Top 43 Powerful Detachment Quotes

Last Updated on September 3, 2024 by The Unbounded Thinker

Studying spiritual texts written by spiritual masters from different cultures across the world enabled me to realize that detachment is one of the most reliable ways to awaken to your true nature. I found that all spiritual masters realized that detachment is the key to spiritual enlightenment and living the best life in the physical realm while over-attachment results in unhappiness and ensures one is stuck in the realm of matter. I noted down what some of these masters say about detachment to help you understand its meaning and purported impact.

Enjoy

‘The Master stays behind; that is why she is ahead. She is detached from all things; that is why she is one with them. Because she has let go of herself, she is perfectly fulfilled.’ – Lao-tzu
‘The soul can untie itself from desire for the passing things of this world by constantly contemplating the higher world and drawing strength and inspiration from it.’ -Socrates
‘Being detached does not mean that you cannot enjoy the good that the world has to offer. In fact, you enjoy it more. 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.’- Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
‘When you are detached, you gain a higher vantage point from which to view the events in your life instead of being trapped inside them. You become like an astronaut who sees the planet Earth surrounded by the vastness of space and realizes a paradoxical truth: The earth is precious and at the same time insignificant.’- Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
‘The recognition that This, too will pass, brings detachment and with detachment, another dimension comes into your inner space. Through detachment, as well as nonjudgment and inner nonresistance, you gain access to that dimension.’- Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
‘The man who really loves the Lord, who has made a real effort to find the coming Kingdom, who has really begun to be troubled by his sins, who is really mindful of eternal torment and judgment, who really lives in fear of his own departure, will not love, care or worry about money, or possessions, or parents, or worldly glory, or friends, or brothers, or anything at all on earth. But having shaken off all ties with earthly things and having stripped himself of all his cares, and having come to hate even his own flesh, and having stripped himself of everything, he will follow Christ without anxiety or hesitation, always looking heavenward and expecting help from there, according to the word of the holy man.’- Abba John, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
‘The man who has come to hate the world has escaped sorrow. But he who has an attachment to anything visible is not yet delivered from grief.’- Abba John, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
‘If anyone thinks he is without attachment to some object, but is grieved at its loss, then he is completely deceiving himself.’- Abba John, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
‘With an attitude of detachment from all objects of wealth, I have overcome miserliness.’ – Tsongkhapa
‘Attachment either to some particular relative or to strangers is dangerous. Little by little it can entice us back to the world, and completely quench the fire of our contrition. It is impossible to look at the sky with one eye and at the earth with the other, and it is equally impossible for anyone not to expose his soul to danger who has not separated himself completely, both in thought and body, from his own relatives and from others.’ – Abba John, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
‘If you have a stake in a particular outcome, you can’t afford a change of heart. The boundaries are drawn; everyone has chosen a side to be on. The ego insists that keeping your eye on the prize—meaning the result it wants—is all-important. But in detachment, you realize that many outcomes could be beneficial to you. You work toward the outcome you believe is right, yet you remain detached enough to shift when your heart tells you that you should.’- Deepak Chopra
‘The Law of Detachment says that in order to acquire anything in the physical universe, you have to relinquish your attachment to it. This doesn’t mean you give up the intention to create your desire. You don’t give up the intention, and you don’t give up the desire. You give up your attachment to the result.’- Deepak Chopra
‘The essence of the Way is detachment. And the goal of those who practice is freedom from appearances. The sutras say, “Detachment is enlightenment because it negates appearances.’ – Bodhidharma
‘Only from detached involvement can one have joy and laughter. Then the symbols of wealth are created spontaneously and effortlessly. Without detachment, we are prisoners of helplessness, hopelessness, mundane needs, trivial concerns, quiet desperation, and seriousness – the distinctive features of everyday mediocre existence and poverty consciousness.’- Deepak Chopra, The Seven Laws of Success
‘Relinquish your attachment to the known, step into the unknown, and you will step into the field of all possibilities. In your willingness to step into the unknown, you will have the wisdom of uncertainty factored in. This means that in every moment of your life, you will have excitement, adventure, and mystery. You will experience the fun of life – the magic, the celebration, the exhilaration, and the exultation of your own spirit.’ – Deepak Chopra, The Seven Laws of Success
‘Intention combined with detachment leads to life-centered, present-moment awareness. And when action is performed in present moment awareness, it is most effective. Your intent is for the future, but your attention is in the present. As long as your attention is in the present, then your intent for the future will manifest because the future is created in the present. You must accept the present as it is. Accept the present and intend for the future. The future is something you can always create through detached intention, but you should never struggle against the present.’ – Deepak Chopra, The Seven Laws of Success
