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Taṇhā (Pāli) or Tṛṣṇā (Sanskrit) means "thirst, desire, craving, wanting, longing, yearning". Synonyms: The most basic of these meanings (in non-technical language) is "thirst"; however, in Buddhism it has a technical meaning that is much broader. In part due to the variety of possible translations, taṇhā is sometimes used as an untranslated technical term by authors writing about Buddhism. Taṇhā is the eighth link in the Twelve Nidanas of Dependent Origination (Pratītyasamutpāda/Paṭiccasamuppāda). Taṇhā is also the fundamental constituent of Samudaya - the Noble Truth of the Origination of Suffering, the second of the Four Noble Truths. Buddhist teachings, describe the craving for sense objects which provide pleasant feeling, or craving for sensory pleasures. Taṇhā is a term for wanting to have or wanting to obtain. It also encompasses the negative as in wanting not to have. We can crave for pleasant feelings to be present, and for unpleasant feelings not to be present (ie get rid of unpleasant feelings). According to Buddhist teachings, craving, or desire, springs from the notion that if one's desires are fulfilled it will, of itself, lead to one's lasting happiness or well-being. Such beliefs normally result in further craving/desire and the repeated enactment of activities to bring about the desired results. This is graphically depicted in the Bhavacakra. The repeated cycling through states driven by craving and its concomitant clinging Upadana. The meaning of Taṇhā (craving, desire, want, thirst), extends beyond the desire for material objects or sense pleasures. It also includes the desire for life (or death, in the case of someone wishing to commit suicide), desire for fame (or infamy, its opposite), desire for sleep, desire for mental or emotional states (happiness, joy, rapture, love) if they are not present and would like them to be. If we experience, say depression or sorrow, we can desire its opposite. The meaning of Taṇhā is far-reaching and covers all desire, all wanting, all craving, irrespective of its intensity. Taṇhā is sometimes taken as interchangeable with the term addiction, except that would be too narrow a view. Taṇhā tends to include a far broader range of human experience and feeling than medical discussions of addiction tend to include. Further analysis of Taṇhā reveals that worldly desires cannot be fully satiated or satisfied, due to their impermanent nature. This is expounded in the Buddhist teaching of Anitya impermanence, change (Pali: Anicca). The Buddhist solution to the problem of Tanha (craving, wanting) is the next of the four noble truths, Nirodha, the cessation of suffering which is Noble Eightfold Path and the Six Paramita. The cessation of suffering comes from aknowledging the impermanence of existence, i.e that everything is constantly changing Anicca and Anatta, which is that because of Anicca there is no permanent self. The third of the Three marks of existence as they are known, is Dukkha, that being that the world is therefore unsatisfactory and suffering will occur if you place your trust in the impermanent things. Enlightenment teaches one should therefore seek joy and satisfaction from the permanent things in life who's existence must be unfolded for the persons eyes by means of meditation (Samadhi) and knowledge (Prajñā), according to the Mahayana school of Buddhism.
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