The state of nirvana is what it is. The state of nirvana: how to achieve it? Types of nirvana

How to learn to be in the present? Here and now? “Chop wood, carry water,” Zen wisdom tells us. Apparently, being here and now is when you do not carry water at a time when you need to chop wood. Humans are far from multi-tasking creatures. Most of us can only do one task at a time. this moment time. If we are involved in the activity here and now with all our heart and mind, then life will not fly past us.

Clinician and yoga master Michael J. Formica offers us 5 simple steps to bring yourself back to the present moment.

1. Breathe. Breathing is one of the few constants in our life, we breathe constantly. Feel the air moving within you. You need to breathe through your nose, because. breathing through the mouth increases the heart rate and increases anxiety. Breathing through the nose, on the contrary, brings relaxation. Concentrate your attention on the exhalation, one of the Buddhist traditions of meditation (Theraveda) recommends to us. During the exhalation, nothing happens, everything superfluous ceases to exist, you rest. So when you breathe, pay attention to your exhalation.

2. Ask yourself "What am I doing now?" Most likely, you are now trying to read. But where are your thoughts really? To what or to whom are your feelings attached? What are your arms and legs doing? If you want to read now, then just read. We have so many things to worry about: arranging the kids for the summer, taking care of our parents, hating our parents, missing our loved ones, calling or not calling... No wonder life in the present eludes us.

3. Be a witness. To be a witness means to observe and be aware of what is happening to you at every moment of time. Watch, name it and step back from it, then you can let go of what has become the past. The mind must not stop at one object, otherwise it will be trapped by this object, i.e. trapped in a narrow view of the world, a person, an event, etc. Our mind must flow like a breath so that we can stay in the present, not get stuck in the traps of the past and not suffer from anticipation of the future.

4. Let go of everything else. When the consciousness of the witness lives within you and it is turned into the present, let go of everything that is not present here at this moment. Just stay here. Today, the concept of nirvana is often interpreted as the attainment of supreme bliss and peace. However, this is only the result of nirvana. The word itself is translated as "non-attachment" or "letting go." It is letting go, liberation that brings the feeling of freedom, peace and bliss. Travel light through life - do not take on board what is not needed now.

5. Breathe again. When the world or thoughts begin to interfere again and pull you out of the present moment, return to conscious breathing again. Breathe in, breathe out, and breathe out the shackles of the past and the worries of the future. The constancy of conscious breathing helps to stay in the present.

The act of being in the present appears to be meditation through action—breathing, awareness, witnessing, letting go, breathing. This simple circle simple actions can change the quality of your life.

Adapted translation of an article by Michael Formick

The concept of nirvana is found in many teachings and beliefs. It means freedom from torment. In common usage nirvana is a state where there are no passions, torments, and there is the highest happiness and peace. This is an unknown feeling of constant peace and joy.

Nirvana acts as a break in the chain of reincarnations. This is a stop of reincarnations, a constant and indestructible peace. Nirvana is difficult to define. As for its understanding, there are constant discussions between the scholars of Buddhism. In the understanding of Hindus and followers of Brahmanism, nirvana is a union with Brahma.

How can one achieve nirvana in Buddhism and what does this mean?

According to the Buddha, despite the torment that permeates every stage of existence in Samsara, there is a state without torment, and it is possible to achieve it. They are in a state of trance or nirvana. The entry into this state in the teachings of the Buddha is denoted by the term amata, that is, the achievement of the soul, which destroys the chain of karmic existence.

What is nirvana? By definition, this is a state of mind, freedom from worldly worries and attachments, complete enlightenment and knowledge of the Truth.

The sutra-pitaka designates nirvana as the chitta (liberated mind) that does not experience any feelings. Oazum is no longer identified with the phenomenon of life, it is permanent, eternal, therefore liberated. Nirvana is the end of ignorance (avidya), which plunges the mind into a constant chain of reincarnations, samsara (life of addiction). In the precise designation, nirvana is not considered to be a distinct place or state. It is the knowledge of Truth.

What is nirvana?

