A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Monday, November 10, 2025
Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
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)
Reflection
Though suffering is ubiquitous its cause can be identified, and once you know the cause of something you can bring it to an end by dismantling that cause. When craving fades away, the suffering it causes also fades, and when craving is completely eliminated, suffering too is ended forever. This is what the Buddha accomplished on the night of his awakening.
Daily Practice
Even if we do not awaken once and for all the way the Buddha did, we have it within our power to orchestrate moments of awakening—moments devoid of greed, hatred, and delusion. As an everyday practice, look for ways of “giving up” craving, of “relinquishing” wanting things to be other than they are, of “letting go” of constantly favoring some things and opposing others. Reject craving whenever you can.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment