Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering

 

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RIGHT VIEW Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering 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 understands flavors as they actually are, then one is not attached to flavors. 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)

Reflection Just as suffering is constructed moment by moment by attaching to the details of sensual experience, wanting the flavors we like and not wanting the flavors we don’t like, so too that very moment of suffering can be deconstructed by abandoning the wanting and not wanting and replacing it with equanimity. We still experience the flavor, directly and intently, but without being entangled with it—only aware of it. Daily Practice Practice eating with equanimity. Simply take a bite, chew it slowly and carefully, attending fully to every nuance of texture and flavor, and then swallow when appropriate. All this is done with great awareness but without favoring or opposing any aspect of the experience. When you experience flavors “unattached” and “without infatuation,” you are, in that brief moment at least, entirely free of suffering. Tomorrow: Cultivating Appreciative Joy  One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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