#21 ·
rustymaker5 said:I don't know about that... 🙂 I mean, sure, if you're talking strictly about material stuff, maybe there's some truth there...
But when you consider a situation where you actually want to improve yourself—like, say, wanting to be a more tolerant person because you've realized you're being a bit of a jerk lately—that kind of desire doesn't necessarily lead to misery, does it? In fact, if anything, actually achieving that goal moves you away from the friction and toward something much more positive...
I touched on this at the start of the penultimate paragraph:
Desires can indeed lead to happiness, provided they are directed toward
something more lasting and non-material. Some people write poetry or short stories,
read books, paint, sing, engage in physical activities, learn,
study various subjects, or explore the spiritual side
of life and its purpose.
Getting rid of suffering?
Isn't that just another desire? Doesn't wanting to stop suffering imply a craving to end it?
What exactly drives a person along the "eightfold path" toward that specific goal—the hope that they might finally stop suffering?
There isn't a logical contradiction here. Think of the desire to be free from suffering as a boat
used to cross from one bank of a river (desire) to the other (freedom from
desire). If you discard the entire journey, keeping only the boat right before
you reach the far shore, you end up discarding the boat itself, too.