Questions about buddhism

Is it correct that Buddhism teaches us to give up all desires?

Buddhism distinguishes two kinds of desire: the first (tanha) to be abandoned and the second (chanda) to be cultivated. Tanha is the desire that arises from a basic misunderstanding of the way things are: perceiving permanence, happiness and selfhood where they do not exist. Desire for the pleasures to be had through getting, getting rid and becoming is tanha. Tanha leads to personal suffering and is the basis of almost all social ills. Chanda is the desire that arises from a correct understanding of the way things are. At its heart lies the aspiration for truth and goodness. Desire to […]

But isn’t Buddhism all about suffering?

The Buddha said that all of his teachings, traditionally numbered as 84,000, could be reduced to just two: dukkha and the end of dukkha. Suffering, in its sense of physical or mental distress, is only the coarsest expression of dukkha. The relationship between the English word “suffering” and the Pali concept of dukkha is comparable to that between bright red and color. Dukkha could also be translated as a chronic sense of lack, or a flaw or incompleteness of experience. In this sense, dukkha is experience seen as “not-Nibbana”. For this reason, the most subtle and sublime mental states are […]

Is Buddhism a pessimistic religion?

Pessimism, in its most common usage, means “a tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen; a lack of hope or confidence in the future” and as a philosophical position “a belief that this world is as bad as it could be or that evil will ultimately prevail over good”. Neither of these meanings applies to Buddhist teachings. The Buddha taught that all things arise and pass away in accordance with causes and conditions. If the causes and conditions for the worst to happen prevail in a particular situation, then the worst will […]

What is merit?

Merit (puñña) refers to the inner purification that occurs through virtuous acts of body, speech and mind. Meritorious actions elevate and ennoble the mind, and are accompanied by a sense of well-being. In Thailand the popular idiom “making merit” (tham boon) usually refers to making offerings to the monastic order. Such offerings, if given with the right motivation, may indeed be meritorious, but merit is not restricted to such acts. Generous actions are meritorious because they reduce the power of selfish attachment, and teach us the joy of giving. Keeping precepts is meritorious because it weakens the compulsion to harm […]