Nirvana and Timelessness
What, after all, is nirvana? It is a cooling off, a quenching of the fire of tanha; but above all it is liberation. It is the iivanmukti and moksa of Buddhist tradition. But with regard to liberation we must always ask: From what and to what? On the latter point, the "to what". the Therava...
| Published in: | Journal of Dharma |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Dharmaram College
1976
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| In: |
Journal of Dharma
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| Further subjects: | B
Nirvana
B Impermanence B Mahaparinibbana Sutta |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | What, after all, is nirvana? It is a cooling off, a quenching of the fire of tanha; but above all it is liberation. It is the iivanmukti and moksa of Buddhist tradition. But with regard to liberation we must always ask: From what and to what? On the latter point, the "to what". the Theravada can be said to be embarrassingly silent, till we grasp the point: to that I shall come a little later. But as to the "from what" there is an embarrassment of riches of description. Consider the whole notion of dukkha, the theory of impermanence, the grand panorama of rebirth, the psychology of Buddhism, and so on. Still all that can be from one angle reduced to a single thought: impermanence. So we have the polarity or dialectic-impermanent existence and (on the other hand) liberation. I believe that the analysis of impermanence is the essentially brilliant contribution of the message of the Buddha. |
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| ISSN: | 0253-7222 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Dharma
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