Christian School of Buddhism – Nibbana is Extinction!
Posted on April 18th, 2011
Ratanapala
Ben Silva claims he is a Buddhist. He goes on to say that Nirvana or Nibbana the ultimate goal of Buddhism is extinction. He says:
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ To be specific, this idea of seeking Nirvana, a hindu /Tao belief and is not attractive to me. I consider seeking Nirvana (extinction) to be an idea from a depressed person, unable or unwilling to face challenges. in thee real world. Real world is very tough. We have to face it and make it less painful rather than seek an easy exit. Giving up desires is another dangerous belief in Buddhism, as it will make us less competitive..
The good Buddhist he is also says:
This Nirvana concept, seeking extinction, some may say, appears to be a suicidal idea, from a depressed coward, reluctant to face challenges in the real world. There is suffering, disease and death in the real world, and it is a part of nature and natural order of things. I am not sure seeking extinction is the correct way out rather than facing challenges and using the brain and thinking to overcome problemsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.
This shows the level of his understanding of Buddhism or more correctly his ignorance. This level of understanding is no different from those of the Pope Jean Paul II who said meditaion is auto-eroticism, (because that is all he could dream of being a protector of pedophiles.) The reason Ben is coming again and again to this forum with this idiotic conclusion about Nirvana shows that he is most probably a plant of the Christian Church out to denigrate Buddhism. He seems to be from the Carlo Fonseka school of Buddhism who became rich by appearing to run with the Buddhists and surreptitiously running with the agenda of the Christian Church. He wants Sri Lanka to become secular and follow the path of ignorance to a world of unmitigated greed where survival means ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” kill or be killed! He wants Sinhala nation to become barbaric just like the rest of the Western Christian Barbarians!
Ben SilvaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s thesis is that Nalanda Buddhists were massacred due to their inability to defend themselves. There are many instances in human history where barbaric hordes have killed and destroyed thinkers, philosophers and sometimes religious scholars who did not have means to defend themselves against superior barbaric forces. His lack of historical knowledge or desire to learn shows he is definitely a plant out to get rich quickly. I wonder which NGO is funding him! Just to quote one person Needham does not make oneself knowledgeable on the vast subject he is trying to take on. Aristotle in the process of unraveling a geometrical truth was killed by an ignorant Roman soldier!Greeks who had superior knowledge were defeated by the Romans who used just brute power!
Six million Jews were exterminated not because of any lapses in the Jewish religion. The exterminators and the exterminated worshipped the same God who craves for the smell of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”burnt fleshƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”Leviticus .These once oppressed have now in turn have become oppressors in their so-called ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Promised LandƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I can go on but I will leave it to the uneducated to become educated. However I will console myself because it is a fact that it is impossible to wake up those who pretend to sleep!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ According to this new visionary, Einstein should be blamed for the dropping of Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki for it was EinsteinƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s theory that first showed the world the vast amounts of energy that is locked up within matter.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In Sri Lanka, the nation survived the vicissitudes of foreign invasions over a span of nearly 23 centuries mainly due to the unifying force of the Buddhist faith. Buddhism is the flag around which the Sinhala nation rallied to defend the unity and integrity of its nationhood and of the country.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ King DutuGemunu went to war against Elara to protect Buddhism and Buddhist places of worship and not for the joys of kingship. Up to the last king of Sinhale ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Sri WickramaRajasinghe they took on the role of giving guardianship to the Buddhist faith in Sri Lanka except for much reviled and despised Don Juan Dharmapalaand Dona Katarina ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” in reality helpless prisoners of the despicable Portuguese.