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Nirvana - overview of nirvana
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Nirvana
Nirvana ( Sanskrit: निर्वाण; Pali: निब्बान Nibbāna; Vietnamese: Niết bàn;
Chinese: 涅槃; Mandarin Pinyin: nièpán, Cantonese: nihppùhn; Japanese:
nehan (涅槃, nehan?); Korean: 열반, yeolbhan; Thai: nibpan นิพพาน), is a
Sanskrit word that literally means "to cease blowing" (as when a candle
flame ceases to flicker) and/or extinguishing (that is, of the
passions).
It is a mode of being that is free from mind-contaminants (kilesa) such
as lust, anger or craving; a state of pure consciousness and bliss
unobstructed by psychological conditioning (sankhara). All passions and
emotions are transformed and pacified such that one is no longer subject
to human suffering or dukkha. The Buddha in the Dhammapada says of
Nirvana that it is "the highest happiness". This is not the sense-based
happiness of everyday life, nor the concept of happiness as interpreted
by Western culture, but rather an enduring, transcendental happiness
integral to the calmness attained through enlightenment or bodhi. The
knowledge accompanying nirvana is expressed through the word bodhi.
The Buddha describes the abiding in Nirvana as "deathlessness" (Pali:
amata or amaravati) or "the unconditioned" and as the highest spiritual
attainment, the natural result that accrues to one who lives a life of
virtuous conduct in accordance with dharma. Such a life (called
Brahmacarya in India) dissolves the causes for future becoming (Skt,
karma; Pali, kamma) that otherwise keep beings forever wandering through
the impermanent and suffering-generating realms of desire, form, and
formlessness, termed samsara.
There are many synonyms for Nirvāṇa, as shown by the following passage:
World Honored One, the ground of fruition is bodhi, Nirvāṇa, true
suchness, the Buddha-nature, the amala-consciousness, the empty treasury
of the Thus Come One, the great, perfect mirror-wisdom. But although it
is called by these seven names, it is pure and perfect, its substance is
durable, like royal vajra, everlasting and indestructible. (Surangama
Sutra IV 207)
Overview
Nirvana (Pali nibbāna) in sutra is bhavanirodha nibbānam (The cessation
of becoming means Nirvāṇa). Nirvana in sūtra is never conceived of as a
place, but the antinomy of saṃsāra (see below) which itself is
antonymous with ignorance (avidyā, Pāli avijjā). “This said:
"'the liberated mind (citta) that no longer clings' means Nibbāna" (Majjhima
Nikaya 2-Att. 4.68).
Nibbāna is meant specifically as pertains gnosis that which ends the
identity of the mind (citta) with empirical phenomena. Doctrinally
Nibbāna is said of the mind which no "longer is coming (hava) and going
(vibhava)", but which has attained a status in perpetuity, whereby
"liberation (vimutta) can be said".
It carries further connotations of stilling, cooling, and peace. The
realizing of Nirvana is compared to the ending of avidyā (ignorance)
which perpetuates the will (cetana) into affecting the incarnation of
mind into biological or other form passing on forever through life after
life (samsara). Samsara is caused principally by craving and ignorance
(see dependent origination). Nirvāṇa, then, is not a place nor a state,
it is an absolute truth to be realized, and a person can do so without
dying. When a person who has realized Nirvana dies, his death is
referred as his parinirvāṇa, his fully passing away, as his life was his
last link to the cycle of death and rebirth (samsara), and he will not
be reborn again. Buddhism holds that the ultimate goal and end of
samsaric existence (of ever "becoming" and "dying" and never truly
being) is realization of Nirvāṇa; what happens to a person after his
pariNirvana cannot be explained, as it is outside of all conceivable
experience.
Nirvana and saṃsāra
In Mahāyāna Buddhism, calling Nirvana the "opposite" of saṃsāra or
implying that it is apart from saṃsāra is doctrinally problematic.
According to early Mahāyāna Buddhism, they can be considered to be two
aspects of the same perceived reality. By the time of Nāgārjuna, there
are teachings of the identity of Nirvana and saṃsāra. However, even here
it is assumed that the natural man suffers from at the very least a
confusion regarding the nature of saṃsāra.
