🧘 Not owning things 🚫 No ownership

nonpossession

8.8

Not owning personal things for religious or spiritual reasons

noun
/nɒn.pəˈzɛʃ.ən/

Formal

: no posesión

After her spiritual awakening, she adopted nonpossession and gave away all her belongings.

Examples

Many monks practice nonpossession as part of their religious vows.
The philosophy of nonpossession encourages people to find happiness without material goods.
Many monks practice nonpossession as part of their spiritual journey.
The philosophy of nonpossession encourages simplicity in life.
After her spiritual awakening, she adopted nonpossession and gave away all her belongings.
Many monks practice nonpossession as part of their religious vows.
The philosophy of nonpossession encourages people to find happiness without material goods.

Antonyms

possession

230 2.0

The state of having or controlling something, especially property

How Possessive

ownership

187 2.5

private property

68 2.8

part-owner

11 3.5

renunciation

Formal

2 8.2

nonpossession

Formal

8.8

ownerless

1 5.6

Surface Forms

nonpossession singular

nonpossessions plural

Morphology

nonpossession = possession (transparent) = non + possession

The negative prefix 'non-' attaches to 'possession' to indicate absence of ownership; the specialized use as a religious/philosophical practice is a straightforward extension of that meaning.

Etymology

The word nonpossession is made of non- ('not') and possession ('owning' or 'having'), the same root as possess. A helpful way to remember the first sense is to think of monks or someone who chooses 'not' to own things for religious or personal reasons, so nonpossession is the practice of living without personal property.