Let's try to understand what nirvana is, where this concept comes from. In particular, what does the word nirvana mean in philosophy? In short, this is the end the highest goal the existence of people. This term is considered similar in meaning to a relaxed and blissful state. But in the 60s this concept in a twisted form entered the lexicon of people who use drugs. Considering nirvana a state of euphoria is a gross mistake. This state is considered the most difficult in Buddhism. Even Buddha Shakyamuni could not clearly characterize it.

nirvana in philosophy is the ultimate highest goal of human existence

Everyone knows the phrase "fall into nirvana". It means something very pleasant, a kind of peak of pleasure, a feeling of constant bliss. You can fall into nirvana for various reasons: from an incredible meal, beautiful music, from intimate pleasures. But in reality, such an understanding is entirely erroneous.

In the Buddha's teachings, nirvana is called supreme happiness., but it should not be understood here as the joy available in worldly life. The followers of the Buddha by happiness mean freedom from the suffering experienced in the world every day. Shakyamuni said that nirvana is the end of torment, clouding of the mind, attachment. The problem is that he did not give such a concept any "positive" definition. Mentioning only what can not be considered nirvana.

The religious scholar and researcher E. Torchinov noticed that the problem of nirvana is one of those that the Buddha did not speak about. Nirvana is located far beyond the realm of empirical knowledge, as well as such a language of description.

Among researchers and followers of the teachings of the Buddha, there are still disputes about the correct understanding of the state of nirvana.

In Buddhism, it is described as something in opposition to Samsara.. The latter acts as a world of passion, attachment, false ideas, torment. If this is cleansed, then an enlightened person will reach nirvana and be freed, not only from the body, but from the drives and consciousness. The difference with Brahmanism is that in the teachings of the Buddha it is not a union with the absolute or god, since this union means the continuation of existence.

It turns out that nirvana is absolute non-existence? Not certainly in that way. Although scholars and teachers of Buddhism are still arguing about the adequacy of the interpretation of such a term. Many still agree that this is a complete cleansing of the world from living beings. This is where there is no disagreement, torment and passion. Other teachers interpret this state as follows: there is no life in it, as understood in Samsara, but there is life potential and energy.

In the teachings of the Buddha, nirvana is called supreme happiness, that is, freedom from suffering.

All of the above should be attributed to great nirvana. It is also called the nirvana of being. Those who reach it are in absolute peace. In the Buddha's teachings, there are other types - nirvana of not staying. People who have reached the state of nirvana are called Bodhisattvas. They refuse absolute rest and care in order to help the rest of the living and guide them on this path. All because they were able to revive great compassion in their own souls, they are ready to help everyone who turns to them. Bodhisattvas are celebrated while reading prayers, they are painted on a tanka.

The most famous Bodhisattva is Avalokiteshvara. According to legend, when he entered the state of enlightenment, he noticed what suffering beings experienced living in Samsara. He was so struck by this that the pain of Avalokiteshvara's head broke into 11 parts. But the rest of the enlightened ones helped, and they restored the head. From that moment on, Avalokiteshvara helps others to get away from suffering and know nirvana.

There are several varieties of nirvana. In different teachings, it is interpreted in its own way. It is impossible to say exactly what this condition means.

Is there a chance for other living beings to reach nirvana? How to go to nirvana? It is difficult to answer the question. It is believed that this path is long for everyone, and it lasts for countless reincarnations until the karma is completely cleansed of defilements.

Types of Nirvana

Allocate different types nirvana. In the Buddha's teaching it is:

• an unknown state of constant peace and absolute satisfaction;
• destruction of the chain of rebirths, the end of rebirths, complete, indestructible peace;
• it defies any definition;
• among scientists and Buddhists there are still disputes about the correct understanding of nirvana.

Exist different types nirvana according to various teachings

But from different sources Let's single out the division into 3 types of nirvana:

1. mental. Is a short state that happened to any person. Everyone sometimes caught a moment of incredible peace, as well as enlightenment. This is called the mental manifestation of nirvana;
2. vital. This nirvana can be achieved by a person if his soul is still in the body. This gives a chance to break the chain of rebirth and leads a person to a new species;
3. eternal. Those who were able to reach the previous type of nirvana after the death of the body, i.e. after death, comprehends it.

AT Theravada There are 2 types of nirvana:

• « with remainder". In this state, a saint in Buddhism resides before leaving the chain of reincarnations. The remainder is called the body, it bears the name of the "last";
• « without a trace". In this case, the full set of dharmas “calms down” for the Buddhist saint, and he himself ceases to exist forever.