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The fact that Buddhism is not a belief system like other theistic religions escape the mind set of Ben Silva and his ilk. Buddhists seek to see the ultimate reality of Nibbana. On the way we pass through many realities before finally arriving at the ultimate truth that is Nibbana The fact that Lord Buddha used an existing word Nirvana to elucidate the ultimate reality does not mean that Hindu Nirvana and Buddhist Nirvana are the same. This difference is very well explained in Buddhism. Real Buddhism is a path to Enlightenment on the way to which we shed many veils of perceived reality – one reality giving way to another reality till we achieve ultimate which to a follower of Buddhism is Nibbana. Nibbana resides not in the intellectual sphere we live in, but in the sphere of Wisdom gained using the Wisdom Eye.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ To the ancient man his universe ended at the distant hills or at the seashore. The ‘reality’ of Flat Earth gave way to a Round Earth, the ‘reality of Earth being at the centre of the Solar System gave way to Helio Centric ‘reality’ and so on. The perceived realities of our senses changed drasticallyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ during the last 500 years from Galileo, Copernicus, Tyco Brahe, Johannes Kepler to Newton.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Christian reality of a flat earth and a world created in seven days gave way in succession to Galilean, Newtonian, Einstein and now to Quantum realities and to a Universe whichƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ appears to be 13.7 Billion years old.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The current realities as enunciated in Relativity Theory of Einstein which addressed large-scale structures of the Universe to Quantum theory which tackles the subatomic worlds are two extremes that the modern day physicists are trying to bridge.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ They say that a new theory called String Theory might be able to bridge the gap. My assertion is that none of these theories can accommodate love, compassion, beauty and other lifeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s emotions nor can they explain what life is and therefore will still be incomplete realities!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ One of the foremost theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking says that the physical Universe can be explained very well without recourse to a Creator God. The latest realities finding resonance with sayings of Lord Buddha, although final reality will not be seen till one attains Enlightenment. According theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Stephen Hawking his currentƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ reality of the universe indicates that the birth of Universes is an ongoing phenomenon and there is no need at all for a creator for this process nor a beginning of time for that matter. These scientists will not see the Ultimate Reality unless they are able to achieve the Wisdom Eye , just as Lord Buddha and the Noble Arahants did.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ On this journey towards newer realities, many has been tortured and even burnt at the stake just for holding more advanced views than those held by the established Christian Church. It took nearly 500 years for the Darkness of the World ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” The Great Satan ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the Christian Church to even give an apology to the mental torture it inflicted on Galeleo. For many others who were simply liquidated in their infamous inquisitions , justice will never dawn!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Ben Silva advocates secular government and his famous examples are India and China. In India secularism has brought a former Italian barmaid well connected to the Vatican to be the arbiter of the destinies of this majority Hindu Nation. What a shame that the present day Indian does not have the pride to have one of their own to govern them! Under the guise of secularism and Catholic Church has usurped the power behind the Ghandi name which itself is a misnomer because it is a borrowed name from the Great Ghandhi;the present day carriers having no relationship to the great man!!India who had the highest GDP in the world before the advent of colonialism was left pauperized at the end of the colonial adventure. This once great country still hides behind the Ghandi name to keep it intact. Secularism is the garb they use to destroy indigenous religions and gain converts surreptitiously .
