The Buddha teaches that four things should be developed for the complete understanding, finishing, giving up, ending, vanishing, fading away, cessation, giving away, and letting go of greed.

AN 4.277-303 Complete Understanding, Etc.

“Rāgassa, bhikkhave, pariññāya …pe… parikkhayāyapahānāyakhayāyavayāyavirāgāyanirodhāyacāgāyapaṭinissaggāya cattāro dhammā bhāvetabbā …pe….

Tiṁsatimaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

“Rāgassa, bhikkhave, pariññāya …pe… parikkhayāyapahānāyakhayāyavayāyavirāgāyanirodhāyacāgāyapaṭinissaggāya cattāro dhammā bhāvetabbā …pe….

“For the complete understanding … finishing … giving up … ending … vanishing … fading away … cessation … giving away … letting go of greed, four things should be developed.”

Tiṁsatimaṁ.

Topics & Qualities:

Craving

Craving

A driving ‘thirst’ that reaches out toward experiences, identities, or outcomes as the place to find satisfaction—“if only I had that.” It spins stories of lack, binds the mind to becoming, and invariably leads to suffering.

Also known as: wanting, yearning, longing, lit. thirst
Pāli: taṇha, abhijjhā
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Ending

Ending

The complete exhaustion and ending of craving, aversion, and delusion—the three roots of suffering. It refers to both the gradual wearing away of defilements through practice and the final cessation that constitutes Nibbāna.

Also known as: cessation, exhaustion, gradual ending, wearing away
Pāli: khaya, khīṇa, nirodha
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Giving

Giving

The act of generosity, sharing, or offering to others without expecting anything in return. Giving is considered a foundational virtue in Buddhist practice, fostering selflessness and compassion.

Also known as: generosity, charity, donation, almsgiving, donating, philanthropy, providing with, gift with
Pāli: dāna
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Giving up

Giving up

The mental quality of renunciation and release from attachment. It delights in simplicity and freedom rather than in sensual pleasure. Giving up is not loss but the joyful abandoning of burden, opening the way to peace and insight.

Also known as: renunciation, relinquishment, letting go, abandonment
Pāli: nekkhamma
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Greed

Greed

A grasping mental quality of craving, possessiveness, or lustful wanting that clings to objects or experiences; it fuels attachment and obstructs renunciation and contentment

Also known as: acquisitiveness, avarice, covetousness, rapacity, money grabbing, grabbiness
Pāli: lobha, gedha
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Last updated on July 27, 2026