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Taṇhā
Taṇhā is a Pāli word, which originates from the Vedic Sanskrit word
tṛ́ṣṇā, which means "thirst, craving, desire", from Proto-Indo- Translations of
Iranian *tŕ̥šnas. It is an important concept in Buddhism, referring to taṇhā
"thirst, desire, longing, greed", either physical or mental.[1][2] It is English thirst, craving, desire,
typically translated as craving,[3] and is of three types: kāma-taṇhā etc.
(craving for sensual pleasures), bhava-taṇhā (craving for existence), Sanskrit tṛ́ṣṇā (Dev: तृ ा)
and vibhava-taṇhā (craving for non-existence).[4][5]
Pali taṇhā (Dev: त हा)
Taṇhā appears in the Four Noble Truths, wherein taṇhā is the cause Bengali টান (Tan)
of dukkha (suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness) and the cycle of
Burmese တဏာ
repeated birth, becoming and death (Saṃsāra).[1][2][4]
(IPA: [tən̥à])
Chinese 贪爱 / 貪愛

Contents (Pinyin: tānài)

Japanese 渇愛
Etymology and meaning (rōmaji: katsu ai)
Relation to Dukkha Khmer ត
Types (UNGEGN: Ton ha)
Cessation of Taṇhā Korean 갈애
Tanha versus Chanda (RR: gal-ae)

Relation to the three poisons Sinhala ත හාව,තෘ ණාව

See also Tibetan ེད་པ་

(Wylie: sred pa;
Notes
THL: sepa)
References
Sources Thai ตัณหา
(IPA: tan-hăː)
Further reading
Vietnamese ái
External links
Glossary of Buddhism

The 12 Nidānas:
Etymology and meaning Ignorance
↓
Formations
The word Taṇhā is derived from the Vedic Sanskrit word tṛ́ṣṇā (तृ ा), which is related to ↓
the root tarś- (thirst, desire, wish), ultimately descending from Proto-Indo-European Consciousness
↓
*ters- (dry). This word has the following Indo-European cognates: Avestan taršna Name & Form
(thirst), Ancient Greek térsomai (to dry), Gothic þaursus (dry), Old High German durst ↓
Six Sense Bases
(dry), English thirst.[1] The word appears numerous times in the Samhita layer of the ↓
Rigveda, dated to the 2nd millennium BCE, such as in hymns 1.7.11, 1.16.5, 3.9.3, 6.15.5, Contact
↓
7.3.4 and 10.91.7.[6] It also appears in other Vedas of Hinduism, wherein the meaning of Feeling
the word is "thirst, thirsting for, longing for, craving for, desiring, eager greediness, and ↓
Craving
suffering from thirst".[6] ↓
Clinging
↓
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Taṇhā is an important Buddhist concept, and found in its early texts. It literally means Becoming
↓
"thirst, longing, greed", either physical or mental.[1][7] Birth
↓
Old Age & Death
Relation to Dukkha
In the second of the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha identified taṇhā as a principal cause in the arising of
dukkha (suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness).[8]

The taṇhā, states Walpola Rahula, or "thirst, desire, greed, craving" is what manifests as suffering and
rebirths.[7] However, adds Rahula, it is not the first cause nor the only cause of dukkha or samsara,
because the origination of everything is relative and dependent on something else.[7] The Pali canons of
Buddhism assert other defilements and impurities (kilesā, sāsavā dhammā), in addition to taṇhā, as the
cause of Dukkha. Taṇhā nevertheless, is always listed first, and considered the principal, all-pervading
and "the most palpable and immediate cause" of dukkha, states Rahula.[7]

Taṇhā, states Peter Harvey, is the key origin of dukkha in Buddhism.[5] It reflects a mental state of
craving. Greater the craving, more is the frustration because the world is always changing and innately
unsatisfactory; craving also brings about pain through conflict and quarrels between individuals, which
are all a state of Dukkha.[5] It is such taṇhā that leads to rebirth and endless Samsara, stated Buddha as
the second reality, and it is marked by three types of craving: sensory, being or non-existence.[9] In
Buddhist theosophy, there are right view and wrong view. The wrong views, it ultimately traces to Taṇhā,
but it also asserts that "ordinary right view" such as giving and donations to monks, is also a form of
clinging.[10] The end of Taṇhā occurs when the person has accepted the "transcendent right view"
through the insight into impermanence and non-self.[10]

