That's a very interesting question. Renunciation is often a very difficult one, because it conjures up images of caves and people fasting and all sorts of things if we go to the extremes. I've had some quite strange reactions from people who actually didn't know where I lived and how I lived, but knew I was a Buddhist practitioner, and they thought I lived in a cave over there, and lived on some rice maybe every three days. One such person came to visit us and was quite surprised to see that we didn't lack for food and had a nice place to stay. So it depends on what type of image you conjure up when you're talking about renunciation. Renunciation can be an inward thing, it doesn't mean that you have to give up everything materially, just that you give up the idea that material things are yours and yours forever. As well, the need of attachment to them and dependence on them for your happiness. That's on one level. However, some people do take it to another level by giving some material things up totally.
One of the things that helps a great deal with renunciation is confidence in the Law of Kamma. How's that? When the Buddha taught about the Law of Kamma, he taught that generosity is the source of wealth and Compassion/Lovingkindness is the source of beauty. If we understand that good things come from good intentions, then we're less likely to be hanging on and seeking security in material things, because we understand that we can only keep these material things for some time and that's not the true security that we seek. When we do good actions, it tends to take care of us, that is my experience anyway. We feel good in the good things we have done, and we feel rich at that time. When we're generous we feel rich, we don't feel a lack of these things, we don't cling to the material things so much as a source of security.
Confidence in the Triple Gem also helps us to let go more easily, because we start to see where happiness truly lies. A lot of people find happiness from material things. However, if we start to feel the happiness that arises from when we're compassionate, lovingkind and generous, we see that this is a spiritual happiness that exceeds the happiness that comes from material things. So we find more pleasure in spiritual happiness, and it helps us to let go of material things more easily. Confidence is quite an important element in learning how to let go. So how do we develop confidence? We have to learn how to reflect on confidence-inspiring objects of meditation. We have to ask ourselves these important questions about what is security and what is not, what is happiness and what is not, what do we own and what do we not. Reflecting on the impermanence of material things and knowing the difference between when we're craving and when we're giving, increases our capacity to let go, because we have a sense of fullness within ourselves. It gives us more courage.
Renunciation can also be on a mental level. For example, someone saw that we had very nice computers, and they thought, well, "Don't we let go of these things when we're meditators?" Then we explained to them that actually we weren't interested in computers at all, and our old students kind of forced us into these sort of things. They wanted to keep in touch with us, so one person gave a computer, another person gave us a modem, another person made us a website, and another person paid for our internet costs. So suddenly we're in the computer world when our first assistant used to think that we were in the stone age.
When we were first at Wat Kow Tahm we had a lot of our ideas about renunciation. Then we realized that in order to help people we needed to have more material things, but we also realized that if we have these things we also have to try to not be attached to them as a source of happiness. So we now have a lot more things than when we first went to Wat Kow Tahm. When we first went to Wat Kow Tahm we had all we owned on our back. So we use these things for the benefit of others. This actually helps with the renunciation, seeing that what we have helps with the Dhamma and getting the Dhamma to others, so we don't use them with "me or mine" in the mind, but as a tool for helping us teach the Dhamma.
When we understand the teaching of Anatta, it helps with renunciation. Even if we're not in the process of using things for the benefit of others, we look at our house and think, "Yes, this gives us shelter, this is necessary, but we can't take it with us." All of us are going to die, we use the house for the benefit of ourselves and others but it's not really "me or mine." It gets passed along and others use it eventually. So this helps in letting go, realizing that if we're very attached, it causes a lot of stress, worry and fear.