| Translations of taṇhā | |
|---|---|
| English | thirst, craving, desire, etc. |
| Sanskrit | tṛ́ṣṇā (Dev: तृष्णा) |
| Pali | taṇhā |
| Bengali | টান (Tan) |
| Burmese | တဏှာ (MLCTS:tən̥à) |
| Chinese | 貪愛 / 贪爱 (Pinyin:tānài) |
| Indonesian | nafsu, nafsu kahausan, nafsu keinginan, keserakahan, ketamakan |
| Japanese | 渇愛 (Rōmaji:katsu ai) |
| Khmer | តណ្ហា (UNGEGN:tânha) |
| Korean | 갈애 (RR:gal-ae) |
| Sinhala | තණ්හාව,තෘෂ්ණාව |
| Tibetan | སྲེད་པ་ (Wylie: sred pa; THL: sepa) |
| Tagalog | tanha |
| Thai | ตัณหา (IPA: tan-hăː) |
| Vietnamese | ái |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
| Part ofa series on |
| Buddhism |
|---|
 |
| Part ofTheravāda Abhidhamma |
| 52Cetasikas |
|---|
 |
| Theravāda Buddhism |
7 universal(sabbacittasādhāraṇa) |
25 beautiful(sobhana)
|
|
Taṇhā (fromPāli;Sanskrit:तृष्णा,romanized: tṛ́ṣṇāSanskrit pronunciation:[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), andvibhava-taṇhā (craving for non-existence).[4][5]
Taṇhā appears in theFour Noble Truths, whereintaṇhā arises with, or exists together with,dukkha (dissatisfaction, "standing unstable") and the cycle ofrepeated birth, becoming and death (saṃsāra).[1][2][4]
In theTheravādaAbhidhamma teachings,taṇhā is equivalent to themental factorlobha (attachment).[6]
Taṇhā is aPali word, derived from theVedic Sanskrit wordtṛ́ṣṇā (तृष्णा), which originates from theProto-Indo-Iranian*tŕ̥šnas, which is related to the roottarś- (thirst, desire, wish), ultimately descending fromProto-Indo-European*ters- (dry).
The word has the followingIndo-European cognates:Avestantaršna (thirst),Ancient Greektérsomai (to dry),Lithuaniantroškimas (thirst, desire),Gothicþaursus (dry),Old High Germandurst (thirst),Englishthirst.[1] The word appears numerous times in theSamhita layer of theRigveda, 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.[7] 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".[7]
In the second of theFour Noble Truths, the Buddha identifiedtaṇhā as arising together withdukkha (unease, "standing unstable").[8]
Taṇhā, statesWalpola Rahula, or "thirst, desire, greed, craving" is what manifests as suffering and rebirths.[9] However, adds Rahula, it is not the first cause nor the only cause ofdukkha orsaṃsāra, because the origination of everything is relative and dependent on something else.[9] The Pali canons of Buddhism assert other defilements and impurities (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" ofdukkha, states Rahula.[9]
Taṇhā, states Peter Harvey, is the key origin ofdukkha in Buddhism.[5] It reflects a mental state of craving. Greater the craving, more is the frustration because the world is always changing and innately unsatisfactory; craving also brings about pain through conflict and quarrels between individuals, which are all a state ofdukkha.[5] It is suchtaṇhā that leads to rebirth and endlesssaṃsāra, stated Buddha as the second reality, and it is marked by three types of craving: sensory, being or non-existence.[10] In Buddhist philosophy, there are right view and wrong view. The wrong views ultimately trace back totaṇhā, but it also asserts that "ordinary right view" such as giving and donations to monks, is also a form of clinging.[11] The end oftaṇhā occurs when a person has accepted the "transcendent right view" through insight intoimpermanence andnon-self.[11]
Both appropriate and inappropriate tendencies, states Stephen Laumakis, are linked to the fires oftaṇhā, and these produce fruits ofkamma thereby rebirths.[12] Quenching and blowing out these fires completely, is the path to final release fromdukkha andsaṃsāra, in Buddhism.[12] The Pali texts, states David Webster, repeatedly recommend that one must destroytaṇhā completely, and this destruction is necessary fornirvāṇa.[13]
Taṇhā is also identified as the eighth link in thetwelve 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."[14]
The Buddha identified three types oftaṇhā:[9][15][16][a]
Thethird noble truth teaches that the cessation oftaṇhā is possible. TheDhammacakkappavattana Sutta states:[18]
Cessation oftaṇhā can be obtained by following theNoble Eightfold Path. In Theravada Buddhism, the cessation results from the gaining of true insight intoimpermanence andnon-self.[19][20][21] The 'insight meditation' practice of Buddhism, states Kevin Trainor, focuses on gaining "right mindfulness" which entails understanding three marks of existence -dukkha (suffering),anicca (impermanence) andanatta (non-self).[22] 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".[22] Once one comprehends and accepts the non-self doctrine, there are no more desires, i.e.taṇhā ceases.[22]
Buddhism categorizes desires as eithertaṇhā orchanda.[23]Chanda literally means "impulse, excitement, will, desire for".[24]
Bahm states thatchanda is "desiring what, and no more than, will be attained", whiletaṇhā is "desiring more than will be attained".[25] However, in early Buddhist texts, adds Bahm, the termchanda includes anxieties and is ambiguous, wherein five kinds ofchanda are described, namely "to seek, to gain, to hoard, to spend and to enjoy".[26] In these early texts, the sense of the wordchanda is the same astaṇhā.[26]
Some writers such as Ajahn Sucitto explainchanda as positive and non-pathological, asserting it to be distinct from negative and pathologicaltaṇhā.[27] Sucitto explains it with examples such as the desire to apply oneself to a positive action such as meditation.[27] In contrast, Rhys Davids and Stede state thatchanda, in Buddhist texts, has both positive and negative connotations; as a vice, for example, the Pali texts associatechanda with "lust, delight in the body" stating it to be a source of misery.[28]
Chanda, states Peter Harvey, can be either wholesome or unwholesome.[5]
Taṇhā (desire) can be related to thethree poisons:[29]
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.[30]
For example, in thefirst discourse of the Buddha, the Buddha identifiedtaṇhā as the principal cause of suffering. However, his third discourse, theFire Sermon, and other suttas, the Buddha identifies the causes of suffering as the "fires" ofrāga,dosa (dveṣa), andmoha; in theFire Sermon, the Buddha states thatnirvāṇa is obtained by extinguishing these fires.[31]
.svg)
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)| Preceded by | Twelve Nidānas Tṛṣṇā | Succeeded by |
