Upasaka Sumana wrote:Thank you, Bhante. Are craving and letting go exact opposites? In other words, if we had to find an antonym for craving (in Buddhist terms) it would be 'letting go'? Renunciation seems another alternative. I'm just wondering what word (in English) is the exact opposite of craving.
The usual oppositions are:
Nekkhamma(-vitakka) vs. kāma(-vitakka).
(Thoughts of) renunciation vs. (thoughts of) sensual desire.
Paṭinissagga/vossagga vs. ādāna (= taṇhā + upādāna)
Relinquishing vs. appropriation (= craving + grasping)
Taṇhā vs. nibbāna
Craving vs. blowing out.
or:
Taṇhā vs. alobha
Craving vs. non-attachment
Alobha and Nibbāna might both be said to be "the exact opposite of craving", but in different senses. Alobha is the wholesome root that's directly opposed to the unwholesome root of lobha (of which craving is one form). Nibbāna is the "exact opposite" in the sense that the third noble truth is the opposite of the second: it's what puts an end to it.