Hope is delusion

In Peace is Every Step, Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that hope can be an obstacle to peace in our daily lives.

I had recently come to a similar conclusion.

Hope is about wishing for things to be other than they are. It is a form of desire, and an easily accessible distraction from being in the present moment.

Desire is human and probably unavoidable. Obviously, a capacity to succumb to our unskillful desires is a powerful source of suffering.

But not all desires are unhelpful or unskillful. Desire can help to develop intention and provide impetus for action in the present moment. When our desires are for skilful action, and to ameliorate suffering, they can be a powerful force in practice in the present moment.

However, even with skilful desires we can suffer. In this case it is the delusion around our skilful desires, rather than the desire itself, that can lead to suffering.

The delusions include the belief that we are in control of the fulfilment of our desires, that once fulfilled they will bring happiness, and that we can predict conditions for our future happiness. These are expressions of the fundamental human delusions about satisfaction, permanence and independence.

The attachment or clinging to the desire, in the face of these delusions, leaves no room for the present or for an uncertain future.

Recently I have been struggling with my hopes and desires.

We are changing our farm in a purposeful way in response to our values and our changing circumstances. This planning process is useful in coordinating our intention and motivating us to create a better farm.

It is also a trap. It is very easy to attach hope to the elements and timeline of such a plan. Inevitably, our hopes take us away from now, and freeze a view of our happy future. Suddenly the plan gets in the way of engaging with the present moment and accepting that the future is ultimately beyond our control. It gets in the way of accepting our ongoing capacity for dissatisfaction and the realities of future uncertainty and a conditioned arising well beyond our control.

In one short step our hope can become a source of agitation, frustration and misery.