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#1
10-29-2004, 09:58 AM
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Nirvana
When asked what Nirvana is like, Nagasena, one of Buddha's heirs, countered with a question of his own:
"Is there such thing as wind?" "Yes, revered sir." "Please, sir, show the wind by it's color or configuration or as thin or thick or long or short." "But that is not possible, revered Nagasena, for the wind to be shown; for the wind cannot be grasped in the hand or touched; yet wind exists." "If sir, it is not possible for the wind to be shown, well, then, there is no wind." "I, revered Nagasena, know that there is wind. I am convinced of it, but I am not able to show the wind." "Even so, sir, nirvana exists; but it is not possible to show nirvana." What do you think nirvana is? Or can it not be defined as the revered Nagasena taught?
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#2
10-29-2004, 11:01 AM
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I think Nirvana is something in the Numena world that we could never experience.
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"A difference of opinion does not mean a difference of principle." - Thomas Jefferson
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#3
10-29-2004, 01:08 PM
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The Buddha's teaching were all about how to get to Nirvana, so obviously we can get there and experience it. What do you mean by Numena world? I've never heard that term before.
__________________
Join the Impact Matthew 7:12, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
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#4
10-30-2004, 09:47 AM
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I recall that the sanskrit word "nirvana" orginally meant "cessation" or "the snuffing out of a candle or fire". I think that in Buddhism, the word has come to mean the annihilation of the self or ego. Thus, to reach nirvana is to reach a condition of selflessness.
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Then I came back from where I'd been. My room, it looked the same - but there was nothing left between The Nameless and the name. - Leonard Cohen.
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#5
10-30-2004, 10:02 AM
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Quote:
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#6
10-30-2004, 10:24 AM
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I think it is a state of being that is beyond the opposites, a cessation of judging.
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#7
10-30-2004, 12:39 PM
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I think in Buddhism terms, Nirvana is a state of mind in which you can not experience pain. You can get there by losing all your desires? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
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Frubals always welcome!
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#8
10-30-2004, 02:00 PM
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Sunstone is probably closest as far as the Theravadan tradition within Buddhism goes. For Mahayannists, nirvana isn't truly a goal to which the practitioner aspires directly; although it may become a byproduct of advanced practice.
Deut. - From a Christian point of view, yes. From a Buddhist point of view, all of this worrying about supreme beings, heaven, hell and sin that Christians do is equally as baseless; just in case you aren't aware of that fact.
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Unless we each conform, unless we obey orders, unless we follow our leaders blindly, there is no possible way we can remain free. Major Frank Burns, MASH 4077 Namaste, Engyo
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#9
10-30-2004, 02:40 PM
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Quote:
I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.
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#10
10-30-2004, 04:26 PM
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