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Those who follow the path of Buddhism are likely familiar with the term Nirvana. But what exactly is Nirvana, and understanding it correctly remains a subject of debate for many. Let's explore Nirvana through the following article on Mytour.
1. What is Nirvana?
Nirvana is the ultimate state of liberation from the cycle of reincarnation. It signifies the end of suffering, attachment, and ignorance. Nirvana means extinguishing or being unbound, free from what has bound us—from the burning desires, jealousy, and lack of understanding.
Nirvana is the cessation of desires, the end of karmic retribution, absolute tranquility. It is the eternal suspension of space and time in the profound spiritual realm of humanity. In Buddhism, Nirvana is not a distant paradise with spatial and temporal dimensions like the heaven in Christian teachings. Instead, it is a state of spiritual serenity, quietness, clarity, free from desires, eradication of ignorance, cessation of all suffering, and mental disturbances.
Due to varying levels of enlightenment, Nirvana is categorized into two main types:
Nirvana with Residue (Huu Du Y): This type of Nirvana has eliminated all desires or mental afflictions within the three realms but still retains the residual effects of past karma.
From the first fruit, Arhat, to the third fruit, Anagami, though they have eradicated the accumulation of mental afflictions, they are not completely satisfied. The joy is not absolute as mental afflictions and the residual effects of past karma still linger. However, due to the cessation of afflictions, they experience liberation within the cycle of birth and death without constraints like ordinary beings.
Nirvana with Exhaustion of Residue (Vo Du Y): This type of Nirvana has completely eliminated residual illicit desires and no longer carries the body of karmic consequences (completely ending the cycle of conditioned existence).
Reaching the stage of Arhat, having extinguished all mental afflictions and transcended the cycle of birth and death, one achieves complete liberation from both human suffering and karmic consequences. Birth and death no longer bind this individual. This is the pinnacle of sublime attainment. At this point, the flames of desire are completely extinguished, and the unobstructed mind manifests fully, never to return to the cycle of defiled thoughts. Thus, attaining self-liberation beyond the realms of Desire, Form, and Formlessness.
In this way, Nirvana is the total eradication of ignorance or misconceptions about reality, the cessation of desire or any attachment arising from ignorance. Nirvana is the end of craving, attachment, and the cycle of birth and death driven by ignorance and desire. Nirvana is wisdom about reality, complete enlightenment, the cessation of the cyclic flow causing suffering, and the abandonment of clinging to misconceptions.
2. The Origin of Nirvana
In Western culture, Nirvana in Buddhism is often compared to the Heaven in Christianity. The origin of Nirvana is closely tied to Buddhism, even though initially, Nirvana was a movement in Hinduism in India.
Nirvana originated from the man who later became the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. According to legend, he was born into a wealthy family, had a happy and fulfilling childhood. As a young man, he began to reflect on his luxurious life to find sacred values. Eventually, he chose to renounce his relationships, family, and wealth. His chosen path was to discover the true essence of life. He became an ascetic, wandering and dedicating all his time to meditation.
He always harbored the hope of finding enlightenment by completely separating himself from the world. During his ascetic practices and meditation, there were times when he almost died of starvation. However, he realized that if he continued on this path, he would die before discovering the true nature and sacred values he was seeking. Finally, he chose the Middle Way, reconciling between a life of wealth and poverty, a life of indulgence and the torment of the body.
After a long period of enlightenment, he found enlightenment and became the Buddha under the Bodhi tree. After living for 45 years, he reached Nirvana, entered the state of Nirvana, and completed his own Nirvana.
3. Achieving Great Nirvana
To attain Nirvana is not about creating the cycle of birth and death; it means realizing Nirvana, not seeking it elsewhere or waiting for a specific time to attain it. Therefore, achieving Nirvana early or late, spending a long or short time in Nirvana, all depends on ourselves.
4. Significance of Nirvana in Buddhism
According to Buddhism, through the observation of all existences, we can infer the concept of Nirvana and the complete cessation of all phenomena. From the perspective of phenomena, all phenomena, all existences, are very different and can contradict each other. They are chaotic, in reality, their existence is illusory and arises from conditioned causation. They seem to exist on one side but not on the other. They appear to be cohesive but are fundamentally different. They seem to exist and can also cease. Ultimately, everything will return to harmony and complete tranquility. This is the essence of all existence in this universe.
Nirvana is the ultimate resting place for everyone. Understanding this reality and dispelling our illusions can lead us to a state of harmony and complete tranquility. All conflicts, obstacles, and misconceptions will transform into serenity. Without illusions, absolute stillness is the outcome of reaching Nirvana.
Buddhism emphasizes the importance of this achievement and encourages us to directly and deeply contemplate the nature of non-self. Since there is no inherent absoluteness, all phenomena have the nature of non-self, without increase or decrease, success or failure; hence, everything is completely tranquil. That is the significance of Nirvana.
It can be seen that the concept of Nirvana in Buddhism is a revolutionary idea in the history of Indian thought, bringing a fresh perspective and vitality to Buddhism. Nirvana embodies a humanistic philosophy of religion – the philosophy of Buddhism.
