As I understand it, Bhuddism teaches that human suffering comes about through desire. Extinguish desire, and you have happiness. However, I find in my own case, that removal of desire cause me to be unhappy. for example, I started out full of ambition, and gradually achieved my goals. Now, I don’t have any left (that haven’t been fulfilled), yet I am not happy-what’s wrong here?
A Bhuddist might say that your ambition was never for the goals themselves - but for the challenge of obtaining them and the self-satisfaction that came from doing something you set out to do. You still desire this.
Masamatman was wrong. Pure and simple.
You need new goals.
Congratulations on your achievements, you’re lucky.
Ask any Lion, or Pussycat for that matter, and they will tell you.
“Meow, Meow, meow, meow, meow meow MEOW!”
(translation)
“It’s not the kill. It’s the thrill of the chase.”
Often wrong… NEVER in doubt
“A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a Heaven for?” - Robert Browning, in a less-jaundiced-than-usual mood
BTW, folks, Siddhartha Gautama’s title was Buddha (“Booed the”, with a schwa sound on “the”). The record company, who couldn’t spell either, is Buddah. All other variations are from pheophle who phut ehxhceshsh H’s in allh ovher the phlache.
I am not a Bhuddist, but I can think of a couple of areas to look at.
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You have not extinguished desire; you have simply satisfied some particular desires. You motivation (satisfaction of desire) remains the same, but you now have no means of fulfilling it (because you lack a desire to be satisfied).
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If the removal of a desire makes you unhappy, it might be because you have not found the root desire. I may look at a donut and desire to eat it. Later, I may banish that desire yet remain unhappy. This is because my true desire was for a sweet taste, not for the donut itself. this principal also explains why we are sometimes not happy when we satisfy our desires – because we are satisfying only the surface object, not the root desire.
$0.03 (inflation adjusted)
The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*
You are confusing, I think the lack of things to desire with a true lack of desire, or attachment, to the world. I would venture, as other posters have suggested, that you still desire something… something to conquer, to achieve. I think these are great, by the way, but the practicing Buddhist would suggest otherwise. In removing all desires, all hungers, in life, only then will you find true happiness. The happiness you think you know now – for example, by achieving a goal – is but a pale shadow. It’s like a heroin user claiming that the drug makes him happy. In a sense it does, but the wiser person can look at the the toll it takes on life and body and realize that the ‘happiness’ from heroin is ephemeral and unreliable.
The Buddhist would claim that as the heroin user is to the ordinary man, so the ordinary man is to the enlightened man - that is, to the man who truly has no attachment.
Of course, if you achieve that goal, you have also guaranteed yourself no rebirth, since it is through unfulfilled desire that we are reborn. Freeing yourself from attachments frees you from re-birth – the ultimate goal.
- Rick
For the record, I think the Buddha was wrong, plain and simple. It’s only because I enjoy the fulfillment of desire far too much to eliminate desire. Plus, I don’t like the idea of a barren lifestyle.
Bricker summed it up, but I don’t think that Buddhists were seeking happiness. I believe that eliminating desire eliminates suffering, but that doesn’t, ipso facto, lead to happiness. Instead, the purpose is to seek Nirvana. As to what Nirvana is, I’m not certain, but I think it is freedom from the wheel of life, a sort of eternal contentment, or maybe even oblivion (no more suffering).
As to achieving your goals, I would think that the goals you sought were superficial, they originally stood for or meant something, and you forgot precisely what it was. You concentrated on success, without deciding what you truly wanted and if those goals were the best way to get it. That’s what I’ve usually found.
Scylla said:
Got that right.
If three people say you are an ass, put on a bridle.
-Spanish Proverb
Perhaps a point is being missed here. It seems like people are saying that your goals should be different, instead of the elimination of goals(read:desires) completely. How can you see the true Buddha nature if you are trying to see it? You can’t. It is only be eliminating all thought or concentration on anything that the Buddha nature will present itself to you. (or smack you upside the head!) Hence the focus on meditation intended to free the mind of such things. In short, don’t think about it; don’t think about anything; it will come to you once your mind is free.
As always, impossible to explain in English.
“It is now proved beyond doubt that smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics.”
I am not a buddhist, and I do not know if their path is a useful one or not. However, if you are not actively on that path, I don’t think you can expect one of its principles taken out of context to do you much good, or perhaps even make much sense to you.
It sounds like you do not want to be free of desire, you do not want nirvana, oneness with the brahma (what sounds like oblivion to me) - you want happiness. That is not the way of the buddha. It is difficult to understand Buddhism outside the context of Hinduism, from which it sprang. The hindu problem is that reincarnation is inevitable - no matter what you do in this life you will start over in the next. The better you live, the better your circumstances in the next life. But even for a king, life is mostly a pain the butt. Buddhism is an attempt to escape from this.
I think you’ve looking at Bhuddism the wrong way (or from the wrong perspective). In its original form (and it needs to be pointed out that there are over a hundred derivations and different Bhuddist perspectives), Bhuddism wasn’t really about removing desire AS WE SEE IT. Western society has conditioned us to revere goods and feed desire.
