t the Buddha would say that we should never ever dwell on these at all. The second, is getting what you want. Getting what you want can be satasfying, for a little while. Buddha doesn't want us to be fooled by this superficial satasfaction, because the satasfaction itself leads to discontent. Perhaps you get a promotion after what feels like a long competition with a co-worker. You're thrilled, and you celebrate, you got what you wanted. You return to work, and you're co-worker, who is currently experiencing an unfulfilled desire, wants nothing to do with you. You leave your cubicle for your new office, (it has a window) and your boss fills it with paperwork. You feel overloaded, express your discontent. He says in so many words, that if you can't handle it, he'll gladly give the promotion to your co-worker. This is how the satasfaction from getting what you want is superficial, and only sparkles for a short while before discontent returns. The third, is wanting to get something. Everytime we crave, we suffer. Unfulfilled desires are the cause of much inner turmoil. The desire for a much deserved raise can make everyday on the job painstakingly frustrating. The desire for children when when the odds are really bad, can put a lot of strain on a relationship. It is this kind of dukkha that seemingly reduces us to a childlike nature; "I want I want I want!" Buddha stresses that the pursuit of happiness is self defeating, and explains it six ways. The first of which states that sickness, old age, death are inevitable. Yet they seem to be the very core of human fears. The fact that they are enevitable, which we all acknowledge, doesn't seem to dull the blade so to speak. Death (and icky spiders) are the epitamy of fear to most, though to a buddhist, death would seem a rather arbitrary and relatively meaningless part of existance. We can fight age with anti-aging creams and wrinkle smoothers and face lifts, but this is going to ...
