Part 12 - Craving: The Fire That Cannot Satisfy Itself
“Craving is the origin of suffering.”
— SN 56.11
What is craving?
Craving (taṇhā) is thirst:
- a drive to grasp
- a push to secure
- a belief that satisfaction lies outside this moment
It insists:
“The next moment must be better than this one.”
Craving chases the future
and rejects the present.
Three forms of craving
The Buddha identified three expressions:
1️⃣ Craving for pleasure (kāma-taṇhā)
→ “I want more of what feels good.”
2️⃣ Craving for becoming (bhava-taṇhā)
→ “I want to be someone important, safe, successful.”
3️⃣ Craving for non-becoming (vibhava-taṇhā)
→ “I want to disappear from this pain, to escape myself.”
All three reinforce:
- a future to pursue
- a self to protect
Craving is the architect of continuity.
The lie at the heart of craving
Craving promises:
- relief
- fulfillment
- happiness
But it delivers:
- anxiety
- escalation
- renewed suffering
It creates the tension
it claims to relieve.
Craving is a fire that grows
by burning the one who feeds it.
Why craving feels like “me”
When feeling becomes personal:
- pleasant → “I deserve this”
- unpleasant → “I must fix this”
- neutral → “I need stimulation”
The mind builds a mission:
“I must control things.”
This mission is the self.
Craving is not something “I” do —
craving is the “I” doing.
How to see craving directly
In meditation and daily life:
- Notice the lean toward pleasure
- Notice the push away from pain
- Notice the fog around boredom
These three movements:
- pull
- push
- avoid
are the only shapes craving takes.
See the movement →
and craving is exposed.
Culmination Link for Part 12
Feeling offers experience.
Craving claims experience.
This claim:
- generates self
- guarantees dissatisfaction
- powers the chain forward
Everything returns to Dependent Origination:
Suffering exists
because craving demands another moment.
Remove craving —
and the future of suffering never arrives.
Craving is the engine of becoming.
Turn off the engine → the ride ends.