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III. The Noble Truth Of
The Extinction Of Suffering
D.22
What, now, is the Noble Truth of the Extinction of
Suffering? It is the complete fading away and extinction of this craving, its forsaking
and abandonment, liberation and detachment from it.
But where may this craving vanish, where may it be
extinguished? Wherever in the world there are delightful and pleasurable things, there
this craving may vanish, there it may be extinguished.
S. XII. 66
Be it in the past, present, or future, whosoever of the
monks or priests regards the delightful and pleasurable things in the world as impermanent
(anicca), miserable (dukkha), and without a self (anattaa), as diseases and cankers, it is
he who overcomes craving.
Dependent Extinction Of All Phenomena
S. XII. 43
And through the total fading away and extinction of
Craving (ta.nhaa), Clinging (upaadaana) is extinguished; through the extinction of
clinging, the Process of Becoming (bhava) is extinguished; through the extinction of the
(karmic) process of becoming, Rebirth (jaati) is extinguished; and through the extinction
of rebirth, Decay and Death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, grief and despair are
extinguished. Thus comes about the extinction of this whole mass of suffering.
S. XXII. 30
Hence the annihilation, cessation and overcoming of
corporeality, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness: this is the
extinction of suffering, the end of disease, the overcoming of old age and death.
The undulatory motion which we call a wave-and which
in the ignorant spectator creates the illusion of one and the same mass of water moving
over the surface of the lake-is produced and fed by the wind, and maintained by the
stored-up energies. Now, after the wind has ceased, and if no fresh wind again whips up
the water of the lake, the stored-up energies will gradually be consumed, and thus the
whole undulatory motion will come to an end. Similarly, if fire does not get new fuel, it
will, after consuming all the old fuel, become extinct.
Just in the same way this Five-Khandha-process-which
in the ignorant worldling creates the illusion of an Ego-entity- is produced and fed by
the life-affirming craving (ta.nhaa), and maintained for some time by means of the
stored-up life energies. Now, after the fuel (upaadaana), i.e. the craving and clinging to
life, has ceased, and if no new craving impels again this Five-Khandha-process, life will
continue as long as there are still life-energies stored up, but at their destruction at
death, the Five-Khandha -process will reach final extinction.
Thus, Nibbaana, or 'Extinction' (Sanskrit: nirvaana;
from nir +root vaa to cease blowing, become extinct) may be considered under two aspects,
namely as:
1. 'Extinction of Impurities' (kilesa-parinibbaana),
reached at the attainment of Arahatship, or Holiness, which generally takes place during
life-time; in the Suttas it is called 'saupaadisesa-nibbaana', i.e. 'Nibbaana with the
Groups of Existence still remaining'.
2. 'Extinction of the Five-Khandha-process'
(khandha-parinibbaana), which takes place at the death of the Arahat, called in the
Suttas: 'an-upaadisesa-nibbaana' i.e. 'Nibbaana without the Groups remaining'.
NIBBAANA
A. III. 32
This, truly, is Peace, this is the Highest, namely the end
of all Karma formations, the forsaking of every substratum of rebirth, the fading away of
craving. detachment, extinction, Nibbaana.
A. III. 55
Enraptured with lust, enraged with anger, blinded by
delusion, overwhelmed, with mind ensnared, man aims at his own ruin, at the ruin of
others, at the ruin of both, and he experiences mental pain and grief. But, if lust,
anger, and delusion are given up, man aims neither at his own ruin, nor at the ruin of
others, nor at the ruin of both and he experiences no mental pain and grief. Thus is
Nibbaana immediate, visible in this life, inviting, attractive, and comprehensible to the
wise.
S.XXXVIII.1
The extinction of greed, the extinction of hate, the
extinction of delusion: this, indeed, is called Nibbaana.
The Arahat, Or Holy One
A. VI. 55
And for a disciple thus freed, in whose heart dwells
peace, there is nothing to be added to what has been done, and naught more remains for him
to do. Just as a rock of one solid mass remains unshaken by the wind, even so neither
forms, nor sounds, nor odors, nor tastes, nor contacts of any kind, neither the desired
nor the undesired, can cause such a one to waver. Steadfast is his mind, gained is
deliverance.
Snp. 1048
And he who has considered all the contrasts on this earth,
and is no more disturbed by anything whatever in the world, the peaceful One, freed from
rage, from sorrow, and from longing, he has passed beyond birth and decay.
The Immutable
Ud. VIII. 1
Truly, there is a realm, where there is neither the solid,
nor the fluid, neither heat, nor motion, neither this world, nor any other world, neither
sun nor moon.
This I call neither arising, nor passing away, neither
standing still, nor being born, nor dying. There is neither foothold, nor development, nor
any basis. This is the end of suffering.
Ud. VIII. 3
There is an Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed. If
there were not this Unborn, this Unoriginated, this Uncreated, this Unformed, escape from
the world of the born, the originated, the created, the formed, would not be possible.
But since there is an Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated,
Unformed, therefore is escape possible from the world of the born, the originated, the
created, the formed.
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