Attachment To Identity Is Limited

Just as all phenomena are rooted in desire, consciousness localizes itself through passion.

Passion is what creates the “there” on which consciousness can land or get established, whether the “there” is a form, feeling, perception, thought-construct, or a type of consciousness itself.

Once consciousness gets established on any of these aggregates, it becomes attached and then proliferates, feeding on everything around it and creating all sorts of havoc.

Wherever there’s attachment, that’s where you get defined as a being. You create an identity there, and in so doing you’re limited there.

Even if the “there” is an infinite sense of awareness grounding, surrounding, or permeating everything else, it’s still limited, for “grounding” and so forth are aspects of place.

Wherever there’s place, no matter how subtle, passion lies latent, looking for more food to feed on.

This reflection by Ajaan Geoff is from the Essays book, Purity of Heart: Essays on the Buddhist Path, “A Verb for Nirvana.”