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In Buddhism, parinirvana (Sanskrit: परिनिर्वाण parinirvāṇa; Pali: परिनिब्बाण parinibbāṇa; Chinese: 般涅槃, bō niè pán) is the final nirvana, which occurs upon the death of the body of someone who has attained complete awakening (bodhi). It implies a release from the bhavachakra, Saṃsāra, karma and rebirth as well as the dissolution of the skandhas. The parinirvana of the Buddha is described in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta. Because of its attention to detail, the Mahaparinibbana Sutta (of the Theravada tradition) has been resorted to as the principal source of reference in most standard studies of the Buddha's life[1]. It is also the oldest existing account.
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In some Mahayana literature
The Buddhist term, Mahaparinirvana, meaning "great, complete Nirvana" is also encountered. The word "Mahaparinirvana" usually refers to the ultimate state of Nirvana (everlasting, highest peace and happiness) entered by an Awakened Being (Buddha) or "arhat" (Pali: Arahant) at the moment of physical death, when the mundane skandhas, the constituent elements of the 'bodymind' (Sanskrit: namarupa) complex, are shed and only the Buddhic skandhas remain (this in Mahayana Buddhism, notably the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra; see Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra in 12 Volumes, tr. by Kosho Yamamoto, ed. by Dr. Tony Page, Nirvana Publications, London, 2000, Vol. 3, pp.4-5, and passim). However, it may also refer (in the Mahayana) to the same inner spiritual state reached during a Buddha's physical lifetime too. In the Mahayana Buddhist scripture entitled the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Buddha teaches that unlike "ordinary" Nirvana, "Mahaparinirvana" or "Parinirvana" is the sublimest state or realm realised by a perfect Buddha, a state in which that Buddhic being awakens to "the Eternal, Bliss, the Self, and the Pure" (Mahaparinirvana Sutra in 12 Volumes, op.cit., Vol. 8, pp.36-37). Only in Mahaparinirvana is this True Self held to be fully discernible and accessible (Kosho Yamamoto, Mahayanism, Karin Bunko, Tokyo, 1975, p.62). The Mahaparinirvana Sutra, a long and highly composite Mahayana scripture,[2] refers to the Buddha using the term "Self" in order to win over non-Buddhist ascetics.[3] The vast majority of the sutra, however, is addressed not to Brahmanists or non-Buddhists but to Buddhist monks and great Bodhisattvas who are already well-versed in the non-Self doctrine and are now ready to assimilate the 'higher teachings' (uttara-tantra) contained in this sutra on the True Self of the Buddha, and the Buddha Nature.[4]
Opposed to early Buddhist thought
While in early Buddhist thought nirvana is characterized by permanence, bliss, and purity, it is viewed as being the stopping of the breeding-ground for the "I am" attitude, and is beyond all possibility of the Self delusion.[5][6]
See also
Notes
- ^ Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies, Paul Williams, Published by Taylor & Francis, 2005. page 190
- ^ Paul Williams, Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations.Taylor & Francis, 1989, page 98, see also page 99.
- ^ Paul Williams, Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations.Taylor & Francis, 1989, page 100. "... it refers to the Buddha using the term "Self" in order to win over non-Buddhist ascetics."
- ^ The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra in 12 Volumes, tr. by Kosho Yamamoto, ed. by Dr. Tony Page, London, 2000, passim
- ^ Peter Harvey, The Selfless Mind. Curzon Press, 1995, page 53.
- ^ Dan Lusthaus, Buddhist Phenomenology. Routledge, 2002, page 126, and note 7, page 154.
External links
- Complete translation of the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra
- SN VI.15: Parinibbana Sutta - Total Unbiding
- Maha-parinibbana Sutta - The Great Discourse on the Total Unbinding
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