Nirvana

"It is hard to realize the essential, the truth is not easily perceived; desire is mastered by him who knows, and to him who sees aright all things are naught. There is, O monks, an unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, unformed. Were there not, O monks, this unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, unformed, there would be no escape from the world of the born, originated, created, formed. Since, O monks, there is an unborn, unoriginated, uncreated and unformed, therefore is there an escape from the born, originated, created, formed."

https://sacred-texts.com/bud/btg/btg27.htm

Accessing the Unborn Buddha Mind (final Dharma Talk) 20220130

Nirvana in Buddhism - The Path to Ultimate Freedom

If There is No Self, Who Attains Enlightenment? Insights from Buddhism

The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path

The Four Noble Truths

The Buddha is said to have taught, "I have taught one thing and one thing only, dukkha and the cessation of dukkha,"

Dukkha (suffering) is an innate characteristic of transient existence; nothing is permanent, and that is suffering. The first truth, suffering, is an impermanent characteristic of existence in the realm of continuous rebirth, called samsara (wandering). The first noble truth is the right understanding that our life is impermanent, full of unavoidable sufferings, and it continues in the form of rebirth. The two of many sufferings are one, you leaving someone you love; the other, meeting someone you hate.

Samudaya (cause of suffering): together with this transient world and its suffering, there is also thirst, craving for, and attachment to this transient, unsatisfactory existence. To end suffering, the four noble truths tell us, one needs to know how and why suffering arises. The second noble truth explains that suffering arises because of craving, desire, and attachment. Samudaya means "arising" and refers to the causes of suffering. At the bottom of these cravings, wants, and desires is the ever-present ego, the mistaken identity of oneself.

Nirodha (severance of suffering): the attachment to this transient world and its suffering can be severed or contained by the controlling or letting go of this craving. If the cause of suffering is desire and attachment to various transient things, then the way to end suffering is to eliminate such craving, desire, and attachment. Nirodha is a Sanskrit word that means "cessation" or "extinction". It is the third of the Four Noble Truths. 

The fourth truth, marga means "path" or "way." It means the way to extinguish suffering. Marga refers to the path to liberation, also known as awakening. The most well-known path is the Noble Eightfold Path, which is one of several paths described in the Sutta Pitaka. 

The Eightfold Path is a practical guide for living a life of ethical conduct, mental discipline, and wisdom, ultimately leading to the cessation of suffering and the attainment of enlightenment.

Nirvana in Buddhism - The Path to Ultimate Freedom

The Eightfold Path 

The Eightfold Path is not a linear sequence, but rather a continuous process where each practice supports the others. By cultivating these practices, one can gradually overcome suffering and move towards enlightenment.

Of all paths the Eightfold Path is the best; of all truths the Four Noble Truths are the best; of all things passionlessness is the best; of humans, the Seeing One (the Buddha) is the best. (The 273rd verse of the Dhammapada)  

What is the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path and Why is it Essential? (YouTube 21min.)

The path through which the Buddha realized the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path (YouTube 55 min.)

1. Right View (Understanding)

Sammā diṭṭhi, Right View, is a way to see reality as it is, without confusion or misunderstanding. It is a means to gain insight into the four noble truths. It is a way to see things in their true nature, without labels or names. It is a way to see the impermanence, selflessness, and inevitability of suffering.

The Noble Eightfold Path: Right View (Samma Ditthi) (YouTube 78 min.)

2. Right Intention (Volition, Thought, Resolve)

Right intention, sammā saṅkappa, is the second step of the path, is the outcome of right understanding. These two comprise the wisdom spoken of in the context of the noble eightfold path. Right thought is the result of seeing things as they are. Thoughts are all important; for a man‘s words and acts have thoughts as their source. It is thoughts that are translated into speech and deed. The good or ill results of our words and actions depend solely on our thoughts, on the way we think. Hence the importance of learning to think straight instead of twisted.

Ajahn Nissarano - Right Intention : The How To (YouTube 58 min.)

