Accept the Four Noble Truths which are: All life is marked by suffering; Suffering is caused by desire and attachment; Suffering can be eliminated; Suffering can be eliminated by following the Noble 8-Fold Path.
There is no narrative comparable to Buddhism's story of a prince who discovered that desire is suffering and sets out an eightfold path to enlightenment.
By the time of Daniel24 and Daniel25, these neo-humans are troubled by the unfamiliar tales of love, desire, tears, suffering and disappointment all feelings that have disappeared but which they discover in the writings of Daniel1.Mr Houellebecq does not disappoint.
And what is this state of mind which we have called feeling, but the whole mind, with its past thoughts, volitions and actions, now thinking and desiring and suffering and rejoicing, travailing within itself?
The term 'cognition' is used by the Naiyāyikas to refer to any intentional (sa-viṣayaka; object-directed) mental state, including states of perceiving, inferring, doubting, guessing, remembering, etc., but excluding desiring, hoping, suffering, etc. (cf. Matilal 1968: 7 8).
In his book, "The Revival of the Religious Sciences," the Sufi mystic and brilliant philosopher, Al Ghazali, quotes Jesus as saying, "You shall not attain what you desire except by suffering what you do not desire".
On the other hand, some authors have suggested that migraine sufferers have higher levels of sexual desire than those suffering from tension type headache [6].
(Another of the Buddha's teachings: desire leads to suffering).
