taṇhā

(from Pāli; ) is an important concept in Buddhism, referring to "thirst, desire, longing, greed", either physical or mental. It is typically translated as craving, and is of three types: ''kāma-taṇhā'' (craving for sensual pleasures), ''bhava-taṇhā'' (craving for existence), and ''vibhava-taṇhā'' (craving for non-existence).

''Taṇhā'' appears in the Four Noble Truths, wherein arises with, or exists together with, '' dukkha'' (dissatisfaction, "standing unstable") and the cycle of repeated birth, becoming and death ('' saṃsāra'').

In the Theravāda Abhidhamma teachings, ''taṇhā'' is equivalent to the mental factor ''lobha'' (attachment).

Etymology and meaning

''Taṇhā'' is a Pali word, derived from the Vedic Sanskrit word ''tṛ́ṣṇā'' (तृष्णा), which originates from the Proto-Indo-Iranian ''*tŕ̥šnas'', which is related to the root ''tarś-'' (thirst, desire, wish), ultimately descending from Proto-Indo-European ''*ters-'' (dry).

The word has the following Indo-European cognates: Avestan ''taršna'' (thirst), Ancient Greek ''térsomai'' (to dry), Lithuanian ''troškimas'' (thirst, desire), Gothic ''þaursus'' (dry), Old High German ''durst'' (thirst), English ''thirst''. The word appears numerous times in the Samhita layer of the Rigveda, dated to the 2nd millennium BCE, such as in hymns 1.7.11, 1.16.5, 3.9.3, 6.15.5, 7.3.4 and 10.91.7. It also appears in other Vedas, wherein the meaning of the word is "thirst, thirsting for, longing for, craving for, desiring, eager greediness, and suffering from thirst".Monier Williams, 1964
p. 454, entry for तृष्, ""
"University of Cologne, Germany

Relation to ''dukkha''

In the second of the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha identified as arising together with '' dukkha'' (unease, "standing unstable").

''Taṇhā'', states Walpola Rahula, or "thirst, desire, greed, craving" is what manifests as suffering and rebirths.Walpola Sri Rahula (2007). Kindel Locations 791-809. However, adds Rahula, it is not the first cause nor the only cause of ''dukkha'' or ''saṃsāra'', because the origination of everything is relative and dependent on something else. The Pali canons of Buddhism assert other defilements and impurities ('' kilesā'', ''sāsavā dhammā''), in addition to taṇhā, as the cause of Dukkha. ''Taṇhā'' nevertheless, is always listed first, and considered the principal, all-pervading and "the most palpable and immediate cause" of ''dukkha'', states Rahula.

''Taṇhā'', states Peter Harvey, is the key origin of ''dukkha'' in Buddhism. It reflects a mental state of craving. Greater the craving, more is the frustration because the world is always changing and innately unsatisfactory; craving also brings about pain through conflict and quarrels between individuals, which are all a state of ''dukkha''. It is such ''taṇhā'' that leads to rebirth and endless '' saṃsāra'', stated Buddha as the second reality, and it is marked by three types of craving: sensory, being or non-existence. In Buddhist philosophy, there are right view and wrong view. The wrong views ultimately trace back to ''taṇhā'', but it also asserts that "ordinary right view" such as giving and donations to monks, is also a form of clinging. The end of ''taṇhā'' occurs when a person has accepted the "transcendent right view" through insight into impermanence and non-self.

Both appropriate and inappropriate tendencies, states Stephen Laumakis, are linked to the fires of ''taṇhā'', and these produce fruits of ''kamma'' thereby rebirths. Quenching and blowing out these fires completely, is the path to final release from ''dukkha'' and ''saṃsāra'', in Buddhism. The Pali texts, states David Webster, repeatedly recommend that one must destroy ''taṇhā'' completely, and this destruction is necessary for '' nirvāṇa''.

is also identified as the eighth link in the twelve links of dependent origination. In the context of the twelve links, the emphasis is on the types of craving "that nourish the karmic potency that will produce the next lifetime."Dalai Lama (1992), p. 21. (from the introduction by Jeffry Hopkins)

Types

The Buddha identified three types of ''taṇhā'':Ajahn Sucitto (2010), Kindle Location 943-946
* ''Kāma-taṇhā'' (sensual pleasures craving): craving for sense objects which provide pleasant feeling, or craving for sensory pleasures. Walpola Rahula states that ''taṇhā'' includes not only desire for sense-pleasures, wealth and power, but also "desire for, and attachment to, ideas and ideals, views, opinions, theories, conceptions and beliefs (''dhamma-taṇhā'')."
* ''Bhava-taṇhā'' (craving for being): craving to be something, to unite with an experience. This is ego-related, states Harvey, the seeking of certain identity and desire for certain type of rebirth eternally. Other scholars explain that this type of craving is driven by the wrong view of eternalism (eternal life) and about permanence.
* ''Vibhava-taṇhā'' (craving for non-existence): craving not to experience unpleasant things in the current or future life, such as unpleasant people or situations. This sort of craving may include attempts at suicide and self-annihilation, and this only results in further rebirth in a worse realm of existence. This type of craving, states Phra Thepyanmongkol, is driven by the wrong view of annihilationism, that there is no rebirth.

Cessation of ''taṇhā''

The third noble truth teaches that the cessation of ' is possible. The '' Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta'' states:
: Bhikkhus, there is a noble truth about the cessation of suffering. It is the complete fading away and cessation of this craving 'taṇhā'' its abandonment and relinquishment; getting free from and being independent of it.

