Expert: Joe McSorley - 12/7/2005

Question
Hello Mr Joe!

I read somewhere that "existing without desires allows us to blend with the natural law of existence and that satori is all about mastering our desires and destroying them it's not about knowing ourselves." I conclude from this that desires are bad, but are they always that bad. I, for example, want to graduate, get a satisfactory job, become a good martial artist etc. These are my desires and i believe they are not bad. So which desires are the bad ones?
thanks!

Answer
Hi Luke,  
I am glad you are thinking about these things before you ask me.  The natural question that arises is: if desire is bad then what about the desire to get rid of desire?   Satori is about awakening to our true nature, the true self that exists before desire and alienation.  You can master many desires but what about the desire to eat, breathe and sleep?  You can only go so far with this.  If you get rid of all desires are you then a robot or a rock?  Ultimately, what is desire?  Desire is the attempt to fulfill a craving through any means of gratification yet fulfilling the craving never truly satisfies that desire.  Once you get what you thought would fulfill your desire you realize that it has not fulfilled it ultimately but only temporarily and the desire will rise again.  Desire is a contrivance of our consciousness that thinks that when we gain the object of our consciousness we will be satiated, but we never are.  This creates a never-ending cycle of want/desire/craving that never realizes the object of its desire.  So when we pursue a desire it never really gets fulfilled.  We always want to be a better athlete or scholar or whatever and never get there.  It's because we think that we will know ourselves when we get the desire.  Who is it that has the desire?  Desires block us from seeing the root of our self.  So to overcome desire is to pursue our goals without being defined by those goals.  You can't just pick out some desires and make some bad and some good.  Sexual desire is an important part of nature and is instinctual in most creatures. It can also be way out of perspective and run our lives.  Animals don't have this confusion, they are not defined by the desire.  They do what they do in harmony with their nature.  To be free of desire is to be yourself fully in the moment without craving for something else.
  I hope this helps you,
         Take care,
              Joe