Overcoming Craving through the Noble Eightfold Path : หน้า 102/263

[phottabhba-vitaka] and thought-conception concerning of the mental objects [dhamma-vitaka]. Moreover, the discursive thought [vicāra] concerning our sensual objects arising from the aforementioned sensory thought-conception is implicated in the attachment we have to sensual pleasures. Again, each of the six senses has its own channel of sensory discursive thought therefore there are a further six areas in which the practitioner needs to extinguish craving — discursive thought concerning visual images [rūpa-vicāra], discursive thought concerning sounds [sadda-vicāra], discursive thought concerning perfumes [gandha-vicāra], discursive thought concerning tastes [rasa-vicāra], discursive thought concerning bodily objects [phottabhba-vicāra] and discursive thought concerning of the mental objects [dhamma-vicāra]. Thus, the emotions of pleasurable attachment concerning the sensory process of all six sense-channels need to be overcome. Only when they have been overcome at all levels and in all sense-channels can the extinguishing of suffering be achieved. Numerous are those who have attained Buddhist Sainthood The mechanism of overcoming suffering requires the practitioner completely to uproot craving from the mind by transcendental extinction [samuccedapāhana] (i.e. raising the mind above the temptation of craving rather than just sensual restraint). Such extinction of craving is a task already exemplified by the Buddha. The tool he used to overcome craving was the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path until attaining Nirvana. “Nirvana” is a word used interchangeably with the word ‘nirodha’ (extinction, cessation). Not just the Buddha, but all who practise the Noble Eight-