Taṇhā

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Translations of
taṇhā
Englishthirst, craving, desire, etc.
Tibetan
སྲེད་པ་
(Wylie: sred pa;
THL: sepa)
Tagalogtanha
Thaiตัณหา
(IPA: tan-hăː)
Vietnameseái
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See also: Five hindrances and Asava

Taṇhā (Pāli; Sanskrit: tṛ́ṣṇā तृष्णा IPA: [tr̩ʂɳaː] ) is an important concept in Buddhism, referring to "thirst, desire, longing, greed", either physical or mental.[1][2] It is typically translated as craving,[3] and is of three types: kāma-taṇhā (craving for sensual pleasures), bhava-taṇhā (craving for existence), and vibhava-taṇhā (craving for non-existence).[4][5]

Taṇhā appears in the

dukkha (dissatisfaction, "standing unstable") and the cycle of repeated birth, becoming and death (saṃsāra).[1][2][4]

Etymology and meaning

Taṇhā is a

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.[1] 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.[6] 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".[6]

Relation to dukkha

In the second of the

dukkha (unease, "standing unstable").[7]

Taṇhā, states

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.[8]

Taṇhā, states Peter Harvey, is the key origin of dukkha in Buddhism.

non-self.[10]

Both appropriate and inappropriate tendencies, states Stephen Laumakis, are linked to the fires of taṇhā, and these produce fruits of kamma thereby rebirths.

nirvāṇa.[12]

Taṇhā 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."[13]

Types

The Buddha identified three types of taṇhā:[8][14][15][a]

  • Kāma-taṇhā (sensual pleasures craving):[5] craving for sense objects which provide pleasant feeling, or craving for sensory pleasures.[15] 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)."[8]
  • Bhava-taṇhā (craving for being):[5] craving to be something, to unite with an experience.[15] This is ego-related, states Harvey, the seeking of certain identity and desire for certain type of rebirth eternally.[5] Other scholars explain that this type of craving is driven by the wrong view of eternalism (eternal life) and about permanence.[4][16]
  • Vibhava-taṇhā (craving for non-existence):[4] craving not to experience unpleasant things in the current or future life, such as unpleasant people or situations.[5] 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.[5] This type of craving, states Phra Thepyanmongkol, is driven by the wrong view of annihilationism, that there is no rebirth.[16]

Cessation of taṇhā

The third noble truth teaches that the cessation of taṇhā is possible. The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta states:[17]

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 taṇhā can be obtained by following the

anatta (non-self).[21] 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".[21] Once one comprehends and accepts the non-self doctrine, there are no more desires, i.e. taṇhā ceases.[21]

Taṇhā versus chanda

Buddhism categorizes desires as either taṇhā or chanda.[22] Chanda literally means "impulse, excitement, will, desire for".[23]

Bahm states that chanda is "desiring what, and no more than, will be attained", while taṇhā is "desiring more than will be attained".[24] 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".[25] In these early texts, the sense of the word chanda is the same as taṇhā.[25]

Some writers such as Ajahn Sucitto explain chanda as positive and non-pathological, asserting it to be distinct from negative and pathological taṇhā.[26] Sucitto explains it with examples such as the desire to apply oneself to a positive action such as meditation.[26] 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.[27]

Chanda, states Peter Harvey, can be either wholesome or unwholesome.[5]

Relation to the three poisons

Taṇhā (desire) can be related to the three poisons:[citation needed]

  • 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.[28]

For example, in 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.[29]

See also

Notes

  1. SN 22.22, SN 22.103, SN 22.104, SN 22.105, SN 38.10, SN 39.10, SN 45.170, SN 56.11
    , SN 56.13 and SN 56.14.

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-81-208-1144-7
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-521-31333-9
    .
  3. ISBN 978-81-208-0702-0
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-1-134-62324-2
    .
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harvey 2013, p. 63.
  6. ^ a b Monier Williams, 1964, p. 454, entry for तृष्, "Tṛishṇā", "University of Cologne, Germany
  7. ^ Harvey 1990, p. 53.
  8. ^ a b c d e Walpola Sri Rahula (2007). Kindel Locations 791-809.
  9. ^ Harvey 2013, p. 63-64.
  10. ^ a b Harvey 2013, p. 64-68.
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-1-139-46966-1
    .
  12. ISBN 978-0-415-34652-8
    .
  13. ^ Dalai Lama (1992), p. 21. (from the introduction by Jeffry Hopkins)
  14. ^ Leifer (1997), p. 98.
  15. ^ a b c Ajahn Sucitto (2010), Kindle Location 943-946
  16. ^
    ISBN 978-974-401-378-1
    .
  17. ^ Ajahn Sucitto (2010), Kindle Locations 1341-1343
  18. ^ Buswell & Gimello 1992, p. 7–8, 83–84.
  19. ^ Choong 1999, p. 28–29, Quote: "Seeing (passati) the nature of things as impermanent leads to the removal of the view of self, and so to the realisation of nirvana.".
  20. ^ Rahula 2014, p. 51-58.
  21. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-517398-7
    .
  22. ^ Smith & Novak 2009, p. 35.
  23. ISBN 978-81-208-1144-7
    .
  24. ^ Bahm 1959, pp. 24, 61.
  25. ^ a b Bahm 1959, p. 60.
  26. ^ a b 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.
  27. ^ Rhys Davids and Stede (1921), pp. 275-6, entry for "Chanda"
  28. ^ Gethin 1998, pp. 73–74.
  29. ^ Harvey 2013, p. 73.

Sources

Further reading

External links
Preceded by
Vedanā
Twelve Nidānas

Tṛṣṇā 		Succeeded by
Upādāna
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