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Understanding the Second Truth: The Cause of Dissatisfaction
The Buddha’s second truth tells us that the cause of our dissatisfaction is desire, which we might also call attachment, greed, or grasping.
If we’re attached, we’ll feel dissatisfied and suffer.
Where, you might ask, does desire come from?
Most obviously, it comes from the impulses of the body—the desire to stay alive, the desire for food, clothing, shelter, warmth, variety, pleasure.
Desire is built into humans.
The strongest desire is that based upon pleasurable feelings.
Life provides us with overwhelming pleasure through each of our senses.
Every single day you have opportunities to get involved in agreeable and pleasurable objects through your senses. Yet you are not happy.
The Buddha asked us to recognize that our attachment to sensual pleasure is dangerous to our happiness.
He compared sensual pleasure to a bone with no meat thrown to a hungry dog.
Though the dog gnaws on the bone for a long time, the bone never satisfies his hunger.
On reflection you may find that you are like that, too.
No matter how much sensual pleasure you have, you’re still hungry for more.
How many potato chips are enough?
How many pieces of chocolate?
How many video games must you play or novels must you read to fulfill your longing for such experiences?
How much sex would it take for your sexual craving to be satisfied forever?
How much alcohol or drugs?
Sometimes people stay up and party all night until they pass out.
Did they get enough?
You can always think of some pleasurable thing that you haven’t yet tried.
The Buddha compared sensual pleasures to a razor-sharp sword with honey smeared on the blade.
To taste the honey, people are willing to risk great pain.
We can all think of examples of people who hurt or even kill themselves seeking pleasure.
Alcohol, drugs, adventure travel, dangerous sports—to say nothing of careless sexual behavior—cause many people much suffering.
