Buddhist philosophy and doctrines, based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, give meaningful insights about reality and human existence. Buddha was primarily an ethical teacher rather than a philosopher. Explanation & Key Takeaways: • Buddha's central concern was to show man the way out of suffering and not one of constructing a philosophical theory. Therefore, Buddha’s teaching lays great emphasis on the practical matters of conduct which lead to liberation. Buddhism philosophy claimed that Vasna and Trishna lie at the root of human suffering as the four noble truths of Buddhism are as follows: • Life is Full of Suffering (Dukkha): According to the first noble truth, all forms of existence are subject to suffering. Buddhism recognizes suffering at three levels, such as: • the suffering we experience in our daily life, like, birth, sickness, old age, death, despair, pain, desire, etc. • the suffering caused by the internal mental conditions and the activities of the sense organs. • Suffering has a Cause (Dukkha samudaya): Everything in this cosmos has a cause, and nothing exists and happens without a cause. If this is the case, suffering should also have a cause and the roots of human suffering include: • Vasna: A subtle form of desire, a hidden desire. • Trishna: Intense craving or hankering after sensual objects. • Cessation of Suffering (Dukkha nirodha): If suffering has a cause, the seeker has to destroy this cause to stop suffering. So desire has to be extinguished to stop suffering. Nirvana is the state of being without suffering. It is a state of supreme happiness and bliss. • Ways to Destroy Suffering (Dukkha-nirodha-marga): The ways to destroy suffering consists of the practice of the eightfold virtue, such as Right View, Right Aspiration, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Awareness, and Right Concentration. Hence, it could be concluded that Buddhism philosophy claimed that Vasna and Trishna lie at the root of human suffering. Hint: +--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Vedanta Philosophy | Vedanta, an idealistic philosophy, admits the objective reality of the world for all practical purposes . Moksa is the ultimate goal of life. It is the liberation from all worldly bondage. | +--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Jainism Philosophy | The ultimate aim of Jainism is the attainment of liberation or moksha from the chain of birth and death and achieving an ideal state of freedom by the total renunciation of all bodily comforts. | | Samkhya Philosophy | Samkhya does not believe in the existence of God. Samkhya, accepts Prakrti, a combination of the three Gunas including Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas as the root cause of the universe. | +--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+