Buddhism is not about suppressing desire. That would just be a form of aversion, which is the counterpart of craving. The purpose of meditation and Buddhist practice is to see the impermanence and emptiness (absence of an intrinsic self-nature) of desire as it is arising, and in doing so to let it go.
The Buddha didn't renounce desire entirely. Clearly after his awakening, he had the desire to teach others and help them. He also continued to take care of himself. In Buddhism, there is the distinction of Tanha (craving) and Chanda (wholesome desire). It may be interesting to caricature the Buddha (and Freud) in this way, but the real story is much more complex.
I read this first thing in the morning, before work. Now, in the back of my mind all day, I'll be constructing a treatment for a new sitcom called "Freud and the Buddha."
Great post, i think when we explore some of the things we desire most we tend to realize that the want for it is not always rooted in something healthy. That most desire is to feed a hole that can not ever be filled by the desire but by something else, something deeper.
Buddhism is not about suppressing desire. That would just be a form of aversion, which is the counterpart of craving. The purpose of meditation and Buddhist practice is to see the impermanence and emptiness (absence of an intrinsic self-nature) of desire as it is arising, and in doing so to let it go.
The Buddha didn't renounce desire entirely. Clearly after his awakening, he had the desire to teach others and help them. He also continued to take care of himself. In Buddhism, there is the distinction of Tanha (craving) and Chanda (wholesome desire). It may be interesting to caricature the Buddha (and Freud) in this way, but the real story is much more complex.
I read this first thing in the morning, before work. Now, in the back of my mind all day, I'll be constructing a treatment for a new sitcom called "Freud and the Buddha."
Pretty good, but not a single mention of the Four Noble Truths
the problem with being a frequent social media user is that you may end up chasing a high even without realizing it
Great post, i think when we explore some of the things we desire most we tend to realize that the want for it is not always rooted in something healthy. That most desire is to feed a hole that can not ever be filled by the desire but by something else, something deeper.