For the majority of people, success is measured by the amount of their graspings, material possessions and attachments. Therefore, they suffer because they believe in this illusion. This constant craving for every pleasant thing heard or seen, leads people to suffer. By focusing only on their own comfort and fulfilment of their desire, people often forget the god deeds and favours received by others.
They continue to act selfishly, ignorant of the fact that an evil act can only bring suffering and misfortune. People should be more considerate, respectful and empathetic towards each other. Remember that only doing good deeds can bring lasting happiness in your life! In this regard, it is interesting to note that psychological researchers confirmed that people across the globe have lower levels of consciousness , and therefore, have predominantly negative thought patterns.
Based on their research up to eighty percent of the thoughts , spontaneously occurring in an average human being are negative. Essentially, those negative thought patterns stimulate greed, competition, and selfishness, which in turn will cause suffering. Firstly, you should identify what causes human suffering and carefully observe your thoughts throughout the day.
As soon as you become aware, you should get quickly away from thoughts that stimulate greediness and worldly desires as they arise, to hold the mind pure and tranquil. To free yourself from greed, anger and selfishness, you must practice concentration of the mind, and raise your level of consciousness. You must eliminate all thoughts that stimulate greed, anger, jealousy and selfishness, and encourage thoughts that stimulate love, compassion, and kindness.
Remember that if your mind is impure, consequently, your actions will be impure. If your actions are impure, you will suffer. Thus, it is of great importance that you keep your mind pure. Instead, you will respond in a calm, loving, and respectful manner. Wisdom arises from a peaceful mind, and a pure heart.
Not desiring anything is the greatest freedom. It also frees you from fear and anger. When you have nothing to fear, you have nothing over which to be angry. When you find your inner peace , no person, thing, condition or situation can disturb you, or can change your peaceful state of mind. When you find your peace within, you will find out that you can live happily without many material things of the outside world.
To avoid suffering and find authentic happiness, people should focus on their needs, and not on their desires. It is important to make a difference between desires things people want , and needs things people need. Unfortunately, very few people understand the real meaning of human needs.
As needs are essential for life, their non-fulfilment may lead to suffering, illness, and even death. Needs are those items that are required for life, and do not change with time. Every business that is built is motivated by a desire. Every material possession is obtained through desire. We can extrapolate that to the spiritual realm by saying that man travels, meditates and watches his thoughts driven by a desire to attain spiritual peace and fullfilment.
One of the six occasional mental factors in the Theravada Abhidharma; in this tradition, chanda is a factor that can have positive or negative result depending upon the mental factors that it is co-joined with. This kind of desire must be distinguished from desire in the reprehensible sense, that is, from lobha, greed and raga, lust.
Whereas the latter terms are invariably unwholesome, chanda is an ethically variable factor which, when conjoined with wholesome concomitants, can function as the virtuous desire to achieve a worthy goal. See also this definition. The second noble truth says that "craving" is the origin of suffering and so is not a Good Thing. Whereas "desire" might be good or bad depending on what it's a desire for -- e. An example of a wholesome desire might be a desire for enlightenment. Working on your hobbies, advancing your career, growing a business, developing a family, nurturing a child, improving your health through good diet and exercise, going on vacations, increasing your wealth, using your money for the enjoyment or development of yourself and others, raising your status in the world, attaining fame in society etc.
It would not just make you happy, but also your family and people around you. If you start a business, you might create jobs for others.
If you buy goods and services, you sustain others' income. All these types of worldly happiness definitely need sensual cravings kama tanha and cravings of becoming something bhava tanha.
Buddhism teaches the pursuit of happiness and the elimination of suffering dukkha. The short term happiness goal in Buddhism is worldly happiness, when it is achieved through virtue, merit, charity and harmony. Also see this answer to the excellent question " Can a Buddhist own and run a billion dollar business? Here's another example of a sutta where worldly happiness is preached in Buddhism. From AN 5. He always does his duty toward his parents; he promotes the welfare of his wife and children.
He takes care of the people in his home and those who live in dependence on him. The wise person, charitable and virtuous, acts for the good of both kinds of relatives, those who have passed away and those still living in this world. He benefits ascetics and brahmins, and also the deities; he is one who gives rise to joy while living a righteous life at home.
Having done what is good, he is worthy of veneration and praise. They praise him here in this world and after death he rejoices in heaven. Your health and youth would not last forever. Your loved ones or friends may forsake you. Your career or businesses may dwindle. Your money and possessions may get stolen. Your peaceful life in your country may be replaced by civil unrest.
No one knows this better than the Buddha, who was a prince who had everything. Realizing that worldly happiness would not last forever, he set out to find permanent happiness and eventually found it.
To achieve permanent happiness, you must uproot craving. There are three types of craving tanha : craving for sensual pleasures, craving to become something that makes someone have ambition and the craving to not become something that makes one suicidal or withdrawn.
If you crave for food, and eat some tasty food, you may cling to it or become attached to it. You think and fantasize about it even when it's not there. That's clinging or attachment.
Craving gives rise to clinging and clinging gives rise to greed or lust to acquire it. If someone prevents you from getting the tasty food that you cling to, then you feel angry.
That hatred or aversion arises because you were denied what you cling to. If this anger makes you enraged that you go and harm this person who prevents you from getting what you want, this is delusion.
Delusion clouds your better judgment. The craving to become something is similar. Examples are like wanting to get a gold medal or to get a promotion or to become doctor or professor or get recognition etc.
If you crave to get recognition and get it once, you may cling to it and want it even when it's not present. This leads you to do things to get recognition as you have greed or lust for it. If continuously not getting recognition leads you to become depressed, which clouds your normal healthy state of mind, then that's delusion. That is how craving is the root of all suffering.
When you uproot craving, you will uproot suffering. If you are only seeking the short term type of happiness, that is worldly happiness, make sure you include virtue, merit, charity and harmony. At the very minimum, the practice of the five precepts is needed. Buddhism teaches "tanha" is the root of suffering.
It literally means "thirst". Therefore, in respect to meditation, the type of "wholesome or skilful desire" used in meditation is called "chanda iddhipada" or "samma-sankhappa". As for the worldly materialistic examples in the question, you answered your own question, when you said: " Not everyone seeks nirvana ". The abandoning of tanha is for those who seek Nirvana. Therefore, what is the point of your question?
As for suffering, whenever it occurs, there is craving. Ever heard of the four noble truths of Buddhism? They are:. According to Buddhism, suffering arises from attachment to desires. These desires can vary from material objects, sensual pleasures or even your relationships. The reason desiring causes suffering is because attachments are transient and loss is inevitable. Buddhism says that the only constant in the universe is change, and by desiring you are trying to control and make something fixed.
Suffering will follow because you are going against the forces of the universe, which is what causes anxiety, depression and negative emotions. The end to suffering is when the mind experiences freedom from attachment. In order to end suffering, Buddhists say we must follow the Eightfold Path. Right view 2. Right intention 3.
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