The Foundations of Buddhism

74 Four Truths

fundamental ignorance and misapprehension of the nature of

the world.

Thus we can state the three fundamental defilements of the

mind according to Buddhist thought: greed (raga, lobha), aver-

sion (dve.Ja/dosa), and delusion (moha, avidyii/avijjii). It is these

that combine and interact, that manifest in different ways and

result in du/:tkha. In this way the great focus of Buddhist thought

is the workings of the mind. The processes by which the mind

responds to its various stimuli to bring about either the arising

of du/:tkha or the path that leads towards the cessation of du/:tkha

is considered in Buddhist thought by way of a particularly im-

portant and significant teaching that I referred to in passing in

recounting the story of the Buddha's awakening. This teach-

ing is known as 'dependent arising' or 'dependent origination'

(pratitya-samutpiida/paticca-samuppiida ). Dependent arising is to

be understood as in certain respects an elaboration of the truth

of the origin of suffering, but this difficult teaching is intertwined

with other important themes of Buddhist thought and I shall

postpone its full explanation until Chapter 6.

The cessation of suffering: nirval)a

Ip. the normal course of events our quest for happiness leads us

to attempt to satisfy our .desires-whatever they be. But in so

doing we become attached to things that are unreliable, unstable,

changing, and impermanent. As long as there is attachment to

things that are unstable, unreliable, changing, and impermanent

there will be suffering-when they change, when they cease to

be what we want them to be. Try as we might to find something

in the world that is permanent and stable, which we can hold on

to and thereby find lasting happiness, we must always fail. The

Buddhist solution is as radical as it is simple: let go,Jet go of every-

thing. If craving is th<:; cause of suffering, then the cessation of

suffering will surely follow from 'the complete fading away and

ceasing of that very craving': its abandoning, relinquishing,

releasing, letting go. The cessation of craving. is, then, the goal
of the Buddhist path, and equivalent to the cessation of suffer"
ing, the highest happiness, nirva1,1a (Pali nibbiina).