Understanding the Origin of Suffering in Buddhism : หน้า 54/263

2.2 The Origin of Suffering as a Cause In explaining the Origin of Suffering, the Buddha intended to make clear that the suffering experienced by living beings has craving as its cause. As soon as there is craving, then the repercussion is suffering, from the suffering of birth onwards. Furthermore, the Lord Buddha wished to underline the inter-relation between the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering and the Noble Truth of Suffering. 2.3 The Origin of Suffering as Controller With the objective of showing the inter-relation between the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering and the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering, the Lord Buddha taught that craving is able to take control of living beings, keeping them endlessly in the Cycle of Existence because those living beings have failed to attain Nirvana. Those living beings are still polluted with greed, hatred and delusion, so craving is able to keep those beings under its control, to keep them being born and reborn without end. 2.4 The Origin of Suffering as Anxiety The Lord Buddha taught that the anxieties which bring living beings misery are caused by the mind being caught up in two sorts of sensuality: mind-side sensuality [kilesākāma] and object-side sensuality [vatthukāma][1]. Living beings are unable to release themselves from these anxieties and sensualities because they have not got down to following the Noble Eightfold Path. By practising the Noble Eightfold Path, they would be able to overcome their obsessions with 1. Sensuality per se is the interaction of desire [kilesākāma] with an object of desire [vatthukāma]. Mind-side sensuality comes in the form of defilements which cause attachment such as grasping ṛāga], greed [lobha] and jealousy [icchā]. Object-side sensuality comes from attractive objects for the senses such as attractive images, sounds, perfumes, tastes and physical contacts.