To the truly balanced entity no situation would be emotionally charged.

[Ali Quadir]

I'm a little confused about the moral of this story. What does it mean exactly? On the surface it seems that disassociating ones self from other people and / or events happening around oneself, to the point of your own physical death, is somehow a good thing? I think I'm missing something.

It has nothing to do with courage, suicide or power. The answer lies in the religion of the monk.

An important factor in buddhism is the principle of attachment. Attachment by it's nature is always to something that is transient. Meaning you're attaching yourself to something that is guaranteed to go away. This is the root cause for suffering. All suffering is the result of something you're attached to that is taken away from you.

This can be attachment to a person, to a state of affairs (your life), or to an outcome.

If you are attached to a person you are not free to enjoy that person to the fullest. You will be checking for signs of problems in your relationship. And when they show up they will always be dramas. These dramas are only going to make things worse. Same goes for all areas of attachment. Compare to unattached happiness. Sure your lover could go away. But if you're not afraid of that, but instead always the smiling lightbulb who is thoroughly enjoying his life and her in it. She's also not likely to want to go away.

Buddhism can be seen as a philosophy of extreme mental hygiene. You effectively clean out all this rubbish from in the brain.

This monk is good at it and no longer attached to anything. This does not mean he does not love his life, his monastery or his fellow monks. He understands these are transient in nature. He understands they will eventually go away. And be replaced by something else. This understanding allows him to enjoy them without suffering "problems in those areas of his life" as threats.

So it is not disassociating yourself from people and events, it is accepting that they are transient so you don't have to disassociate. It's basically clearing away your suffering by removing it's root cause so that you can fill your life with people events and affairs that can only bring joy.

Buddhists are among the most happiest people on this planet. Check out "Matthieu Ricard" he's officially the happiest man alive... They're sure because they've tested him..

Google "non attachment" for more..