How to fall into nirvana?

The problem of how to get into nirvana, to enter its life form, excites all the followers of the Buddha. After all, this is the purpose of their life. It is impossible to achieve freedom after, if the achievement of nirvana has not been achieved during this life. Otherwise, you will have to live another, with new twists and turns and passions.

Initially, it is worth realizing the very understanding of freedom, which is comprehended in the state of nirvana. It is freedom from any addiction. Worldly attachments add vulnerability to us, this is a doom to suffering. We certainly lose what is dear to us, and fear always comes before the moment of loss.

To achieve nirvana, you will need to learn how to live in the present moment and disconnect from thoughts and attachments. outside world

Slow fading of worldly desires can be achieved using many practices from the teachings of the Buddha and from others. Those who have attained nirvana claim that this can be done in a variety of ways. Hypnosis, prayer - everyone has their own way. None of them will guarantee enlightenment, only a person will be able to break the constant circle of rebirths. A lot of people don't like the idea of ​​being "insensitive". What does "I've gone to nirvana" mean? It is, first of all, the readiness to get rid of everything worldly. For this reason, you will have to come to this decision calmly and consciously in order to cut the chain of endless reincarnation with a firm hand. So, consider the technique of entering nirvana:

1. Sit in the lotus position and breathe. Breathing is one of the few constants in life, it is always with us. Feel the air flow through you. It is necessary to breathe through the nose, as inhaling and exhaling through the mouth will only increase the heart rate and increase anxiety. If you breathe through your nose, it will bring relaxation. Focus on your exhalations. In the process of exhalation, nothing happens, everything superfluous disappears, you relax. For this reason, when breathing, concentrate on the exhalation.
2. Ask yourself what you are doing right now. Perhaps at the moment you are trying to read, but where are the thoughts in reality? What are they related to? What is your body doing? If in this moment if you want to read, then do it. We have too many worries in the world. There is nothing strange in the fact that life is truly incomprehensible because of them.
3. Be a witness. This means observing and being aware of what is happening to a person every second. Pay attention to it, step back, then the past will recede. You should not concentrate your mind on one moment, otherwise you will be trapped.
4. Release everything. If a witness lives inside, he is turned to the present, then let go of everything that is not at the moment. Stay here and now.
5. Breathe again. If thoughts and the world again interfere and take you away from the current moment in time, return to conscious breathing.

The technique of entering nirvana begins with the lotus position and even breathing.

Thus, the achievement of nirvana is possible through conscious breathing, turning off thoughts about attachments and problems of the outside world, worldly life. It is impossible to reach nirvana without letting go of the past and the future. The sign of nirvana is here and now. Once you learn how to disconnect from the world through meditation, you will be on the path to achieving given state enlightenment, you will be free from suffering. The followers of the Buddha devote their whole lives to this path, it stands out for them. main goal being. Each of us has our own path to enter nirvana and know the truth.

The highest goal, to which every true Buddhist must strive, is nirvana. Despite the fact that a lot is said about it in the Buddhist canonical literature and even more written by later Buddhists and modern scholars, much is still obscure, often contradictory
Buddha in nirvana. Cave No. 26. Ajanta

