The second factor is material attachment. It is the nature of the soul to be attached. That is why we get attached so easily. Some people say, “Oh, you can be non-attached.” This is again incorrect. These people are attached to their non-attachment.
We get attached so quickly. You are parking in the same parking space two nights in a row. Come back the third night – somebody is in that space, “What are you doing in my spot!?”
Of course, there are different kinds of attachment. We can be attached to things: houses, cars, money, positions, fame etc and they can be very strong.
We know the real strong attachments are personal attachments, attachment to another person. For instance, you have a brand-new car, you like it, you are attached. One day when you come out from work you find somebody stole your car. Because of this attachment you are so angry, frustrated, “My car!” But that is just a car, you can buy another one. You have got insurance, they will pay for it. But if you go home that night and find that somebody stole your wife, that is a whole other thing. Some people may say, “Oh, thank you very much.” (The audience is laughing). I know one old man, he was like that. He told me, “I have been waiting 55 years for somebody to run off with my wife and they never have.” And they never did, he died first. (The audience is laughing).
There is a young soldier ready to go into a very dangerous battle. He knows he might not come back. The last thing he does, he takes the picture of his girlfriend, looks at it for one last time, feels this attachment, goes into the battle and gets killed. It keeps him on the wheel of birth and death.
These attachments are like anchors that hold us to this material world. They are like ropes that bind us to the wheel of birth and death. Material attachment – number two.