Both appropriate and inappropriate tendencies, states Stephen Laumakis, are linked to the fires of
Taṇhā, and these produce fruits of kamma thereby rebirths.[11] Quenching and blowing out these fires
completely, is the path to final release from dukkha and samsara, in Buddhism.[11] The Pali texts, states
David Webster, repeatedly recommend that one must destroy Taṇhā completely, and this destruction is
a necessary for nirvana.[12]

Taṇhā is also identified as the eighth link in the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. In the context of
the twelve links, the emphasis is on the types of craving "that nourish the karmic potency that will
produce the next lifetime."[13]

Types
The Buddha identified three types of taṇhā:[7][14][15][a]

Kāma-taṇhā (sensual pleasures craving):[5] craving for sense objects which provide pleasant feeling,
or craving for sensory pleasures.[15] Walpola Rahula states that taṇhā includes not only desire for
sense-pleasures, wealth and power, but also "desire for, and attachment to, ideas and ideals, views,
opinions, theories, conceptions and beliefs (dhamma-taṇhā)."[7]
Bhava-taṇhā (craving for being):[5] craving to be something, to unite with an experience.[15] This is
ego-related, states Harvey, the seeking of certain identity and desire for certain type of rebirth
eternally.[5] Other scholars explain that this type of craving is driven by the wrong view of eternalism
(eternal life) and about permanence.[4][16]
Vibhava-taṇhā (craving for non-existence):[4] craving to not experience unpleasant things in the
current or future life, such as unpleasant people or situations.[5] This sort of craving may include
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attempts at suicide and self-annihilation, and this only results in further rebirth in a worse realm of
existence.[5] This type of craving, states Phra Thepyanmongkol, is driven by the wrong view of
annihilationism, that there is no rebirth.[16]

Cessation of Taṇhā
The third noble truth teaches that the cessation of taṇhā is possible. The Dhammacakkappavattana
Sutta states:[17]

Bhikkhus, there is a noble truth about the cessation of suffering. It is the complete fading away and
cessation of this craving [taṇhā]; its abandonment and relinquishment; getting free from and being
independent of it.

Cessation of taṇhā can be obtained by following the Noble Eightfold Path. In Theravada Buddhism, the
cessation results from the gaining of true insight into impermanence and non-self.[18][19][20] The 'insight
meditation' practice of Buddhism, states Kevin Trainor, focuses on gaining "right mindfulness" which
entails understanding three marks of existence - dukkha (suffering), anicca (impermanence) and anatta
(non-self).[21] The understanding of the reality of non-self, adds Trainor, promotes non-attachment
because "if there is no soul, then there is no locus for clinging".[21] Once one comprehends and accepts
the non-self doctrine, there are no more desires, i.e. taṇhā ceases.[21]

Tanha versus Chanda

Buddhism categorizes desires as either Tanha or Chanda.[22] Chanda literally means "impulse,
excitement, will, desire for".[23]

Bahm states that Chanda is "desiring what, and no more than, will be attained", while Tanha is "desiring
more than will be attained".[24] However, in early Buddhist texts, adds Bahm, the term Chanda includes
anxieties and is ambiguous, wherein five kinds of Chanda are described, namely "to seek, to gain, to
hoard, to spend and to enjoy".[25] In these early texts, the sense of the word Chanda is the same as
Tanha.[25]

Some writers such as Ajahn Sucitto explain Chanda as positive and non-pathological, asserting it to be
distinct from negative and pathological Tanha.[26] Sucitto explains it with examples such as the desire to
apply oneself to a positive action such as meditation.[26] In contrast, Rhys Davids and Stede state that
Chanda, in Buddhist texts, has both positive and negative connotations; as a vice, for example, the Pali
text associate Chanda with "lust, delight in the body" stating it to be a source of misery.[27]

Chanda, states Peter Harvey, can be either wholesome or unwholesome.[5]

Relation to the three poisons

Taṇhā and avidya (ignorance) can be related to the three poisons:

Avidya or Moha (ignorance), the root of the three poisons, is also the basis for taṇhā.
Raga (attachment) is equivalent to bhava-taṇhā (craving to be) and kāma-taṇhā (sense-craving).
Dosa (Dvesha) (aversion) is equivalent to vibhava-taṇhā (craving not to be).

