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").

Simplistic and wrong: Buddhism explained in 1 minute! - Misunderstanding the term "desire"

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.

• Dr. Robert Sapolsky: Behave

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

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  Beauty is more than skin deep!

  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

The Great Allowing (guided meditation)

The Great Allowing

Tara, the Goddess(es) of Buddhism

TARA: The most powerful Goddess in Buddhism — and why she refused to be reborn as a male

(Buddha's Wisdom) Dec. 7, 2025: ⚡ THE BUDDHIST GODDESS WHO ANSWERS BEFORE WE FINISH PRAYING. Tara is Buddhism's most powerful female deity [of course, most would argue that designation actually belongs to Bodhisattva Kwan Yin (Guanyin, Chenrezig, Kwannon) the Goddess of Compassion].

But Tara's not just a goddess, she's a fully enlightened buddha who defied every monk who ever told her to become a man.

Born from the compassionate tears of Avalokiteshvara [who was transformed into the feminine deity Kwan Yin], Green Tara took a sacred vow to remain female forever and save beings faster than any other enlightened being in Buddhist history.

• [Buddhist "history" is much older than it is ever given credit for because the historical Buddha spoke of at least 28 previous supremely awakened buddhas in this great aeon and countless before that in the endless cycle of time or three ages of past, present, and future. Much of what Shakyamuni Buddha, born Prince Siddhartha Gautama, taught he either discerned on the spot or recalled from casting his mind back to how previous buddhas had handled various situations.]

From Tibetan warriors carrying her image into battle to modern practitioners calling her name in life-or-death emergencies, Tara represents the radical feminine power that [some male-centric element, likely a monastic one or a worldwide influence and push to bury the divine feminine in Abrahamic and Dharmic religions like] Buddhism tried to hide for centuries.

This is the untold story of Tara: the "Female Buddha" who can move faster than fear.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:

• 00:00 The Sea Legend
• 01:57 Chapter 1: The Tear That Became a Revolution
• 05:45 Chapter 2: The 21 Faces of Protection
• 10:17 Chapter 3: What Makes Tara Unlike Any Other Buddhist Deity
• 13:55 Chapter 4: The Night She Saved Tibet
• 17:56 Chapter 5: When You Actually Need Her
• 23:12 Why Tara Still Matters Today

DISCOVER:

• How Tara was born from Avalokiteshvara’s tear and why her vow changed Buddhism forever
• How Green Tara saved an 11th-century Indian master traveling to Tibet and changed Tibetan Buddhism forever
• The 21 Taras and the legends behind their protective powers (including the Eight Great Fears)
• Why Tara answers prayers instantly, while the historical Buddha taught the slow [systematic] path of gradual enlightenment
• Why Tara is experiencing a global renaissance today

📱 Join community: Instagram (buddhaswizdom), Facebook (buddhaswizdom) ☕ Support the channel: buymeacoffee.com/buddhaswisdom.

📚 SOURCES AND FURTHER READING:

Primary texts:

• "In Praise of the Twenty-One Taras" (traditional liturgical text)
• "The Biography of Atisha Dipankara" (11th century Tibetan sources)
• "The Praises to the Twenty-One Taras" by Sūryagupta
• Tibetan Buddhist canonical texts on Tara's origins and manifestations

Scholarly resources:

• "Tara: The Feminine Divine" by Bokar Rinpoche
• "In Praise of Tara: Songs to the Saviouress" translated by Martin Willson
• "The Cult of Tara: Magic and Ritual in Tibet" by Stephan Beyer
• Historical accounts of Atisha's journey to Tibet (1042 CE)
• Studies on feminine enlightenment in Vajrayana Buddhism

Cultural Context:

• Traditional Tara sadhana [daily] practices across Tibet, Mongolia, Nepal, and Bhutan
• The Eight Great Fears in Buddhist iconography
• The relationship between Avalokiteshvara and Tara in Mahayana texts
• Modern applications of Tara practice in contemporary Buddhism

ABOUT: Buddha's Wisdom brings ancient Buddhist teachings to life through compelling storytelling, historical deep dives, and philosophical explorations. From forgotten masters to revolutionary ideas, it uncovers the wisdom that transforms lives.

