Jake T Smith:
So one of the core tenets of buddhism is that desire causes suffering, but I really don't see how that's true.
For example, I desire to have a car. It's a lot faster than a bicycle and I'd be able to go places faster. Am I upset because I don't have a car? Definitely not, it'd just be nice to have.
I'd also like flasher clothes. I'm not bothered by the fact I don't have flash clothes, they'd just be nice to have.
And so on.
The idea of getting rid of desire sounds queer to me. Without desire I wouldn't get out of bed, I wouldn't do anything except stare at the wall all day.
The only desires that cause suffering are compulsive desires, eg drug addiction. But I'd say most desires are totally fine to have and in fact necessary to live an interesting life.
Am I misunderstanding something?
"The Four Noble Truths are a contingency plan for dealing with the suffering humanity faces -- suffering of a physical kind, or of a mental nature. The First Truth identifies the presence of suffering. The Second Truth, on the other hand, seeks to determine the cause of suffering. In Buddhism, desire and ignorance lie at the root of suffering. By desire, Buddhists refer to craving pleasure, material goods, and immortality, all of which are wants that can never be satisfied. As a result, desiring them can only bring suffering. Ignorance, in comparison, relates to not seeing the world as it actually is. Without the capacity for mental concentration and insight, Buddhism explains, one's mind is left undeveloped, unable to grasp the true nature of things. Vices, such as greed, envy, hatred and anger, derive from this ignorance."
From:
http://www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm
In my personal take on it, it's not so much that the wanting or the craving is inherently bad. The trouble is that we identify overly much with it. For example, imagine that you are hungry. If you do not eat, eventually you will starve to death. That is bad. Eating is good in this case as it allows you to continue living. However, if you obsess over food and constantly eat to satisfy your cravings, then that is also not good. That's why in Buddhism there is the concept of the Middle Way... which basically says that you don't need to deny yourself of the things that you desire or crave, but neither should you overly indulge yourself and be pleasure-seeking. Instead, you should seek to identify that which is necessary and that which is not.
Said another way, if we don't really care either way, we can be fine with either outcome. "The key to happiness is wanting what you have and not wanting what you don't have."
That said, a few words of caution- rather than trying to get rid of desires, what Buddhism seeks to do is to understand them on a deep level and to recognize them for what they are. What you do with that understanding is up to you.
But if you are still confused, consider reading the parts in MTCB on morality... that section helped put things in perspective for me. Mainly, we should seek a balance between concentration, insight, and morality. Learn to focus well, gain insights, and then use those abilities to make the world better for yourself and for others.