It's hard to believe that I've never written a post devoted to talking about cravings. When the Buddha first turned the wheel of the dharma and taught his disciples the Four Noble Truths, the center of that teaching was that all our suffering is caused by cravings and that our suffering can be ended by freeing oneself from cravings.
It sounds so straightforward but it's not. The Buddha said in the Four Noble Truths that the Noble Eightfold Path is the way that leads to the end of cravings and thus suffering. That path consists of: Right view, Right intention, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, or Right concentration.
But as I noted in my book, The Self in No Self, the problem with that statement, and what many Buddhist monks teach, is that one can't do Right anything, while under the control of your ego-mind. It will not allow you, regardless of intent, to exercise Right behavior,
For example, Right intention requires you letting go all worldly desires and attachments, cultivating goodwill towards all beings, and refraining from actions that cause harm to oneself or others. If you are in the control of your ego-mind—of your emotions, judgments, perceptions—you cannot begin to achieve these elements of Right intention. The same is true for all elements of the Noble Eightfold Path.
Let me be clear, I am not disagreeing with the teaching of the Buddha; I am just saying that in order to practice the Noble Eightfold Path and thus end your cravings and suffering, one must first free yourself from the control of your ego-mind. See my post, "The Noble Eightfold Path," for a simple explanation of the path's elements.
And if you've been reading this blog, you know that freeing yourself from the control of your ego-mind is the subject of many posts I've written. It is a huge challenge, but one that can be overcome with discipline and faith. To get you started, see my post, "How to Free Yourself from the Control of Your Ego-Mind."
It sounds so straightforward but it's not. The Buddha said in the Four Noble Truths that the Noble Eightfold Path is the way that leads to the end of cravings and thus suffering. That path consists of: Right view, Right intention, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, or Right concentration.
But as I noted in my book, The Self in No Self, the problem with that statement, and what many Buddhist monks teach, is that one can't do Right anything, while under the control of your ego-mind. It will not allow you, regardless of intent, to exercise Right behavior,
For example, Right intention requires you letting go all worldly desires and attachments, cultivating goodwill towards all beings, and refraining from actions that cause harm to oneself or others. If you are in the control of your ego-mind—of your emotions, judgments, perceptions—you cannot begin to achieve these elements of Right intention. The same is true for all elements of the Noble Eightfold Path.
Let me be clear, I am not disagreeing with the teaching of the Buddha; I am just saying that in order to practice the Noble Eightfold Path and thus end your cravings and suffering, one must first free yourself from the control of your ego-mind. See my post, "The Noble Eightfold Path," for a simple explanation of the path's elements.
And if you've been reading this blog, you know that freeing yourself from the control of your ego-mind is the subject of many posts I've written. It is a huge challenge, but one that can be overcome with discipline and faith. To get you started, see my post, "How to Free Yourself from the Control of Your Ego-Mind."
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