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The Second Noble Truth is known as samudaya. The word ‘samudaya’ means ‘arising’ and refers to the roots of suffering (where suffering or unsatisfactoriness ‘arise’ from). The Second Noble Truth describes the causes (or roots) of suffering.

Humans suffer because of cravings, or tanha, which can be translated as ‘thirst’. Craving keeps humans attached to existence. It means humans are reincarnated again and again, or ‘arise’ again and again.

Tanha

There are three types of craving:

• Kama-tanha is craving pleasures of the senses, wealth or power.
• Bhava-tanha is craving for a fixed identity or existence and not accepting that life is impermanent.
• Vibhava-tanha is craving to avoid pain and suffering, or to avoid the reality of rebirth.

The Three Poisons

The basic causes of suffering are known as the Three Poisons: greed, ignorance and hatred. These are often represented as a rooster (greed), a pig (ignorance) and a snake (hatred). In the Pali language, which is the language of the Buddha, these three creatures are known as lobha (greed), moha (ignorance) and dosa (hatred).

All suffering is ultimately caused by these human urges. People might suffer because they cannot accept change (viparinama-dukkha) or because they have become attached to possessions or sensation (sankhara-dukkha). However, the roots of all suffering are greed, ignorance and hatred.