Linked Discourses 22.104

1. Ends

Suffering

At Sāvatthī.

“Mendicants, I will teach you suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering.

Listen …

And what is suffering?

It should be said: the five grasping aggregates.

What five?

That is, the grasping aggregates of form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness.

This is called suffering.

And what is the origin of suffering?

It’s the craving that leads to future lives, mixed up with relishing and greed, taking pleasure there wherever it alights. That is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, and craving for nonexistence.

This is called the origin of suffering.

And what is the cessation of suffering?

It’s the fading away and cessation of that very same craving with no residue left behind; giving it away, letting it go, releasing it, and not clinging to it.

This is called the cessation of suffering.

And what is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering?

It is simply this noble eightfold path, that is:

right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion.

This is called the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering.”