The Buddhists teach the futility of attachments of any kind and see them as being at the root of all suffering. They say that as long as we remain attached we will live despairingly. They speak of the three types of attachment states – Attached, Unattached, Nonattached. They tell a beautiful tale which illustrates their meaning.

Imagine yourself in a very isolated situation where the only fresh water available must be carried from a great distance. Water is therefore treated as a precious commodity. It is placed in a large pot, used sparingly, and kept shaded under trees, guarded and carefully covered.

After having worked hard all day in the blazing sun – we look forward to that refreshing stop at the water pot. We lift the lid carefully, take the scooper in hand and dip into the precious liquid. As we are about to drink we notice an ant has somehow settled in our pot and onto our scooper. We are furious! How dare the ant be on our island, under our trees, in our water pot, on our scooper. We immediately crush it under our thumb. Attached.

Or we might stop a moment to consider that it is a hot day even for ants. The ant has done what is instinctively right for it – it took refuge in the only cool, damp and comfortable place it could find. We see that the ant is not really harming our water, our trees, our scooper or our pot. After deep, moral consideration, we drink around it, replace the scooper in the cool pot and cover it carefully. Unattached.

Or, when we see the ant in our pot we stop neither to consider what is the ant’s or what is ours, nor what is moral or immoral. We respond above morality. We naturally feed it a lump of sugar! Nonattached.