We learnt what the Buddha taught us about the suffering in question number two discussed earlier. We are victims of sickness, aging, death, departure from the loved ones, union with the dislike ones and objects, and not getting or loosing what we wished for. These things make us feel pain, sorrow, and suffering. Even with tremendous amount of money, having high ranks, or becoming famous, we cannot overcome these circumstances. Everyone who is born become victims of this suffering. Therefore, we need to identify the cause for such suffering, and then only we can conquer it. Let us consider an oil lamp; it lights when the oil and the wick mix up together and get lit with a help of fire. Therefore, the lamp will not illuminate if the oil and the wick are not present. Also, a shadow of a tree is present only if that tree is there. If that tree is cut off from that place, then there will be no shadow. Like in these two examples, if someone is able to eliminate the cause for the suffering, that person will not exist anymore. He got rid of the Sansara…

The Lord Buddha expressed the reason for suffering like this:

“Dear Monks, what is the cause for pain (suffering)? It is the craving (desire) that causes rebirth, bonding in affection, and acceptance of every place and every life. This is the desire for worldly objects (Kama Tanha), the desire for being reborn (Bhava Tanha), and the desire for not being reborn or to exist forever (vibhava tanha).

(Lord Buddha – Maha Satipatthana Sutta, Deega Nikaya)

According to this, the Lord Buddha showed us the craving as the cause for suffering. The Kama Tanha means the desire for worldly pleasures one experiences from objects (roopa), sounds (shabbda), odors (gandha), tastes (rasa), and touches (pahasa). The Bhava Tanha means the desire for the existence; for example to be born and reborn (bhava) in this world. The opposite of Bhava Tanha is the Vibhava Tanha or the desire of existence forever without a bhava (be born and reborn). You might be excited to know about where this desire originates. Lord Buddha told us that this desire originates in our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Also, it occurs when we see an object, hear a sound, smell an odor, taste something (delicious), feel a touch to the body, or think something from the mind.

We need to try defeating the craving because it causes suffering. I am going to show you an example on how suffering is created from the craving. Do you know of people in your living area that you may feel sad, cry, or feel hurting when they die or become sad? At this moment, you are maybe thinking about your friends, people who helped you, or your parents, children, or even your spouse who live with you or in your living area. If they die, don’t you become sad and painful? Also, do you know of people in your living area that you may not feel sad, cry, or feel hurting when they die or become sad? You may think about some people who you did not know, did not talk with, or even did not hang out with. You may not become sad and painful when those unknown people die. Have you ever thought of the reason for this discrepancy? Why do you feel sad and cry, or become hopeless when some people die? The reason is that you have a great affection towards them with a desire. This is called the desire that the Supreme Buddha showed us as the reason for suffering. You feel no pain or sadness when some other people die because you have no love and desire for them. Thus, when something that you love changes, then you become a victim of suffering. However, there is no suffering when you do not have an attachment to the object that is changed. You should now be able to understand the desire as the cause for all your sufferings.