The Eightfold Path: What is Right Intention? (YouTube 32min.)

3. Right Speech (Samma vaca)

"It is spoken at the right time. It is spoken in truth. It is spoken affectionately. It is spoken beneficially. It is spoken with a mind of good-will."

Ajahn Nissarano - Right Speech (YouTube 64 min.)

4. Right Action (Samma Kammanta)

No killing or injuring, no taking what is not given, no sexual misconduct, no material desires.

The Noble Eightfold Path (4): Right Action (YouTube 18 min.)

5. Right Livelihood (Samma Ajiva)

No trading in weapons, living beings (human trafficking for sexual exploitation, illegal adoption, organ harvesting, slavery, or other criminal purposes), liquor (drug trafficking), or poisons (murders via medical inducements, inventing and dispersing deadly viruses and problematic vaccines for profit), or financial or religious frauds abusing victims' trust and vulnerability. 

Choose your profession or, even more importantly, your employment wisely. Do not get involved in a usury or predatory lending business where you create or add more suffering to others. Do not be a law person or psychiatrist who protects criminals for profit or sends innocents to an insane asylum or to incarceration. Do not be medical doctors or health professionals whose primary professional objective is not curing but hurting their patients or victims for profits.

Do not become scientists of destruction or hate. Do not become politicians or government employees who betray public trust, people who elected them and pay their salaries.

Do not make a living by preaching false/fake/harmful religious/faith doctrines, leading followers to mindless wastelands and depriving their right livelihood. That is the worst kind of all frauds, the worst kind of all karma.

Never commit any kind of frauds, because the frauds can only occur with betrayal of trusts of victims. There are no greater sins or crimes than frauds. Don't make a living by lying or deceiving others. Don't make any kind of living by adding more suffering to others.The karmic retribution of such crimes will be most severe.

Right Livelihood: How can we tell (YouTube 61 min.)

6. Right Effort (Samma Vayama)

Right Effort, samma vayama, involves trying to prevent unwholesome states of mind, such as anger, jealousy, and craving. It also involves trying to get rid of these states of mind that have already arisen. 

The Noble Eightfold Path (6): Right Effort (YouTube 57min.)

Practicing Buddhist Right Effort: the Path Has to Be Walked (YouTube 12 min.)

Buddhism: What is Right Effort? (YouTube 28 min.)

7. Right Mindfulness (Samma Sati)

Right Mindfulness is associated with becoming more attentive to our thoughts, emotions, feelings, speech, and behavior in meditation. Whatever we experience, we become more conscious of it and more attentive to it, so that we gain more insight into the workings of the mind and how the mind influences our actions in everyday life.

Right Mindfulness (YouTube 52 min.)

Right Mindfulness: Why The Meditation Begins with The Breath? (YouTube 14 min.)

8. Right Concentration (Samma Samadhi)

Any singleness of mind equipped with these seven factors — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, and right mindfulness. Developing single-minded focus through meditation. 

Practicing Buddhist Right Concentration: Encountering the Esoteric (YouTube 14 min.)

The Application of the Noble Eightfold Path in Life Right Concentration (YouTube 47 min.)

The Dhammapada

According to the Theraváda Buddhist tradition, each verse in the Dhammapada was originally spoken by the Buddha in response to a particular episode. Accounts of these, along with exegeses of the verses, are preserved in the classic commentary to the work, compiled by Bhadantácariya Buddhaghosa in the fifth century C.E. on the basis of material, orally transmitted, going back 500 years at the time of his compilation. We just celebrated the Buddha's 2,569th birthday this month of May 2025.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npYTJ3kA5mw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD6TCxizFjs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogJ3NI107Bw 

https://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/scrndhamma.pdf

https://www.bps.lk/olib/bp/bp203s_Buddharakkhita_Dhammapada.pdf

https://www.buddhistelibrary.org/buddhism-online/e-books/dhammapada-txt.pdf

1. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox. 

2. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow. 

3 "He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me." Those who harbor such thoughts will never find peace. 

4 "He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me." Those who do not harbor such thoughts will find peace. 

129. All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.

163. Easy to do are things that are bad and harmful to oneself, but exceedingly difficult to do are things that are good and beneficial.

165. By oneself is evil done, by oneself is one defiled. By oneself is evil left undone, by oneself is one purified. Purity and impurity depend on oneself—no one can purify another. 

169. Lead a life of good conduct. Do not lead a base life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next. 

170. When one looks upon the world as a bubble and a mirage, him the King of Death sees not.  

178. Better than sole sovereignty over the earth, better than going to heaven, better even than lordship over all the worlds is the fruition of stream-entry (sotápatti, the first stage of supramundane attainment).

182. Hard is it to be born a human being, hard is the life of mortals. Hard is it to gain the opportunity to hear the Good Dhamma, and hard, indeed, to encounter the arising of the Buddhas.  

183. To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one’s own mind—this is the teaching of the Buddhas. 

185. Not despising, not harming, restraint according to the code of monastic discipline, moderation in food, dwelling in solitude, devotion to meditation—this is the teaching of the Buddhas. 

188. People, driven by fear, go for refuge to many places—to hills, woods, groves, trees, and shrines. 

189. This, indeed, is no safe refuge; this is not the refuge supreme. Not by resorting to such a refuge is one released from all suffering. 

190–191. One who has gone for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, penetrates with wisdom the Four Noble Truths—suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the Noble Eightfold Path leading to the cessation of suffering.

192. This, indeed, is the safe refuge, this is the refuge supreme. Having gone to such a refuge, one is released from all suffering. 

193. Hard to find is the thoroughbred man (the Buddha). He is not born everywhere. Where such a wise man is born, that clan thrives happily. 

194. Blessed is the birth of the Buddhas; blessed is the enunciation of the Good Dhamma; blessed is harmony in the Sangha; and blessed is the spiritual pursuit of the united truth-seekers. 

197. Happy indeed we live, friendly amidst the hostile! Amidst hostile people we dwell free from hatred. 

198. Happy indeed we live, unafflicted amidst those afflicted (by craving)! Amidst afflicted people we dwell free from affliction.

199. Happy indeed we live, free from avarice amidst the avaricious! Amidst avaricious people we dwell free from avarice.

200. Happy indeed we live, we who possess nothing! We shall be feeders on joy, like the radiant gods (devá ábhassará, a class of gods in the realm of subtle form (rúpa-dhátu), they are said to subsist on joy instead of food).

201. Victory begets enmity, the defeated dwell in pain. Happily the peaceful live, discarding both victory and defeat. 

202. There is no fire like lust, no crime like hatred. There is no ill like the aggregates, no bliss higher than the peace (of Nibbána).

203. Hunger is the worst disease, conditioned things the worst suffering. Knowing this as it really is, the wise realize Nibbána, the highest bliss. 

204. Health is the highest gain, contentment the greatest wealth. A trustworthy person is the best kinsman, Nibbána the highest bliss. 

221. One should give up anger, renounce pride, and overcome all fetters. Suffering never befalls him who clings not to mind and body and is detached. 

223. Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth. 

224. Speak the truth; do not give way to anger; give of your little to him that asks of you; by these three things one may go to the realm of gods. 

235. Like a withered leaf are you now; death’s messengers are waiting for you. You stand on the eve of your departure, yet you have made no provision for your journey!  

244. Easy is life for the shameless one who is as impudent as a crow, back-biting and forward, arrogant and corrupt. 

245. Difficult is life for the modest one who always seeks purity, who is detached and unassuming, clean in life, and discerning.  

273. Of all paths the Eightfold Path is the best; of all truths the Four Noble Truths are the best; of all things passionlessness is the best; of humans, the Seeing One (the Buddha) is the best.  

277. “All conditioned things are impermanent”—when one sees this with wisdom one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification. 

278. “All conditioned things are unsatisfactory”—when one sees this with wisdom one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification. 

