Tahna

Question 1

Doctor

What did the Buddha teach at his first sermon?

Answer 1

• The Buddha taught the 4 Noble Truths at his first sermon after reaching enlightenment.
• Doctor analogy is often used to explain them; Dukkha is the disease, Tahna, is the cause, nibbana is the cure and the 8-fold path is the medicine.

Question 2

What is a quote which represents Tahna?

very long quote

Answer 2

“namely the craving for passion, the craving for existence, the craving for non-existence.” - The Buddha in his sermon in Benares.

Question 3

thirst

What does Tahna mean?

Answer 3

• Tahna describes the nature of human beings as being in a constant mindset of craving and desire; tahna is litreally translated as ‘thirst’.

Question 4

tasty

What is one type of craving?

Answer 4

• One type of craving is sense craving e.g craving for the pleasure of eating a tasty food, but not because you want to.

Question 5

money

What is a second type of craving?

Answer 5

• Craving to be.
• This would be linked directly to anicca and anatta, as we crave for things to last e.g. money.

Question 6

exams

What is the final type of craving?

Answer 6

• Craving not to be.
• For example this would be to end our suffering or our pain.

Question 7

no fear

What is a second quote from the Buddha?

Answer 7

• “There is no fear for one whose mind is not filled with desire.”- The Buddha.
• This suggests that if we end craving and accept the 4 Noble Truths, we will find peace.

and also the eightfold path

Question 8

What do Buddhists recognise?

Answer 8

• Buddhists recognise that when we gain something we want we will be temporarily happy however this can never last because of annica.

Question 9

ignorance

How is suffering caused?

Answer 9

• Suffering is caused by our ignorance of the fact that things are impermanent, which means we become attached and crave permanent things.

Question 10

What happens when we accept anicca?

Answer 10

• When we accept anicca we will stop tahna because we will become less attached to things that we want.

Question 11

What is one implication of tahna?

Answer 11

• An impact of the acceptance of tahna is one of the first steps to releasing from it permanently.
• Buddhists may aim to become less attached to material things knowing that it may cause less suffering as they are not permanent.

Question 12

right

What is the second implication of tahna?

Answer 12

• An impact of belief in tahna is that Buddhists may aim to have the ‘right view’. They would have more understanding of the human condition and become less ignorant.

Question 13

love

What is the third implication of tahna?

Answer 13

• An impact of belief in tahna is that buddhists will aim to practice more skillfull actions. They might try to live more compassionatley and not act on temporary desires.

Question 14

greed

What is the fourth implication of tahna?

Answer 14

• An impact of belief in tahna is that Buddhists will actively avoid being greedy. If they recognise the cause of their greedy thoughts then it is easier to eliminate this behaviour.

Question 15

What is the final implication of tahna?

Answer 15

• An impact of belief in tahna is that Buddhists monks will live a modest life with only essential items. this shows a detachment from material things which others may crave.

Question 16

What is the first evaluation for tahna?

Answer 16

• In conclusion the belief in tahna is important as the Buddha experienced it when he starved himself trying to find enlightenment. Once he realised that his starvation only led to more craving, he abandoned it.

Question 17

4

What is the second evaluation for tahna?

Answer 17

• In conclusion the belief in tahna is important as it is one of the 4 Noble truths. This is a key buddhist doctrine about the human condition which all Buddhists should understand in order to gain enlightenment.

Question 18

sermon

What is the third evaluation for tahna?

Answer 18

• In conclusion the belief in tahna is important as it is part of the Buddha’s first sermon after enlightenment. This suggests that it is an extremeley important teaching as it was the first thing he passed onto the Buddhist community (sangha).

Question 19

samsara

What is the fourth evaluation for tahna?

Answer 19

• In conclusion the belief in tahna is important because it is essential in understanding the Buddhist teachings on samsara. In order to escape the cycle of samsara, Buddhists must detach themselves from the 3 root posions and accept the feelings of anger, greed and hatred.

Question 20

dukkha

What is the fifth evaluation for tahna?

Answer 20

• In conclusion the belief in tahna is important because it is essential to understand the Buddhist teaching of Dukkha. In order to escape suffering, Buddhists must understand the cause of it.