Elimination of Craving is Called The Laying Down of The Burden

And what, Monks, is the laying down of the burden?

It is the remainderless fading away and elimination of that same craving, the giving up and letting go of it, freedom from it, non-reliance on it.

This is called the laying down of the burden.

This is what The Perfectly Enlightened One said. Having said this, The Fortunate One, The Teacher, further said this:

The Five Aggregates are truly burdens,

The burden-carrier is the person.

Taking up the burden is discontentedness in the world,

Laying the burden down is joyful.

Having laid the heavy burden down

Without taking up another burden,

Having taken out craving from its root,

One is free from hunger, fully extinguished.

(Reference: SN 22.22)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares that through eliminating craving one is “laying down the burden”.

The mind is heavily burdened carrying around craving/desire/attachment/wants/ expectations, etc. as the mind constantly pursues the objects of its affections. Through the elimination of craving (mental longing with a strong eagerness) the mind can be at peace, once and for all, as it is no longer making decisions through its own selfish desires.

While craving is described by The Buddha as “the burden”, it is truly a burden to carry around craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true reality) where a being then comes into existence accumulating “The Five Aggregates” to become “a being”.

“The Five Aggregates are truly burdens” to carry around. With the physical body and a mind, a being needs to constantly be burdened by feeding, watering, clothing, sheltering, and acquiring medical care for the physical body. A being will need to maintain the physical body through bathing, haircuts, cutting nails, and a whole range of other maintenance activities which can be exhausting for one to come into existence and then maintain throughout life.

Through The Path to Enlightenment, one can “lay down the heavy burden” of carrying around The Five Aggregates, realizing peace of mind, and then no longer experiencing another existence through The Cycle of Rebirth where all the challenges of life start all over again.

If one believes they only have one life, when faced with the burden of life then one might sometimes consider suicide as an option to end the displeasure of existence in life. However, when one comes to understand The Cycle of Rebirth that all beings are continuously reborn until the mind is fully developed, you come to understand that suicide is not the solution, but instead makes the problem worse. One would only be committing themselves to countless more lives and rounds of roaming and wandering, struggling to find a way out of The Cycle of Rebirth. If one is interested in ending the challenges of life, then the solution is found through cultivation of the mind, training it to eliminate The Ten Fetters, so that one no longer needs to experience existence.

There is going to continue to be renewed existence until one learns, reflects, and practices The Teachings to eliminate craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true reality) acquiring wisdom. Essentially, continued existence in The Cycle of Rebirth is continuous opportunities to learn what one did not learn in prior existences through cultivation of the mind.

It is not until one eliminates all unwholesome qualities and cultivates the wholesome qualities that, through wisdom, the entire cycle is eliminated and the burden of existence can finally be “laid down”.

“One is free from the hunger” and thirst of constant craving and pursuing selfish desires - all has been “fully extinguished”. “Laying the burden down is joyful” as a being will no longer experience any discontent feelings, truly enjoying the remaining time of their last existence with a mind that is peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy.