Morning glories in all of their glory on a September morn, near my apartment parking space.

The Buddha once taught a lesson by simply holding up a flower. That was one of his better lessons. The core teaching of Buddhism (the four noble truths) regards craving. Craving was said by the Buddha to be the cause of all suffering, and the cessation of craving can extinguish all suffering in this world. Sounds good, no?

Even though I am a loyal member of a Zen sangha, I disagree. Well, I partly disagree, anyway. Certainly, craving for material things and stimulating experiences and ego and comfort can cause much suffering; to both the person doing the craving, and all those who he or she will walk over to
satiate that craving. “Crave” implies an exaggerated, amped-up level of desire; gotta have it! Admittedly, craving is most of what is wrong with America today.

To crave something is to fixate the mind upon that thing, to ignore all else, to not balance out the goods and bads that come with any thing or experience. So, I certainly agree that materialistic or egotistical craving is a bad thing.

The four noble truths don’t stop with things and experiences, though. They push the concept all the way to life itself, to “existence” (and also “non-existence”). In that regard, I have to take exception. I think that it is natural to “crave existence”; I think that at heart, existence is good. There certainly are instances where it is noble to give up one’s life, one’s existence for the good of another (or many others, more likely). But those instances are relatively rare (thank goodness). In the 99.9% of the time when our existence does not get in the way of some greater good, I think it is good to “crave” one’s existence. It is even better if that craving leads us to a positive passion; e.g., the passion to be a musician, to be a writer, to raise one’s children well, to be a scientist, to start a successful business, to be an athlete, etc. Having a passion, at least a positive passion, can make life extremely rewarding.

But passion, even the most positive passion there is, can also make life extremely painful. To live to the fullest means risking and experiencing a lot of pain along the way. Perhaps it even means the pain of ultimate failure or rejection. The Buddha’s prescription to eliminate all suffering in life through the cessation of craving thus does not make sense to me, in this context. Buddhism seems to say to the aspiring young pianist or basketball player or science student that a calm apathetic life centered around meditation is best, as the enlightenment that it might bring will eventually overcome pain. Perhaps in a person’s later years, this makes sense (but even then, some may choose to “rage, rage against the dying of the light”).

But for young people, I would say: GO FOR IT. NO PAIN, NO GAIN. Leave the Buddhist navel-gazing (which I do most every day) for later in life, once all the pain you will experience can make more sense.