Bhikkhu Bodhi's surprising and profound description of Nibbana!

[@branimirsalevic5092]

My personal favorite explanation of Nibbana comes from Buddhadasa Bhikkhu. Goes something like this: Nibbana in Pali language literally means "coolness". A freshly made cup of tea is too hot to handle but when it cools down enough it becomes a pleasant refreshing beverage - at that time the the tea is nibbana. The cool spot in the shadow of a tree on a hot summer day - that spot is nibbana. And when a mind is cool enough that it doesn't produce dukkha, the mind is nibbana. Every living being experiences nibbana every day. Nibbana is actually the natural state of the mind, it takes our acting (kamma) to heat it up and bring it to the state of dukkha. Beings instinctively seek to cool their minds down, to rest in nibbana. Without these temporary nibbana periods, life would be an endless stream of dukkha, which no being could endure - it would go mad or die. Humans are no exception, we also enjoy the benefits of nibbana even if we are unaware of it. However, we focus too much on the negative aspects of life, we worry about past or future, we get lost in thoughts etc, and all this mental activity "overheats" the mind. As long as we keep adding heat to our mind through our kamma (acting by body - thoughts - speach) , the mind cannot cool down, cannot rest in nibbana. If we go on like this, we become those people who talk to themselves while walking down the street, we increase our stress levels until our body and mind cannot carry on anymore and we get ill, experience mental breakdowns - or die. This is why we are taught the techniques to stop, relax, let the mind cool down and rest in this temporary coolness - nibbana. We can manage, through practice, to reduce the heating of the mind (dukkha) so that the mind stays cool over extended periods of time. Arahats are people who manage, through practice, to completely and permanently extinguish all the causes of heat in the mind , i.e. all the causes of dukkha. When there's never any fire to burn the mind, the mind becomes permanently cool - nibbana. This is the ultimate goal of Buddha's Dhamma - to reach the state when mind never burns in anger or hatred or jealousy etc, never heats up, but always remains peaceful and cool - nibbana. But, first we need to refocus our attention to those everyday temporary moments of nibbana, to learn to recognize when our mind is in nibbana; then, to try and gradually make these periods last longer. This alone is worth giving Buddhist practices a go. Liffe is not only dukkha, but is also nibbana, and we can see this for ourselves if we only start paying nibbana as much attention as we pay to dukkha.

[@pianistjim]

love this explanation!

[@Dharmaku56]

Thank you, bhante, for illuminating 'the Deathless,' Nirvana--Unconditioned and Unfabricated, undeceived without self-distinction or self-promotion. The final liberation and cessation of self-deluded suffering; the craved after thirsted urgency quenched and the conceit 'I am' flame extinguished.

[@dfsanche]

That last bit that Ven. Bhikku Bodhi reads from the book is also stated in the Heart Sutra. The more I learn about all vehicles, I start to see the connections.

[@DanielAitken]

Yes! I'll post more of the conversation because it gets very interesting when he starts talking about consciousness and bodhi.

[@Buddhist_Philosopher]

Substitute the word Nibbana for Shunyatha, and see if you can notice any difference.

[@lukystaify]

great conversation :) also the music at the beginning and end is so sublime, thank you for posting

[@urgyenrigdzin3775]

Thank you very much for the excellent explanation 🙏🙏🙏

[@The1SlayerChannel]

Brilliant interview David. You followed bhikku bodhis ideas well

[@backwardthoughts1022]

wow an actual genuine theravadin in this day and age. rarer than a daytime star.

[@mikelion2743]

I dont know a great deal about Buddhism and I belong to a tradition that has faith in God. To me this sounds similar to the nature of God. Unconditional, primordial, It relies on nothing for Its unconditional existence. As a faith in God, I could this Buddhist explation as complimentary to my own faith. Thank you Bhiklhu Bodhi for an interesting talk.

[@backwardthoughts1022]

buddhism is basically gnostic christianity for a very interesting listen watch the lecture from ohio state university on the newly discovered and researched gospel of judas.

[@mikelion2743]

@@backwardthoughts1022 thank you so very much for the recommendation. I sure will.

[@ady38]

​@@backwardthoughts1022which predates the historical Jesus by 500 years. But it's true that both Buddhism and Christianity have a lot of important commonalities. However unlike the common man made version of God, which is a condition of human perception and belief, Nibbana is a complete release from suffering and endures external to human perception.

[@WorldTheology7]

I study both and you wouldn't believe so many things that jump out as a Christian flavor. I believe It knows each other.

[@backwardthoughts1022]

@@WorldTheology7 they are the exact same tradition eg. fire erupting from the top of the neck as jesus displayed is standard tummo realization. speaking in all languages is a skill gained by all 9th bhummi bodhisattvas. walking on water is mere 1st dhyana samadhi control over the earth element in the form realm. there are literally countless examples like this what is really stunning it is the newly uncovered gospel of judas which verbatim describes the structure of existence into dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya, with jesus mocking the ones who fail to see emptiness as described in the lecture i mentioned by ohio university.

[@roopoesia]

Thank you.

[@steveg6978]

Clear and concise explanation of Nibbana, the actual first I have ever heard,

[@Buddhistview145]

Based on this clear and concise explanation, could you please state what Nibbana is in one simple sentence?

[@sudaththaliyanaarachchi7657]

Thank you!!!