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According to Rupert Gethin, taṇhā is related to aversion and ignorance. Craving leads to aversion, anger,
cruelty and violence, states Gethin, which are unpleasant states and cause suffering to one who craves.
Craving is based on misjudgement, states Gethin, that the world is permanent, unchanging, stable, and
reliable.[28]

For example, in the first discourse of the Buddha, the Buddha identified taṇhā as the principal cause of
suffering. However, his third discourse, the Fire Sermon, and other suttas, the Buddha identifies the
causes of suffering as the "fires" of raga, dosa (dvesha), and moha; in the Fire Sermon, the Buddha
states that nirvana is obtained by extinguishing these fires.[29]

See also
Avidyā (Buddhism)
Buddhism and psychology
Chanda (Buddhism)
Kleshas (Buddhism)
Three poisons (Buddhism)
Twelve Nidanas
Upādāna

Notes
a. Pali discourses that use this three-fold typology include DN 15, DN 22, MN 44, SN 22.22, SN 22.103,
SN 22.104, SN 22.105, SN 38.10, SN 39.10, SN 45.170, SN 56.11, SN 56.13 and SN 56.14.

References
1. Thomas William Rhys Davids; William Stede (1921). Pali-English Dictionary (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=0Guw2CnxiucC). Motilal Banarsidass. p. 294. ISBN 978-81-208-1144-7.
2. Peter Harvey (1990). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (https://archive.
org/details/introductiontobu00harv_0). Cambridge University Press. p. 53 (https://archive.org/details/i
ntroductiontobu00harv_0/page/53). ISBN 978-0-521-31333-9.
3. Richard Gombrich; Gananath Obeyesekere (1988). Buddhism Transformed: Religious Change in Sri
Lanka (https://books.google.com/books?id=rpN9atSFua0C). Motilal Banarsidass. p. 246. ISBN 978-
81-208-0702-0.
4. Paul Williams; Anthony Tribe; Alexander Wynne (2002). Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction
to the Indian Tradition (https://books.google.com/books?id=e9SFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43). Routledge.
pp. 43–44. ISBN 978-1-134-62324-2.
5. Harvey 2013, p. 63.
6. Monier Williams, 1964, p. 454, entry for तृष्, "Tṛishṇā" (http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scan
s/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0454-tRpAya.pdf), "University of Cologne, Germany
7. Walpola Sri Rahula (2007). Kindel Locations 791-809.
8. Harvey 1990, p. 53.
9. Harvey 2013, p. 63-64.
10. Harvey 2013, p. 64-68.
11. Stephen J. Laumakis (2008). An Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=_29ZDAcUEwYC). Cambridge University Press. pp. 45–46, 56–58. ISBN 978-1-139-46966-1.

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12. David Webster (2005). The Philosophy of Desire in the Buddhist Pali Canon (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=GLPGFoLED7sC). Routledge. pp. 129–130. ISBN 978-0-415-34652-8.
13. Dalai Lama (1992), p. 21. (from the introduction by Jeffry Hopkins)
14. Leifer (1997), p. 98.
15. Ajahn Sucitto (2010), Kindle Location 943-946
16. Phra Thepyanmongkol (2012). A Study Guide for Right Practice of the Three Trainings (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=6XFW45RDK6wC). Wat Luang Phor Sodh. p. 314. ISBN 978-974-401-378-
1.
17. Ajahn Sucitto (2010), Kindle Locations 1341-1343
18. Buswell & Gimello 1992, p. 7–8, 83–84.
19. Choong 1999, p. 28–29, Quote: "Seeing (passati) the nature of things as impermanent leads to the
removal of the view of self, and so to the realisation of nirvana.".
20. Rahula 2014, p. 51-58.
21. Kevin Trainor (2004). Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide (https://books.google.com/books?id=_PrloTK
uAjwC&pg=PA74). Oxford University Press. pp. 74–78. ISBN 978-0-19-517398-7.
22. Smith & Novak 2009, p. 35.
23. Thomas William Rhys Davids; William Stede (1921). Pali-English Dictionary (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=0Guw2CnxiucC). Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 203, 274. ISBN 978-81-208-1144-7.
24. Bahm 1959, pp. 24, 61.
25. Bahm 1959, p. 60.
26. Ajahn Sucitto (2010), Kindle Locations 933-944, quote= Sometimes taṇhā is translated as “desire,”
but that gives rise to some crucial misinterpretations with reference to the way of Liberation. As we
shall see, some form of desire is essential in order to aspire to, and persist in, cultivating the path out
of dukkha. Desire as an eagerness to offer, to commit, to apply oneself to meditation, is called
chanda. It’s a psychological “yes,” a choice, not a pathology. In fact, you could summarize Dhamma
training as the transformation of taṇhā into chanda.
27. Rhys Davids and Stede (1921), pp. 275-6, entry for "Chanda" (http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philol
ogic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:1594.pali)
28. Gethin 1998, pp. 73-74.
29. Harvey 2013, p. 73.

