” Obliterate every desire and you will find happiness”, says the wise man.
It is crucial to differentiate between the happiness of the individual and her/his “success” in the evolutionary sense. Desire, one of Evolution’s whims, is the force that prompts us to seek and obtain things or qualities such as money, power, mates etc. The stronger the desire, the more intensive and relentless the seeking. And thus, the greater the evolutionary success i.e. survival and reproduction. But the holder of this “success” is often not so happy and content. The moment a desire is fulfilled, another desire emerges. On the other side, the sage that has eliminated every desire is supposed to be perfectly blissful, because he/she has no unfulfilled dreams, nothing to be disappointed with, no one to be disappointed in. Thus, a victory over the “force of Evolution”. But that would be a pyrrhic victory of man over nature. The average “content individual” bequeathes his/her genome to offspring to a lesser degree than the average “always unsatisfied struggler” who accumulates wealth, power, mates. This in turn explains the fact that human societies abound with dismal men and women, while desireless, peaceful sapients appear almost only in history books and in our fantasies.
I can understand the notion that a desire may cause suffering, but it may also bring good things or beautiful emotions. There is a certain reasoning in sages’ advice to reduce our desires in order to be happy, but I am not sure that the strict suppression of almost all kinds of desires will bring redemption, as I believe their fulfillment will not bring happiness either. I doubt that a completely desireless person has ever existed and even if existed, that she/he would be totally blissful. Or if this living being would still be …human.
Philosophience 