Second Noble Truth

[Maddie]

I feel like that the second noble truth of Buddhism that states that the cause of suffering is desire which is caused by delusion is often ignored at best and disliked at most.

 

I believe the Buddha said that basically the degree to which someone rejects the notion of desire causing suffering is related to the amount of delusion and attachment they have.

 

The more delusion and attachment, the more that desire is seen as a good thing rather than the cause of suffering according to the Buddha.

 

This is actually not dissimilar to what Christianity says about not loving the world.

 

In personal experience I've noticed that out of all the teachings of Buddhism I tend to get some of the most emotional reactions to the idea that desire and attachment are the problem as opposed to happiness. I guess its hard to tell someone that the thing they think makes them happy is actually causing them suffering.

 

At the same time and I suppose its due to delusion and attachment while this truth makes sense it also bums me out.

Edited February 2, 2021 by dmattwads