[@dhammaboy1203]

Interesting & a little confusing too? I understood the doctrine of impermanence & dependent origination to suggest that all phenomena are empty of own nature, yet Bhikkihu Bodhi describes the 4 elements along with space & conciousnes as having their own nature. I find this confusing as it would seem to directly contradict dependent origination?

[@Loki-sk7bi]

Nibbana is beyond space time continuum. Thats why it’s so difficult to describe.

[@olivierdelyon8196]

Nibbana is right under our nose,right under our eyes but we don't see it,just da normal state,da eternal bliss,that's why it is so difficult to descrive.....😲🫡

[@MrSmcara]

​@@olivierdelyon8196 it is your eyes. It is your nose.

[@sergeyt2947]

it is not. Nibbana is very simple to understand, but very hard to accept (because of craving). This is the cessation of existence. Any kind of existence. Including highest metaphisical not-existence-nor-non-existence .)

[@ManojJinadasa]

Beautiful

[@rmglabog]

This is a real scholar who translated the Buddhist sutras. Yet, few people know him. They prefer someone like Eckhart Tolle and all these self-proclaimed New Age enlightened "master."

[@michigandersea3485]

New Age tends to be more Hindu. Westerners don't tend to like impermanence (anicca), the idea that all conditioned phenomena are suffering/stress (dukkha), or that there is no abiding thing to be called a self or soul (anatta) but those are basic elements of the Buddhist worldview. Westerners tend to like the comforting idea of a soul (atman) that gets reborn. They may like nonduality, maybe, like Advaita Vedanta... atman = brahman. But no self? No soul? In the west, Theravada Buddhism tends to be appealing to former atheists/agnostics. All conditioned phenomena are ultimately dukkha? Depressing! Negative! Or so they say, but you have to understand that dukkha is not really "suffering" per se, more like tension between things perceived with distinctions, that goes away when they are perceived without distinction. And renunciation? Forget about it, renunciation is seen as insane, in the Protestant west at least New Age is Hinduism in my book.

[@SukmaHema]

David why Nibbana not a good question? you should say i will ask a very good question that is Nibbana which is the goal of Buddha Teaching is attaining Nibbana. This is a very good question and the most important question in Buddhism

[@shunlaiei5981]

Yeah 🙏🙏🙏 We stay together with mind, mental factors and various types of body aggregates. We will dedicate those via meditation with mindfulness. Nibbana is beyond mind, mental factors and aggregates. We+(mind+mental factors)+aggregates We-[(mind+mental factors)+aggregates] We+Nibbana 🙏🙏🙏 It needs to disentangle involution by meditation We+the mind was covered by mental factors and agitated blood We have to sit and calm to analyze one by one 🙏🙏🙏

[@amasing1110]

Buddha’s teaching is that all conditioned things/states are impermanent or anithya and unsatisfactory or dukkha. When one realizes this with meditative wisdom that is the path to purification. Is the purification experienced in this manner Nibbana?

[@galaxymetta5974]

Doors to nibbana a) impermanence leads to signless b). suffering leads to desireless c). Non self leads to emptiness.

[@E.B.E-1947]

Impermanence leads to emptiness. Suffering doesn't lead to anything, except more suffering. Non self is actual emptiness.

[@MrW781]

@@E.B.E-1947 The original poster is paraphrasing the doors to nibbana that Bhikkhu Bodhi explains. The poster meant to say that the contemplation of _________ leads to the realization of an aspect of nibbana.

[@Emotion-3642]

🙏🙏🙏

[@simonFellows-p3c]

.. anyone interested in this but using less ancient/flowery/Palin lingo might like How Emotions are Made the secret life of the brain Lisa Feldman-Barrett and her lab. Andy Clarks new book about how the mammalian brain always preacts, not reacts, even though it seems the latter. Between Us how culture creates emotion Batja Mesquita is a gem too.

[@TheGerogero]

Did Bhikku Bodhi mean to say that Tibetan Buddhism emphasizes Nirvana as nothingness?

[@E.B.E-1947]

No at all.

[@binodroka1]

🪔🙏🧘‍♂️

[@TheWayOfRespectAndKindness]

One being Many being One. 🙏

[@louislim2004]

Nibbana cannot be said, described, narrated, feel etc. If it can be described or state, it is not Nibbana.

[@azzalos]

Why does nobody ask these people if they have had the experience themselves?

[@BrendanTietz]

Have you studied Buddhism? Very few reach enlightenment and spend many lives seeking it. Usually they’re 1 in a generation or so. The last real prominent one was Jiddu Krishnamurti. Likewise if you listen carefully you’ll see there are many lower steps or levels of enlightenment hence why the Buddha called the final stage perfect enlightenment. There is such a thing as imperfect enlightenment. To expect anyone to be there is really unrealistic as they would be a Buddha however many including bikkhu Bodhi here is definitely at a high level of experience.

[@larrym2434]

I'll make an analogy. Michael Jordan never claimed to be the greatest basketball player of all time. In the same way, teachers who have achieved advanced stages of realization generally will not claim to be enlightened. It seems to be a tradition, maybe there is a sutta that guides practitioners to not make claims.

[@E.B.E-1947]

​@@BrendanTietz krishnamurti was an anticlerical and didn't practice Dharma. So NO, he was not enlighted.