Non-possession

Non-possession (Sanskrit: अपरिग्रह, aparigraha) is a religious tenet followed in Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain traditions in South Asia. In Jainism, aparigraha is the virtue of non-possessiveness, non-grasping, or non-greediness.^[1]

Aparigrah is the opposite of parigrah. It means keeping the desire for possessions to what is necessary or important, which depends on one's life stage and context. The precept of aparigraha is a self-restraint (temperance) from the type of greed and avarice where one's own material gain or happiness comes by hurting, killing, or destroying other human beings, life forms, or nature.^[2]

Aparigraha is related to and in part a motivator of dāna (proper charity), both from giver's and receiver's perspective.^[3]

Non-possession is one of the principles of satyagraha, a philosophical system based on various religious and philosophical traditions originating in India and Asia Minor, and put into practice by Mahatma Gandhi as part of his nonviolent resistance. This particular iteration of aparigraha is distinct because it is a component of Gandhi's active non-violent resistance to social problems permeating India. As such, its conception is tempered with western law. Non-possession is, by definition, concerned with defining the concept of possession. Gandhi intertwined non-possession and voluntary poverty in application, but living according to the guidelines of non-possession is not the same as living in poverty. In practice, the principle of taking what one needs (rather than less than or more than), is essential to the viability of non-possession/aparigraha.