An individual true to the Bhuddist tenent would have a more idealistic view putting other’s needs and society before himself. That’s closer to the mark when talking about getting rid of desires. It’s our individual wants, dreams, fantasies that stand between us and being true to this ideal.
Our rather hedonistic, commercial and media-driven society has probably put us at a point where it would be extremely difficult to live up to it. We’ve become accustomed to goal-oriented life.
as far as i understand it, “desire” in Buddhism generally means “attachment” more than what we think of as the usual definition of desire. at its root, this means desire as in “the desire to be reborn” that causes suffering (giving in to the illusion of existence entirely, and desiring it/clinging to it = attachmen = suffering).
the 13th century Japanese Buddhist scholar Nichiren wrote that “earthly desires are enlightenment” … in essence, that being aware and mindful of one’s desires – and neither extinguishing them entirely nor giving into them entirely – is the way of the Middle Path. you’ll see awareness and mindfulness popping up as recurring themes throughout all of Buddhism. perhaps simply being aware of your desires/ambitions, and more mindful of them, is they key.
peace,
karmagrrl
See, I think you’re confusing happiness with enlightenment. Buddha said “Life is suffering.” The concept is that if you return to a simple life, prayer, meditation and good ole’ fashioned work, you will apprechiate the little things more. Much like Catholic monistaries and covents. Likewise, if you recognize suffering you will apprechiate life when you are NOT suffering all the more. Enlightenment is peacefulness. It’s not giddy happiness, it’s a level peace. And once you have peace in your life, you can examine everything in your life more fully, see the whole picture, as you are no longer focusing on the itty bitty details.
One must have chaos in oneself to give birth to a dancing star. -Nietzche
More than the desire itself, it is the clinging or attachment to your desires that creates unhappiness. Many people have the idea that if they can have pleasurable things in their life, and avoid painful things, they will be happy. You yourself have discovered that this is not true – you have achieved many of your goals, yet you are still unhappy by your own admission. It is your clinging to the idea that achieving these goals will make you happy that Buddhism teaches you should rid yourself of, not the goals themselves.
I know that non-Buddhists get tired of hearing this, but it’s difficult to put into words exactly. I would suggests Steven Bachelor’s excellent “Buddhism Without Beliefs” (Riverhead Books; ISBN: 1573226564
) as a good starting point, particularly for anyone interested in the “philosophy” of Buddhism without the metaphysical trappings.
Cooper said:
From what I’ve read, this isn’t exactly true. In Hindu philosophy, there is the notion of Brahmin, the universal soul. It is believed that one can become free of the cycle of death and rebirth, and unite with the Brahmin. (“Unite” is really a misnomer as it is thought that the individual soul is already one with Brahmin, but doesn’t realize it). There are stories of this throughout the Vedas. However, it is very difficult to unite with Brahmin, so it is not something that people strive to achieve, as they do the Buddhist nirvana. The assumption is that one will be re-born, because to transcend that cycle is very difficult.
As to Cooper’s final comment, I believe King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, reigning monarch of Nepal, does not find life to be “a pain in the butt” 
“I should not take bribes and Minister Bal Bahadur KC should not do so either. But if clerks take a bribe of Rs 50-60 after a hard day’s work, it is not an issue.” ----Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Current Prime Minister of Nepal
If a belief system advocates contentment through lack of desire, then you have to figure that its adherents won’t be going out and making babies nearly as much as those who still keep their desires. And the more numerous babies of the desire-filled people will be raised in families whose belief system doesn’t advocate extinguishing their desires.
Sounds like there’d be a lot of selection pressure against the desire-extinguishing belief system, then.
The truth, as always, is more complicated than that.
I’m not a Buddhist (“but I play one on TV”—how old IS that damn commercial?!).
But I know just what egkelly is talking about—I’ve either achieved, or given the Old College Try to, everything I’ve wanted to do. Now I feel like there’s nothing left that really interests or impels me. How do you “get new goals?” That’s a lot easier said than done.
Eve, it is slightly off topic, but I have found it helpful to first jetison any preconceived notions about practicality and respectability. Did you want to be a trapeze artist as a child? Well, it would be silly to dust off that old dream at this stage of life, right? Maybe, or maybe if you try it on for size you will find that the idea of tumbling without a net relying only on your own body and training still has some appeal. Of course, becoming a trapeze artist may not be practical. What about taking tumbling lessons at a local gymnastic or dance school? I do not intend any disrespect when I say this, but I have met very few people who have truly lived all of their dreams. Most really successful folks that I know have abndoned more than a few dreams along the way.
The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*
Maybe I should look this up, but I’m pretty sure you’ve got it wrong. Unification with the Brahmn is the goal of buddhism - thats what Nirvana is. I don’t think Hindus believe it is possible.
No disrespect intended, Cooper, but as I am in the middle of a 6 month long study of Hinduism, I’m pretty sure I’ve got it right. If you want to look it up, try “The Hindu Tradition” by Ainslie Embree, for starters. For cites in the orginal text, rather than commentary on the text, try Katha II, III and IV.
“I should not take bribes and Minister Bal Bahadur KC should not do so either. But if clerks take a bribe of Rs 50-60 after a hard day’s work, it is not an issue.” ----Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Current Prime Minister of Nepal