Taṇhā means “getting attached.” The word taṇhā comes from “thán” meaning “place” + “hā” meaning getting fused/welded or attached (හා වීම in Sinhala). Note that “tan” in taṇhā is pronounced like in “thunder.”
- We can attach to things because we form a liking or dislike for them, or we are not aware of all the facts about them. Once attached, one takes actions that could be immoral.
- See, “Tanhā – How We Attach Via Greed, Hate, and Ignorance“.
Let us consider some simple examples to illustrate the concept.
- Attaching with a liking (lobha or greed) is easy to see. A lady sees a dress in a shop and decides to buy it. She gets attached to the dress.
- We also attach with a dislike/anger (dosa or patigha). A person walking on the street may see an enemy approaching; he may cross the road to the other side to avoid facing him. Another Example: Suppose person X is wrongly accused by person Y, and person X loses many relationships. Now, anger arises in person X’s mind whenever he thinks about person Y.
- We can also attach due to ignorance (avijjā) or not fully understanding the situation. In the last example above, another person, Z, may come to the wrong conclusion that person X is a bad person and avoid him. In a deeper level, we attach to things out of both greed and anger because we don’t fully understand the Four Noble Truths.