‘Detachment from small individual things allows one to perceive one’s connection to everything.’ – Dr. Muata Ashby, Egyptian Yoga; The Philosophy of Enlightenment
The fully conscious individual is detached from everything. He says: “My God, You know very well that I do not want these dishes which You have bestowed upon Your creatures. I long for a morsel from the tray of Your nearness. I wish for something that is special to You.” – Jala Al-Khawatir, The Removal of Cares
The intelligent person amongst you will therefore not seek happiness in this world, nor in children, family, wealth, foodstuffs, articles of clothing, vehicles, or sexual opportunities. All of this is mere delusion. The believer finds happiness in the strength of his faith and certitude, and in the arrival of his heart at the door of the nearness of his Lord.’ – Jala Al-Khawatir, The removal of cares
‘For the true philosopher possessions are superfluous since he detaches himself from bodily concerns for the sake of the soul’s purity.’ – St. Neilos the Ascetic, The Philokalia
‘We gain nothing, therefore, by our decision to renounce earthly things if we do not abide by it, but continue to be attracted by such things and allow ourselves to keep thinking about them.’- St. Neilos the Ascetic, The Philokalia
‘Detachment is the mark of a perfect soul, whereas it is characteristic of an imperfect soul to be worn down with anxiety about material things.’- St. Neilos the Ascetic, The Philokalia
‘Spiritual knowledge comes through prayer, deep stillness and complete detachment.’ – St.Diadochos of Photiki, The Philokalia
‘When someone has achieved genuine detachment from creatures, it is correct for them to feel attracted to him. They can derive benefit from hearing what he has to say and from paying attention to him. When the heart has achieved genuine detachment from creatures, and the innermost being has become detached from everything apart from Allåh (Almighty and Glorious is He), or at least from everything apart from nearness [to Him], that nearness will be his bosom friend in this world and his intimate companion in the hereafter.’ – Jala Al-Khawatir, The Removal of Cares
‘A master is detached. He is independent of status, finance or emotional need. He is free and immensely powerful.’- Diana Cooper
‘Detachment is a prerequisite for enlightenment If you wish to be free, detach yourself from everyone and everything. It is a prerequisite for enlightenment.’ – Diana Cooper
Love constrains me to love God, but detachment compels God to love me.’ – Meister Eckhart
‘Detachment forces God to me, I can prove thus: everything wants to be in its natural place. Now God’s natural place is unity and purity, and that comes from detachment. Therefore God is bound to give Himself to a detached heart.’ – Meister Eckhart
‘A master called Avicenna declares that the mind of him who stands detached is of such nobility that whatever he sees is true, and whatever he desires he obtains, and whatever he commands must be obeyed.’ – Meister Eckhart
‘You should know that true detachment is nothing else but a mind that stands unmoved by all accidents of joy or sorrow, honor, shame, or disgrace, as a mountain of lead stands unmoved by a breath of wind. This immovable detachment brings a man into the greatest likeness to God. For the reason why God is God is because of His immovable detachment, and from this detachment He has His purity, His simplicity, and His immutability. Therefore, if a man is to be like God, as far as a creature can have likeness with God, this must come from detachment.’ – Meister Eckhart
Now take note, all who are sensible! No man is happier than he who has the greatest detachment.’ – Meister Eckhart
‘If you are moving into detachment, love will grow, joy will grow. Only attachments will drop because attachments bring misery, because attachments bring bondage, because attachments destroy your freedom.’- Osho
‘The whole message of life is detachment, the whole flow of life is toward detachment. Life brings you sorrow from all directions, but still detachment does not arise in you.’ – Osho
The fruit of detachment is knowledge…the day you stand firm in detachment and you have no desires about this world, you have no demands on this world, and the futility of this world is revealed to you – the outcome is knowledge.’- Osho
‘If only we had power to detach ourselves at will, there would not be any misery.’ – Swami Vivekananda
‘Detachment is not that you own nothing, detachment is that nothing owns you.’ – Bhagavad Gita
‘Detachment comes from knowing that your true essence is a piece of the infinitely divine field of intention. It’s then that you become aware of the importance of your feelings. Feeling good becomes much more valuable than polishing your jewelry. Feeling abundant surpasses the money in your bank account and transcends what others may think of you.’ – Wayne Dyer, The Power of Intention
‘Genuinely feeling abundant and successful is possible when you detach yourself from the things you desire and allow them to flow to you, and just as important, through you.’ – Wayne Dyer, The Power of Intention
‘The more you practice detachment, the more you’ll stay in vibratory harmony with the all-giving Source of everything.’ – Wayne Dyer, The Power of Intention
‘We may seek meditative detachment, but as long as the stimulations of the world continue to blow through our minds, the true stillness of meditation is impossible.’ – Deng Ming-Dao
‘The first virtue is detachment, that is, death in relation to every person or thing. This produces the desire* for God.’ – St. Isaiah the Solitary, The Philokalia
‘We shall not gladly detach ourselves from the pleasures of this life unless we have fully and consciously tasted the sweetness of God.’- St.Diadochos of Photiki, The Philokalia
‘Freedom and happiness of soul consist in genuine purity and detachment from transitory things.’ – St. Antony the Great, The Philokalia