The Cessation of Craving as the Path to Liberation: an Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path
International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research December 6, 2025 Vo Quang Vinh, Dr. Champalal Mandrele
Buddhist philosophy identifies tanhā (craving) as the root of suffering, moral decline, and existential instability. This article argues that the cessation of craving (tanhā-nirodha), a core Buddhist soteriological goal, extends beyond monastic practice into modern ethics, psychology, and social issues. Drawing on the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and integrating moral psychology, contemplative science, and cognitive neuroscience, the authors contend that craving is not merely an individual problem but is deeply embedded in socio-cultural structures. The article proposes that the Eightfold Path systematically deconstructs dissatisfaction through ethical change, cognitive restructuring, and attention retraining, and applies this framework to contemporary concerns like digital addiction, consumptive desire, environmental degradation, and polarized identity politics.