Sources
Ajahn Sucitto (2010). Turning the Wheel of Truth: Commentary on the Buddha's First Teaching.
Shambhala.
Bahm, Archie J. (1959). Philosophy of the Buddha (https://books.google.com/books?id=jr_q1E0cGU
8C). Jain Publishing (Reprint: 1993). ISBN 978-0-87573-025-7.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu (trans.) (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the
Samyutta Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom Pubs. ISBN 0-86171-331-1.
Buswell, Robert E.; Gimello, Robert M. (1992), Paths to Liberation: The Mārga and Its
Transformations in Buddhist Thought (https://books.google.com/books?id=1tcGAAAAYAAJ),
University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0-8248-1253-9
Chogyam Trungpa (1972). "Karma and Rebirth: The Twelve Nidanas, by Chogyam Trungpa
Rinpoche." Karma and the Twelve Nidanas, A Sourcebook for the Shambhala School of Buddhist
Studies. Vajradhatu Publications.
Choong, Mun-Keat (1999), The Notion of Emptiness in Early Buddhism (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=HJafx7uO0VsC), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-1649-7
Dalai Lama (1998). The Four Noble Truths. Thorsons.
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Gethin, Rupert (1998), Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press

Harvey, Peter (1990), An Introduction to Buddhism (https://archive.org/details/introductiontobu00harv
_0), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521313333
Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=u0sg9LV_rEgC). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-85942-4.
Leifer, Ron (1997), The Happiness Project, Snow Lion
Monier-Williams, Monier (1899, 1964). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. London: Oxford University
Press. ISBN 0-19-864308-X. Retrieved 2008-06-12 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-
lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/index.php?sfx=pdf.
P. A. Payutto. Buddhist Economics, A Middle Way for the Market Place Chapter 2 (http://www.urband
harma.org/udharma2/becono2.html#*)
Ranjung Yeshe Wiki - Dharma Dictionary. http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/sred_pa (sred pa is the
Tibetan term for taṇhā)
Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary.
Chipstead: Pali Text Society. Retrieved 2008-06-12 from "U. Chicago" at
http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/
Rahula, Walpola (2014), What the Buddha Taught (https://books.google.com/books?id=s8CcAwAAQ
BAJ), Oneworld Classics, ISBN 978-1-78074-000-3
Saddhatissa, H. (trans.) (1998). The Sutta-Nipāta. London: RoutledgeCurzon Press. ISBN 0-7007-
0181-8.
Smith, Huston; Novak, Philip (2009), Buddhism: A Concise Introduction, HarperOne, Kindle Edition
Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). Maha-nidana Sutta: The Great Causes Discourse (DN 15).
Retrieved 2008-01-04 from "Access to Insight" at
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.15.0.than.html.
Walpola Sri Rahula (2007). What the Buddha Taught. Grove Press. Kindel Edition.
Walshe, Maurice (trans.) (1995). The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha
Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom Pubs. ISBN 0-86171-103-3.

Further reading
Philosophy of the Buddha by Archie J. Bahm. Asian Humanities Press. Berkeley, CA: 1993. ISBN 0-
87573-025-6.
Chapter 5 is about craving, and discusses the difference between taṇhā and chanda.
Nietzsche and Buddhism: A Study in Nihilism and Ironic Affinities by Robert Morrison. Oxford
University Press, 1998.
Chapter 10 is a comparison between Nietzsche's Will to Power and Tanha, which gives a very
nuanced and positive explanation of the central role taṇhā plays in the Buddhist path.

External links
The concept of craving in early Buddhism (http://hdl.handle.net/11375/7756), V Bruce Matthews
(1975), PhD Thesis, McMaster University
Practicing for the extinction of kilesa-tanhā (palikanon.com) (http://www.palikanon.com/english/practi
ce_insight/practising_for_the_extinction.htm)
Ranjung Yeshe wiki entry for sred pa (http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/sred_pa)

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