When discussing slavery here, we aren’t talking about 1619. We are not talking about people working for no living wage, or to clear a debt. The slavery we are referring to is our attachment to the things of this world. Think about it. We want stuff, obtain stuff, and then we become a slave to the stuff because we have to maintain the stuff. The reason why we have to learn to die is because detaching from what we are attached to is very difficult. The ultimate form of detachment is when we do physically die. Before going through that trauma, we have to learn how to detach while we are alive.

Not only are we a slave to things, we are a slave to our personality, or who we think we are. We are a slave to what we perceive as our identity. Stuff is a part of that, but it is also how we see ourselves at our jobs, our children, our morals, our religious beliefs, our neighborhood, and so much more. Imagine trying to die to all these things. Imagine if you are fired from your job and you can’t upkeep all the pleasures of income. You’ll have to be forced to detach and that detachment will be painful. It’s much like receiving a cancer diagnosis and not being ready to let go of the body.

To Attach or Not to Attach

The way we do this is through non-attachment. Non-attachment is interacting with our experiences without identifying with them. This means that we act without attachment to the outcome because we can only become slaves to the outcome as it becomes a fixation. This also means not having a deep desire for something as this may also become the object that enslaves us. The opposite of this, attachment, is what we described earlier. It’s the need to make a certain amount of money, constantly work out, or vote for a particular party because it gives us a sense of self. Most of these attachments lead to suffering if they don’t meet our expectations. When we detach and practice non-attachment, our happiness doesn’t depend on external forces. Especially when these external forces are subject to change.

Dark Side of the Force

I’m a huge fan of Star Wars. It’s not for the storyline, the action scenes, or the fact that it’s in outer space. The philosophy is what intrigues me. In Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Yoda warned Anakin Skywalker of the perils of attachment. He explained that losing something or someone you love can result in negative emotions such as anger, fear, and jealousy. This was what Anakin was facing with the potential loss of his beloved, Padmé.

Throughout the movie, Anakin struggles with the idea of non-attachment, knowing that it is one of the core tenets of being a Jedi. As a result of his attachment to Padmé, Anakin finds himself making increasingly poor decisions due to his fear of her death. He eventually embraces the dark side of the force as a means to save her.

Yoda is the voice of reason with his line, “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” Yoda didn’t say that Anakin couldn’t love Padmé. The teaching was that one can love someone or something without the need of being possessive or fearing the loss of this love. True love is loving someone in the moment while knowing when to let them go. To a Jedi, clinging only created suffering. Yoda was teaching Anakin to cultivate a sense of inner peace and balance regardless of external circumstances. Anakin only heard indifference and a lack of love. As we know, the clinging of Anakin Skywalker led to his downfall becoming a symbol of fear and attachment better known as Darth Vader.

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