Manual of Prajna Paramita - Reading Three: What is Nirvana?
From the presentation on Nirvana found in the Analysis of the Perfection of Wisdom, by Kedrup Tenpa Dargye (1493-1568):
Here secondly is the section in which we present our own position. The definition of nirvana is “A cessation which comes from the individual analysis, and which consists of having eliminated the mental-affliction obstacles in their entirety.”
In name only, nirvana can be divided into the following four types: natural nirvana, nirvana with something left over, nirvana with nothing left over, and nirvana which does not stay.
The following all refer to the same thing: natural nirvana, the natural Mother, the natural perfection of wisdom, the natural Dharma Body, and ultimate truth. The definition of nirvana with something left over is: “A cessation which comes from the individual analysis, and which consists of having eliminated the mental-affliction obstacles in their entirety, but where one still has the suffering heaps that are a result of his past actions and bad thoughts.” A classical example of this would be the nirvana found in the mental stream of a listener who is a foe destroyer, and who has not yet shucked off the heaps he took on. The definition of nirvana with nothing left over is: “A cessation which comes from the individual analysis, and which consists of having eliminated the mental-affliction obstacles in their entirety, and where one is free of the suffering heaps that are a result of his past actions and bad thoughts.” A classical example of this would be the nirvana found in the mental stream of a listener who is a foe destroyer, and who has shucked off the heaps he took on.
The definition of nirvana which does not stay is: “A cessation which comes from the individual analysis, and which consists of having eliminated both kinds of obstacles in their entirety.” A classical example of this would be the truth of cessation in the mental stream of a realized being who is a Buddha. The nirvana we are describing here is not something that one can achieve by using any method at all. Rather, you must achieve it with the training of wisdom, which realizes that nothing has any self nature; this wisdom must be under the influence of the first two trainings, and with it you must habituate yourself to what you were already able to realize.
This fact is supported by the King of Concentration, which states:
Suppose you are able to analyze
One by one those things that have no self;
And after that you habituate
Yourself to what you analyzed individually.
This is what then leads you to
Achieve your freedom; nirvana beyond grief.
It is impossible for any other
Cause to bring this peace to you.
See also
- Manual of Prajna Paramita - Reading One: The Three Kinds of Refuge
- Manual of Prajna Paramita - Reading Two: The Wish for Enlightenment
- Manual of Prajna Paramita - Reading Three: What is Nirvana?
- Manual of Prajna Paramita - Reading Four: The Object We Deny
- Manual of Prajna Paramita - Reading Five: The Proofs for Emptiness
- Manual of Prajna Paramita - Reading Six: Who is Maitreya?
- Manual of Prajna Paramita - CLASS NOTES
