Friday, September 14, 2018

Next on My Passion Diet: Economic Theory

Delray Beach, FL – Popular philosophy today promotes the idea that a good life is a passionate one, that by caring more we can lead fuller lives.

I used to feel this way. Do it with passion or don’t do it at all. I can’t say it was an idea because I didn’t actually think about it. It was how I approached my life. I was passionate, sometimes get-into-trouble passionate.

So when I was introduced to Buddhist thinking in my college years, I was appalled at one of the “four noble truths” – that desire (i.e., passion) is a primary cause of suffering and that the proper path in life was to get rid of desire.

The idea seemed prima facie absurd and/or repugnant. All my fun came from my passions. Why should I give them up?