Aspiration (Buddhism)

One of the five determining mental factors of Tibetan Buddhism, aspiration makes possible the generation of continuous effort and is one of the antidotes to laziness. Aspiration is said to have three types - the wish to meet, the wish not to separate and the wish to seek. It may be an emulation of the Buddha as he set out on his search for liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

As the first of the four fundamental principles of creative existence, aspiration is the decision, or evolution in the individual of the over-riding desire, to gain direct insight of and realize the eternal. In religion this is referred to as the love of God. It expands consciousness and results in selfless action.