Nirvana as Buddism philosophy

The term "nirvana" became synonymous with some blissfully relaxed state, and in the sixties, everything in the same distorted understanding entered the lexicon of drug addicts. The idea of nirvana as euphoria is completely untrue. This concept is one of the most difficult in Buddhism: even Buddha Shakyamuni himself did not give an exact definition.

Everyone heard the expression "to fall into nirvana." Under it is usually meant something incredibly pleasant, one can even say - the peak of pleasure, the state of complete and infinite bliss. "They fall into nirvana" for any occasion: from their favorite music, from delicious food, from enjoying the closeness of their loved one... But in fact, the concept of nirvana as a source of euphoria is wrong.

Nirvana (or Nibbana) is in fact called in Buddhism the highest happiness, but happiness, in this case, should not be interpreted as a state of joyful excitement familiar to us in earthly life. In Buddhism, absolute happiness means the absence of suffering, which we are constantly experiencing in Samsara.

Of course, Buddha Shakyamuni spoke about nirvana. He referred to it as a state of cessation of suffering, attachments and defilements of the mind. The fact is that he did not give this state any "positive" definition, speaking only about what is not nirvana. A well-known Soviet scholar and religious scholar Evgeni Alekseevich Torchinov noted that the question of nirvana was related to those about which the Buddha kept "noble silence". "The state of nirvana goes beyond the scope of empirical knowledge and the language of description corresponding to it," he sums up.

In Buddhism, nirvana is described as something contrary to Samsara, which in turn is a world of attachments, passions, delusions, and the ensuing suffering. Having cleansed of attachments and delusions, the enlightened person passes into the state of nirvana and becomes liberated - not only from the physical body, but also from desires, representations, and in general consciousness. Unlike Brahmanism, in Buddhism, nirvana is not a blissful union with God, an absolute, because such a union would mean the continuation of the desire to live.

But does this mean that nirvana means total non-being? Not really. Although teachers and scholars of Buddhism are still arguing about the correct interpretation of this concept, most of them still agree that nirvana does not mean the complete disappearance of all living things. It is spiritual peace, free from tension, conflicts and passions. Some teachers treat nirvana as follows: it does not have life itself, as we understand it in Samsara (movement, thoughts, desires), but there is life energy, its potential. As if we had matches and dry firewood, we would have the potential of kindling a fire, a hidden possibility of a flame.

All that was said above refers to the great nirvana, also called parinirvana or nirvana stay. The beings who have attained this state are in complete rest. In Buddhism, there is another kind of nirvana, the nirvana of non-infestation. Practitioners who have abandoned it abandon the state of complete rest and final retirement to nirvana to help the survivors of Sansara and guide other practitioners. Usually, such beings with an awakened consciousness are called Bodhisattvas. They have managed to generate in their souls an incredibly strong compassion, Bodhicitta, and are ready to help anyone who turns to them for help. Bodhisattvas are mentioned in prayers and portrayed on a tank. The most famous of them is Avalokiteshvara, "seeing and compassionate."

The legend says that when Avalokiteshvara attained enlightenment, he saw how much the creatures that remained in Samsara suffered. He was so impressed by this spectacle, that from the pain his head was ripped into 11 parts. However, other enlightened beings helped him, collecting his head back. Since then, Avalokiteshvara has helped other beings to get rid of suffering and attain nirvana.

Is it possible to achieve nirvana by all living beings? After all, in this case, suffering will disappear altogether. It is difficult to answer this question. "I can not save you from suffering just as easily as a thorn is pulled out of my leg; I can not wash off bad karma from you as easily as dirt is washed off with water." I can free you only by pointing out to you the pure path, "said the Buddha. It is assumed that this way for everyone is very long and can last thousands and thousands of reincarnations until we finally cleanse karma and free our mind from defilements completely. However, every living being has, according to Buddhist teachings, the nature of the Buddha, and therefore, the opportunity to achieve enlightenment.