In Buddhism, while it is taught that there are Four Sufferings from which no one can escape – birth, old age, sickness, and death – there are many other hardships and worries, in addition to these, with which we are constantly beset in our daily lives. The question is: “How do these endless troubles come about, and where do they come from?”
If we can penetrate the origin of suffering, and transform its root function, then we should be able to eliminate unhappiness and suffering from our lives. The fundamental cause of people’s unhappiness lies in their tendency to develop attachments of various kinds. Attachments are shackles on one’s heart—earthly desires, craving and so on.
This is the principle of “earthly desires are enlightenment.” It’s not a matter of eradicating attachments but of seeing them clearly. Rather than causing us to abandon our earthly desires and attachments, our Buddhist practice enables us to discern their true nature and utilize them as the driving force to become happy. The truth is that we could not in fact eradicate our attachments even if we so wished.
One side tells us to suppress desires because they are nothing but trouble—the suppression or even refutation of desire should be celebrated as a sign of virtue. Meanwhile, the other tells us that human desire is natural (and good!); that we should trust our feelings and desires, and do whatever they move us to do, so long as we do not infringe on the rights of others. Experience, however, tells us that neither the suppression of nor abandonment to desires leads to satisfaction in life. Then how do we live with the reality of our abundant desires and still become happy and fulfilled?
The Daishonin’s Buddhism, however, explains that both “earthly desires” and “enlightenment” are inherent to our lives. So any intent to deny either is itself a delusion. It sheds light on this issue through the concept called “earthly desires are enlightenment.” this Buddhist concept tells us that our desires and suffering—all that torments our mind— can be the source of wisdom and happiness. On the surface, however, this concept is contradictory. Our desires often cause delusion and suffering, which are the exact opposite of wisdom and happiness. In this sense, defining desires as an obstacle to enlightenment, rather than as enlightenment, seems more reasonable. So the logical extension of this line of thought will be that we have to eliminate our desires in order to attain enlightenment.
In this way without eradicating earthly desire or ridding oneself from desires arising from the five senses, one will purify the various senses and eradicate various offenses.
I like the article. However, it seems that the “Earthly desires” being spoke of are materials and not something like sex. So, for those of you who are searching for some insight on that subject I offer this: I don’t deny my desires but I’m not a slave to them.