You are firmly convinced that you possess the house, money in your account, the dog, societal status, fame, and even the body. But in its true essence, nothing ever belonged to you and never will. Every object you have associated strongly with because of its presence exists to serve its purpose and sooner or later it shall pass. Your false belief in ownership makes you suffer and act unmindfully to spread suffering to others. Correcting that view by incorporating wisdom into life liberates you from misery.

True Nature of the Objects

Everything that we can perceive through our cognition is an object. The phenomenal world comprising people, animals, plants, buildings, trading, clothes, luxurious items, poor workers, etc. are all objects. Not only you can perceive your own body and your own mind, therefore they are also objects to the subject called consciousness. 

Closely observe around you, every object is continuously changing. This is the design by nature. The greatest empires(Greece) and civilizations(Mesopotamia) emerged, grew to their epitome, and dissolved. The smallest insects arise, do their work, and get absorbed into the dirt. Even inanimate objects like rocks, steel, paper, etc. change over time.

Not only they are ever-changing but also they are interdependent. In fact, there is no independent existence. All objects are inter-are. You can read more about this here. A flower can’t exist independently without the elements of sun, water, mud, air, space, etc. Flower is just a name given for the convenience of recognition. It doesn’t consist of any such element as a flower. Apart from the flower element, it comprises all other elements.

The Paradigm of Belongingness

Let’s consider an example of a house that you bought. To conclude you have absolute ownership of it you have to presume some definitive clauses. First, All its elements belong to you. Second, the name and form of your house don’t change without your intention. Otherwise, its form may change abruptly without your knowledge and someone else may claim it. Third, you remain unchanged throughout. If you can’t prove that you are the same person that bought then no law can grant you access to it.

1. All Objects are Composite

As we have established earlier the house as an object comprises elements other than the house. The bricks, wooden furniture, glasses, water, cement, etc. To say that the house belongs to you is akin to saying that the elements from which it consists belong to you.

Fair enough! These elements were bought and paid for by your earned money. So that means the money that you have earned belongs to you. But this money doesn’t have an independent existence either. It requires effort by your body & mind, the demand for your product/ service in the market, other people to consume, favorable situations to enable that transaction, and so on. 

Now do you think you own the consumption patterns of other people that led you to make money? Think deeply about how many minute components within that intricate complexity of the cosmos came together to enable such an opportunity for you. Probably thousands or tens of thousands of people are working equally hard & bearing an equal level of intelligence(if not higher) are trying. But it happened to you. If the ownership of that demand/favorable situation/consumption pattern is a byproduct of the efforts of body and mind, then all of them should have the same ownership. Then why you alone should be entitled to it?

2. All Objects are Ever-changing

So you can’t say definitely that the house belongs to you because of its interdependence. Let’s ignore its independence for the time being and contend that it is yours because you bought it and it has been with you since then. Watch closely, the house that you bought some months back is not the same today. Many things have changed(ignore all the additions with more money). The iron rods inside are not the same, they have accumulated rust. The taps have lost some of their shine, the screws of the windows have loosened, and countless such changes. 

Can you now for sure say that this house belongs to you as it is exactly the same one you bought? It is illogical to assert ownership of something which is continuously changing. Otherwise, it would be similar to saying that you dip your fist inside the flowing water and thus the water inside it is yours. You can say that the natural changes to the house happened after you bought it and thus you also own the changes. The reality is friend, whether you bought it or not those changes would have happened regardless. 

3. You are Changing

Further to establish ownership of something, the claimant should have an independent and permanent existence. Otherwise, it is like a flowing river claiming ownership of a rock it passed by. Do you think as a claimant you have an independent and non-changing existence? Your body was gifted to you by your parents, and since then every second it has been changing. Your body consists of the five elements(fire, water, earth, air, ether) which are dependent on each other to perform the vital functions. It is gradually decomposing and if you stop attending it will perish faster. 

Is your mind then an absolute entity to claim ownership? It changes even faster than your body. If now it feels jovial and comfortable in that house then it will instruct you to take care of the house and add more decorations. But the moment you feel anxious and suffocated, you will run away even without bothering to lock the valuables inside. 

Nothing can Belong to Anyone

Money, resources, name, fame, family, job, opportunity to serve, in short everything that you experience, is like the current that passes through you. This current comes in different forms and makes you feel pleasant. Because of this, your mind tries to grab it and not let go. It gives you the illusion of ownership. You are trapped in the thought that these objects belong to you. This is Maya. This is the Matrix. 

They come to serve a purpose and various theories in different religions have been formulated to explain it. The law of Karma is a popular belief system among the Eastern religions in this avail. When they have accomplished what they came for these objects move on. Only when you wake up from this deluding mindset of belongingness, you can enter into the realm of realizing the deeper meaning of this entire game. 

Nothing has ever belonged to anyone, nothing can belong, and nothing ever will belong to anyone. Most of us are deeply attached to these objects by tying them with our imaginary ropes of possession. We get hurt, sad, depressed, anxious, and suffer from insurmountable pain upon the loss or fear of loss of them. 

Not only do we suffer ourselves but also we tend to hurt others through our words and actions for the sake of these material objects that never were ours per se. We always prioritize objects over other humans, animals, and plants. When we are in anger, pain, and anxiousness owing to the stronghold of the thoughts of these objects, we disregard people around us and spread the same energy to them. We become forgetful of kindness, compassion, and empathy. Mindlessly we keep spreading apathy while there is a perfect opportunity to love. 

Breaking the Illusion

Breaking from Maya and the sufferings caused by the illusionary nature of the universe would require shifting the mindset and correcting the view on belongingness. When we truly begin to believe from within that nothing ever belonged to us, we liberate ourselves from all the miseries of life. We attain a state of perfect equanimity and not get thrown away by highs and lows. We have accomplished the balanced view of Buddha and tapped into our Bodhisattva nature. We become blissful and mindfully spread love and peace wherever we go. 

This is not an impossible task. Countless people have done it for ages. They have achieved it, lived a splendid blissful life, and taught humanity the ways to get there. Of course, it requires time, effort, and dedication to reach there. But if you have that burning desire to end all suffering and reach the ever-blissful state, nothing can stop you from walking this path. 

Wish you all the best!