Skip to content

Rāga — Passion

This is part 3 of a course going through the similes and metaphors of the Buddha.

Illustration by Ayya Vimalayani aka "Ven Yodha"

Passion is the fire in our hearts that burns us alive. Far from romantic, rāga is our biggest enemy.

Textbook

Read Chapter 2 of:

Suttas

Similes

Read the introduction to Part 1 of Hecker now, and the similes: 7, 14, 39 and 44.

Reflections

I notice that the passion images (a stream, an ocean, an affliction) are more wet and natural than the images for its near-synonym “craving” (though of course still negative). What does this say about the Buddhist attitude towards passion (especially vis-a-vis craving)? How are they different?