The Path / Nirvana
THE BUDDHA OFFERED no support to the view that we, as individuals or as a species, are naturally evolving toward liberation from lifetime to lifetime whether we try or not. The path of Dharma requires conscious, skillful effort. Without Dharma, each individual's continuum of awareness continues without end, moving from one dissatisfaction to the next. The Buddha was not content to reach states of awareness that bring mere temporary bliss or peace. He was seeking ultimate liberation from the cycle of existence. And this was his great discovery.
There are two Sanskrit words that have made their way into the English language, though often with their meanings somewhat misconstrued. The first of these is samsara. Many people are familiar with this term, though it is frequently used quite loosely. Sometimes the whole universe is referred to as samsara, but occasionally the word is used to refer more specifically to human civilization, or one's home city, job, or living conditions. To escape samsara then in this context would mean to exit from the cosmos, to go out into the wilderness, or leave one's job, or home.
Although appealing, the truth is that samsara, like so much unwanted baggage, will still accompany the traveler who "exits," for samsara can he best understood as an inner condition of existence, not a place. Samsara is the condition of being subject to the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death, the cycle of being propelled from one life to another by the force of one's own mental distortions and the actions conditioned by them.
Nirvana, the second of these Sanskrit terms, means final liberation from that condition of samsaric existence. It does not mean one is annihilated, blown out like a light. With the attainment of nirvana, one is no longer compelled to take birth by the force of mental distortions and tainted actions.
So one does not "go to" nirvana; it is not a place, not heaven, nor is it nothingness. Instead, liberation, or the attainment of nirvana, means a person is finally freed from the mental afflictions of confusion, attachment, and hatred. Fear and anxiety, pain and discontent are banished. According to Tibetan Buddhism, one may indeed continue to take birth, motivated by compassion for those who are bound in samsara, but this act then becomes a matter of choice, an expression of freedom, not of bondage.
Disenchantment with samsara, and the wish to attain nirvana, occur after one reflects at length on the nature of suffering and cyclic existence. This is what is meant by cultivating a spirit of emergence. However, the attainment of nirvana normally requires more than a single lifetime of spiritual practice. The task of overcoming all mental distortions, together with their latent impressions, is one that few of us are likely to complete in this life. Thus, in order to mature spiritually from this life to the next until liberation is won, it is essential to be reborn into circumstances conducive to Dharma practice. We can create such conditions for ourselves by avoiding unwholesome behavior, by devoting ourselves to the wholesome, and by dedicating our efforts to the attainment of liberation.
Meditating on the truth of suffering as it applies to ourselves is a means of cultivating a spirit of emergence. Meditating on the suffering of others leads to compassion. If our understanding of the nature of suffering is superficial, whatever compassion we feel for others may be little more than sentimentality: it arises when we see overt suffering, but as soon as that suffering is either pacified or forgotten, compassion vanishes. But as insight into the truth of suffering deepens, compassion may arise even toward those who are enjoying excellent health and prosperity. Our compassion embraces all beings who are subject to mental afflictions, all those who, while striving for happiness, create the conditions for their own misery.
