Today I’m picking up a topic that was mentioned recently over on a blog I like.
I sometimes hear people in Buddhist circles talking themselves out of wanting to know the truth… or suggesting it’s somehow wrong to entertain even the possibility of getting enlightenment… because of the desire issue.
Maybe this is not a sticking point for most of you, but I have certainly struggled with it.
So the question is: If desire is the cause of suffering, is the desire for truth a problem? Is the desire to get enlightenment and help all beings a problem?
This is (my paraphrased version of) how my teacher answers these questions:
Desiring truth is like really fiercely wanting to sit in the chair you are sitting in. The desire cannot cause suffering because you are sitting in the chair you’re sitting in.
Desire for truth does not arise in the same (painful) way as desire for things that are not happening. It’s not a problem to want what already is the case. And truth is already the case. It hurts when you argue with the truth, it does not hurt when you want what is true.
Arguing with truth sounds like: ‘I want what I don’t have’ or ‘I don’t want what I have’ or ‘I want things to be different in the future’ or ‘2+2=5’.
While recognizing truth sounds like: ‘I don’t know what needs to happen’ or ‘I want to be exactly where I am, doing this, feeling exactly what I feel’ and… it’s already done.
Truth is…what is revealed when you remove everything that is false. Truth is what you are.
To awaken, you must strive to live in accord with Truth – as much as you can – until you awaken to the fact that you are it.
Wanting what you have is not desire because radical acceptance of what is satisfies desire before it can exist.
-James Wood The Path of Awakening (2007) p. 2, 16, 138
Svaha 
Hi Ali. The only people who don’t have desire are dead. The problem is desire for what we can’t have, selfish, constant craving.
Ask yourself, who wants to know? and find the deeper “you”.
The fact is that everything we need to know is right “here”, but the “ego-mind” keeps chasing its tail.
Check this link for the problem and the solution: http://rioguzman.com/2009/04/28/buddhism-mindfulness-meditation/
It is really very simple; we just confuse ourselves.
Hi Rio, yes, I agree, the ego-mind chases its tail when unhealthy desires arise. Consistent practice, witnessing without judgment, brings results. I still maintain that the desire for truth trumps unhealthy desires and it’s not a problem, but a motivation to keep practicing for the sake of all beings.
Great topic Aly!
In my experience it depends on whether the desire is coming from my Spirit or my ego mind. Is my desire clear and authentic, or is it contaminated with attachment and fighting what is? For me, the sincere desire to awaken and my love for Truth are a constant inspiration and motivation in my practice – like you say. I also have desires and passions for creative self-expression and joyful living. I think all of this is beautiful and very much part of the spiritual path. I am constantly amazed, however, at how tricky and subtle the ego mind is in taking this over. If I don’t stay on top of my mind with consistent practice, I get stuck in it and suffer. This dance can be very tricky to navigate at times, and working with a Teacher definitely helps (for me it has been essential).
What I run across in spiritual circles generally is an unhealthy desire for enlightenment in the form of happiness, positivity and bliss. Anything negative is judged as dark and unhealthy. Chasing this kind of attachment will only lead to another version of the dream state – so I can see why most Teachers talk about mind-based desire. Most people are also so heavily conditioned that they can’t honestly be in touch with desire.
Hi Angela,
Thank you for sharing here. I agree that contact with a teacher clears up a lot, tons, of confusion!
I really appreciate your point about allowing ourselves to look at the ‘dark side’. This may sound strange, but one of the most useful things I have learned in working with James is how to really tune into stress and negativity in myself. And I’m still working on it. It’s been important for me because I tended to skip over being honest about what I felt because I didn’t want to feel that way, or thought it was wrong to feel that way. So I would talk myself out of it and focus on the good stuff.
But, as it turns out, honesty always helps :) Honesty about negativity is really positive!
