Dhamma and Science > Origin of Life > Views on Life > Paṭicca Samuppāda – Not ‘Self’ or ‘No-Self’ > Taṇhā

November 9, 2019

Taṇhā Is Attachment, Not Craving

1. Taṇhā is a badly misunderstood Pāli word. The common translation is “craving,” and that is wrong. The craving usually is associated with a pleasurable ārammaṇa.

▪Taṇhā means attachment to ANY ārammaṇa. It could be something that one likes OR dislikes OR even neutral (it may be just curiosity.)

▪We may attach to a beautiful object or a person to varying degrees. It could just mean pausing to take a “second look” at something. It could be a much stronger attachment like “falling in love at first sight” with a person.

▪But we also stop and take a second look at a person who just got run over by a car and died. That is not a pleasant sight, but we still got “attached” to that sight. We may think about it for a little while and then forget about it. But seeing one’s worse enemy on the street will lead to a stronger “attachment.” One may generate repulsive thoughts and may even say something harsh to that person.

▪The point is that taṇhā leads to further “mind action” or “conscious thoughts” about a ārammaṇa. We discussed that in, “Kāma Guṇa – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā).”

Taṇhā – The Origin of Suffering

2. Taṇhā is also the origin of future suffering. The Buddha defined the “origin of suffering” or “dukkha samudaya” as follows in his first discourse, “WebLink: suttacentral: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56.11)”: “Idaṁ kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhasamudayaṁ ariyasaccaṁ—yāyaṁ taṇhā ponobbhavikā nandirāgasahagatā tatratatrābhinandinī, seyyathidaṁ—kāma taṇhā, bhava taṇhā, vibhava taṇhā.”

▪Translated: “Bhikkhus, what is the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering—It is attachments (taṇhā) based on seeking delight (nandirāga) in various things here and there, which leads to rebirth —that is, attachments to sensual pleasures (kāma taṇhā), to the existence (bhava taṇhā), and the view of a single life (vibhava taṇhā.)

▪The three types of taṇhā discussed at “Kāma Taṇhā, Bhava Taṇhā, Vibhava Taṇhā.”

3. Interestingly, in the “Cūḷavedalla Sutta (MN 44), the same verse describes the origin of sakkāya diṭṭhi: “‘sakkāyasamudayo sakkāyasamudayo’ti, ayye, vuccati. Katamo nu kho, ayye, sakkāyasamudayo vutto bhagavatā” ti? “Yāyaṁ, āvuso visākha, taṇhā ponobbhavikā nandīrāgasahagatā tatratatrābhinandinī, seyyathidaṁ—kāma taṇhā bhava taṇhā vibhava taṇhā; ayaṁ kho, āvuso visākha, sakkāyasamudayo vutto bhagavatā” ti.

▪That is not surprising since all immoral actions originate with the wrong view that worldly pleasures need to be pursued at any cost.

▪If one does strong immoral deeds (pāpa kamma), one will be eligible for suffering in the apāyā. Even the desire to enjoy sensory pleasures will bind one to the kāma loka. The desire for jhānic pleasures leads to getting trapped in rūpa and arūpa loka. But there is no long-term happiness anywhere in any realm.

▪That is because regardless of where the next birth is, one is not free from the apāyā in the long run. The possibility of rebirth in the apāyā will be there until one attains the Sotāpanna stage by removing sakkāya diṭṭhi. All possible suffering ends when one fully comprehends dukkha samudaya at the Arahant stage. We will discuss that in detail in the future.

The Meaning of Taṇhā (Pada Nirutti)

4. Many Pāli words have their meanings in the word itself. Uncovering the meaning of a word that way is “pada nirutti.” For example, “sakkāya” comes from “sath” + “kāya” or taking an aggregate of things or a collection (kāya) to be beneficial (sath.) That is why sakkāya diṭṭhi originates when one considers that the five aggregates to be one’s own and thus beneficial. [nirutti : (f.) [Sk. nirukti, nis+vac] one of the Vedāṅgas (see chaḷaṅga), explanation of words, grammatical analysis, etymological interpretation; pronunciation, dialect, way of speaking, expression.]

▪Taṇhā means getting “fused” or firmly attached. The word taṇhā comes from two words. “Thána” (pronounced like “thatch”) means “place” (තැන in Sinhala) and “hā” meaning getting fused/welded or attached (හා වීම in Sinhala). Note that “tan” in taṇhā pronounced like in “thunder” and “hā” is pronounced like in “harm.”