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This very same fate can befall Sri Lanka if our present day leaders are not mindful of the machinations of the Christian Church ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” mainly the CatholicƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Church. It is famous for creeping through the bedroom window when other efforts fail. The Catholic Church who famously campaigned against the MahindaRajapakse Presidency seems to getting closer to the driving seat by the day, mainly because of the bigotry of the Buddhist clergy!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ At the moment China is riding the waves as an emerging nation. Eventually with time China too will rise and fall. The British who had an empire (on which the sun never set,) built on greed, power, ambition and downright disregard for the conqueredƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ are now a third rate power in the world scene.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The same goes for the Portuguese, Spanish, the Dutch and the French. Eventually fatigue sets in and fortunes decline. Good examples are present day Japan and soon America. All these powers went out to conquer the world out of ignorance and are still not wiser for all their follies! Americans have lost all their wars since World War II,All these power structures will decay in time according to the Buddhist Doctrine of Impermanence.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ All things will rise and fall from the great empires to great stars and eventually the Universe itself. Lord Buddha said even his doctrine will be forgotten in time for that is the way of the world; the Doctrine will always be there, but it will not be known until the arrival of another Buddha in eons to come, may be in another habitable world system.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Ben SilvaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s of this world come like worms out of the woodwork andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ go among the unsuspecting appearing as patriots. Their true nature appears when their masks finally fall off! Sri Lanka did not win the war against terrorism because of patriots like these. Sri Lanka won the war because of the heroic Sinhala Buddhist nation made ready to face the vicissitudes of war by the likes of VenMadihePannaseehaMahaNayakaThero and Soma Hamuduruwo. Today in Sri Lanka we miss their wise counsel for the many who adorn the yellow robes today are in the pay of the likes of JayalathJaywardene another agent of the Catholic Church. This manƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ does not make any bones about his intentions for he moves among these ganinnanses with the ease of a dog handler! His influence with the Maha Bodhi put to shame the early works ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ AnagarikaDharmapala and other Sinhala Buddhist patriots.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Buddhism is a voyage of self discovery and one personƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Buddhism is different from the other depending on the understanding one has achieved. One has to graduate from kindergarten upwards!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Buddhism encourages every person to make that discovery oneself while getting receiving encouragement from the wise and KalyanaMittas ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Good Friends till one develops the Wisdom Eye and gain Nibbana.
To put the picture right the Sinhala people have withstood the ravages of time and colonial conquests much better that many others who are heard of no more. In spite of a 500 year colonial onslaught and brutality we are still a 75% Sinhala and a 70% Buddhist country. It is the Sinhala Buddhist nation that put paid to the designs of the Christian Western Powers, the Catholic Church and their local poodles the Tamil Racists. If Ben Silvas of this world wants to make another Phillipinesout of Sri Lanka ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” then they will have to wait a very long time!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Ratanapala
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 18 April 18, 2011
April 18th, 2011 at 5:15 pm
If your article does not convince Ben, I can’t think of any better. He contradicts his own statements and the man seem to be ANAAGANA (confused and entangled). He advocates Noble Eight Fold Path which culminates in Nibbana but just fall short of it. He has nothing to contribute except his stale arguments on Nalanda and extiction of monks and Buddhists in that region by marauding Moghuls. Well Nalanda version of Buddhism mostly Mahayanic had a foothold in Tibet only, in the form of Vajrayana. We should be glad in one way that this version did not influence our kings and monks but Abhayagiri Mahayanic tradition has influenced our modern foolish monks ‘Poojakavaroos’ to this day. Ben could be a Buddhist but joins the majority Buddhists in Sri Lanka who are ignorant of the basic principles of Buddhism following a Hindu type of Buddhism. It is better to be wise and poor rather than be a rich fool. The best combination of course would be wise and rich, which our country was until the advent of the Satans.
April 19th, 2011 at 4:15 pm
Response to Ratnapala
I read Ratnapala’s article to see if there is a clear definition of Nirvana Unfortunately I could not find one Let me give some descriptions of Nirvana in literature:
1 Millions of Hindus believe that Nirvana is joining Gods
2 Millions of humans following Taoism believe that Nirvana is becoming a Tao
3 According to Sunil, 99% of Sri Lankan Buddhists believe seeking Nirvana is seeking heavenly birth “First of all 99% Buddhists in Sri Lanka including our monks (Poojakavaroos) aren’t worried about Nibbana, but seeks a heavenly birth,“ ref: http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2011/04/16/religion-and-its-effects/
“
4 Some Buddhist literature say Nirvana is the extinguishing of desires and the termination of the cycle of birth/rebirth
5. Some believe that Nirvanais a state in the mind
What justification has Ratnapala, to say that 1, 2, 3 and 5 are wrong and only his belief is correct. It would be helpful if he gives a clear definition of Nirvana and explain why 1,2 3 1nd 5 are wrong and only his belief is correct.
