With Destruction of Excitement and Craving Comes Destruction of Discontentedness

Monks, a Monk sees as impermanent the eye which is actually impermanent: that is his Right View.

Seeing rightly, he experiences a fading away of strong feelings.

With the destruction of excitement comes destruction of craving;

With the destruction of craving comes destruction of excitement;

With the destruction of excitement and craving the mind is said to be well liberated.

Monks, a Monk sees as impermanent the ear, the nose, the tongue, the body, the mind which is actually impermanent.

Seeing rightly, he experiences a fading away of strong feelings.

With the destruction of excitement and craving the mind is said to be well liberated.

(The Buddha repeats the entire statement for the remaining internal sense bases of the ear, nose, tongue, body, mind and the six (6) external sense bases of forms, sounds, odors, flavors, physical objects, mental objects.)

(Reference: SN 35.156–157)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares that observing the impermanence of the eye and all The Six Sense Bases is part of establishing “Right View”. Establishing Right View requires developing wisdom to eliminate the mind’s ignorance (unknowing of true reality) through observing the truth in The Natural Laws of Existence. A Practitioner learns, reflects, and practices The Teachings of The Buddha to observe the truth acquiring wisdom.

Are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind permanent?

Are forms, sounds, odors, flavors, physical objects, or mental objects permanent?

The answer to both of these questions is “no” they are not permanent. But, you cannot believe this Teaching but instead will need to observe the truth of this reality on your own.

What form have you seen with the eyes that is permanent? Are the eyes themselves permanent or will they, over time, change and decay?

What sound have you heard with the ears that is permanent? Are the ears themselves permanent or will they, over time, change and decay?

What odor have you smelled with the nose that is permanent? Is the nose itself permanent or will it, over time, change and decay?

What flavor have you tasted with the tongue that is permanent? Is the tongue itself permanent or will it, over time, change and decay?

What physical object have you touched with the body that is permanent? Is the physical body itself permanent or will it, over time, change and decay?

What mental object have you recognized with the mind that is permanent? Is the mind itself permanent or will it, over time, change and decay?

Mental objects are objects such as thoughts, ideas, emotions, mental states, etc.

“Seeing rightly, he experiences a fading away of strong feelings.”: Observing the truth that all of The Six Sense Bases are impermanent, the mind can be trained to eliminate strong feelings when there is agreeable contact through The Six Sense Bases which produces pleasant feelings in the mind. And, the mind can be trained to eliminate strong feelings when there is disagreeable contact through The Six Sense Bases which produces painful feelings in the mind.

“With the destruction of excitement comes destruction of craving;”: When the mind observes with Right Mindfulness pleasant feelings such as excitement arising, a Practitioner should apply Right Effort to eliminate the pleasant feeling of excitement that is arising by cutting it off and letting it go when it is just a bodily sensation. Then a Practitioner will experience the gradual elimination of the craving/desire/attachment that produced the arising of this discontentedness. The same approach should be employed for all discontentedness arising whether it be pleasant feelings, painful feelings, or feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant.

“With the destruction of craving comes destruction of excitement; With the destruction of excitement and craving the mind is said to be well liberated.”: When a Practitioner has eliminated craving/desire/attachment, the mind will no longer experience the impermanent conditioned pleasant feelings. The mind can reside peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy - permanently. The mind is well liberated or Enlightened.

“Monks, a Monk sees as impermanent the ear, the nose, the tongue, the body, the mind which is actually impermanent. Seeing rightly, he experiences a fading away of strong feelings. With the destruction of excitement and craving the mind is said to be well liberated.”: This is the continuation of the entire Teaching expanding the prior Teaching to all of The Six Sense Bases.