Eliminating Worldly Desires

I don’t think I will get many arguments on the point that our objective ought to be to remove suffering; to remove suffering in our souls, our organizations and the world in general.

But what about desire; why would our goal be to eliminate desire?  Isn’t that the basis of our capitalistic, entrepreneurial western culture?  Isn’t this the real rub between the west and Buddhism?

First of all, let’s define our terms.  So, what is desire?  According to Merriam-Webster Online it is as follows:

A conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment

Buddha believed that desire in its noun form defined above leads to suffering.  He believed that the two concepts were inextricable linked together; one follows the other, suffering follows desire.

Buddha taught that we live in a world of causes and conditions.  Suffering is a condition that is cased by desire.  Therefore to remove suffering you must remove desire.

The question is what desires must be removed.  The key to understanding the power of this principle is to differentiate between desires of the heart and desires of the senses. 

Buddha had desires.  He made four great vows:

1.      To save all people

2.      To renounce all worldly desires

3.      To learn all the teachings

4.      To attain perfect Enlightenment

Based on the above, you can see that you can have goals and still eliminate suffering.  The desires that need to be eliminated are the worldly desires.  Noble purposes or goals will not create suffering, only worldly ones.

The other important point to make is that we do not all have to take a vow of poverty to reach enlightenment.  We can enjoy the fruits of a well lived life in whatever form and volume they may come to us without causing suffering.

Suffer comes from two sources:

1.      Worldly desires

2.      Grasping and clinging to the fruits of the world we attain on the road to noble goals.

So it’s not the fruit, it the grasping and clinging to that fruit that creates the suffering.

Lastly, my case for Enlightenment must include a modern day definition.  Buddha lived 2500 years ago.  Therefore, there is always a possibility for the meaning to be lost in translation over the years. 

The leader of the Tibetan Buddhists is the Dalai Lama.  His teachings and writing in today’s language is the best resource we have to understand the meaning of the Buddha’s original writings.

According to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s official website; http://www.dalailama.com/page.2.htm:

All human beings are the same.  We all want happiness and do not want suffering.  Even people who do not believe in religion recognize the importance of these human values in making their life happier. 

Therefore, in modern day terms, the goal is to create happiness by removing suffering.  This is the bottom line process that will ultimately lead to Enlightenment; continual strive to remove suffering and therefore come closer to the goal of happiness.

Happiness for us, our families, our organizations, our customers, our supply chains, our communities and the world at large.

How are you creating happiness at home and at work?