Craving (taṇhā)
Craving (taṇhā)
7. “What is the difference between tanha and lobha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Craving] [Greed] // [Pāli] [Desire] [Cause of Suffering]
10. Comments about meat eating. [Food] [Killing] [Craving] [Vegetarianism] [Right Livelihood]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volition] [Human]
4. “What does “the longing for the good is the cause of the trouble” mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Craving] [Skillful qualities] [Right Effort] // [Eightfold Path] [Aggregates] [Liberation] [Self-identity view] [Virtue] [Relinquishment] [Jhāna] [Ignorance] [Cause of Suffering]
Story: Sixth Patriarch Sutra: “No mirror, no dust.”
Recollection: Ajahn Chah taught you could grasp at either samut (the conventional) or vimut (the transcendant). [Ajahn Chah] [Conventions] [Unconditioned] [Clinging] [Discernment]
1. “Could you describe ways to work with delighting and wanting around the pleasure of food?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Food] [Craving] [Happiness] [Unattractiveness] [Disenchantment] // [Elements] [Mindfulness of body] [Clinging] [Impermanence] [Dependent origination]
Sutta: AN 5.208: The benefits of chewing toothwoods. [Cleanliness]
17. “I’ve wondered for some time how to put together (a) birth, aging, death or dukkha and (b) the cause of dukkha as craving. Is it correct to say that the source of dukkha is in the mind (i.e., craving)? If so, what does it mean to say that birth, aging, and death—facts that we don’t control and can’t change—are dukkha? Thank you for your generosity and wisdom.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Cause of Suffering] [Craving] [Noble Truth of Suffering]
3. “I’ve been confused between intention and desire. For me, desire arises from non-conceptual craving.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volition] [Craving] [Desire] [Language] // [Cause of Suffering] [Right Effort] [Happiness] [Kamma] [Pāli]
4. “Are all manifestations of desire and motivation ultimately a desire for happiness or are there motivations for truly negative things?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Desire] [Craving] [Volition] [Happiness] [Unskillful qualities] [Nature of mind] // [Ill-will] [Fear] [Discernment]
5. “I’m not sure how to be with close friends or family members who out of a desire to avoid pain and find happiness engage in self-destructive behaivor that also harms those around them.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Family] [Spiritual friendship] [Unskillful qualities] [Craving] [Compassion] // [Discernment]
Sutta: Maṅgala Sutta: Don’t associate with fools.
8. “What to do when you have a lot of freedom in your mind, but in your body you’re stuck with a bad habit?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Desire] [Liberation] [Heart/mind] [Form] [Habits] [Craving] // [Direct experience] [Meditation/Techniques] [Language] [Mindfulness of breathing]
11. “How are the jhāna factors causal bases for awareness to relase into Nibbāna? Do they diminish craving all the way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Release] [Nibbāna] [Craving] [Jhāna] // [Contentment]
2. “Please explain wise action. How can one see that it is not influenced by craving?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Craving]
14. “When negative feelings arise, whether they be fear, anxiety, loneliness, etc., how do we investigate them? Does breathing into these feelings and being fully present (without trying to push them away) help to become aware of the true cause of these feelings? Is the cause of these feelings always craving of some kind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Emotion] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Cause of Suffering] [Craving]
13. “For decades, I believed the suffering was the food itself–that cake, that pastry, more food, another bowlful. But now I understand dukkha is not “the thing.” It is the overwhelming craving, the feeling itself. And now that the dukkha is understood, how do I tolerate that feeling?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Food] [Suffering] [Craving] [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Patience]
10. “Does having no craving mean doing things in the world knowing they won’t bring lasting satisfaction? For example, planning a vacation realizing that it will eventually end or taking measures to cure a headache without expecting to feel completely better. I am trying to understand how this would look like in real life without one becoming apathetic and depressed about the meaninglessness of basically all activities except meditation. How to balance the ability to still enjoy life with abandoning all craving?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Craving] [Characteristics of existence] [Depression] [Happiness]
20. “Regarding the second foundation of mindfulness, feeling: Is pleasant/painful functionally wanting/not wanting?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of feeling] [Craving]
12. “When [the Buddha] talks about sensual desire, that’s craving, right?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire] [Craving] [Directed thought and evaluation]
Follow-up: “Do you know what the Pāli word used for sensual desire [in MN 19] is? I think that craving and sensual desire are different.” [Craving] [Pāli]
6. “How do we perceive which ruts we are stuck in and which tools to use to get out of them? Are there tools besides dhutaṅgas to use when we’re stuck in strong habits?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Delusion] [Craving] [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Faith] [Three Refuges] [Self-identity view]
8. Comment: Yesterday you differentiated between chanda and taṇhā. Nature has always had a strong attraction for me, and I was uneasy because I thought this was a kind of craving. Three or four years ago, Ajahn Tiradhammo gave a talk and I asked him about this. He said, ‘Don’t worry about it. There’s good craving and bad craving.’ Your teaching has clarified this for me. [Desire] [Craving] [Culture/Natural environment] [Ajahn Tiradhammo] [Gratitude]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] [Ajahn Viradhammo] [Animal]
6. Comment: There are two knds of desire, chanda (good) and taṇha (bad). [Desire] [Craving] [Pāli]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Clinging] [Generosity] [Teaching Dhamma]
5. “Could you speak more about how to prevent feelings from becoming aversion or desire? How does this relate to Dependent Origination?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Feeling] [Aversion] [Craving] [Dependent origination] // [Arahant] [Buddha] [Pain] [Mindfulness] [Birth] [Impermanence] [Happiness] [Direct experience] [Proliferation] [Master Hsuan Hua]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno breaks his pelvis in Thailand. [Ajahn Pasanno]