Hi Aly,
Desire for truth, if all consuming, will most likely will be fulfilled. Other lower desires are all unsatisfying, ultimately. All that stands in the way is the circumstances and the path one travels to find it for ones self. I think the first action to take is meditation. Learning to still ones mind and emotions. I first started with single focus meditation for abut 1/2 hour twice a day. morning and then evening. Once the mind and emotions are still, one can begin to know ones own mind. And for me that is the beginning of knowing truth. If one continues to meditate and then be able to enter this stillness at will, then it is time to practice this stillness in our everyday experiences.
Living the truth is spontaneously being what you really are, and not looking back ( too much ) :) Sometimes, as mentioned above, what we are is not always “positive”. Of course sometimes we make mistakes. But if one is accustomed to keeping their mind and emotions still, they can always return to that. The trick is not adding or subtracting to what is really going on within you.
I do think that the desire for truth is different than the desire for meaning. The desire for meaning leads one in endless dialectical circles. It is very much driven by what others think and believe. It is also based on our own karmic view of the universe and we are just trying to justify it, and build it up.
The posters above seem to have a good handle on what truth is and how to achieve it for themselves. Best of luck to you all…..
I will be checking your blog from time to time. I like it! :)
Chana
what do you mean, Truth? what other Truth is there than You?
what do you desire? the Truth is already there. your confusion is the Truth.
@ Chana
Thank you for your comments! I really appreciate the way you said: ‘The trick is not adding or subtracting to what is really going on within you.’
And I’m glad you mentioned that desire for truth is different from desire for meaning. I feel how the search for meaning refers to and responds to itself endlessly!
@Harley
Hi, what we’ve been talking about is desire for Truth, or desire for: freedom from suffering, enlightenment or spiritual awakening. In the post, I asked if wanting something I don’t have (truth/enlightenment) is a problem.
If I were to make the statement ‘the truth is already here’, based on my intellectual understanding of this teaching, it would be dishonest. Or it could be an attempt to avoid my actual situation.
You are right, when I am confused, confusion is the truth. :)
How is it dishonest? There is nothing dishonest about it.
What is your actual situation?
Bingo.
Harley, you bring up a good discussion about the difference between relative and absolute truth. I have been wanting to post about that topic because often I hear people making statements that are true from the perspective of awakened consciousness, but are not true from the perspective of unawakened consciousness. More thoughts on that in future.
Aly~ the Teaching coming through James has really helped me deal with my negativity too. I really appreciate that he is so bravely and directly sincere about so many things that people generally resist. The grounded psychological focus and practices have helped me immensely.
Chana~ I too really liked your point about desire for Truth vs. meaning.
“Truth” is but a word and we can attach all sorts of baggage to it. Searching for our baggage is distracting, but once labeling it “Truth”, we then sanctify our distractions and make them holy. Oh dear!
I disagree Sabio that “Truth is but a word”. Anything we say is a word. Yet Truth, the way Aly and others here are using it, is our very nature.
Language is not always convenient and often brings misunderstanding (I really see this in the spiritual seeker dialog). Conversations attempting to reconcile the relative with the Absolute can be particularly challenging.
However, language is what we have to point toward the ineffable. We cannot capture the essence of Truth with words yet we must use what we have to urge ourselves and one another toward liberation.
Being honest about the baggage one does carry is useful. Pretending it doesn’t exist or avoiding it makes it heavier in my experience.
“Truth is…what is revealed when you remove everything that is false. Truth is what you are.”
You shall know the Truth and the truth shall set you free.
Respectfully,
Adrianne
Sabio, are you saying that there is no such thing as truth?
Abstract words carry a lot of baggage. Heck, even concrete words carry baggage. Words are contracts to communicate.
“Truth” — one definition of mine, is the best approximation to reality. But people in religious circles turn the word “Truth” into almost a god. “Truth” to a born-again Christian means something very different than to a Quaker or a Shivite Hindu.
I am saying it is just a word. I am an atheist. So when I say there is no god, I mean something specific. There are senses of “God” that I could be comfortable with but we are redefining the word. We are not searching for “God” we are searching for common values, insights, practices, and experiences. “Truth” is similar.
This is a classic philosophy of language issue. I am not very skillful at it. But I am not a Platonist. I see people very attached to words and less attached to understanding and touching each others worlds.
Hope that made sense.