Ted Greshsam, September 27, 2025 Hey, you want some coffee? A few weeks ago, my wife bought me a coffee pot that uses those little K-cups. It was a financially bad idea. Now I drink more coffee and it costs more per cup. Sucks, huh? As if you give a shit about my coffee. Something…
In Buddhism, attachment does not mean love, affection, or caring about people. Instead, it refers to a very specific mental habit: clinging ā the tight, grasping insistence that things, people, or experiences must be a certain way for us to feel secure.
Buddhism teaches that this clinging is a major cause of dukkha (suffering), because everything is impermanent ā and trying to hold on tightly to what constantly changes inevitably leads to pain.
Attachment is:
Buddhism identifies four main types of attachment:
These forms of clinging keep us stuck in the cycle of suffering and rebirth (saį¹sÄra).
Attachment is not:
Buddhist teachers emphasize that you can love deeply without clinging. Love becomes suffering only when it turns into fear, control, or dependency.
As one source puts it:
āBuddhism does not ask you to stop holding. It asks you to stop squeezing.ā
Attachment creates suffering because:
This mismatch between desire and reality is the root of dukkha.
Non-attachment means:
It is freedom, not emotional coldness.
