Buddhism is an Indian-originated religion with complex beliefs and teachings taught by Buddha after wandering around searching for understanding. Buddha spent time learning the basic teachings of the Four Noble Truths, dealing with human suffering, which he had fully understood. Buddha spent the remaining bit of his life teaching elementary doctrines of Buddhism, which led to the worldly spread of the religion.
The first Noble Truth is suffering. There are many forms of suffering encountered by human beings in physical form or mental nature. Human beings are subject to unlimited desires and goals in life, but the satisfaction is temporary; sickness, death, aging, unfulfilled wants are also considered suffering. The second Noble Truth is the origin of suffering. The root of suffering is desire and craving for certain things, such as material goods, delight, and pleasure. The urge to cease the pain brings suffering as any satisfaction is temporary in nature.
The third Noble Truth is the cessation of suffering. Buddha taught about the end of suffering in human lives on earth and spiritual life by achieving nirvana. Nirvana is a supernatural condition unbound out of suffering and patterns concerning birth, rebirth, and reaching enlightenment. The Fourth Noble Truth is the path to the end of suffering. Avoiding sensual pleasure and self-mortification leads to the end of suffering. Additionally, following the sequence and practicing principles of the Noble Eight Fold Path guides to the cessation of suffering. The principles include wisdom, ethical conduct, and meditation, which altogether may lead a devotee to enlightenment.
The desire to achieve specific goals gives a person the sense of direction in life and commitment to daily routines that may lead to long-term achievements. Additionally, desires motivate towards attaining a particular purpose which would lead to the feeling of fulfillment. Desires also help in minimization of procrastination of daily activities and speed up the attainment of long-term goals (Steel et al., 2018). Desire gives strong drive, therefore, helping in dealing with everyday setbacks in the journey to achieving the long-term goal.
Living a life where one does not have to make decisions based on personal desires would be better because of the elimination of many challenges. For example, failing to make the right decision on specific desires leads to frustrations, especially when there are any attachments. Some decisions may create anxiety and stressful situations when the outcome is unknown, causing suffering. Making decisions that work towards particular desires establishes a sense of responsibility and entitlement, leading to suffering as there is no free will.
Deciding to follow desires that are unending wants creates an unsatisfied living leading to suffering. When I was in high school, I desired to become a pilot. I worked towards achieving high grades. I was disappointed because my parents had chosen a different career path for me, and I did not have an option. Before the year began, I had set a goal to travel to other parts of the world, but with COVID-19 restrictions, I did not manage to visit all the places I had planned. I had anticipated happiness and fulfillment after achieving the set goal, which caused me to suffer due to frustration and disappointment.
Reference
Steel, P., Svartdal, F., Thundiyil, T., & Brothen, T. (2018). Examining procrastination across multiple goal stages: A longitudinal study of temporal motivation theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 3(9), 327. Web.