Critical Thinking English- A New Earth Chapters Eight and Nine - Essay Example

Chapter 8 From Chapter 8, I have chosen the line “Once you see and accept the transience of all things and the inevitability of change, you can enjoy the pleasures of the world while they last without fear of loss or anxiety about the future” (Tolle 136). It is sometimes against what we have learned as human beings to let go of the things that we long for. Our education and everything in our culture has taught us to pursue the things we have been wanting to have and not to let go of the things that our dear to us.

Our laws have taught us to respect another person’s property, and to protect our children and our very lives from destruction. It is all about holding on and never about letting go. Therefore, even I myself can only hardly comprehend the meaning of letting go, especially on the spiritual level. Nevertheless, perhaps, what we human beings have not noticed is that the more we try to hold on to something – no matter how much we love and value it, the more fear we experience. Fear is a debilitating phenomenon and it is real.

If fear reaches its maximum in us, we would not be able to function as good individuals anymore and we react with anger even towards that thing that we have always held on to. The only way therefore to enjoy our lives without the fear is to let go. The process of letting go begins with the acceptance of the inevitability of change. This mere acceptance may bring about negative feelings in us or even more fear at first. Nevertheless, it will definitely eventually bring us the inner peace that we have always been longing for.

This peace is the realization that the material comes only secondary to the spiritual. We can always let go of the material so that we can let go of the fear. When we have let go of things and when we have let go of fear and when we are filled with great peace, it is only then that we realize that we are powerful. In fact, as what Rilke said in “Buddha in Glory,” “Now you feel how nothing clings to you/ your vast shell reaches into endless space/ and there the rich, thick fluids rise and flow/ illuminated in your infinite peace” (Rilke).

Chapter 9From Chapter 9, the line that appealed to me the most was “Don’t let a mad world tell you that success is anything other than a successful present moment” (162). Success is fleeting, and it is sweet because it only happens at a specific moment and deep down we know that the happiness that success brings will not last long. The society we live in as well as our educational system and everything else around us and within us – including our own experiences – have taught us to pursue whatever we want in life.

The reward for this is the feeling of success. Success is therefore real and ought to be enjoyed. However, what the world has failed to teach us is that true success is only the moment that we have savored it, which means that it is impermanent. The moment we hold on to success, we realize it is but temporary and thus it is not something that we have to cling to. Nothing in this world is permanent and there is no success that one can really be proud of forever. Does this then mean that there is nothing left in us when we try to let go of things?

If material success is the only thing that matters to us, then definitely there is nothing left for us. However, the words of the Buddha may assure us that although things are impermanent, there are still things that matter more compared to others. As the Buddha once said, “In the end, only three things matter: how much you have loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.” It therefore does not matter who we have loved or what we have given him or her; where we have lived or who we have lived with; and what we have had or who gave them to us.

What matters is the how. Top of FormBottom of FormWorks CitedRilke, Rainer Maria. “Buddha in Glory.” Course Documents. Print.Tolle, Eckhart. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. Print.