▪That is consistent with the meaning derived from the Chachakka Sutta. See “Kāma Guṇa – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā).”

Three Types of Taṇhā

5. The verses in #2 and #3 refer to three types of taṇhā. They are kāma taṇhā, bhava taṇhā, vibhava taṇhā.

▪Each category represents the origin of a particular way attachment can happen. As we can imagine, kāma taṇhā originates due to our inherent kāma guṇa. There are sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and dhammā that we like to experience. If access to such things is blocked, we again get attached, but this time with anger.

▪Bhava taṇhā arises in those who believe in rebirth. They would like to be born as a human, deva, or a Brahma based on their gati.

▪Those who do not believe in rebirth have vibhava taṇhā.

▪Let us discuss them briefly.

Kāma Taṇhā

6. In kāma loka, all five physical sense faculties are present. Getting attached to anything via the five sense faculties is kāma taṇhā.

▪Furthermore, attachment arising from the desire to enjoy taste, smell, and body touch can happen only in kāma loka. Those three require a “solid body” as we can imagine.

▪In the rūpa lokas, living beings do not have “solid bodies.” Yet, they can see and hear without having physical eyes or ears.

▪Therefore, in rūpa lokas, taṇhā arise only due to sights and sounds. Thus an Anāgāmi, who will be born in a rūpa loka has some rūpa taṇhā and sadda taṇhā because he/she may like to see a Buddha statue or listen to a discourse.

▪In arūpa lokas, there is only the mind. Therefore, an attachment can be only to dhammā.

Bhava Taṇhā

7. Bhava taṇhā arises from attachment to “any existence.” Thus bhava taṇhā is present in kāma loka, rūpa loka, and arūpa loka, i.e., all 31 realms.

▪Even in the kāma loka, there may be people who do not enjoy the “kāma” or sense pleasures; but they still want to live a quiet, peaceful life. They mostly have bhava taṇhā. They may like to be in a secluded place, cultivating jhāna; that is their desired “bhava.” If they develop jhānā, they will be born in rūpa loka or arūpa loka due to their new “gati.”

▪There are other subtle forms of “bhava” too. Some like to become famous, earn a title, to get a high-profile job or a responsibility, etc. These attachments are not associated with sensual pleasures. They are also due to bhava taṇhā.

Vibhava Taṇhā

8. Vibhava taṇhā arises from the wrong view of materialism (uccheda diṭṭhi in the time of the Buddha; uccheda pronounced “uchcheda”). One believes that life ends at death. Here the mind is assumed to a byproduct of the body (brain). And thus, when the body dies, that is the end of the story.

▪Therefore one believes that one needs to enjoy all possible pleasures of this life before dying. Such a person would typically have kāma taṇhā as well as vibhava taṇhā.

▪It is easy to have vibhava taṇhā in modern society. That is especially true if one has not heard about the Buddha’s message about a more complex world with 31 realms and a rebirth process. Our human sensory faculties cannot access such “hidden” aspects of this world. One believes only what one can see.

Taṇhā Does Not Directly Lead to Rebirth

As we have seen in previous posts, for an average human, SOME ārammaṇa WILL automatically generate taṇhā within a split second. Only in an Arahant, taṇhā would NOT arise for ANY ārammaṇa. That is a crucial message of the Chachakka Sutta (MN 148.)

9. However, Taṇhā does not directly lead to rebirth (new existence). Paṭicca Samuppāda does not say, “Taṇhā paccayā bhavo.” Instead, it is, “Taṇhā paccayā upādāna,” followed by “upādāna paccayā bhavo.”

▪To make a new existence (bhava), the mind needs to “pull that ārammaṇa close” and start generating conscious thoughts about it. That happens because one either likes it or dislikes it. That is the “Taṇhā paccayā upādāna” step.

▪That “Taṇhā paccayā upādāna” step is a bit involved. When the mind attaches to a ārammaṇa, it starts “examining” that ārammaṇa. That “examination” involves vitakka/vicāra or vacī saṅkhāra.

▪That is when one STARTS acting with avijjā and generate saṅkhāra (and thereby kamma viññāṇa via “saṅkhāra paccayā viññāṇa.”) That is the start of a new Paṭicca Samuppāda cycle.

▪More details in follow-up posts at, “Paṭicca Samuppāda – Not ‘Self’ or ‘No-Self’.” A simpler explanation of Paṭicca Samuppāda in the section, “Paṭicca Samuppāda.”

All relevant posts are at, “Origin of Life.”