The Theravāda school makes the antithesis of saṃsāra and Nibbāna the
starting point of the entire quest for deliverance. Even more, it treats
this antithesis as determinative of the final goal, which is precisely
the transcendence of saṃsāra and the attainment of liberation in Nibbāna.
Where Theravada differs significantly from the Mahāyāna schools, which
also start with the duality of saṃsāra and Nirvāṇa, is in not regarding
this polarity as a mere preparatory lesson tailored for those with blunt
faculties, to be eventually superseded by some higher realization of
non-duality. From the standpoint of the Pāli Suttas, even for the Buddha
and the Arahants suffering and its cessation, saṃsāra and Nibbāna,
remain distinct.
In the experience of all, Nirvana is a state which all six bases (Eye,
Ear, Nose, Tongue, Body and Mind) cannot feel.
It is probably best to understand the relationship between Nirvana and
saṃsāra in terms of the Buddha while on earth. Buddha was both in
saṃsāra while having attained to Nirvana so that he was seen by all, and
simultaneously free from saṃsāra.
Nirvana in Buddhist Commentaries
Sarvastivādin commentary, Abhidharma-mahavibhāsa-sāstra, gives the
complete context of the possible meanings from its Sanskrit roots:
* Vāna, implying the path of rebirth, + nir, meaning leaving off' or
"being away from the path of rebirth."
* Vāna, meaning 'stench', + nir, meaning "freedom": "freedom from the
stench of distressing kamma."
* Vāna, meaning "dense forests", + nir, meaning "to get rid of" = "to be
permanently rid of the dense forest of the five aggregates" (panca
skandha), or the "three roots of greed, hate and delusion" (lobha, dosa,
moha) or "three characteristics of existence" (impermanence, anitya;
unsatisfactoriness, dukkha, soullessness, anàtma).
* Vāna, meaning "weaving", + nir, meaning "knot" = "freedom from the
knot of the distressful thread of kamma."
Nirvana in the MahāpariNirvana Sūtra
The nature of Nirvana assumes a differently aspected Mahāyāna focus in
what alleges to be the final of all Mahāyāna sutras, allegedly delivered
by the Buddha on his last day of life on earth - the MahapariNirvana Sutra or
Nirvana Sutra. Here, as well as in a number of linked "tathagatagarbha"
sutras, in which the Tathagatagarbha is equated with the Buddha's
eternal Self or eternal nature, Nirvana is spoken of by the Mahāyāna
Buddha in very "cataphatic", positive terms. Nirvāṇa, or "Great Nirvāṇa",
is indicated to be the sphere or domain (vishaya) of the True Self. It
is seen as the state which constitutes the attainment of what is
"Eternal, the Self, Bliss, and the Pure". Mahā-Nirvana ("Great Nirvāṇa")
thus becomes equivalent to the ineffable, unshakeable, blissful,
all-pervading and deathless Selfhood of the Buddha himself - a mystery
which no words can adequately reach and which, according to the Nirvana Sutra, can only be fully known by an Awakened Being - a perfect Buddha -
directly.
Strikingly, the Buddha of the MahapariNirvana Sutra gives the following
definition of the attributes of Nirvāṇa, which includes the ultimate
reality of the Self (not to be confused with the "worldly ego" of the
five skandhas):
"The attributes of Nirvana are eightfold. What are these eight?
Cessation (nirodha), loveliness/wholesomeness (subha), Truth (satya),
Reality (tattva), eternity (nitya), bliss (sukha), the Self (atman), and
complete purity (parisuddhi): that is Nirvāṇa."
He further states: "Non-Self is saṃsāra (the cycle of rebirth); the Self
(atman) is Great Nirvāṇa."
An important facet of Nirvana in general is that it is not something
that comes about from a concatenation of causes, that springs into
existence as a result of an act of creation or an agglomeration of
causative factors: it was never created; it always was, is and will be.
But due to the moral and mental darkness of ordinary, samsarically
benighted sentient beings, it remains hidden from unawakened perception.