🙏 SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE BUDDHIST WISDOM. Enjoy deep dives into Buddhist history, mythology, and philosophy? Subscribe and turn on notifications to catch all new episodes. #Tara #Buddhism #GreenTara #FemaleBuddha #TibetanBuddhism #BuddhistGoddess #Avalokiteshvara #BuddhistTeachings #Enlightenment #TaraMantra #BuddhistHistory #SpiritualPractice #TwentyOneTaras #VajrayanaBuddhism #BuddhistWisdom #Buddha

Alan Watts reveals 'The Secret'

Alan Watts: The More You Let Go, the More Life Gives You

(Buddhism Podcast) Stop SEARCHING for enlightenment. We are it? (The Buddha’s insight)

• Alan Watts, Buddhist Radio, Los Angeles (KPFK 90.7 FM)
• KFPK.org/archives (Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, 8:00 am)

[Buddhist] World Surf League Finals (8/25)

What is 'Buddhist' about the practice of surfing?

Get back on and ride the waves.

There are many ways in which surfing, which seems to have been "invented" in the Pacific -- in Peru and Polynesia, with important contributions from Buddhist Japan (which at that time included a cultural hold on what is now part of Hawaii in the Imperial USA), tracks with the best elements of Eastern philosophy.

That philosophy, distinct from Western philosophy we are all generally familiar with, is a syncretic blend of Buddhism, Zen, the Vedas, Hinduism, Taoism, Shinto, and indigenous shamanism. (British Californian Alan Watts explained it very well to Westerners).

• Mindfulness (fully absorbed in monotasking)
• Absorption (undistracted doing temporarily freed of discursive thinking)
• Letting go (non-clinging, as in "Let Go, Let God," with "God" understood to be Nature, the Universe, things just as they are at this moment, more Brahman than a brahma)
• Going with the flow rather than struggling against it (entering flow states familiar to poets, rappers, artists, and persons able to enter trance states at will)
• Skillful allowing and accepting rather than shoving, muscling, and efforting (radical acceptance as understood by Buddhist teacher and psychologist Tara Brach)
• Riding the wave (internally of emotions, externally tolerating and skillfully adapting to the "Eight Worldly Winds"):

Practicing at home in the Deep South, USA

Theravada Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg elaborates on the Taoist idea of “the ten thousand joys and the ten thousand sorrows.” Our lives are constantly changing, sometimes in the space of a minute. The Buddha taught that the “Eight Worldly Winds” are:

1. pleasure
2. and pain,
3. gain
4. and loss,
5. praise
6. and blame,
7. fame
8. and disrepute.

Taoism and the Tao Te Ching (Book of Changes)

They (and all things) are constantly arising and passing away, beyond our control. We suffer when we cling to pleasure, gain, praise, and fame or hold the expectation that they will always be present.

When instead we get pain, loss, blame, and disrepute, we feel that something is terribly wrong, or that we’ve done something wrong... More

• Well, what should we do when everything sucks? Surf.
• Whether that means ride the waves of life constantly coming at us like Eight Worldly Winds or vicissitudes or actually getting out on the water, waiting for the swells, and riding them back to sure with the practiced skills of balance, poise, allowing, persistence, and mindful awareness.

Lexus WSL Finals Fiji 2025 | World Surf League

Map shows Fiji cluster of islands in center

What to know: The paradise and power of Cloudbreak | Lexus WSL Finals Fiji. At the Lexus WSL Finals, the WSL Final 5 will face off at Cloudbreak, one of the most powerful lefts on Earth. It's a wave that demands total commitment and punishes hesitation. With a world title on the line, this is the ultimate test of talent, mental acumen, and pure surfing instinct. The stakes have never been higher, and there's no room for error. History will be ridden, and World Champions will be crowned: Paradise and power of Cloudbreak (WSL)

Where is Fiji?

Where in the world is Fiji? It is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean (between Hawaii and Australia). It rests about 1,300 miles (1,100 nautical miles or 2,000 kms) north-northeast of New Zealand.

Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 7,100 square miles (18,300 sq kms). The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau.

• DETAILS: Lexus WSL Finals Fiji 2025 | World Surf League

Mexico's Baja California in upper right, Fiji in center, Southeast Asia on left, Africa at far left

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About 87% of the total population live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in the capital city of Suva, or in smaller urban centers such as Nadi (where tourism is the major local industry) or Lautoka (where the sugar-cane industry is dominant). The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain [13]. More

• WorldSurfLeague.com/events/2025
• VIDEO: 1,700-year-old city hidden beneath Pacific Ocean
• WSL 2025; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

This could be The Year of Inner Wisdom

Tami Simon (soundstrue.com); Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What year is my Year of Inner Wisdom? Sounds True One

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Diana Winston (MARC UCLA)

What does Sounds True One think I can learn for Inner Wisdom? And who would teach me but me?

