When "desire" is GOOD in Buddhism

The Buddha's [distinction] about "desire" that Western Buddhism gets wrong

The rare beauty of Native American men

(The Midnight Library) July 10, 2026: [Theravada] Buddhism is often described as a tradition that teaches us to eliminate "desire." This is one of the most persistent misreadings in the history of the Western encounter with Eastern philosophy.

The ancient Pali canon makes a precise distinction between two words that, in English, may both be rendered as "desire," but they are almost opposites.

Tanha is compulsive "craving" driven by a sense of lack — whereas chanda is "aspiration" driven by genuine vision.

The Buddha actively encouraged chanda ("desire," "aspiration," "will," "intention") while working to release tanha ("desire," "craving," lit. "thirst").

Professor of Neuroscience Dr. Wolfram Schultz, MD, at Cambridge University, England, documented that the dopamine reward system produces more activation in anticipation (wanting) than in satisfaction (getting) — confirming the structural mechanism of tanha (craving) 2,600 years after the Buddha described it.

The Craving Mind (Dr. Judson Brewer)

Neuroscientist and psychiatrist Dr. Judson Brewer, MD, who studies the default mode network at Brown University confirmed in The Craving Mind (2017) that mindful [dispassionate detached attention to what is happening in the present moment without moving towards the pleasant, away from the unpleasant, or being confused/bored by the neutral] observation of craving interrupts the compulsive cycle measurably.

• Tara Brach: Meditation teacher, psychologist, author

Radical Acceptance (Dr. Tara Brach, PhD)

Three Buddhist practices drawn directly from the Pali canon: The R.A.I.N. practice, the aspiration question, and the satiation experiment.

• Recognize, name what is present
• Allow, do not react (chase, act on, suppress, check out, do not crave, resist, or go dull in boredom/confusion), let it be present (radical acceptance)
• Investigate, what does it feel like, where is it located in the body, what is its texture?
• Nurture, bring kindness to the experience, not to the craving itself but to the part of you experiencing it
• "This practice interrupts the automatic cycle of trigger to craving to behavior and creates a gap in which choice becomes possible."
• "Prof. Brewer's research has confirmed that this gap created through mindful [dispassionate, equanimous, attentive, vigilant, wakeful, unbiased] observation of craving measurably reduces the compulsive quality of tanha [craving, addiction, obsession, compulsion] over time."

"The Craving Mind"

(Clear Mountain Monastery Project) The Craving Mind and the Default

Mode [Network]’s Addiction to Self | Dr. Judson Brewer. MD, PhD

• BIO: Dr. Judson Brewer, MD, PhD (aka "Dr. Jud"), is a New York Times best-selling author and pioneering psychiatrist blending cutting-edge neuroscience with 20+ years of Buddhist mindfulness training. A leader in the science of habit change, he is director of research at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center and has held positions at MIT, Yale U., and UMass. Dr. Jud developed app-based programs like Mindshift Recovery, Unwinding Anxiety, Eat Right Now, and Craving to Quit, clinically proven to treat anxiety, addiction, and emotional eating. He’s the author of The Craving Mind, Unwinding Anxiety, and The Hunger Habit, and co-founder of the nonprofit Mindshift Recovery. He is also a collaborator with Clear Mountaineers and medical researchers Dori Rosenberg and Dave Arterburn. More

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"The Rewarded Brain"

(Cambridge Philosophical Society) The Rewarded Brain | A V Hill Lecture

Handsome American Indian

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• The Midnight Library @TheRealMidnight...) July 10, 2026; Dr. Wolfram Schultz; Dr. Judson Brewer; Dr. Tara Brach; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly