The Destruction of Craving is Nibbāna (Enlightenment)

‘Venerable Sir, it is said, ‘a being, a being. In what way, Venerable Sir, is one called a being?’

One is stuck, Rādha, tightly stuck, in desire, longing, excitement, and craving for form; therefore one is called ‘a being’.

One is stuck, tightly stuck, in desire, longing, excitement, and craving for feelings; therefore one is called ‘a being’.

One is stuck, tightly stuck, in desire, longing, excitement, and craving for perceptions; therefore one is called ‘a being’.

One is stuck, tightly stuck, in desire, longing, excitement, and craving for volitional formations (choices/decisions); therefore one is called ‘a being’.

One is stuck, tightly stuck, in desire, longing, excitement, craving for consciousness: therefore one is called ‘a being’.

Suppose, Rādha, Some little boys or girls are playing with sand castles. So long as they are not free of desire, longing, excitement, thirst, passion, and craving for those sand castles, they cherish them, play with them, treasure them, and treat them possessively.

But when those little boys or girls lose their desire, longing, excitement, thirst, passion, and craving for those sand castles, then they scatter them with their hands and feet, demolish them, shatter them, and put them out of play.

So too, Rādha, scatter form, demolish it, shatter it, put it out of play; practice for the destruction of craving. Scatter feeling ... Scatter perception … Scatter volitional formations (choices/decisions) ... Scatter consciousness, demolish it, shatter it, put it out of play; practice for the destruction of craving.

For the destruction of craving, Rādha, is Nibbāna (Enlightenment).

(Reference: SN 23.2)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how craving for The Five Aggregates of form, feelings, perceptions, volitional formations (choices/decisions), or consciousness (the mind) makes one “stuck” and “therefore one is called a being”.

It is The Five Aggregates that identifies a living being. Holding on to The Five Aggregates with craving/desire/attachment will cause the mind to continue to experience discontentedness and continuous rebirth in The Cycle of Rebirth.

The Buddha provides a story of children playing with sand castles and as long as the mind is “not free of desire, longing, excitement, thirst, passion, and craving for those sand castles, they cherish them, play with them, treasure them, and treat them possessively” they will experience discontentedness.

“But when those little boys or girls lose their desire, longing, excitement, thirst, passion, and craving for those sand castles, then they scatter them with their hands and feet, demolish them, shatter them, and put them out of play” because the child will no longer hold on to the sand castles and not experience discontentedness.

He encourages Practitioners to “scatter” The Five Aggregates of form, feelings, perceptions, volitional formations (choices/decisions), and consciousness (the mind) so that the mind is no longer holding on to them with craving/desire/attachment.

Training the mind to eliminate craving is the way to “practice for the destruction of craving”. “For the destruction of craving, Rādha, is Nibbāna (Enlightenment)”.

Once craving/desire/attachment is eliminated from the mind, a Practitioner will no longer experience discontentedness.