Life is unpredictable, but our path to fulfillment doesn’t have to be. Sounds True has worked with some of the leading wisdom teachers of our time to craft a journey of transformational programming to stay centered, listen to our inner voice, and awaken our full potential. Activate this inner wisdom with Sounds True this year.

Meet the Teachers

Join Sounds True One for the Year of You and save 30% today

• Pema Chödrön, author, American Buddhist nun, teacher
• Dr. Gabor Maté, MD, author, speaker, addiction medicine specialist, physician
• Tara Brach American Buddhist meditation teacher, bestselling author
• Jack Kornfield American Buddhist teacher, Bay Area therapist, author, activist
• Rev. Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith author and spiritual teacher from The Secret
• Michael A. Singer bestselling author and spiritual teacher
• Dr. Peter Levine, Ph.D. bestselling author, developer of Somatic Experiencing®
• Caroline Myss bestselling author, speaker
• Lama Rod Owens Black Buddhist Southern Queen
• Dr. Richard Davidson, Ph.D., neuroscientist, bestselling author
• Donna Eden energy medicine practitioner, author, teacher [WQ's favorite healer!]
• Rev. Mpho Tutu van Furth Episcopal priest, artist, author, public speaker
• Dr. Richard C. Schwartz, Ph.D. author, founder of Internal Family Systems
• Wim Hof author, Western pranayama (breath control) extreme athlete, global health leader
• Robert Peng Qigong Master, author, teacher
• Deb Dana author, Polyvagal Theory expert



Sounds True Founder Tami Simon

• Tami Simon founder and voice of Sounds True
• Justin Michael Williams artist, author, activist
• john a. powell author, professor of law and ethnic studies
• Shiva Rea author, yoga teacher
• Yung Pueblo bestselling author
• Eckhart Tolle spiritual teacher, bestselling author of The Power of Now More

What if American Buddhist teacher Shinzen Young had something important to say?

Tara Brach: shame eating “Hunger Habit”

Tara Brach (tarabrach.com), Dr. Jud Brewer (drjud.com); Ashley Wells, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Hunger Habit (Dr. Jud Brewer)

Countless people live with shame and distress about their eating.

Dr. Judson Brewer -- scientist, professor and author of The Hunger Habit and many other groundbreaking books -- is a thought leader in the field of habit change.

He’s also a decades long practitioner of mindfulness, and a dear colleague and friend of Tara Brach.

In this conversation they explore how combining mindfulness practice with a basic understanding of habit change science can free us from unhealthy eating habits.

They also look at the larger societal forces that drive overconsumption, as well as the shame that eating behaviors can evoke. Pick up a copy of The Hunger Habit. More

• Check out Tara Brach's "8 Essential Tips to Nourish a Meditation Practice" at tarabrach.com

Gratitude Buddhist meditation w/ Tara Brach

Tara Brach, June 5, 2022, published 6/13/22; Amber Larson (ed.), Widom Quarterly

Morning Meditation with Tara Brach: Presence and Gratitude

(Tara Brach) When we start the day by arriving in full presence [mindfulness], we can open naturally to a heartspace of gratitude. This allows us to savor the blessings of our unfolding day.

Flute and photography: Jonathan Foust. Order Tara Brach's book, Radical Compassion, at the following link: tarabrach.com/radical-com... Subscribe to podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Join Brach's email community to receive exclusive updates, events, meditations: tarabrach.com/join-email... Support enables the continuation of offering these talks freely. If they are of value, consider offering a donation at this time: tarabrach.com/donation. With thanks and love, Tara

Tara Brach and Sharon Salzberg (KCRW FM)

Life Examined (kcrw.com, 6/25/23); Crystal Q., Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Sharon Salzberg was 18 when she left New York to travel in India in search of Truth.

Tara Brach on the transformative power of radical compassion (mindful.org)

AUDIO: American Buddhist teachers Tara Brach and Sharon Salzberg  (KCRW FM)

Who is psychologist Tara Brach?

