Craving To Be, Or Not - A Talk On Tanha

A lot of the time, discussion of craving and its relationship to suffering revolves around craving for sense pleasures or aversion toward sense displeasures - and rightfully so. But, in the Buddhist tradition, there are two other types of craving that contribute to our discomfort in the world: craving for becoming and craving for non-becoming. In this talk, Matthew talks about these other two cravings, known as bhava-tanha and vibhava-tanha in Pali, and their subtle pervasiveness.

Content warning: with regards to craving for non-becoming, there is some discussion of suicidal ideation.

This talk was originally offered at San Jose Insight Meditation on January 21, 2026.