Chapter 10: Exploring the Concept of Nirvana

I once came across an article written by a Christian pastor that criticized the highest accomplishment in Buddhism: the "Parinirvana¹".

The pastor wrote: "Under the twin Sal² trees, Shakyamuni Buddha entered into nirvana as he lay on his right side facing the west while his head pointed to the north."

The pastor opined: "Nirvana is nothing but death."

The pastor deduced: "Based on Sanskrit, nirvana is translated as 'Yuan-ji.' Yuan-ji bears the meaning of extinction, and that refers to death."

The pastor further wrote: "According to Buddhism, nirvana is the city inhabited by saints. The ³ mentioned that the reality behind all phenomena is the city of nirvana. The city has three gateways⁴ and these gateways respectively represent 'emptiness,' 'formlessness' and 'desirelessness."

The pastor firmly believed that emptiness, formlessness and desirelessness point unequivocally to death.

Based on his opinion, the pastor concluded that the highest achievement in Buddhism is nothing but death!

A disciple also asked me the same question before: "Is it true that nirvana is death?"

My explanation is as follows:

"Nirvana is explained as Yuan-ji. 'Yuan' has the meaning of completion of all wisdom and merits, while 'Ji' means the cessation of all delusions and karma. It is also translated as 'Mie-du.' 'Mie' means eradication of the three delusions : view and thought delusion⁵ , dust delusion⁶ , and ignorance delusion⁷ . 'Du' refers to salvation from both 'fragmentary samsara '⁸ as well as 'transformed samsara .'⁹ Summarily it means neither arising nor ceasing."

I say:

"The true essence of nirvana is incomprehensible to the common people. Buddhism talks about the cessation of birth and death. There are eight 'flavors' to nirvana, precisely because nirvana does not equate death. These eight 'flavors' of nirvana symbolize the eight significant aspects of nirvana, and they are: permanence, cessation, agelessness, deathlessness, purity, consummation and pliability, stillness and joy."

My thoughts are:

"One who achieves the fruit of sainthood¹⁰ possesses the ability to self-govern the Six Sensory Roots and the Six External Objects. By eradicating all desires, karma disappears. When karma disappears, the process of birth, aging, sickness and death vanishes. At this juncture, transmigration within the six paths ceases, and the realm of 'neither existence nor extinction' manifests. These are the overall principles behind the concept of Parinirvana."

Therefore, the concept of nirvana in Buddhism does not point towards death, but to the annihilation of all occurrences of birth, death and transmigration, ultimately resting in a realm of complete quiescence and tranquility. (The Remainder Nirvana [ Nirvana with Remainder] refers to the state of enlightenment while alive, and the Remainderless Nirvana [Nirvana without Remainder] refers to enlightenment after death.)

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