Craving and Desire: Instinct or Trap That Keeps Us in Samsara (Cycle of Rebirth)?

Have you ever wondered why every human being loves, longs for closeness, and yearns for romantic love? And why, in Buddhism, this is seen as a great obstacle on the path to liberation? On one side is happiness, on the other is wrongdoing — which, in the end, is the truth?

Instinct or Trap?

Many people believe that craving and desire are a natural instinct, something indispensable. But Venerable Thích Chân Quang turns the question around: If it were truly an instinct for survival, then without it, a person would die. Yet countless monastics and lay practitioners have renounced sensual pleasures and still live in good health, even more at peace than before. Therefore, craving and desire are not a survival instinct, but an extremely powerful pleasure — a subtle trap of nature designed to bind sentient beings to the cycle of samsara (cycle of rebirth).

"The Buddha said: 'Monks, sensual desire is utterly bewitching, utterly alluring, utterly delightful to sentient beings. This one thing alone — sensual desire — causes beings to be infatuated and to sink in the round of birth and death. If there were another kind of desire like it, no being could ever practice the path.'"

Craving and Desire — Two Faces of One Problem

The Venerable analyzes this clearly: Craving is romantic love, with its expressions such as wanting privacy, longing, jealousy, the desire for closeness and touch. Desire is the act of lust, the pleasure arising from the sexual organs. Craving is the stepping stone, the pretext that leads to desire. From holding a hand, a pat on the shoulder, to deeper longings — all are links in a psychological chain that draws human beings into the whirlpool of samsara (cycle of rebirth).

"The difference between friendship and romantic love is this: in friendship, the more people, the merrier; in romantic love, the fewer, the happier." — A witty yet profound saying that reveals the possessive, self-centered nature of craving.

A Measure of One's Capacity for Practice

The Venerable offers a criterion for self-examination: If you see craving and desire as something normal, as a natural part of being human, then your karma is still heavy and practice will be difficult. But if you find it unpleasant, undesirable, even repulsive, then that is the sign of someone with great spiritual capacity, one who is stepping onto the ranks of the noble ones.

"Whoever sees craving and desire as normal is an ordinary human being. Whoever sees craving and desire as something unpleasant is preparing to become a noble one."

The More Civilized the Age, the Harder the Practice

The Venerable points out that modern society — with its indulgent lifestyle, lewd films, and suggestive advertising — is fueling the expansion of craving and desire. Monastics today face countless temptations that did not exist in the time of the Buddha. There have even been countries that forced monastics to marry, causing Buddhism to decline severely.

"In today's age, practicing in purity is very difficult. Because the Western way of life is flooding everywhere… and these open, permissive attitudes toward craving and desire are being encouraged."

A Call to Awakening

Facing this reality, the Venerable sounds the bell of warning: The time has come for decisive measures to protect moral discipline and to rebuild a pure Sangha. Every disciple of the Buddha, whether monastic or lay, can help strengthen the Buddha's teachings (Dharma) through their own pure way of living.

"Any disciple of the Buddha who can live in purity, unstained — whether monastic or lay — contributes to strengthening the Buddha's teachings (Dharma) and making this world a more noble place."

Today's lesson is not for those who still waver between practicing and not practicing. It is for those who have resolved to escape the whirlpool of craving and desire, who dare to look straight at the truth in order to walk the path of liberation. Ask your own heart: Where do you stand? Do you dare to face yourself?