Appendix D: What Is “Nirvana”?

Vast Waters

Why do the “Comment” sections of Sutras 1.47-50 include references to nirvana? It is because nirvana is a Hindu concept, developed from the teachings of Buddha, who was a Hindu meditator. He had no plans to create a new religion. Rather, he saw himself, in his own lifetime, as part of a Hindu spiritual tradition. This means that nirvana is not just an important Buddhist experience but also a Hindu one, born from Hindu practices and root words.

Is Nirvana Always One Type of Experience?

The answer to this question is that it is one Awareness but can come in many different shadings, flavors, or vibrations. It may be entirely empty of content, or it can be surcharged with one or another mystical experience of peace, love, joy, strength, etc.

In its purer forms, it is untinged by normal thought, emotion, or desire (or may sometimes contain just one burning, central, illuminated thought or feeling). How long does it last? It may be only five or ten supreme, perfect seconds, or it may last hours, days, or months. In advanced masters, it is an experience that comes and goes regularly, or may even be nearly continuous, especially in their later years.

How does your first nirvana occur? Have you already experienced it? It may be kindled or jump started by something as simple as a beautiful sunrise, a supreme moment of athleticism, or a look from a master teacher. O it may come through harder work or effort such as a very long process of meditation, in the midst of deep illness, or in a spiritual retreat. Some people say nirvana is when they first felt God; others, their first experience of being in a transnormal state of being, which is beyond what most people consider normal thinking or feeling.

            There are many names for nirvana. Zen Buddhism calls the experience satori, generally portraying it as a sudden awakening available to many who can learn to see or find it. Dominican Christian mystic Thomas Merton describes it similarly as a passage of the psyche: “A door opens in the center of our being, and we seem to fall through it into immense depths, which although they are infinite—are still accessible to us. All eternity seems to have become ours in this one placid and breathless contact.” Those using psychedelic drugs for spiritual illumination call it by a number of names, whether they believe it represents God or just their own deeper perceptions. not.

            An old Gaelic (Celtic-language) blessing echoes Eastern descriptions of the nirvanic state. In a Christian version of this blessing, it reflects an experience of enlightenment in nature:

Deep Peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.

This type of nature-nirvana is one of several common themes in Buddhism, as next discussed.

 
Nirvana as a Buddhist Concept

Nirvana is, traditionally, the name given for this experience by Buddhism. Buddha himself discussed it, as mentioned in the “Comment” section of Sutra 1.47. Thus it may be particularly helpful to look a bit into whether Buddhists believe nirvana can be experienced by many people. 

Traditionally, some Buddhist teachers say people seeking Buddhahood may experience several types of nirvana. The “Comment” parts of Sutras 1.47 and 1.50 already have quoted two modern Zen Buddhist experts, Thich Nhat Hanh and Alan Watts, saying that nirvana is available to many who seek it.

The Rigpa Shedra Wiki offers a more detailed Mahayana Buddhist explanation. Mahayana Buddhism is one of the three or four major branches of Buddhism. This discussion reveals four levels of nirvana as described by respected Buddhist scholar and practitioner Patrul Ringpoche: 

1. natural nirvana” [awareness that “mind” is an empty object, like “space” is an empty object; natural state of having an empty mind]

2. non-abiding nirvana, which is...beyond both ordinary samsaric existence [the cycles of life and death] and [is] the lesser nirvana” of personal or individual liberation [which Patrul also describes as a “nihilistic” nirvana]

3. nirvana with remainder (Skt. sopadhiśeṣanirvāṇa)...attained by arhats”—those who have overcome normal emotional life but who continue to live in order to teach

4. nirvana without remainder (Skt. nirupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), the consummate realization of the arhats...who [have left] their psycho-physical aggregates [body and self] behind

The Theravada Buddhist (another of the major branches) Majjhima Nikaya provides a slightly different four levels of nirvana reached through “wisdom” or “faith,” along with the “fetters” or chains that are released at the occurrence of each:

“Stream-entry” occurs when your absolute chaining to these first three fetters begins to dissolve: (a) your personality is your true self, (b) the teachings of Buddha (and other mystics) are logically impossible, and (c) your rites and rituals (whether religious or personal) are necessary for living. You do not necessarily leave these fetters behind entirely; however, you begin breaking their chains when you realize that they are not centers of your being and meaning. What is your center, you discover, is living in and with the blaze of conscious awareness that you are.

The “Once-returner” level takes you further outside of a life of “lust, hatred, and delusion” as you continue to learn the stream-entry lessons and become more deeply adjusted to your new center.

The “Non-returner” stage is simultaneous with getting rid of your absolute bonds to two more fetters: “sensual desire” or being compelled by your sexual feelings, and “ill will” such as anger, jealousy, and the desire to act bad.

“Arhantship” occurs when you eradicate your necessary or absolute ties to the final five fetters. These final chains begin with “desire for...the fine-material realm” (lust for material existence), and “desire for ...the immaterial realm” (lust for heaven). The final three chains that you break and begin dissolving are “conceit, restlessness, and ignorance.”

This scripture adds that the beginning of each of these four stages is “followed immediately by its fruition, which consists of a string of momentary [awarenesses] that enjoy the bliss of Nibbana [nirvana] made accessible by the breakthrough of the path.”

To those who have the experience—whatever you call it and in whatever religious or nonreligious setting in which you have it—it is very real, supernormal, pure, and unusual in an otherwise normal life. If you find that a possible nirvanic experience of yours has started to “cut the first three chains or fetters,” then it is likely that you have experienced “It.” Don’t worry, says Patanjali, about what “It” is. For the sake of talking about the experience, he says, you may call it “the crystal-clear mind” or by some similar name. In whatever way you experience “It,” you can pursue it.

The world’s great mystics tell you not to turn it into an object for purely intellectual argument. Rather, they say, pay attention. Be mindful of the experience in its most intimate purity. Certainly, if you wish, read about it, explore its meaning, ask questions. This orientation to a new experience and your adjustment to it are natural and normal if they help you grow closer to it.

However, primarily, says Patanjali and others, you should learn how to rediscover it. You can seek it more, more often, more thoroughly. Immerse yourself in it, or in the inner knowing that helps establish it. Patanjali says you should follow the path that works for you, for there are many paths but the same general result. All it takes, he says, is practice.  

               
Most recent content revision: 3 Oct. 2021