The very word "nirvana" means "calming", "fading". In Buddhism, it was used to determine the highest state of the human spirit achieved by personal efforts, freed from all earthly passions and attachments. Nirvana is usually compared to the fire of a lamp that went out due to the burning of oil. All manifestations of individuality have faded away - there are no sensory sensations, no ideas, no consciousness. The action of the law of karma ceases, after death such a person is no longer reborn and leaves samsara. (Samsara - in Indian philosophy, reincarnation, repeated births).
Buddhist "salvation", therefore, did not mean the achievement of a happy eternal life (in some other, unearthly conditions), as in other religions, but the eternal deliverance from it.
Buddhists did not consider nirvana to be eternal death. The Buddha called his creed "the middle way", denying and eternal life and eternal death. Nirvana is said to be "the highest goal", "the highest bliss", "the highest happiness", etc.
In Buddhism, the existence of two fundamentally different substances - temporary material (body) and eternal spiritual (soul) - is not recognized. The recognition of the eternity of the soul would mean the recognition of the eternity of life and the impossibility of achieving nirvana. It was believed that a person is a unity of soul and body and is a collection of unanalyzable, unknowable elements - dharmas (not to be confused with dharma - the name of Buddhism). Spiritual substance cannot exist separately from the body. It, like a material substance, is not eternal, changeable and subject to final decay, and in this respect it is not like the atman.
Thus, the theory of the transmigration of souls has undergone a significant change: it is not the soul that passes from one body to another, but a specific complex of unknowable elements, which appears in one case as a certain personality, in another case reveals itself as a different personality.
Life is a stream of constantly changing momentary flashes of perception and consciousness, and it only seems to us continuous. In nirvana, dharmas reach final peace.
One of the most difficult tasks for Buddhist theology has been to explain how, in the absence of an undying soul, the law of karma operates. Some early Buddhist schools (for example, the summits) were even forced to admit the existence of an eternal soul. The idea of ​​hell and paradise (heaven) where something imperishable and immaterial should reside was equally badly consistent with the theory of the absence of a soul that does not perish after death.
According to early Buddhism, only a person who has accumulated the necessary moral merit over many previous lives in accordance with the requirements of the "eightfold path" can enter nirvana. AT last life he must cut off all worldly ties, take the veil as a monk and devote himself to mastering the teachings of the Buddha and contemplating the mysteries of being. Ascetic hermits borrowed old and developed new techniques of self-hypnosis, with the help of which it was possible to bring oneself to a cataleptic trance, which, according to the Buddhists, was a special elevated state that inhibited mental functions and thus, as it were, ceased to exist as a person.
To the question whether a person can achieve nirvana during his lifetime, modern Buddhists answer positively. In particular, they refer to the fact that the Buddha attained nirvana at the moment of "enlightenment"; and some places in the canonical writings allow them to assert this. However, it is difficult to reconcile this with the first "noble truth", according to which life consists of suffering, and not so much moral as bodily (birth, illness, old age, death). Nirvana was supposed to free a person from suffering and this kind, but it is known that the Buddha after "enlightenment", as evidenced by the data of the Pali canon, was subject to fatigue, illness, senile decrepitude and death.
Thus, throughout the entire period of antiquity, a persistent tradition was preserved that nirvana occurs only after the physical death of a person. This was probably the earliest representation. Quite early, obviously, the view that nirvana can be achieved during one's lifetime also arose. And although the traditional biography of the Buddha, which had developed by that time, was already based on new ideas, the old ones turned out to be impossible to bypass. It is important that there was no unity among Buddhists on this issue even after the writing of the canon.

People tend to strive for something. Dream about something, take some steps to achieve certain goals. There is an understanding of what is good for a person and what is bad, and when there are discrepancies between desires and reality, a person experiences disappointment, pain, fear and other negative feelings.

Many people think that they will be happy if they get everything they need. Good work, a lot of money, health, family, etc. etc. – this list can be continued for a long time. But in practice, such happiness is conditional, not real. The joy of getting what you want quickly passes, new desires arise. As a result, all life passes in pursuit of certain achievements.

The state of nirvana excludes the very need for anything. It is directly related to the extinction of the human "I", the very person who has a first and last name, profession, views and beliefs, desires and attachments. But what will remain of a person if the personality disappears?

Consciousness and awareness

Consciousness is usually defined as the ability to be aware - that is, to understand what is happening, one's state and place in the world. The thinking ability of a person is directly related to consciousness. But what happens when the thought process stops?

At such moments, a person simply looks at the world. Everything sees, hears, perceives, but does not analyze. To be aware means to be present, to be, to be in the present moment. There is only what exists at the moment, there is nothing else - no past, no future. There are no thoughts, which means there are no experiences, hopes and aspirations.

It is at such moments that a person begins to realize his division into two parts - into "I" as a person and "I" as awareness, as the One Who Observes. Try to watch your thoughts - and you will understand that it is possible that there is someone who thinks - "I", ego, and the true eternal "I" of a person - his essence, spirit, monad, looking at the thought process from the outside.

Reaching Nirvana

The state of nirvana is directly related to the loss of the human "I", ego, personality. The one who aspired, feared, dreamed, desired, etc., disappears. etc. Personally, you can never reach nirvana, because on this path you die as a person, as an ego. It is the ego that strives to reach nirvana, not realizing that death awaits it along the way. But at the moment of this death, a person is born again as a being of a higher order. Now he is awareness itself, being itself. The pitiful human personality, the product of the mind, has disappeared. This process is known as enlightenment, and it leads to nirvana as a state of freedom from passions and desires.

