THE CYCLE CEASES, THE FIRE IS EXTINGUISHED
The cessation of suffering is known and experienced only by the one who is becoming a noble one. The Noble Path or the sublime path of holy life reaches its fruition at this point. The cessation occurs both inwards and outwards. It is as if the power generator was turned off and all electricity in the system is gone. The inward cessation involves the termination of greed, hatred and delusion. There is nothing to generate electric current and heat, because the source is gone. Even though the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body and the mind are still there, they stop functioning at that moment. The eyes exist, but since there is no vinnana (consciousness) there is no sight. The ears exist, but since there is no vinnana the ears cannot hear. The nose exists, but since there is no vinnana the nose cannot smell. The tongue exists, but since there is no vinnana the tongue cannot taste. The body exists, but since there is no vinnana the body cannot feel any tactile sensation. The mind exists, but since there is no vinnana the mind cannot perceive happiness, suffering or any emotion.
This is nirodha, the complete cessation of all inward and outward sufferings at their causes. Form, feeling, memory, mental formation and consciousness comprising the Five Aggregates are all gone. There is nothing in the Five Aggregates since the consciousness which controls all others has been cut off by nirodha. Form exists as merely form with no feeling, memory or any perception. Sankhara that used to associate things cannot do so now. Vinhana which perceives things now stops doing so. As a consequence of the non-functioning of vinnana, the actions of the other aggregates (form, feeling, memory and mental formation) and the sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body) also stop. In short the mind stops working. It is like a system of machines connected by a single belt. The whole system stops working when the prime mover is turned off. The 'prime mover" is ignorance. When nirodha extinguishes ignorance, the cycle of births stops. The ultimate wisdom cuts it off and destroys ignorance completely. There is no way to recover, it is as if the fuel and the fire were removed and so there was no more heat. Lust, hatred and delusion, like heat, are gone as the 'fuel'(ignorance) and the 'fire' (wheel of births) are completely destroyed. The 'water" of nirodha extinguishes the "fire." Where can 'heat'(suffering) come from then?
Phra Acariya Thoon Khippapanno
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