Cradled_In_Space t1_isdcptw wrote on October 15, 2022 at 2:28 AM

The whole concept of 'resisting desire' always bothered me because when you think it through 'resisting to desire' is just 'desiring to not desire.'

My desires are what makes me human, it's what makes life fun, interesting, and gives me something to live for. As long as my desires don't hurt someone else I don't see anything wrong with them.

If you want to 'reduce suffering' we need to teach ourselves how 'not to care so much' if our desires don't come true. For instance, thjat girl we were totally crushing on didn't like us back. So now we suffer, but we can 'suffer through it' by realizing that there are plenty of other girls out there that may even be better or more suited for us as individuals; plenty more fish in the see and all that.

This notion of desire being 'a problem' really isn't a problem, it's what makes life interesting in my view.

throway4r t1_isllf24 wrote on October 16, 2022 at 10:03 PM

Resisting inordinate desire is the better translation. To resist hankering over things, or getting hung up about something.

But like you alluded, you can also get too caught up in resistance to desires, which is why they always say to take the middle way, the way of moderation- not too much, not too little.