Renounce to get?

There are these times when philosophers seem to take an almost sadistic pleasure in saying oxymoronic things. Not moronic things which merely do not make sense but oxymoronic things which ask you to see sense in self-contradictory statements. You know, things like 'organised chaos' which allow them to give you superior smiles when you screw up your face in puzzlement as you try to figure out how something can still be chaotic after it is organised.

So, Tiru does his thing when he says

VendinUn dagath thurakka thurandhapin EenduIyar paala pala - Tirukkural

Renounce your pleasures while you still have them to renounce if you seek a life of peace; having renounced you will find a lot more joys to savor - Loose Translation

So there! Give up your joys in order to be joyous, in short! Talk about contradiction!

That 'when you still have them to renounce' makes sense. I mean, like, you can only give up what you currently have, right? It's not like I can say, "OK! I renounce my private jet and my yacht and my designer clothing..." and feel that nice glow of renunciation. When it comes to what you do not yet have, all you feel is resentment. As I have said before in these annals, to be the monk who gave up his Ferrari, you first need to have HAD the Ferrari. If you wait till your digestive system goes on strike at the thought of fried food, you do not feel like you have renounced fried food...you feel DEPRIVED of fried food. So, THAT part is absolutely sensible.

To give up your pleasures leads to a life of peace? Most likely, yes. You see, the thing about pleasures is that, over time, you tend to MISS them when you do NOT get them. Not so much enjoy them when you DO get them. Except when the pleasures are unaffordable and rare. In which case the pleasure you get WHEN you have them is far outweighed by the deprivation you feel when you cannot afford to have them. Either way your mind is unquiet. Renouncing pleasures reduces your desires. AND, like the Buddha says, desires are the root cause of all misery.

But what's this about more joys to come after you renounce your pleasures? The absence of desires knocks expectations on the head. And expectations are what keeps you focused on the future...waiting for the day that you will get what you crave. Once they are gone, you start living in the moment - open to the unexpected joys that every moment of life can bring you.

And THAT without even the benefits that philosophers attribute to the state of Nirvana that renunciation is reputed to raise you to. So there you have it. You give up in order to get!