Namo Buddhaya!
I’ll give a simile
Suppose a man was thirsty, walking through a desert, to him another would give water. The thirsty man would then drink the water and thus quenching his thirst.
Now we could say that the drinking of water is a quenching of of thirst, a removal of thirst.
Having drank one is thirstless, with thirst removed.
If there was no water then the quenching of thirst wouldn’t be possible.
One could say that in this simile the water is a destroyer of thirst, a destruction of thirst, a removal of thirst.
And it would be fair to say that the ultimate goal of the thirsty man is to be without thirst, not the drinking of water which is rather a means to an end.
This good dhamma-training is very similar.
The ultimate goal is arahantship, to be without taints, having removed the taints.
One who has attained arahantship has attained the removal of taints.
Directing the mind to the Deathless is a directing of mind to the destruction of taints.
The destruction of taints is a removal of taints
The unmade element is Deathless, and is that in dependence on what the cessation occurs, in dependence on what one directs the mind to the deathless, if it didn’t exist then ir wouldn’t be possible to direct the mind to it, the stilling of all constructions, nibbana [extinguishment].
And the ultimate goal of the delusional man is to be without delusion, not the attaining of cessation as directing of mind to the Deathless, this is rather a means to an end.
“Venerable sir, it is said, ‘the removal of lust, the removal of hatred, the removal of delusion.’ Of what now, venerable sir, is this the designation?”
“This, bhikkhu, is a designation for the element of Nibbāna: the removal of lust, the removal of hatred, the removal of delusion. The destruction of the taints is spoken of in that way.”
When this was said, that bhikkhu said to the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, it is said, ‘the Deathless, the Deathless.’ What now, venerable sir, is the Deathless? What is the path leading to the Deathless?”
“The destruction of lust, the destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion: this is called the Deathless. This Noble Eightfold Path is the path leading to the Deathless; that is, right view … right concentration.” SuttaCentral
“And what, Ānanda, is the path, the way to the abandoning of the five lower fetters? Here, with seclusion from the acquisitions, with the abandoning of unwholesome states, with the complete tranquillization of bodily inertia, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion.
“Whatever exists therein of material form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, he sees those states as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, as a tumour, as a barb, as a calamity, as an affliction, as alien, as disintegrating, as void, as not self. He turns his mind away from those states and directs it towards the deathless element thus: ‘This is the peaceful, this is the sublime, that is, the stilling of all formations, the relinquishing of all attachments, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nibbāna.’ If he is steady in that, he attains the destruction of the taints.
SuttaCentral
“Reverend, they speak of dhamma apparent in the present life’. In what way did the Buddha speak of dhamma apparent in the present life?”
“First, take a mendicant who, quite secluded from sensual pleasures … enters and remains in the first absorption. To this extent the Buddha spoke of the dhamma apparent in the present life in a qualified sense. …
Furthermore, take a mendicant who, going totally beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And, having seen with wisdom, their defilements come to an end. To this extent the Buddha spoke of the dhamma apparent in the present life in a definitive sense.”
SuttaCentral
Reverend, they say that ‘extinguishment is apparent in the present life’. In what way did the Buddha say extinguishment is apparent in the present life?”
“First, take a mendicant who, quite secluded from sensual pleasures … enters and remains in the first absorption. To this extent the Buddha said that extinguishment is apparent in the present life in a qualified sense. …
Furthermore, take a mendicant who, going totally beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And, having seen with wisdom, their defilements come to an end. To this extent the Buddha said that extinguishment is apparent in the present life in a definitive sense.”
SuttaCentral
In short
Having rid oneself of wrong views on trains for calm & dispassion.
Then comes a time when the mind turns away from the constructed states, and towards the Deathless, cessation, nibbana. This attainment of cessation transcends all other meditative attainments and can last up to seven days, or just a short time. And one’s taints are destroyed by the seeing with wisdom.
If one emerges as an arahant, good, if not an arahant then more work needs to be done by developing the same qualities.
The seeing with wisdom is a means to an end, the goal of the holy life is no other than arahantship.