The following talk was given at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California.

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So, uh... So talk a little bit about what's kind of passing through my mind, practice-wise.

And that is the topic of desire.

Desire is so ambiguous in human beings, so thoroughly present in human beings that we probably shouldn't be called human beings, but rather human desirelings.

That just, it's hard to imagine a human life without but rather human desirelings.

It's hard to imagine a human life without desire. In fact, the one idea that I've heard is that

is that a person with no desire is probably depressed.

But probably even depression is a product of desire sometimes.

And so desires.

And on one hand we have desires which cause a tremendous amount of harm.

And humans harm others because of their desires. And humans harm themselves through their desires.

And then on the other hand, desires represent some of the most beautiful qualities of a human life.

Compassion in English is usually considered to be, at least in Buddhist English,

is considered to be a form of desire,

to be aware and sensitive to the suffering of others,

and to want that suffering to end,

maybe even to act on the desire to alleviate that suffering.

It's a beautiful desire.

The desire to be, have ethical integrity.

That's a beautiful desire.

I've known people who had that desire in a strong way,

...