiritual disease, at least according to people like Robert Barron (see bottom). Apparently, I am not the only food addict around. People from different cultures and across the ages have been addicted to food, which is why, says Barron, fasting has been an integral part of spiritual exercise in many religions from Buddhism, Islam, Judaism to Christianity.

But do not think food is the only thing people are addicted to. Just look at this website, particularly in the popular Chinese language “chat” section, the topics of money, beauty, romance, work, relationships, fame, politics...are discussed repeatedly, again and again, sometimes by the same few people, relentlessly.

Are people with a lot of money, great beauty or fame happy? I am not sure. As an addict, I can tell you this: if you are addicted to it, no amount of money, no kind of beauty or fame can make you happy. Mabe for a little bit, but whatever happiness you get from your addiction, it will not last. Misery seems to be the inevitable final destination for the addicts who cannot or will not quit.

How can you get out of an addiction? It is simple yet not easy. You basically need to practice "detachment," which I think is a central part of Buddhism. Apparently, the need for detachment is not confined to Buddhism. In his sermon, Bp Barron invokes St. Ignatius of Loyola, a Medieval Spanish priest:

"...If we are to do the will of God, then we have to become detached from the worldly goods to which we are addicted...if you are attached or addicted to some worldly good, then the best thing is to act against it—to press, aggressively even, in the opposite direction."

Therefore, if money is your addiction, give away some; if food is your thing, practice regular fasting or drastically reduce your food intake. It will make you happier! Why are you happier without addictions? Because addictions - our worldly attachments or obsessions, block our access to the source of our ultimate happiness, which is God, to use the language of Christianity.

Buddhism says the same, except of course, there is no God there, but frankly I cannot see the difference between Buddhist nirvana, the transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the Christian heaven, where we humans essentially merge and exist in perfect union with God.

So, to rid of addictions, and obtain bliss - the kind of happiness as perfect as you can get, you need to take a Spiritual Path - whatever kind it is. And this is the hard part of the battle for most humans, because the draw of this world, from pleasure, wealth, power to honor, is strong, devastatingly strong.