Nirvāṇa Is Perfect Quiescence (2/2)

Quote:

At that time, the World-Honored One spoke to the four assemblies the following: "Being existent denotes having pain or pleasure; the notion of nonexistence denotes without pain or pleasure. Therefore, the foremost bliss of nirvāṇa refers to the notion of detachment from pain or pleasure. "

Great Drum Sutra, Vol. 1

【爾時，如來於彼四眾說如是法：「有有則有苦樂、無有則無苦樂，是故離苦樂則是涅槃第一之樂。」】

《大法鼓經》卷1

 

Remarks:

The Buddha had already taught this principle: “To have extinguished arising and ceasing, tranquility, and extinction denotes bliss.[1]” After extinguishing all arising-and-ceasing dharmas, there will no longer be three existent realms; only this denotes the notion of true quiescence and cessation. That is, as long as the three realms of existence are present, there will be sensations of pleasure and suffering. Only when the arising-and-ceasing dharmas (all existent dharmas in the three realms) have been totally extinguished－without the six faculties, the six sense objects, and the perceptive six consciousnesses－will there be true quiescence and cessation, which denotes the ultimate bliss in Buddhism. 

On the other hand, how do worldly people practice Buddhism? If practitioners claim that they have achieved the state of quiescence and cessation, it will not be true quiescence because one’s conscious mind is still present, along with the sense objects connected to it. How can this be true quiescence and cessation? Worse, how can it be true quiescence and cessation when the six sense objects and six conscious minds are still present? The notion of true quiescence and cessation refers to a state in which the eighteen elements have been entirely extinguished, without any of them left behind. Only such a state of quiescence and cessation is tantamount to the “ultimate bliss” taught by Tathagata.

However, in today’s Dharma-ending era, hardly anyone in Buddhist communities is willing to accept the aforementioned teaching. What Buddhist practitioners believe is that the “conscious mind dwells in a so-called state that is without the six sense objects.” However, the conscious mind cannot exist without the presence of the six sense objects, upon which human consciousness relies. Moreover, even in the existence of the formless realm, the “mental phenomenon under the state of concentration,[2]” which serves as the basis for consciousness in the formless realm, still exists. How, then, can this state be considered the ultimate quiescence and cessation? 

In light of the foregoing, it is important for all Buddhist practitioners to recognize that for as long as one exists, there will be pleasure and suffering. The notions of suffering and pleasure are like the two sides of a sheet of paper. In Buddhism, true quiescence and cessation denote a state devoid of the eighteen elements; that is, the ultimate bliss––nirvāṇa.

#Buddha #nirvana #ultimatebliss 

[1]「生滅滅已，寂滅為樂。」

[2]   定境法塵