Clearly five different descriptions of Nirvana. Do we have any criteria to check, which description is correct
Do we have verifiable evidence that some one has reached Nirvana. Is it just a belief with no proof, just as God is. Is Nirvana ia fools paradise ?
If description 4 is used, why is it wrong to use the term extinction, as it has the same meaning as termination of the cycle of birth/rebirth. In short one goes to permanent extinction, on reaching Nirvana. Termination of the cycle of birth/rebirth is in standard Buddhist literature, if Ratnapala cares to read Buddhist literature. and not in Christian literature.
Without a proper definition of Nirvana, a discussion becomes pointless. If it is a belief, then people are free to believe what they want, and one definition is good as another. The least damaging descriptions are given from 1to 3 and the most damaging is 4, bas it has a negative influence on the will to survive.
The Jews learnt from the killing of Jews and formed a strong Jewish state with good defence capabilities. The Sikhs modified their religion, so that they are capable of defending themselves.
The Sinhalese survived, due to the native wisdom and not due to Buddhism as Buddhism does not promote killing, if Ratnapala care to read the precepts.
Ratnapala’s conduct is similar to some one affected by the religion mind virus. – Hang on to beliefs that has no verifiable evidence.
April 19th, 2011 at 6:48 pm
Hi Ben,
I know you have posed some questions to Ratanapala. However, as a reader of this web site, I felt like responding to some of them hoping it would help you understand what nirvana (also called nibbana) is. There are different schools of Buddhism. Theravada Buddhists are very different from Hindus or Taos. But first let me tell you that Theravada Buddhism (the type of Buddhism practiced in Sri Lanka) considers nirvana to be the ultimate achievement of happiness. (Nibbanam paraman sukam). Buddhists believe in the cycle of birth and death based on the “karma-pala”. Life is a series of events, each leading to some form of suffering and nirvana is the final escape from this suffering. One has to achieve this state through one’s own effort, though others could help and show the way. Lord Buddha showed this way, and it is through the understanding of the the four noble truths that one can achieve nibbana. If you are really interested in understanding the buddhist philosophy, you may want to read the writings of learned people. Killing anyone, whether friend or foe, is definitely not the buddhist way. This is one of the fundamental tenets of buddhism. Buddhists believe in compassion and forgiveness. They treat all, buddhists and non-buddhists the same. If this was not the case, Sri Lanka would have been free from Christians, Moslems and the Hindus many centuries ago. True True Buddhists believe in themselves and do not rely on other superior powers. They believe that “gods” are servants of true buddhists who live a noble life. True buddhists do not praise god to get help. On the other hand, they believe that gods are incapable of accumulating merit on their own and as a result, every time buddhists do some wholesome activity, they pass on the merits to the gods so that they could reduce the cycle of birth and death and attain nibbana. Life as a human being is superior to the state of being a god, brahma or other being, provided it is lived as a noble human being.
By the way, extinction is the disappearance of a species from earth. Human beings, whether Buddhists or otherwise, are all one species. Most religions have managed to divide this species into groups, which according to them is the only truth. But Buddhism, unlike most other religions preaches that no one should believe anything unless one has verified the facts. There is no room for blind faith in true Buddhism. You can call yourself a Buddhist if you live your life according to the Buddhist doctrine of the eight-fold pathway.
Ben, I am sorry to see that you have ticked off some people with your non-Buddhist stance, but, if I were you, I would read-up on Buddhism and be more aware of the Buddhist way before proposing what Buddhists should or should not do.
Hope this helps.
With metta
Chuti
April 19th, 2011 at 8:04 pm
Dear Mr. Ben Silva:
You have made a mess in trying to talk things that You don’t know.
You can can not compare what is said in “Hinduism, Toism and buddhism though they are related. Extinction and Nirvna are two completely different meanings.
I don’t know with what intention you writing these things.
