The Annihilation Of Suffering
And the Buddha said: "What, my friends, is evil?
"Killing is evil; stealing is evil; yielding to sexual passion is
evil; lying is evil; slandering is evil; abuse is evil; gossip is
evil; envy is evil; hatred is evil; to cling to false doctrine is
evil; all these things, my friends, are evil.
"And what, my friends, is the root of evil?
"Desire is the root of evil; hatred is the root of evil; illusion
is the root of evil; these things are the root of evil.
"What, however, is good?
"Abstaining from killing is good; abstaining from theft is good;
abstaining from sensuality is good; abstaining from falsehood is
good; abstaining from slander is good; suppression of unkindness
is good; abandoning gossip is good; letting go all envy is good;
dismissing hatred is good; obedience to the truth is good; all
these things are good.
"And what, my friends, is the root of the good?
"Freedom from desire is the root of the good; freedom from hatred
and freedom from illusion; these things, my friends, are the root
of the good.
"What, however, O brethren, is suffering? What is the origin of
suffering? What is the annihilation of suffering?
"Birth is suffering; old age is suffering; disease is suffering;
death is suffering; sorrow and misery are suffering; affliction
and despair are suffering; to be united with loathsome things is
suffering; the loss of that which we love and the failure in
attaining that which is longed for are suffering; all these
things, O brethren, are suffering.
"And what, O brethren, is the origin of suffering?
"It is lust, passion, and the thirst for existence that yearns
for pleasure everywhere, leading to a continual rebirth! It is
sensuality, desire, selfishness; all these things, O brethren,
are the origin of suffering.
"And what is the annihilation of suffering?
"The radical and total annihilation of this thirst and the
abandonment, the liberation, the deliverance from passion, that,
O brethren, is the annihilation of suffering.
"And what, O brethren, is the path that leads to the annihilation
of suffering?
"It is the holy eightfold path that leads to the annihilation of
suffering, which consists of, right views, right decision, right
speech, right action, right living, right struggling, right
thoughts, and right meditation.
"In so far, O friends, as a noble youth thus recognizes suffering
and the origin of suffering, as he recognizes the annihilation of
suffering, and walks on the path that leads to the annihilation
of suffering, radically forsaking passion, subduing wrath,
annihilating the vain conceit of the "I-am," leaving ignorance,
and attaining to enlightenment, he will make an end of all
suffering even in this life."
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