Anthea Wong, 18, Hong Kong International School
It is natural for people to set goals in life and to always be desiring things. But too much desire will lead to suffering.
Many people are hungry for power and money. This desire motivates them to achieve their goals. Unfortunately, for some, their appetites are insatiable. These are the people who will suffer in the end. For example, some people may achieve wealth and power but never feel it is enough. The result is they abuse their power and become corrupt. They might get away with this for a while. But eventually they will be caught, charged and sometimes even sent to jail. This is an example of how desire leads to downfall.
Another example of 'too much desire' is when we set ourselves impractical goals that are impossible to achieve. Inevitable failure leads to suffering. For instance, we might set an unrealistic target to inhabit another planet by 2020. After years of costly research and experiment, scientists discover that the goal is unreachable. Their dreams are shattered and a lot of money is wasted.
Desire may be a driving force for success but it leads to suffering.
Matthew Murchie, 15, St Joseph's College
We've all heard that money is the root of all evil. Greed is, no doubt, the culprit, and greed is simply desire.