Renunciation

Renunciation (Skt. niḥsaraṇa; Tib. ངེས་འབྱུང་, ngé jung, Wyl. nges 'byung) — the determination to be free from samsara.

Sogyal Rinpoche writes:

Ngé means "actually" or "definitely," and jung means to "come out," "emerge," or "be born." The fruit of frequent and deep reflection on death will be that you will find yourself "emerging," often with a sense of disgust, from your habitual patterns. You will find yourself increasingly ready to let go of them, and in the end you will be able to free yourself from them as smoothly, the masters say, "as drawing a hair from a slab of butter."

This renunciation that you will come to has both sadness and joy in it: sadness because you realize the futility of your old ways, and joy because of the greater vision that begins to unfold when you are able to let go of them. This is no ordinary joy. It is a joy that gives birth to a new and profound strength, a confidence, an abiding inspiration that comes from the realization that you are not condemned to your habits, that you can indeed emerge from them, that you can change, and grow more and more free.

Teachings Given to the Rigpa Sangha

• Khandro Rinpoche, Prajnaonline teachings, 20 April 2020