RIGHT VIEW
Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
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What is the cessation of
suffering? It is the remainderless fading away and ceasing, the giving
up, relinquishing, letting go, and rejecting of craving. (MN 9)
When one knows and sees sounds as they actually are, then one is not
attached to sounds. When one abides unattached, one is not infatuated,
and one’s craving is abandoned. One’s bodily and mental troubles are
abandoned, and one experiences bodily and mental well-being. (MN 149)
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Craving is the
cause of suffering, and if we crave a hundred things we will experience a
hundred episodes of suffering. We are used to this constant thirst to
possess things we like and to avoid what we don’t like. But we do not
have to follow the dictates of our desires. It is possible to notice the
yearning for something and then simply let go of it. This capacity
points the way to freedom from compulsion.
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Using sound as
the focus of practice, see if you can begin to notice the minor ways you
favor or oppose the sounds you meet in your experience. Step back from
being annoyed by a particular sound; step back from the allure another
may induce; step back from constantly welcoming what sounds good and
resisting what sounds bad. This stepping back is replacing desire with
equanimity and can be practiced in small ways.
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Tomorrow: Cultivating Appreciative Joy
One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering
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