Born of Earth's Desiring

There is no question that “desire” has a questionable reputation, one that goes back to Antiquity. In place of desire, Plato argued that we should focus on higher ideals. Spinoza saw natural desires as a form of bondage that we do not freely choose. The archetype for this is the Cookie Monster on Sesame Street. His single life focus and desire, “Me want cookie!” must be followed by its satisfaction, “Me eat cookie!” creating a rather narrow existence.

According to Buddhism, desire or craving is based in the belief that if our desires are fulfilled we will achieve lasting happiness or well-being. Given the reality of impermanence, happiness and well-being are always fleeting, which makes our desire or craving even stronger. Frustrated in our pursuit of permanent happiness, we find ourselves trapped in a cycle of desire-happiness-suffering in which suffering comes to predominate. Still, desire is important. William Irvine writes, “Banish desire from the world, and you get a world of frozen beings who have no reason to live and no reason to die.”

A brief discourse on Buddhism on Easter Sunday may seem unconventional, but we will arrive safely at our destination. According to Buddhist psychotherapist Mark Epstein, author of Open to Desire, “Clinging - not desire - is where we get stuck, and it’s possible to embrace desire without clinging by infusing it with awareness.” The geometry of desire includes the individual, the object of desire, and the gap that separates the two. While the size of the gap may vary over time, there will always be a gap between us and what we desire. That is the nature of desire. Rather than clinging to try to close the gap, Epstein suggests that we learn to dwell in the gap so that desire can become a teacher in its own right. This requires desire without expectation. It also requires, as Epstein explains, that we learn how to use desire, rather than being used by it.

Epstein suggests that as we embrace desire as a valuable and precious resource, rather than as the cause of suffering, we face a sizable challenge. Desire is seductive and can end up mastering us if we do not master it, so caution is required. Still, says Epstein, desire, “if harnessed correctly, can awaken and liberate the mind.” He calls desire “the energy that strives for transcendence,” that it is “the foundation for all spiritual pursuits.” As desire becomes an object of meditation, we must ask of each desire that arises in us, “What is its source?” Does this specific desire arise out of life’s longing for itself, or does it arise out of some wound or perceived lack of wholeness within us? The latter is clearly problematic. If desire becomes the master, it can corrode our ability to know truth, see beauty, and feel love.

We find ourselves once again at the intersection of three significant observances in the turning of the year. These three, Passover, Easter, and spring represent a trinity of desire. Passover is a desire for freedom. Easter, mindful of the central teachings of Jesus, is a desire for love, and springtime is a desire for life. We live by desire and we are born of earth’s desiring. At the conjunction of Passover, Easter, and spring the only appropriate prayer of gratitude that we can utter is “Yes!”