The path is the condition. It doesn’t *cause* the end of suffering but it takes you there. That’s why the Buddha called it a path. That’s the skillful action. And the skillful result is that you put an end to all your suffering.

"When you get to the four noble truths, the duties expand. Now we have cause and effect, skillful cause and unskillful cause and their effects. The unskillful cause is craving. The effect or the result of the unskillful cause is suffering. The path is the condition. It doesn’t cause the end of suffering but it takes you there. That’s why the Buddha called it a path. That’s the skillful action. And the skillful result is that you put an end to all your suffering."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Duties"

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