Fragrance Of The Buddha | The Extinction of Suffering

Swaha reads one of the first teachings of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, and explores what causes suffering and how to be free of it.

“Birth is suffering;
Decay is suffering;
Death is suffering;
Sorrow, Pain, Grief and Despair are suffering;
Not to get one’s desires is suffering;
In short: the Five Groups of Existence are suffering.

What is the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering?
It is craving which gives rise to fresh rebirth,
and bound up with pleasure and lust,
now here, now there, finds ever fresh delight.

But where does this craving arise and take root?
Wherever in the world there are delightful and pleasurable things,
there are cravings, desires, and it takes root.
Through the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind.
They are all delightful and pleasurable.
There, this craving arises and takes root.

Visual objects, sounds, smells, tastes, bodily impressions and mind objects are delightful and pleasurable: there, this craving arises and takes root.

Consciousness, sense impression, feeling born of sense impressions, perception, will, craving, thinking and reflection are delightful and pleasurable. This is where the craving arises and takes root.

Then what is the 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.

The extinction of greed, extinction of hate, extinction of delusion. This indeed is called Nirvana.”
-Gautama Buddha

Vasant Swaha is a modern mystic sharing his love, joy, and wisdom in retreats. This is an excerpt from a Satsang in Thailand, during the “Fragrance of the Buddha” retreat on 22th of February 2016.
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