Can we reach Nirvana without removing ignorance?
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If you want go for Nirvana, you have to ignore happiness and sad situations. Need to think in middle position.Otherwise without removing ignorance, you should trap into normal life style of human.
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Ignorance (avijjā) can be understood as ignorance about the Four Noble Truths, which indirectly includes ignorance about the three marks of existence: impermanence (anicca), unsatisfactoriness (dukkha) and non-self (anattā). If you manage to get rid of craving, that probably means that you have removed your ignorance about dukkha, but not necessarily about the other two.
Dependent origination is a difficult topic with a lot of different interpretations. The way I see it, I think it's helpful to look at it from the perspective of removing ignorance about anattā, and not about dukkha. If it was about dukkha, removing the link between sensation (vedana) and craving (taṇhā) would indeed make more sense as the starting point.
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Craving is cut because of the knowledge that craving is a primary cause of suffering. Such knowledge is the cutting of ignorance.
Not knowing about suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering. This is called ignorance.
SN 12.2; MN 9.
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The reason why you crave is because of ignorance. When you have a pleasurable experience, you like it because you do not see the Dukkha(suffering) nature of it. Without getting rid of ignorance, you cannot get rid of craving.
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Maybe you've heard of the old South Indian Monkey Trap (from this article):
In Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig’s bonkers-but-brilliant philosophical novel that turns 40 this year, he describes “the old South Indian Monkey Trap”. ... The trap “consists of a hollowed-out coconut, chained to a stake. The coconut has some rice inside which can be grabbed through a small hole”. The monkey’s hand fits through the hole, but his clenched fist can’t fit back out. “The monkey is suddenly trapped.” But not by anything physical. He’s trapped by an idea, unable to see that a principle that served him well – “when you see rice, hold on tight!” – has become lethal.
The monkey needs to let go of the rice in order to free himself from his suffering. The way to end his suffering, is to end his craving for rice.
But in order to end his craving for rice, he must first understand how his hand is stuck inside the coconut. When the monkey overcomes his ignorance about how the trap works, he would let go of his craving for rice, and release his clenched fist. With this, he would be free from his suffering.
Also you can say that the monkey's suffering originated with his ignorance of the trap.
(Illustration above: Paul Thurlby for the Guardian)
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