Desire in Buddhism: Craving, Wanting, & Grasping

By Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.
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Desire is one of the central topics in Buddhist teaching. The Buddha taught that craving or clinging (often translated from Pāli as taṇhā) is a root cause of suffering (dukkha). Yet desire is not something to be simply suppressed or judged. Rather, Buddhism offers a subtle, profound analysis of how we can shift our relationship with desire.

In this article, we’ll explore: what desire means in Buddhism; the psychological and somatic components of desire; the nondual perspective that suggests 'desire thoughts' and 'desire sensations' are not “owned” by a self; and how believing the contents of desire to be “me” or “true” leads to suffering.

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What Is Desire? Exploring the Definition in Buddhism

In Buddhist teaching, desire is not a single, simple thing. It includes craving, greed or attachment, passion or sensual desire, and clinging. The Four Noble Truths suggest that desire (or craving) is one of the origins of suffering. The First Noble Truth says life involves suffering or dissatisfaction (dukkha); the Second identifies craving (desire) as one of the causes of that suffering; the Third says that suffering ceases when craving ceases; the Fourth prescribes the path to end and transcend craving.

In Buddhism, desire is understood as that mental force which reaches out for something: for sensory pleasure, for existence, for continued being, for nonbeing, for recognition, etc. It’s part of the internal machinery of how we grasp, want, reject—how we cling, expect, hope, fear.

What Beliefs, Thoughts, and Bodily Sensations Make Up Desire

We can understand desire, not just as abstract thought, but as a mixture of multiple interrelated factors.

Desire & Beliefs
Beliefs (or views) are often the foundation of desire. Beliefs about what will bring happiness, beliefs about the permanence or value of certain things, beliefs about the self (“I”, “me”, “mine”) underlie craving. For example, believing that acquiring something will make us permanently happy causes attachment and expectation. Beliefs about being separate, incomplete, anxious, or lacking also feed desire: the belief that something outside will fill the inside. Buddhism identifies ignorance (avidyā)—especially ignorance of impermanence (anicca) and non-self (anatta)—as deeply connected to these beliefs. When one believes in a lasting self, one believes sensations, thoughts, and desires are “mine,” that they define me. That belief intensifies desire.

Desire & Thoughts
Thoughts are the content of mental activity associated with desire. These are memories, anticipations, imaginations, plans, fears. For example: "If only I had that job, then I would feel secure," or "I want to be praised." These thoughts then often generate craving, judgment, comparison, etc. Buddhist psychology maps out how contact (sense or mental), leads to feeling, leads to craving, leads to grasping, leads to becoming.

Thoughts also amplify desire by looping: imagining not having something, worrying about losing it, reflecting on whether it’s “fair”, comparing it with others, and so on. Thoughts further create a narrative self (“I should have, I deserve, I need”) that fuels ongoing desire.

Desire & Bodily Sensations
Desire is not purely mental. It has physiological and somatic dimensions. When something arises in perception (say, beauty, or hunger, or social pressure), the body responds: heart rate changes, tension, warmth or cold, butterflies, maybe craving in gut, maybe tension in chest. These sensations feed into the mental aspect: they intensify urgency or believability.

Thus, desire is made up of multiple parts: beliefs or views; mental content (thoughts); bodily feeling (sensations). And these are interwoven: a belief shapes what thoughts arise; thoughts trigger bodily responses; bodily responses influence thoughts and beliefs. Although in the end these are not really separate, deconstructing them into these parts helps us more easily observe what's actually happening when a desire arises.

A Nondual Perspective: Thoughts Are Not Owned so Desires Are Not Owned

Nondual traditions point out that many of the dichotomies we live with—“me” vs “others,” “self” vs “world,” “desire” vs “no desire”—are mental constructs. From a nondual perspective, thoughts, beliefs, and sensations all arise from causes and conditions; there is no essential self that owns them in a permanent way. What we call “I” is a convenient label for a shifting aggregation of processes. If thoughts are not owned (i.e. there is no unchanging thinker), then desire is also not something owned—it’s simply part of what arises in everythingness.

In Buddhist teaching, this is closely related to the doctrine of non-self (anatta). The five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness) are impermanent, subject to change, and there is no enduring essence among them that can be identified as “I.” Thus, sensation, thought, craving—while experienced—don’t belong to any fixed subject. They arise, persist for a time, and pass away. Recognizing this undermines the solidity with which we cling to desire. This non-ownership is not a theory alone but a matter of insight or experience: seeing thoughts as simply thoughts, sensations as sensations, neither more nor less.

In this view, desire is just thoughts, beliefs, and sensations arising—not something inherently me, or true, or permanent. They are phenomena. When they occur, they occur; when they cease, they cease. There’s no “owner,” no self who is bound by them if one can see them clearly.

