Abstract:
Buddhism is certainly a philosophy of understanding the truth of life with the idea that desire and ignorance bring suffering to people. Humankind suffers in their lives because of their unending desire to fulfill their needs and wants. The main philosophical teaching in Buddhism is to reach the bliss or nirvana through the theory of non-attachment (Upadana). With the recognition of emptiness (Shunyata) the person becomes able to reach Enlightenment, by ending the cycle of rebirth (Samsara). In Buddhism, desire refers to the idea of Thanha (greed): the craving for pleasure from a materialistic world and immortality that makes people suffer mentally and physically. The path to nirvana, or the permanent state of joy, can be achieved through the principle of non-attachment by following the real understanding of the path of the Four Noble Truths. The Russian short story “The Overcoat” (1842) by Nikolai Gogol brings out the story of Akaky Akakievich who suffers and dies due to the cravings and desires (Thanha) for the overcoat. The despair, or the Upayaso, arises because of the loss of his overcoat, and finally, he dies because of his inability to understand the origin of suffering. After death, he reappears in the physical world as a Preta, (hungry ghost) to find the coat again by disturbing others. This paper aims to identify how object attachment brings suffering to people and holds people in the cycle of rebirth through the character of Akaky. Secondly, the paper tries to identify the desire as a cause of suffering; which is a universal truth through the Buddhist perspective.