The best thing is if you read and understand Buddhism.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:50 pm
Ratnapala says I want the “Sinhala nation to become barbaric “. I have stressed the need for defence.This is not the same as being barbaric. The Jews and Sikhs have learnt from history. Have the Buddhists learnt ? Ratnapala seems to make things up as he goes along, just as his “wisdom eye “. Is his wisdom eye similar to “majic eye”?
To put the record straight, I say that every human should be treated the same way as you would like to be treated, and certainly not in a barbaric manner as Ratnapala has suggested. I wonder if Ratnapala is aware that we were under foreign domination for over 200 years and living like second class citizens in our own country and lost a good chunk of the country..To return Ratnapala’s compliment, it is Ratnapala who appears tp be clueless about history and he does not appear to know much about Buddhism either. However, I will refrain from hurling abuse, unless I am abused first. It is also pontless to debate with some one, whose mind is seriously affected by the religion mind virus, who can only hurl abuse and produce verbose and wooly statements without any meaning such as the majic eye or wisdom eye.
April 19th, 2011 at 10:50 pm
Ratnapala says I want the “Sinhala nation to become barbaric “. I have stressed the need for defence.This is not the same as being barbaric. The Jews and Sikhs have learnt from history. Have the Buddhists learnt ? Ratnapala seems to make things up as he goes along, just as his “wisdom eye “. Is his wisdom eye similar to “majic eye”?
To put the record straight, I say that every human should be treated the same way as you would like to be treated, and certainly not in a barbaric manner as Ratnapala has suggested. I wonder if Ratnapala is aware that we were under foreign domination for over 200 years and living like second class citizens in our own country and lost a good chunk of the country..To return Ratnapala’s compliment, it is Ratnapala who appears tp be clueless about history and he does not appear to know much about Buddhism either. However, I will refrain from hurling abuse, unless I am abused first. It is also pontless to debate with some one, whose mind is seriously affected by the religion mind virus, who can only hurl abuse and produce verbose and wooly statements without any meaning such as the majic eye or wisdom eye.
April 20th, 2011 at 5:04 am
Ratanapala, one of the Biggest problems facing most Sri Lankan Buddhist were not the European invaders, Catholic church or the NGOs but the lack of Right Understanding of the Buddha Dhamma making it easy for the TRIPLE evil – European invaders / Catholic church / NGOs to infiltrate and influence some Buddhist minds.
Ben’s ignorance to Buddhism is evident when he questions “Do we have verifiable evidence that some one has reached Nirvana. Is it just a belief with no proof, just as God is. Is Nirvana ia fools paradise ?
Of course, he has every right to question, but his questions clearly indicates he has no Respect of the Buddha and the Great Arahants for he doubts the achievements of these Noble Ones and their Attainments of Nibbana thus casting the Dhamma useless!
Also, His assertions and references for the Sri Lankan Buddhist to emulate the jews and sikhs again shows his lack of understanding of the Buddha Dhamma.
The Buddha had time and again advised his disciples not to engage in fruitless discussions but to practice diligently the Noble path – 4 + 8!
No amount of words, reading and discussions will make us realise NIBBANA, only faith in the ways of the Noble Ones – Buddha and the Great Arahants + the practice of the Dhamma.
Ratanapala, can i please request you to refrain from coarse language words with Ben and be civic _thank you.
April 20th, 2011 at 7:44 am
Ben Silva.
As far as I know, Nibbana and the Almighty God are one and exactly the same. Even Christianity says some people goes to the god. The only difference is in Buddhism, the creator and the created are one and the same.
Buddhism is the only religion that had not killed anyone in the name of the religion. Buddhism did not have any crusade wars to convert or to kill non-believers.
The ultimate happines in Buddhism in Nirvana. But, Lord buddha has said even living in this world as happiness.
Nirvana in Buddhism and in Hinduism are not the same.
