This conclusion is so contrary to human nature that it is not surprising to hear even experts maintain that in preaching the extinction of desire, the Buddha was denying everything that makes life worth living. But trishna does not mean all desire; it means selfish desire, the conditioned craving for self-aggrandizement. Far from denigrating desire, the Buddha knew it is the power of desire that fuels progress on the Noble Eightfold Path.