279. “All things are not self”—when one sees this with wisdom one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification. 

280. The idler who does not exert himself when he should, who though young and strong is full of sloth, with a mind full of vain thoughts—such an indolent man does not find the path to wisdom. 

282. Wisdom springs from meditation, without meditation wisdom wanes. Having known these two paths of progress and decline, one should so conduct oneself that wisdom increases. 

The Buddha vs. Plato: Reality and Illusion (From the Cave to Nirvana)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--bJsAyslTY

Socrates x The Buddha: How Two Lives Changed Humanity Forever?

Gandhabba

The gandhabba refers to the mental or "astral" body that exists separately from the physical body. This mental body is said to be the driving force behind rebirth, selecting a new womb to be born into after death. 

https://puredhamma.net/dhamma/buddha-dhamma-a-scientific-approach/brain-and-the-gandhabba/gandhabba-in-a-human-body-an-analogy/

Rebirth in Buddhism Explained | Buddhism In English #rebirth #buddhism #buddhisminenglish

S.Mandelker PhD: Views-Action-Path in Buddha-Dhamma (5)

The 31 Realms of Existence

https://puredhamma.net/tables-and-summaries/31-realms-of-existence/

https://edrimdotorg.blogspot.com/p/the-31-realms.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzPIeCaV-is - It explains how exclusive and rare a fortunate realm of human rebirth is. Descriptive in the Theravada tradition of Buddhism.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WPjlUkTuDU  Six realms of samsara within the realms of Desire. Descriptive in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism.

There are 31 different worlds that Buddhism says about what type of life may await after death. The manussa (human) is the fifth class of sentient beings from the bottom, the hell, the niraya class.

This what AI says about manussa.

AI Overview

In Buddhism, "manussa" generally means "human being" or "man", specifically referring to the human realm of existence. It highlights the unique experiences and responsibilities associated with being human within the Buddhist spiritual context. 

Here's a more detailed explanation:

Human Realm:

Manussa denotes the "Human Realm" where humans exist, emphasizing the opportunities and challenges of human life in the context of Buddhism. 

Spiritual Significance:

The human realm is considered fortunate because it offers an opportunity to achieve enlightenment (Nirvana) and break free from the cycle of rebirth (Saṃsāra). 

Etymology:

The word "manussa" can be linked to the ancestor of men, Manu(s), or to the word "manna" meaning "man" in the Gothic language. 

Kamaloka has 11 planes, including one of the human realm, manussa.  

Following is an AI overview of Kamaloka, the lower 11 planes of all 31 planes. Kamaloka is the group of realms that we humans almost exclusively deal with in our reincarnation processes, samsara. In these regions of the realm, most of the problems are caused by karma that originated from desire, ego, hatred, jealousy, and all those evil deeds caused by unhealthy emotions.

In both Theravada Buddhism and Theosophy, Kamaloka refers to a realm of existence characterized by desire and sensual experience. Wisdom Library defines it as the realm of desire or sensual sphere within the 31 realms of existence in Theravada. In Theosophy, Kamaloka is a post-death realm where individuals experience desires and emotions. It can be seen as a transitional state before further evolution or rebirth, AnthroWiki notes that it's a place of purification. 

Here's a more detailed look:

In Theravada Buddhism:

Realm of Sensual Desire:

Kamaloka, also known as Kāmabhava, is one of the three realms of existence (along with the Form Realm and Formless Realm), Wikipedia.

Home to Creatures of Desire:

It's inhabited by beings, including humans, animals, and inhabitants of various heavens and hells, who are attached to sensual desires.

A Reward for Good Karma:

The Buddhist heavens within Kamaloka are considered places of reward for good karma, where beings experience the pleasures of sensual enjoyment. 

In Theosophy:

Post-Death Realm:

After death, individuals' astral bodies or eidolons reside in Kamaloka, experiencing a period of dormancy and emotional processing. 

Subjective and Invisible:

Kamaloka is described as a semi-material plane, invisible to the physical senses. 

