The 8 Worldly Concerns And How To Let Them Go

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In pursuit of happiness, we are preoccupied with what Buddhists refer to as the eight worldly concerns. Our effort is misguided, however. These eight worldly conditions are not the cause of our joy or suffering, how we react to them is. For true contentment, our effort is better placed on developing equanimity, something we do through meditation.

What Are The 8 Worldly Concerns In Buddhism?

The following eight preoccupations are also known as the eight dharmas or the eight worldly winds. A dharma is a truth, it’s just the way things are. Wind, of course, pushes us in the direction it is blowing. These are the conditions that occupy the mind throughout our daily lives.

• Praise and blame
• Gain and loss
• Pleasure and pain
• Fame and a poor reputation

The eight worldly concerns are presented in pairs. In our confused state, we think by achieving one or avoiding the other we achieve happiness and avoid suffering. But these eight dharmas cannot possibly be the cause of true joy. Not only is each an unavoidable human experience, but none are lasting.

Why Do The 8 Worldly Preoccupations Not Lead To Happiness?

Each of us at one point will experience criticism, loss, physical or mental pain, or disgrace. To put our energy into avoiding these experiences is fruitless and not the best use of our time. On the other hand, any praise, gain, physical or mental pleasure or fame we achieve is impermanent. To attach our happiness to such experiences is equally wasted effort.

As long as our happiness and suffering is dependent on the eight worldly concerns, we remain on the rollercoaster of life, experiencing short-lived highs and deep lows. We exhaust ourselves with the impossible task of chasing preferred circumstances while trying to avoid what we don’t like. The end result of this can never be anything other than disappointment or dissatisfaction. With genuine mindfulness and awareness, however, we can find freedom.

The most practiced, equanimous meditators still experience the eight worldly dharmas. They stay balanced, however, despite them. They understand that life has its ups and downs, but they are free from chasing the highs and avoiding the lows. Meditation has shown them that real joy has another cause.

How to Let Go Of The Eight Worldly Preoccupations

Our own mind and our misunderstanding of reality keeps us preoccupied with the eight conditions. So, to find freedom from our rumination on these eight pairs, we train the mind.

Mindfulness Meditation: With mindfulness meditation we practice being present with this moment, just as it is. This helps develop a calm and stable mind that is less reactive. No longer attached to impermanent conditions being just so, we soften our grasping to what’s pleasant and our attempts at suppressing the unpleasant.

Awareness Meditation: In awareness meditation we further contemplate the true cause of our discontentment, the way our mind works, and the impermanence of conditioned things. As we get to know our minds better, our perspective and worldview changes. We are the cause of our own suffering, but we also have the power to end it.

Wisdom: The wisdom that arises from meditation helps us understand the first of the four noble truths, the truth of samsara. There is no way to escape our moments of pain, blame, loss or disgrace. By accepting our reality, we can more easily let go of trying to control it.

With wisdom also comes an understanding of karma and the actions that do lead to genuine joy and freedom. We decide to shift the effort we’ve been wasting on the worldly concerns into more skillful, meritorious behavior. This intentional change in direction is called renunciation. It is the process of turning from worldly conditions as the source of joy and turning inward instead.

As we continue to cultivate presence and understanding in meditation, we find the profound security we’ve been looking for. We become able to meet the world with equanimity, our feet firmly on the ground, no longer blown off balance by ever-shifting worldly winds.