The Two Nirvanas
Pali: nibbana,
For Sanskrit:
atman read Pali: atta
Theodore
Stcherbatsky’s book ‘The conception of Buddhist Nirvana’ is still the best
work on this topic. However, Stcherbatsky was an academic and his literary
archaeology purely theoretical, hence did not have to put his life on the
line. His book lacks serious modern criticism of the Nirvana concept.
For the
young idealist intending to dedicate his or her life to attaining the goal of
the Buddhist Path, rather than merely enjoying the perks of the cushy job of
a popular Buddhist priest running a meditation centre for beginners,
understanding that the Buddhist path is a lonely and brutally tough one,
fraught with uncertainty, at least further along the way, is absolutely
necessary. Fearlessness and high intelligence are required to succeed (i.e.
as Gautama, the Tathagata, pointed out). More importantly, deciding the
meaning, if any, of nirvana (nibbana) is vital if he (or she) is not to go
astray. Unless a clear understanding of the goal of the Buddhist Path (for
bhikkus, not for the laity) is attained, there is little hope of reaching
(i.e. realizing) the goal. Having myself been a bhikku and seen many, many
(Western) bhikkus and bhikkunis fail and give up, amidst sheer awful
suffering (and not a few suicides), clear understanding of the goal, i.e. of
the two nirvanas is sine qua non.
How to get to Nirvana
How to become a perfect Theravada Buddhist Bhikku
Buddhist praxis
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