The Buddha of the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra insists on its eternal nature and
affirms its identity with the enduring, blissful Self, saying:
It is not the case that the inherent nature of Nirvana did not
primordially exist but now exists. If the inherent nature of Nirvana did
not primordially exist but does now exist, then it would not be free
from taints (āsravas) nor would it be eternally (nitya) present in
nature. Regardless of whether there are Buddhas or not, its intrinsic
nature and attributes are eternally present ... Because of the obscuring
darkness of the mental afflictions (kileśas), beings do not see it. The
Tathāgata, endowed with omniscient awareness (sarvajñā-jñāna), lights
the lamp of insight with his skill-in-means (upāya-kauśalya) and causes
Bodhisattvas to perceive the Eternal, Bliss, the Self, and the Pure of
Nirvāṇa.
Vitally, according to these Mahāyāna teachings, any being who has
reached Nirvana is not blotted out or extinguished: there is the
extinction of the impermanent and suffering-prone "worldly self" or ego,
comprised of the five changeful skandhas, but not of the immortal "supramundane"
Self of the indwelling Buddha Principle [Buddha-dhatu]. Spiritual death
for such a Nirvāṇa-ed being becomes an utter impossibility. The Buddha
states in the "Mahāyāna MahāpariNirvana Sutra" (Tibetan version): "Nirvana is deathless ... Those who have passed into
Nirvana are deathless. I say
that anybody who is endowed with careful assiduity is not compounded
and, even though they involve themselves in compounded things, they do
not age, they do not die, they do not perish."
Paths to Nirvana in the Pali canon
In the Visuddhimagga, Ch. I, v. 6 (Buddhaghosa & Ñāṇamoli, 1999, pp.
6-7), Buddhaghosa identifies various options within the Pali canon for
pursuing a path to Nirvāṇa,[1] including:
1. by insight (vipassana) alone (see Dh. 277)[2]
2. by jhana and understanding (see Dh. 372)[3]
1. by deeds, vision and righteousness (see MN iii.262)[4]
1. by virtue, consciousness and understanding (7SN i.13)[5]
1. by virtue, understanding, concentration and effort (see SN i.53)[6]
1. by the four foundations of mindfulness (see Satipatthana Sutta, DN
ii.290)[7]
Depending on one's analysis, each of these options could be seen as a
reframing of the Buddha's Threefold Training of virtue, mental
development[8] and wisdom.
Quotations
* Gautama Buddha:
o "Nirvana is the highest happiness." [Dp 204]
o "Where there is nothing; where naught is grasped, there is the Isle of
No-Beyond. Nirvana do I call it -- the utter extinction of aging and
dying."
o "There is, monks, an unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated. If
there were not that unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated, there
would not be the case that emancipation from the born -- become -- made
-- fabricated would be discerned. But precisely because there is an
unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated, emancipation from the born
-- become -- made -- fabricated is discerned." [Udana VIII.3]
o This said: ‘the liberated mind/will (citta) which does not cling’
means Nibbāna” [MN2-Att. 4.68]
o “'The subjugation of becoming means Nirvāṇa'; this means the
subjugation of the five aggregates means Nirvāṇa.” [SN-Att. 2.123]
o "Parinibbuto thitatto" -"PariNirvana is to be fixed in the Soul" [Sn
372]
* Said immediately after the physical death of Gotama Buddha wherein his
mind (citta) is =parinirvāṇa=the essence of liberation:
o [DN 2.157] “No longer with (subsists by) in-breath nor out-breath, so
is him (Gotama) who is steadfast in mind (citta), inherently quelled
from all desires the mighty sage has passed beyond. With mind (citta)
limitless (Brahman) he no longer bears sensations; illumined and unbound
(nibbana), his mind (citta) is definitely (ahu) liberated.”
o [SN 3.45] “The mind (citta) being so liberated and arisen from
defilements, one is fixed in the Soul as liberation, one is quelled in
fixation upon the Soul. Quelled in the Soul one is unshakable. So being
unshakable, the very Soul is thoroughly unbound (parinirvāṇa).”
* Sutta Nipāta, tr. Rune Johansson:
o accī yathā vātavegena khitto
atthaṁ paleti na upeti sankhaṁ
evaṁ muni nāmakāyā kimutto
atthaṁ paleti na upeti sankhaṁ
o atthan gatassa na pamāṇam atthi
ynea naṁ vajju taṁ tassan atthi
sabbesu dhammesu samūhatesu
samūhatā vādapathāpi sabbe
o Like a flame that has been blown out by a strong wind goes to rest and
cannot be defined, just so the sage who is freed from name and body goes
to rest and cannot be defined.
