- See Chanda, that page outlines both
- See also Poor education, and my decade of tanha, 2026-02-19
The key quote from Sasha’s post is this:
The most interesting finding in human psychology, ever, is that basically all of us are born with the wrong intuition about how to be happy. We think that doing enough tanha, enough grabbing, will please us. But actually, grabbing is the source of something like 90% of our unhappiness. It’s a basically dissociative reaction to reality which creates a sense of temporary dissatisfaction, like putting on tight shoes so that later your feet will feel good again. Skip it altogether, as much as possible, if you want to be at peace. It’s crazy how true, and how unintuitive, this is.
From Sasha’s post:
Tanha: Scarcity-based desire. Graspy, clingy. Feels like fighting life. “I don’t want this headache, let me tense my forehead until it goes away.” Perhaps if I get a little more social status, I will finally love myself. Sigh, I don’t really want to do the dishes, but I should, because I want more sex and less arguments. Though I’m full-to-bursting, I’m taking another bite of ice cream. Push motivation.
“Perhaps if I grind for n months, and push myself to do x through a productivity stack, regimenting my days, trying to install new habits, etc, then I will achieve y, eventually”