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If We Believe Desire Is Ours or True, Then We Suffer

The crux lies in what we do with desire. If we believe that desires are us—if we believe they are ours, that they are true, that they last, that satisfying them will bring lasting happiness, that they even represent what we actually want—then suffering follows. Why?

Desire & Impermanence
First, because desires are impermanent. Even when we satisfy one, it doesn’t stay satisfied; things change, decay, fade. What once seemed to nourish becomes stale or gone. Permanence is an illusion. Clinging to transient states sets up disappointment, loss.

Desire & Seeking
Second, because many desires are incompatible or in conflict. Desire for recognition may conflict with desire for privacy; desire for pleasure may conflict with ethical values; desire for existence conflicts with realization of non-self. When desires meet obstacles—as most do—frustration, anxiety, regret, jealousy, envy and suffering arise. If a desire is thwarted, that belief in its necessity causes a crash.

Desire & Identification with Self
Third, and most importantly, believing the contents of desire to be “true” (i.e. real) reinforces identification with a self. Believing that a "want" is true requires there to also be a belief in a self that wants. It also requires belief in thoughts—and belief in thoughts also reinforces the self. The self regards what is “mine” as good; what is not “mine” as bad. Thus, what we want is good and what we don't want is bad. This leaves no space to accept and enjoy whatever arises. This is how wants cause suffering.

Desire Without Identification
Buddhist practices often nudge us to notice desire without identification. We can do this by reflecting on impermanence, non-self, and unsatisfactoriness. When one notices desire simply as a mental event, sensation, or belief, not making it “me,” then the desire loosens its power. One sees that whether the desire is fulfilled or not makes no difference.

The Nondual View of Desire in Daily Practice

To embody these insights, there are some practical methods:

Mindfulness of feeling: When a desire arises, notice the body sensations (tightness, warmth, tension). Notice the thoughts. Notice the belief or view behind it (“I need this to feel good; I won’t be enough without it”).
Insight into impermanence: Observing how desires appear and fade; how satisfaction is brief; how the things we desire change or cease.
Reflecting on non-self: Contemplating that a desire requires a self who desires something. The “I” who desires is a mental construct. Can a mental construct really have a desire?
Letting go without suppression: Nondual awareness does not mean suppressing or pushing away; it means allowing desire to be seen for what it truly is. Once this is seen clearly, clinging to desires resolves on its own.

Through these practices, one may gradually experience cessation of suffering not by forcibly eliminating desire entirely, but by changing one’s relationship to desire—seeing it for what it is, not what one believes it to be.

Rooting Out Desire Worksheet

Use this worksheet to explore how desire arises, how it is experienced in the body, and how it can be reframed from a nondual perspective.
©awakeningcollective.org

Situation / Trigger	Arising Desire	Bodily Sensations	Nondual Reframe	Practice to Notice / Respond	Reflection / Notes
Seeing a new phone advertised online	“I need that to feel up-to-date.”	Buzzing energy in chest, restless hands	This desire is a thought and sensation, not self	Pause, breathe, watch the craving shift and fade	Notice how quickly desire loses intensity
Smelling food when not truly hungry	“I have to eat that now.”	Mouth watering, warmth in belly	Hunger-thoughts arise in awareness, not “mine”	Rest in the raw sensations of salivation	See how desire differs from physiological need
Seeing friends post vacation photos	“I wish I were somewhere better.”	Heavy stomach, slight agitation	Desire is a mental comparison, not reality	Recognize thoughts as passing images	Reflect on impermanence of all experiences
Feeling lonely at night	“I need someone to complete me.”	Hollow chest, ache in heart area	Desire for completion is just sensation + story	Soften into the raw ache without labeling	Notice openness that exists beneath longing
Browsing online shopping late at night	“Buying this will make me happy.”	Tingling in fingers, quickened breath	Desire promises happiness but is fleeting	Watch how urge rises and passes naturally	Reflect on past desires that dissolved
Longing for praise after hard work	“I need recognition to feel worthy.”	Tight throat, fluttery stomach	Worthiness is not tied to external approval	Ground in breath, notice urge for validation	See how worthiness is a mental construct
Planning the future obsessively	“If I achieve this, I’ll finally be secure.”	Tense shoulders, shallow breath	Desire is thought, not owned by a self	Come back to present sensations in the body	Reflect on how life unfolds beyond control

Final Thoughts on Spiritual Desire, Craving, & Wanting

Desire is complex and multidimensional. It involves beliefs (about self, happiness, permanence), thoughts (anticipations, attachments, judgments), and bodily sensations (the felt throes of craving). In traditional Buddhist teaching, craving (taṇhā) is identified as a principal cause of suffering. However, a nondual perspective deepens this: recognizing that thoughts and sensations are not owned by a self dissolves the solidity with which desire exerts power. Suffering arises not simply from desire, but from believing that the contents of desire are “me,” true, permanent, or even achievable. By cultivating insight, one can see desire arise and fall away, without identification, without suffering.

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