Cessation of can be obtained by following the Noble Eightfold Path. In Theravada Buddhism, the cessation results from the gaining of true insight into impermanence and non-self. The 'insight meditation' practice of Buddhism, states Kevin Trainor, focuses on gaining "right mindfulness" which entails understanding three marks of existence - '' dukkha'' (suffering), '' anicca'' (impermanence) and '' anatta'' (non-self). The understanding of the reality of non-self, adds Trainor, promotes non-attachment because "if there is no soul, then there is no locus for clinging". Once one comprehends and accepts the non-self doctrine, there are no more desires, i.e. ''taṇhā'' ceases.

''Taṇhā'' versus ''chanda''

Buddhism categorizes desires as either ''taṇhā'' or '' chanda''. ''Chanda'' literally means "impulse, excitement, will, desire for".

Bahm states that ''chanda'' is "desiring what, and no more than, will be attained", while ''taṇhā'' is "desiring more than will be attained". However, in early Buddhist texts, adds Bahm, the term ''chanda'' includes anxieties and is ambiguous, wherein five kinds of ''chanda'' are described, namely "to seek, to gain, to hoard, to spend and to enjoy". In these early texts, the sense of the word ''chanda'' is the same as ''taṇhā''.

Some writers such as Ajahn Sucitto explain ''chanda'' as positive and non-pathological, asserting it to be distinct from negative and pathological ''taṇhā''. Sucitto explains it with examples such as the desire to apply oneself to a positive action such as meditation.Ajahn Sucitto (2010), Kindle Locations 933-944, quote= Sometimes taṇhā is translated as “desire,” but that gives rise to some crucial misinterpretations with reference to the way of Liberation. As we shall see, some form of desire is essential in order to aspire to, and persist in, cultivating the path out of dukkha. Desire as an eagerness to offer, to commit, to apply oneself to meditation, is called chanda. It’s a psychological “yes,” a choice, not a pathology. In fact, you could summarize Dhamma training as the transformation of taṇhā into chanda. In contrast, Rhys Davids and Stede state that ''chanda'', in Buddhist texts, has both positive and negative connotations; as a vice, for example, the Pali texts associate ''chanda'' with "lust, delight in the body" stating it to be a source of misery.

''Chanda'', states Peter Harvey, can be either wholesome or unwholesome.

Relation to the three poisons

(desire) can be related to the three poisons:
* '' Avijjā (avidyā)'' or ''moha'' (ignorance), the root of the three poisons, is also the basis for ''taṇhā''.
* '' Rāga'' (attachment) is equivalent to ''bhava-taṇhā'' (craving to be) and ''kāma-taṇhā'' (sense-craving).
* '' Dosa (dveṣa)'' (aversion) is equivalent to ''vibhava-taṇhā'' (craving not to be).

According to Rupert Gethin, ''taṇhā'' is related to aversion and ignorance. Craving leads to aversion, anger, cruelty and violence, states Gethin, which are unpleasant states and cause suffering to one who craves. Craving is based on misjudgement, states Gethin, that the world is permanent, unchanging, stable, and reliable.

For example, in the first discourse of the Buddha, the Buddha identified ''taṇhā'' as the principal cause of suffering. However, his third discourse, the '' Fire Sermon'', and other suttas, the Buddha identifies the causes of suffering as the "fires" of ''rāga'', ''dosa'' (''dveṣa''), and ''moha''; in the ''Fire Sermon'', the Buddha states that ''nirvāṇa'' is obtained by extinguishing these fires.

See also

* Avidyā (Buddhism)
* Buddhism and psychology
* Chanda (Buddhism)
* Kleshas (Buddhism)
* Three poisons (Buddhism)
* Twelve Nidanas
* Upādāna

Notes

References

Sources

* Ajahn Sucitto (2010). ''Turning the Wheel of Truth: Commentary on the Buddha's First Teaching''. Shambhala.
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* Bodhi, Bhikkhu (trans.) (2000). ''The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya''. Boston: Wisdom Pubs. .
*
* Chogyam Trungpa (1972). ''"Karma and Rebirth: The Twelve Nidanas, by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche." Karma and the Twelve Nidanas, A Sourcebook for the Shambhala School of Buddhist Studies.'' Vajradhatu Publications.
*
*
*
*
*
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* Monier-Williams, Monier (1899, 1964). ''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary''. London: Oxford University Press. . Retrieved 2008-06-12 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/index.php?sfx=pdf.
* P. A. Payutto
''Buddhist Economics, A Middle Way for the Market Place Chapter 2''
* Ranjung Yeshe Wiki - Dharma Dictionary. http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/sred_pa (''sred pa'' is the Tibetan term for ''taṇhā'')
* Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary''. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. Retrieved 2008-06-12 from "U. Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/
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* Saddhatissa, H. (trans.) (1998). ''The Sutta-Nipāta''. London: RoutledgeCurzon Press. .
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* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). ''Maha-nidana Sutta: The Great Causes Discourse'' ( DN 15). Retrieved 2008-01-04 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.15.0.than.html.
* Walpola Sri Rahula (2007). ''What the Buddha Taught''. Grove Press. Kindel Edition.
* Walshe, Maurice (trans.) (1995). ''The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya''. Boston: Wisdom Pubs. .

Further reading

* ''Philosophy of the Buddha'' by Archie J. Bahm. Asian Humanities Press. Berkeley, CA: 1993. .
** Chapter 5 is about craving, and discusses the difference between ' and ''chanda''.
* ''Nietzsche and Buddhism: A Study in Nihilism and Ironic Affinities'' by Robert Morrison. Oxford University Press, 1998.
** Chapter 10 is a comparison between Nietzsche's Will to Power and Tanha, which gives a very nuanced and positive explanation of the central role taṇhā plays in the Buddhist path.

External links

The concept of craving in early Buddhism
V Bruce Matthews (1975), PhD Thesis, McMaster University

* ttp://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/sred_pa Ranjung Yeshe wiki entry for ''sred pa''

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Twelve nidānas
Pali words and phrases