April 20th, 2011 at 8:03 am
I am in full agreement with Ratnapala’s riposte to Ben and comments to it by herman and Sunil Wijaya. Of all absurd opinion presented by Ben let me pick a very simple example. Ben said; “The Sinhalese try survived, due to the native wisdom and not due to Buddhism as Buddhism does not promote killing, if Ratnapala care to read the precepts.”
For one thing; Ben should try to read a bit of our history and understand ‘how Buddhism helped survive Sinhala Buddhists’, in the real prospective if he wants to understand things as they were. For another, he ought to read at least ‘The Buddha and Buddhism’ by Narada and have a simple understanding of Buddhism before he start writing about Buddhism.
Leela
April 20th, 2011 at 9:51 am
Ben,
If I were you, I would test the so called 5 definitions you have described above with a single test to see if these conditions and states , once attained are subjected to
1. Dukkha
2. Anithya ( Impermanence )
3. Anatta
Hopefully, this will clarify some of your ignorance in trying to unify all the definitions out there, for Nirvana.
And FYI, no one has ever attained Nirvana by logically reasoning out what Nirvana is about, and by trying to come up with a definition. That may well work with all the other beliefs and religions, but I am sorry, it doesn’t work like that as per what Buddha has taught. Instead, I would sit in a quiet place and watch my breadth …
Below given is a paragraph , one of the most beautiful statement that I ever came across , by ven.Ajahn Brahm, in his book ‘Mindfulness Bliss & Beyond’.
The two last resorts of the illusion of a self or soul are the knower and the doer. If you identify with anything as the essential ‘you’, it will be one or both of these.You assume that you are that which does or that which knows.These two deep-seated, long held delusions are what stands between you and the enlightenment. See through these illusion once, and you are a stream-winner(sottapanna state). See through these illusions every time, and you are an ‘Arahant’.
Also I can give you a very valuable advise in seeking a goal. This I learned while I was a student @ Peradeniya University. One the best professor’s I ever met once said, while you are answering your examination paper, please note that you are given 3hours to answer 5 questions. So basically you are left with 36minutes for one question. While you are answering the question, if you keep writing pages and takes more than a good 25minutes for a given question, one thing is for sure… that you have not found the way to answer the question and please stop displaying your inabilities.. rather you should proceed to the next question. So when we are seeking a goal, and when we are on the correct path, its like a converging stream. on the other hand, when you are not able to see things getting converged, most likely you are lost. and when you are in such a state, it is obvious that one will not even recognize the correct path or the stream. Now you can go back to your own statements and see whether your path is converging or scattering/diverging set of ideas…
May you find the reality of the nature of the Dukkha, Anithya & Anatta and find yourself to Nibbana , one day…
db
April 20th, 2011 at 8:45 pm
Bean is on a mission.
No matter what explanation is given he will not change because he will not get paid then.
Otherwise if he is Sinhala Buddhist ( as he claims) why are the ultimate stupid questions like,
“Millions of Hindus believe that Nirvana is joining Gods
2 Millions of humans following Taoism believe that Nirvana is becoming a Tao
3 According to Sunil, 99% of Sri Lankan Buddhists believe seeking Nirvana is seeking heavenly birth ”
He made even our humble Sunil Vijayapala a God. Before coing to this forum he should have gone through Buddhism thourouly rather than talking about “beliefs”. He should have done a research by calling up 100 Buddists and asked them whether they think Nibbana is heaven.
Do nto waste time trying to convince an Agent !
April 21st, 2011 at 12:45 am
I wish to thank Chuti for explaining Nirvana clearly and politely without using abusive language. Chuti’s explanation matches with what I have read and heard and also agrees with what is published on the internet.Nirvana is the final escape from this suffering. On achieving Nirvana, the cycle of death and rebirth ends, once a person has reached Nirvana. On reaching Nirvana, a person will not be born again and will cease to exist. I used the term extinct to mean ending of the cycle of birth and death. My use of the word extinct gives the same meaning as ending (Oxford dictionary). and I am technically correct.
