The Word of the Buddha III. The Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering
Extinction is the remainderless fading of that same craving: nibbāna visible in this life, and the arahant in whom it has been reached.
This, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading and cessation of that same craving, the forsaking and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, absence of reliance on it.
And where is this craving, when being abandoned, abandoned? Where, when ceasing, does it cease? Whatever in the world has an agreeable and pleasant appearance—here this craving, when being abandoned, is abandoned; here, when ceasing, it ceases.
In the same way, whoever among the ascetics and brahmins in the past regarded anything in the world with an agreeable and pleasant appearance—as impermanent, as unsatisfactory, as not-self, as disease, as perilous—they abandoned craving. By abandoning craving, they abandoned acquisition. Those who abandoned acquisition abandoned suffering. Those who abandoned suffering were freed from birth, aging, and death; they were freed from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair; they were freed from suffering, I say.
Whoever among the ascetics and brahmins in the future or whoever among the ascetics and brahmins at present regard anything in the world with an agreeable and pleasant appearance—as impermanent, as unsatisfactory, as not-self, as disease, as perilous—they abandon craving. By abandoning craving, they abandon acquisition. Those who abandon acquisition also abandon suffering. Those who abandon suffering are freed from birth, aging, and death; they are freed from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair; they are freed from suffering, I say.”
Last updated on October 20, 2026