Nirvana
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Nirvana is the state that one reaches when they
attain Bodhi and become enlightened. It is possible for one to enter nirvana
whilst they are alive and live a completely “other” existence on earth, where
they are truly aware of the true nature of things. It may be more accurate to
view “nirvana” as a verb, as one becomes “nirvanaed” rather than nirvana being
a specific place that one goes to. The most accurate definition of nirvana is
‘total understanding of the true nature of things.’
·
Nirvana during life is impossible to describe,
but in this state one cannot create more bad karma as at death they will leave
Samsara. Whilst one may still experience physical suffering such as an illness,
having total awareness of the true nature of things brings people into the
awareness that this suffering will pass.
·
After death, one enters pari-nirvana, there are
different interpretations of Nirvana after death – Theravada Buddhists believe
that one leaves samsara, becoming inaccessible to the beings that are within
the wheel, and that this state is impossible for humans to know about or truly
understand. Mahayana Buddhists view pari-nirvana as a splendid heavenly
paradise which lasts forever as it is outside of Samsara, but those who enter
it are still accessible to beings in Samsara.
·
Nirvana is a state that is difficult to
describe, even the Buddha struggled to describe it to his followers, and this
struggle was later documented in the Questions of King Milinda in the 80th
Dilemma of the Pali Canon (the Milindapanda). The monk Nagasena tells King
Minlinda that it is impossible to describe nirvana through an analogy, as
nothing is like nirvana. However, he is able to provide analogies for some of
the effects of nirvana, for example it is said to be like a cooling drink of
water that assuages one’s thirst. There are strengths in this approach as it
presents a realistic picture of a difficult religious concept, but it is also
problematic as followers are left unable to truly understand nirvana and this
may prevent them from progressing on the path to enlightenment.
·
There is debate in Buddhism as to whether one
should aim to become nirvanaed or if it is better to aim for a good rebirth.
This entirely dependent on which stage of life a Buddhist is in – it is
probably more unrealistic for a lay Buddhist to aim for nirvana in their
lifetime if they do not plan on renouncing the world and becoming a monk. They
should instead aim for a better rebirth by performing good karmic deeds, which
will ensure a good rebirth as a human or God, where they can either focus on
nirvana or on creating good punya through good actions. However, for monks it
may be more realistic for them to aim for nirvana, which is the final goal of
Theravada Buddhism. Buddhists acknowledge that it takes many lifetimes for one
to be ready to reach nirvana, the Buddha was said to remember over 100,000 past
lives on the night of his enlightenment.
The Arhat Goal
·
Most Theravada Buddhists aim to become an arhat,
one who gains enlightenment through the help of someone else. Arhat literally
means “worthy one” as it is someone who has become worthy of achieving the
difficult goal of enlightenment.
·
The first arhats were the Buddha’s ascetic
companions who converted to Buddhism after hearing the Buddha’s First Sermon at
the Deer Park in Sarnath.
·
As someone progresses through the Buddhist path,
they may acquire supernatural powers through mastering meditation practices,
but there are strict guidelines about how one should use these, and this should
never be their intention – they should aim for nirvana, not to gain
supernatural powers like the ability to fly and read minds.
·
It is a grave sin in Theravada Buddhism to
falsely claim that you have become enlightened.
·
Arhats are treated with respect by Theravada
Buddhists because they have undertaken the great feat of becoming nirvanaed –
this is one of the reasons why the laity supports the sangha by giving
donations. However, arhats should not be worshipped, as this could cause
attachment.
Samsara
·
Samsara is often visually depicted as a wheel,
as it represents the constant cycle of death and rebirth that all beings are
caught up in. Samsara has many realms: heavenly realms such as those of the
Gods and demi-Gods, and hell realms and animal realms, where people go to
suffer and produce more bad karma. One’s rebirth is dependent on one’s past
karma.
·
Karma is the universal law of cause and effect
that governs samsara. It is a universal law like gravity, and is not controlled
by any external authority. Karma is seen as the invisible force that drives the
wheel of Samsara – good karma results in a good rebirth and bad karma results
in a bad rebirth. Karma is also responsible for determining one’s form, status
and gender in the next life, amongst other things. Buddhists aim to perform
actions which create good karma and avoid actions which cause bad karma. This
is because they wish to have a better rebirth as a human (to be able to gain
nirvana and escape samsara) or as a God (where it is harder to gain bad karma
and one lives a long and happy life).
·
Samsara is linked with the concept of
paticassamuppada – this is known as the ‘chain of dependent origination’ and
suggests that actions cause other actions in a constant chain. This chain can
only be broken by achieving nirvana and escaping Samsara after death.
Most Buddhists understand Samsara in the literal sense – this suggests that the wheel is real, it is how the cosmology of the universe is really organised, and the realms are real places where people have real experiences. However a minority of people interpret samsara in a purely psychological way. They suggest that instead of one being reborn into different states, one’s behaviour creates mental states which are compared to the realms in a metaphorical way. For example, someone may have a very animalistic state of mind because of their past behaviour, rather than literally being reborn as an animal. Mark Epstein suggests that Samsara is indicative of “neurotic suffering” and different states of mind
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