Tue, 12 Sep 2006
Desire or Not
One criticism about Buddhism I hear a lot is that it contradictory to say all desire is wrong, because then the desire to be without desire would also be wrong. I think I've discussed this before, so please forgive me if I repeat myself. The English word desire covers more than what Buddhism intends to cover by the term. Wishes and aspirations are covered as well as the most degraded lusts. Buddhism obviously does not mean to criticize everything that's included under such a broad definition of desire. Otherwise one would come to a complete halt upon becoming enlightened, unable to wish to do anything. When Buddhism says desire is the cause of suffering, what's meant by desire is craving. What's the difference? A craving is not satisfied after achieving its object, but must seek it again. For example, we crave praise, because however much praise we get, we would always like more. It should be pretty obvious how craving leads to suffering: the world is not and cannot be designed to satisfy all our cravings all the time. The desire to be without desire is pretty obviously not a craving, because once it is achieved, there is no need or wish to attain it again. So there is no contradiction when Buddhism says desire leads to suffering.
Just for fun and not edification: Bodhidharma: Action Philosopher.
