Initially, it may appear that letting go is a physical activity. In reality, it is a mental one.

Yes, the Buddha began his life as a wandering seeker by leaving his princely existence. He traded his royal garments for the clothes of a seeker and had his jeweled necklace and sword taken back to his father.

But he went much further by letting go of his attachments to personal opinions and accepted ideas. He could only find a new way by letting go of the old as it was not providing the answers to his questions.

Fortunately, we can rely on what he learned and work from there.

We too need to let go of our attachments to personal preferences and viewpoints. As we focus less on what we want and more on what we will receive, we will relinquish our hold on what we thought would make us happy.

Expectations based on past experiences tie us to the past. They block us from what is new and, very possibly, more rewarding. Expectations color everything we think and do. Hearing of the wonders of the Pure Land, we diminish them by comparing them to what we believe we know.

Hearing of the trees, flowers, and ponds, we figure they’re like what we have here.

Being told of the learning environment, we think of academic life as we remember it and figure it’s similar.

Reading that we can visit other Buddhas without leaving the Pure Land, we expect it will be like another form of communication.

All these ideas and expectations hold us back!

Letting go of expectations, we can free ourselves of remembered images and begin to feel—to sense—the wonder of things new and beyond our imaginings. And with that, we throw open the door to what is new and truly wondrous.