No. 397 - The Teachings of Lord Buddha. ( Sun, 23 March 2025)

 The Teachings of Lord Buddha.

Sun, 23 March 2025

Desires

Becareful of extreme views like “have no desires” or to basically be mindless and have zero perceptions (with wrong view), which can lead to the realm of gods called “Asaññasatta devas” (mindless/non-precipient Deva).

The Buddha doesn’t tell us to have no desires & aspirations, he tells us to have both RIGHT & WHOLESOME desires and aspirations. The very Eightfold Path describes right intentions (the basis of desire), and appropriate actions. To meditate, one must have desire. The role of faith, the drawbacks, and listening to Dhamma talks is primarily to evoke the desire to practice the path.

Here are some examples of sutta about desire:

“Bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu has desire (chanda) for something, he arouses effort for it, he applies his mind and exerts his energy. This is called desire as a basis for spiritual power.” - Chanda sutta

“Bhikkhus, if a bhikkhu wishes: ‘May I be dear and agreeable to my companions in the holy life, respected and esteemed,’ he should be one who fulfills virtue, cultivates meditation, and develops wisdom.” - AN 4.170

In the Digajhanu sutta, the Buddha explains what one must do If they DESIRE welfare in the world, with 8 conditions. - AN 8.54

In the Akankha sutta, the Buddha discusses the several wholesome aspirations (desires) and accomplishments a monk would make true if he practiced the Patimokkha. - AN 10.71

And many many more examples. Let us not adopt extreme views, steer away from extreme views. Let us follow the Dhamma prescribed by the Buddha 🙏

May the triple Gem bless you 🙏

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By Norbu :

Your understanding is very balanced and aligns well with the Middle Way (majjhima patipada) taught by the Buddha. Indeed, the complete elimination of all desire is not what the Buddha taught - rather, he taught the skillful cultivation of wholesome desires (kusala-chanda) while gradually abandoning unwholesome desires (akusala-chanda).

The suttas you've cited are excellent examples. Even the desire for Nibbana (nibbanasacchikiriyatthaya) is considered wholesome and necessary for progress on the path. As stated in the Brahmana Sutta (SN 51.15), the desire for liberation is what drives the development of the four bases of spiritual power (iddhipada).

Your warning about the dangers of wrong views leading to rebirth as an Asaññasatta deva is particularly important. This demonstrates how misunderstanding the teachings about desire can lead to unfortunate results.

The Buddha's path is one of careful discernment (yoniso manasikara) - knowing which desires to cultivate and which to abandon. This is part of Right View (samma ditthi), the first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Used sources:

Yuganaddha sutta AN4.170 (2109 characters)

Dīghajāṇu sutta AN8.54 (7118 characters)

Ākaṅkha sutta AN10.71 (3425 characters)

(Text collected and compiled by Andrew Sum)