For him who has gone to rest there is no measure by means of which one
could describe him; that is not for him. When all (dharmas) have gone,
all signs of recognition have also gone.[9]
* Venerable Sariputta:
o The destruction of greed, hatred and delusion is Nirvāṇa.
Notes
1. ^ A number of the suttas referenced below as well as Buddhaghosa
himself refer not explicitly to Nirvana but to "the path of
purification" (Pali: Visuddhimagga). In Visuddhimagga, Ch. I, v. 5,
Buddhaghosa notes: "Herein, purification should be understood as nibbana,
which being devoid of all stains, is utterly pure" (Buddhaghosa &
Ñāṇamoli, 1999, p. 6).
2. ^ See Buddharakkhita (1996a). In the Paramattha-mañjūsā (the
Visuddhimagga commentary), vv. 9-10, it adds the following caveat
regarding this option of "insight alone":
The words 'insight alone' are meant to exclude, not virtue, etc., but
serenity (i.e., jhana), ... [as typically reflected] in the pair,
serenity and insight.... [T]he word 'alone' actually excludes only that
concentration with distinction [of jhanic absorption]; for concentration
is classed as both access [or momentary] and absorption.... Taking this
stanza as the teaching for one whose vehicle is insight does not imply
that there is no concentration; for no insight comes about with
momentary concentration. And again, insight should be understood as the
three contemplations of impermanence, pain and not-self [see tilakkhana];
not contemplation of impermanence alone (Buddhaghosa & Ñāṇamoli, 1999,
p. 750, n. 3).
3. ^ See Buddharakkhita (1996b).
4. ^ See Thanissaro (2003). Verse 262 of this sutta is translated by
Thanissaro as:
Action, clear-knowing, & mental qualities,
virtue, the highest [way of] life:
through this are mortals purified,
not through clan or wealth.
5. ^ The option expressed by SN i.13 is the basis for the entire rest of
the Visuddhimagga's exposition. It is the very first paragraph of the
Visuddhimagga and states:
When a wise man, established well in virtue,
Develops consciousness and understanding,
Then as a bhikku ardent and sagacious
He succeeds in disentangling this tangle. (Buddhaghosa & Ñāṇamoli, 1999,
p. 1)
In the Visuddhimagga, Ch. I, verse 2, Buddhaghosa comments that this
tangle refers to "the network of craving." In verse 7, Buddhaghosa
states that develops consciousness and understanding means "develops
both concentration and insight." (Buddhaghosa & Ñāṇamoli, 1999, pp. 1,
7)
6. ^ Buddhaghosa & Ñāṇamoli (1999), p. 7, translate SN i.53 as:
He who is possessed of constant virtue,
Who has understanding, and is concentrated,
Who is strenuous and diligent as well,
Will cross the flood so difficult to cross.
7. ^ See Thanissaro (2000). Verse 290 of this sutta is translated by
Thanissaro as:
The Blessed One said this: "This is the direct path for the purification
of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the
disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment of the right
method, & for the realization of Unbinding — in other words, the four
frames of reference....
8. ^ In the Nikayas mental development generally suggests the attainment
of jhanic absorption; however, as indicated above in the note regarding
the "insight alone" option, in some contexts it can refer to attaining
"access" or "momentary" concentration without full absorption.
9. ^ The Buddha's use of the metaphor of the extinguished flame should
not be taken either in the sense of the Vedas, where fire is immortal,
or the modern sense, where an extinguished fire ceases to exist. Instead
he discusses a situation beyond questions of existence or non-existence.
See [1]
Further reading
* Buddhaghosa, Bhadantacariya & Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli (trans.) (1999). The
Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti
Editions. ISBN 1-928706-00-2.
* Jon Kabit-Zin, Wherever You Go, There You Are
* The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra (Nirvana Publications, London
1999-2000), translated by Kosho Yamamoto, revised and edited by Dr. Tony
Page.
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