How to achieve nirvana in practice? First of all, it is necessary to realize all the conventionality and limitations of human opinions, knowledge, and reasoning. Clear your mind of everything superfluous, discard everything that is not valuable, without which you can do without. This is a very difficult and long work, as the ego frantically clings to life. To live, it must be someone - to have a first and last name, a profession, social status, to represent something in this world. As all this heap of mental constructions begins to crumble, the ego also weakens.

At some point, a person realizes that he no longer strives for nirvana and in general for anything else. All that remains for him is to be - to be in the current moment without hopes and aspirations. It is in this state that one day there comes that brief moment when the ego dies. Enlightenment comes, a person is born again.

The state of enlightenment is very pleasant - it is the most pleasant thing that you can ever experience. At the same time, a person does not become a creature that just sits with a blissful smile and does not want to do anything. From the former personality he has a memory, some former interests and aspirations. But they no longer have power over a person - if he works to achieve anything, then only out of habit, for the sake of the process itself. One thing is not better than another, a person is just doing something, enjoying any activity. At the same time, absolute peace reigns in his mind.

The term "nirvana" became synonymous with some kind of blissfully relaxed state, and in the sixties, in the same distorted understanding, it entered the lexicon of drug addicts. The notion of nirvana as euphoria is completely untrue. This concept is one of the most complex in Buddhism: exact definition even the Buddha Shakyamuni himself did not give it.

Everyone has heard the expression "fall into nirvana". It usually means something incredibly pleasant, one might even say - the peak of pleasure, a state of complete and endless bliss. "Fall into nirvana" for any reason: from your favorite music, from tasty food, from enjoying the closeness of a loved one ... But in fact, the concept of nirvana as a source of euphoria is erroneous.

Nirvana (or nibbana) is indeed called in Buddhism the highest happiness, but happiness in this case should not be interpreted as a state of joyful excitement familiar to us in earthly life. In Buddhism, absolute happiness is understood as the absence of suffering, which we constantly experience in Samsara.

Of course, Buddha Shakyamuni talked about nirvana. He referred to it as a state of cessation of suffering, attachments and defilements of the mind. The fact is that he did not give this state a single "positive" definition, speaking only about what not is nirvana. The well-known Soviet scholar and religious scholar Yevgeny Alekseevich Torchinov noted that the issue of nirvana was one of those about which the Buddha kept "noble silence." "The state of nirvana fundamentally goes beyond the field of empirical knowledge and the language of description corresponding to it," he sums up.

In Buddhism, nirvana is described as something opposite to Samsara, which, in turn, is the world of attachments, passions, delusions, and the resulting suffering. Purified from attachments and delusions, the enlightened one passes into the state of nirvana and becomes liberated - not only from physical body, but also from desires, ideas, and consciousness in general. Unlike Brahmanism, in Buddhism, nirvana is not a blissful union with God, the absolute, because such a union would mean the continuation of the desire to live.

But does this mean that nirvana means complete non-existence? Not really. Although teachers and scholars of Buddhism are still arguing about the correct interpretation of this concept, most of them still agree that nirvana does not mean complete disappearance all living things. It is spiritual peace, free from tension, conflict and passion. Some teachers interpret nirvana as follows: there is no life itself in it, as we understand it in Samsara (movements, thoughts, desires), but there is the energy of life, its potential. As if we had matches and dry wood, we would have the potential to start a fire, the latent possibility of a flame.

Everything that has been said above refers to the great nirvana, also called parinirvana or the nirvana of abiding. Beings who have reached this state are in complete peace. In Buddhism, there is another type of nirvana - the nirvana of non-absence. The practitioners who have reached it renounce the state of complete rest and final departure to nirvana in order to help the living beings remaining in Samsara and guide other practitioners. Usually such beings with awakened consciousness are called Bodhisattvas. They managed to generate in their souls an incredibly strong compassion, Bodhichitta, and are ready to help anyone who turns to them for help. Bodhisattvas are mentioned in prayers and depicted as tankas. The most famous of them is Avalokiteshvara, "seeing and compassionate."