Humans
For humans, Ultimate Perfection in a religious context is often the irrevocable attainment of some kind of metaphysical knowledge. This is often inexplicable to those that have not experienced it.
For example, in Buddhism, the Buddha could only explain the state of being he experienced when he was enlightened with the Sanskrit word for the verb "to extinguish." Nirvana can be attained, according one of the Buddhist holy writings, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutra,through the following of the Middle Path, that encapsulates the Eightfold Path. A prerequisite to the attainment of total Enlightenment with a capital 'E' is the internalized knowledge of the four Noble Truths:
1. Life is Suffering;
2. The Cause of Suffering is Attachment;
3. The Cessation of Suffering is the Elimination of Attachment;
4. Attachment is Eliminated by Following the Noble Eightfold Path.
Following the Eightfold Path leads to freedom from the otherwise everlasting cycle of rebirth that is understood through Buddhist teaching. This Path is primarily followed by Theravada Buddhists as it leads directly to the cessation of the rebirth cycle and to Nirvana, which is the unquestionable goal of the Theravada vehicle.
However, most practitioners of the Mahayana branch of Buddhism does not use the Eightfold Path as their idea of Ultimate Perfection does not match up with the result of following the Path. Instead, they follow the Boddhisattva path, which encompasses Mahayana Buddhism's differentiating emphasis on compassion. The Boddhisattva Path pushes for the near-attainment of full Enlightenment, and then presses the choice to abstain from reaching it fully, and instead turning back to those that aren't as close to Enlightenment and helping them forward. Mahayana Buddhism believes that in order for anyone to reach Nirvana and become Ultimately Perfect, all must do so at the same time.
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- Ultimate Perfection Sam Henrickson
