Well yes that's true but in Buddhism it's known to be a matrix caused by none other than ourselves. Dependent arising, from attachment, suffering is what manifests the universe and it's hellish infinite cycles.
To confirm what @Gnome said, actually any kind of desire for positive states of mind like bliss is considered an obstacle. Not to mention the fact that in the Mahayana there is the idea of the Bodhisattva, who remains in Samsara to help sentient beings rather than entering Nirvana, so it's not even possible to speak of desire for Nirvana. Anyway, the enemy is not desire itself, hence why we use desire on the path in the Vajrayana. The problem is egoistic desire, wanting things which cause ourselves and others suffering.
There are many, many Sutras, such as the Heart Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Lankavatara Sutra. In fact there is a huge body of literature, more than the Bible.
Ah, but with Christianity we can simply consult a small slimline gospel to see what Jesus said, and I was hoping that there was a similar genuine small book of Buddha's quotes that we can consult.
Easy, read the Dhammapada
Thanks, who wrote it, Buddha himself?
Buddha didn't write, people wrote down His discourses. The Dhammapada is a collection of his sayings, accepted by pretty much all Buddhist schools. There were a number of different schools of philosophy which developed based on Buddha's teachings, in particular the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana, though there are perhaps other possible ways of classifying them. The Mahayana is also the fundamental philosophy of the Vajrayana, they just use different techniques, and the latter is said to bring Enlightenment in one life. Different schools place emphasis on different discourses, though they don't generally reject the teachings of the other schools, they just have their own ways of approaching things.
Interesting view. Being a ghost (in the western sense) would grow to be tiring though wouldn't it?
You might be onto something, the Bodhisattva does not enter Nirvana.
Perhaps. I suppose it depends on the parameters of ghosthood. If being a ghost meant our soul existed in some kind of limbo, and one could no longer attain knowledge it would get old. But it seems like a person or a ghost might never stop learning. So maybe it's best to pose a rhetorical question. Does learning ever get old? Like has anyone ever legitimately said, I've learned everything possible to be learned, so I'm done!
Yeah, I like the idea of being a Buddhist Saint.