Purgatory:

It can be seen as a purgatory or a process of purification, where individuals work through their attachments and emotions. 

Rebirth and Evolution:

The experience in Kamaloka influences the individual's future rebirth and evolutionary path. 

The Law of Dependent Origination (12 연기법)

It explains how a body is created out of the darkness called ignorance; a karmic entity that meets precisely to that of realm, form, location, timing, parents, and quality of body enters it, and it rears itself believing it owns that body-mind (namarupa) permanently, with a strong ego attached to it. Then it ends up going back to that same darkness called ignorance. It keeps repeating the cycle of these same 12 linking processes traversing about different realms (haven, human, animals, hell karmic planes) until it, IF EVER, finally understands there is NO SELF by breaking the link. 

The above is just my understanding of things so I don't mislead anyone.

1. Ignorance (avidya,無明): The root cause of suffering, leading to the cycle of rebirth. 
2. Volitional Activities (sankhara,行): Actions and intentions arising from ignorance. 
3. Consciousness (vijnana,識): The mind that perceives and experiences. 
4. Name and Form (nama-rupa, 名色): The body and mind, arising from consciousness. 
5. Six Sense Bases (sadayatana, 六入): The six senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, mind). 
6. Contact (sparsa,觸,촉): The interaction between the senses and the external world. 
7. Feeling (vedana,受,수): The experience of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral sensations. 
8. Craving (tanha,愛): Attachment and desire arising from feeling. 
9. Clinging (upadana,取,취): Holding onto things, thoughts, and experiences. 
10. Existence (bhava,有): The cycle of rebirth and becoming. 
11. Birth (jati,生): The process of being reborn. 
12. Aging, Suffering, and Death (jara-marana,老死): The inevitable end of life.

1. Ignorance (avidya,無明): The root cause of suffering, leading to the cycle of rebirth. 

The word '無明' literally means 'no light'. It is understood in the Buddhist term, more specifically as ignorance of the Four Noble Truths.

Ignorance of the Four Noble Truths means not knowing about (1) what is suffering, (2) the causes of suffering, (3) the cessation of suffering, and (4) the path leading to the cessation of suffering (the Eightfold Path). 

It is easy to think that being ignorant is not a sin, but in fact, the greatest sins arise from being ignorant. We commit sins because we do not know; we commit evil deeds because we are ignorant of the law of causal effects of karmic consequences.

2. Volitional Activities (sankhara,行): Karma, Conditioned act (有爲,유위) and intentions arising from ignorance.

3. Consciousness (vijnana,識): The mind that perceives and experiences.

4. Name and Form (nama-rupa, 名色): The body and mind, arising from consciousness.

5. Six Sense Bases (sadayatana, 六入): The six senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, mind). 

The six sense bases or the six cognitive functions which are sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, body-sensing, and brain-processing. 

The six sense bases are: 

1. Eye and seeing 
2. Ear and hearing 
3. Nose and smelling 
4. Tongue and tasting 
5. Body and sensing 
6. Mind and cognizing

6. Contact (sparsa,觸,촉): The interaction between the senses and the external world.

7. Feeling (vedana,受,수): The experience of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral sensations. 

8. Craving (tanha,愛): Attachment and desire arising from feeling. 

Kama-tanha: Craving for sensual pleasures. 

Bhava-tanha: Craving for existence and attachment to a fixed (ego identity) versus impermanent self identity. 

Vibhava-tanha: Craving for non-existence or to avoid pain and suffering. 

9. Clinging (upadana,取,취): Holding onto things, thoughts, and experiences. 

Kāmupādāna: Clinging to sensual pleasures. 

Ditthupādāna: Clinging to views or beliefs. 

Silabbatupādāna: Clinging to rules and rituals. 

Attavādupādāna: Clinging to the idea of a self or ego. 

10, Existence (bhava,有): The cycle of rebirth and becoming.

11. Birth (jati,生): The process of being reborn. 

12. Aging and Death (jara-marana,老死): The inevitable end of life.