Tara Brach on meditation, emotional healing, spiritual awakening (thoughteconomics.com)

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Dr. Tara Brach, Ph.D. (born May 17, 1953) is an American psychologist, author, and Buddhist meditator.

She is a guiding teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. (IMCW). Brach also teaches Buddhist meditation at centers for meditation and yoga in the United States and Europe, including Spirit Rock Meditation Center near San Francisco, California; the Kripalu Center; and the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies.

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Tara Brach talks: audio and video (tarabrach.com)

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Brach is an Engaged Buddhist, specializing in the application of Buddhist teachings like mindfulness meditation for emotional healing.

She has authored several books on these subjects, including Radical Acceptance, True Refuge, and Radical Compassion. More

Release feelings of unworthiness with Tara Brach in this Calm Masterclass (blog.calm.com)

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Who is awakened American Sharon Salzberg?

Key to meditation: "Begin again."

Sharon Salzberg (born August 5, 1952) is a Buddhist teacher and New York Times bestselling author. She teaches meditation practice in the West.

In 1974, she co-founded the Insight Meditation Society outside Boston, in Barre, Massachusetts, with fellow teachers Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein. Her emphasis is on insight meditation (vipassanā) and loving-kindness (mettā).

She has been leading meditation retreats around the world for over three decades, with methods originating in Theravada Buddhism.

I meditate. Mind wanders. Begin again.

Her books include Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness (1995), A Heart as Wide as the World (1999), Real Happiness - The Power of Meditation: A 28-Day Program (2010), which was on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2011, and the follow-up Real Happiness at Work (2013).

She runs the Metta Hour podcast and contributes monthly to a column On Being. More

FREE Summit: (3/29) Gabor Mate, Tara Brach, Rick Hanson, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldberg, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Dan Harris...

Sharon Salzberg; Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jen, Wisdom Quarterly

Sharon Salzberg is delighted that Wisdom for Life came to her with the idea of creating a summit based on the themes of her new book, Real Life, to be published on April 11th.

The book is based on the possibility of moving from contraction and isolation, the “narrow straits” of habit and assumption, to a world of greater spaciousness, creativity, and connection.

In this summit, too, we will look at common states of narrowness and pain and how to work with them.

We will look at when we feel most expansive and open (e.g., states like loving-kindness and compassion) and how to cultivate them.

We will look at what we want to take along on this journey and what’s a burden best left behind. And we will look at the power of that more open and expansive state and how it can change our lives. 

• CLICK HERE TO JOIN

Sharon Salzberg is hosting the Summit and conducting many of the interviews with 30+ speakers. She’s joined in conducting the interviews by Andrés González, Ali Smith, Atman Smith of the Holistic Life Foundation, and Lily Cushman.

Speakers include meditation teachers, playwrights, activists, scientists, poets/rappers, and more. Several of these extraordinary people will be quite familiar, and some will be the most delightful new discoveries.

Upgrade page - Wisdom For Life Summits

Each of the five days of the Summit has a unique theme from the book:

1. DAY ONE: WHAT IS AUTHENTIC LIVING
2. DAY TWO: CONTRACTION
3. DAY THREE EXPANSION
4. DAY FOUR: THE JOURNEY
5. DAY FIVE: THE EMERGENCE.

The scheduled speakers are:

• Ali Smith
• Amishi Jha
• Andrés González
• Anu Gupta
• Atman Smith
• Caroline Welch
• Courtney Martin
• Daisy Hernández
• Dan Harris
• Dan Siegel
• Daphne Zuniga
• Duncan Trussell
• Dr. Gabor Maté
• Jack Kornfield
• Jerry Colonna
• Joel Leon
• Jon Kabat-Zinn
• Joseph Goldstein
• Krishna Das
• Mark Epstein
• Omid Safi
• Parker Palmer
• Pete Holmes
• Rhonda V. Magee
• Rick Hanson
• Sarah Jones
• Sarah Ruhl
• Shelly Tygielski
• Simran Jeet Singh
• Sylvia Boorstein
• Tara Brach
• Trudy Goodman
• Valarie Kaur
• Zainab Salbi.
• CLICK HERE TO JOIN

Hope you can join us.

Take care, Sharon Salzberg (sharonsalzberg.com)

MEETUP GROUPS (Los Angeles):

• Disclosure Project
• Nature Center
• PasaDharma