One more description has been added by AnuD who Says: As far as I know, Nibbana and the Almighty God are one and exactly the same. Thank you AnuD for clarifying the mess.
Now we have six descriptions of Nirvana. All I would like to know is which description is correct. Can any one please indicate why one description is correct and others are wrong, using simple explanation. Buddha has said in Kalama sutra that we should not be blind believers. I am following Lord Buddha and merely question, to ascertain the truth.
All the descriptions are different and believers of these descriptions claim their version is the true and correct version. The combined number of believers for description of 1 and 2 exceed 1 billion. My question again is how do we know, which version is correct ?
Chuti also clarified that Buddhists are refrained from killing a friend or a foe, and that Buddhists believe in Karma. I am fully aware that Buddhists are refrained from killing, as it is in the precepts, and as I am a Buddhist.
In the case of Buddhists in the silk route and also those at Nalanada, believed in Karma and they also refrained from killing the enemy or even run away, allowing Karmic forces to take effect. As a result, the Buddhists got wiped out. It is wrong for Ratnapala to claim that Buddhism saved us. It could be that Ratnapala does not know enough about Buddhism and should read Chuti’s comments. In contrast to Buddhists in the silk route, our ancient kings fought and killed our enemies. The view of some is that our ancient kings had used Sinhala wisdom and not Buddhism. If our ancient kings used pure Buddhism, we could have been wiped out our selves. Even recently, during te war with Praba. some NGO’s tried to stop the war saying Buddhism refrains from violence and tried to stop the war. Fortunately, our leaders did not listen to these NGO’s.
The Nirvana description given by Ratnapala appears to be gobbledegook, specially with reference to ‘majic eye’ and statements such as ‘way to which we shed many veils of perceived reality – one reality giving way to another reality till we achieve ultimate.’
My main objective was to stop us following Buddhists in the silk route and get wiped out. Instead of trying to understand my objective, comedians such as Ratnapala, assumed that I am non Buddhist and has been very hostile. It woud be helpful, if people such as Ratnapala, occasionally use their brain, instead of being hostile and jumping to conclusions.. Again I am returning compliments paid to me.
I would like to re pay some of the compliments Ratnapala gave to me:
In fact I would say the ‘expert’ knowledge of Buddhism Ratnapala has is similar to the expert knowledge Navi Pillay had on human rights. Both appear to be clueless in their respective fields.
April 21st, 2011 at 4:49 am
Benś Buddhism is determined by popular vote !
What a fool he is ?
If so he should call up 100 Buddhists ( as Nanda said) and let us know the result.
We shall wait whether this fool , who call Buddha a coward takes up this challenge.
There is not point arguing with this pure fool.
April 21st, 2011 at 7:16 am
Mr. Ben Silva:
I also strongly believe that Buddhist patiance saved us from the recent destruction we had in our country. Examples are former Yugoslovia and Sudan. In both cases, they killed their “enemy” endlessly and mercilessly. Because of that, those communities could not fight against the will of the powerful countries to destroy their country. But, we sri Lankans fought against not only the LTTE but against the will of the powerful countries to devide us and we won.
With respect to Nirvana or the ultimate reality, we read every where that we should not try to define it. Because it is the everything. Therefore, as soon as you define it you understand something different.
There are books, which explains the ultimate reality in terms of scientific terms (more accurately in terms of theoretical physics) and lot of information is available in the web too. All those match with what Buddha had said. If you read those, you will understand it is futile to understand it by defining it.
December 5th, 2011 at 5:18 am
All of u r wrong.. I don’t blame any of u as i am sure u dnt know wt Gautama Buddha actually said. I am sorry to say that most of the things he said been changed to Hindu and Jaina versions. But if any of u wants to know a hint of Buddha’s message read ” Chinthanayen Eha” By Gramini Abhaya or attend one of his lectures. You will be amazed once u realize that there is no YOU or ME.