The True Nirvana
“To awaken to the absolute view is profound and transformative, but to awaken from all fixed points of view is the birth of true non-duality. If emptiness cannot dance, it is not true emptiness. If moonlight does not flood the empty night sky and reflect in every drop of water, on every blade of grass, then you are only looking at your own empty dream.” - Adyashanti
It was once said that all worldly desires must be abandoned in order to attain the highest truth. You look to the ascetics who’ve subjected their physical body to the most extreme of conditions. You look to the monotheistic religions and see passionate, devout followers looking to a savior for a promised heaven. You look to the Buddhists travelling on the middle path to end all suffering. You look to the atheists who, in their objectivity and empiricism denounce such pursuits as all but wishful thinking. Yet, one basic human desire acts as the backbone to all these paradigms, and that is the need for existential certainty.
It can give us the drive to challenge the established norms of our time, or it can be used as an escapist crutch.
It can be a fire that illuminates our true purpose, or it can be a mask that hides the fears and insecurities buried deep within our subconscious, deep within the shadow.
Having been born into a Buddhist family, this search for a higher state of being is all too familiar. It is sad to see how this search often comes from a place of dread. The fear of dealing with the cycle of running and chasing infects our peace of mind. In doing so, we are taught to long for an escape from the cycle of reincarnation, an escape from samsara. We are taught to accumulate good deeds in this life so that our next could be more prosperous. In our attempts to live in the present, we look to an existence free of dukkha, believing that this discontent will never be justified by the pursuits of civilization, whether it’d be culture, philosophy, science, humanitarianism, and so forth. We put on not rose-tinted glasses, but dark shades that cast shadows of discontent onto the present, creating the illusion of paradise in a moment other than the one we are in.
In essence, the ideal of nirvana warps society into suffering.
To say that non-existence is the only peace worth pursuing only places a burden on our psyche with time. It assumes that the only two options for a life path are It claims that all societal aspirations are false hopes, rather than the source of true fulfillment. It paints a broad brush with material desire and the pursuit of personal meaning being seen as one and the same. Now, this is not to disparage the virtues that Buddhism and other ascetic philosophies are known for. The awareness of the constructed self, the observation of one’s neurotic tendencies, and so forth play a crucial role in improving the moral foundation of any society. Realizing the connection between internal conflict and external, societal problems caused by divisions of identity amongst one another is the first step in reducing or, should I say, justifying the struggle of life.
Now, that begs the question, “Is existential struggle something to be extinguished or something to be used as inspiration?” This is perhaps one of the most challenging, intimate questions to reflect upon, one with no simple answer.
Of course, this is all coming from the literal interpretation of nirvana. However, metaphorically speaking, what is the true essence of nirvana? If you take the concept of anatta, for example, which is the realization of the impermanent and constructed nature of the self identity, it appears that nirvana is, at its core, about unconditional contentment. How is one supposed to be unconditionally content? Well, if you look at meditation, it’s about becoming one with whatever emotion or physical sensation is present, whether it’d be happiness or sadness, pleasant or unpleasant sensations, and so on. Deep down, it’s about washing away the duality between the self and the present moment.
So why is it that renunciation appears to be extremely conditional, to follow a path in which individuals are choosing to avoid existential struggle, choosing to avoid society, choosing to avoid the full spectrum of human experience?
Because it’s not truly unconditional. It elevates the inherent value of certain experiences over others.
To be truly unconditional would mean using the merits of introspection and self-awareness in promoting a higher-consciousness society. It would be to acknowledge both your higher and lower selves and help the altruistic come together and heal the wounds of the disturbed, those we see as lesser than us. It would mean that we would have to go beyond the divisions of political and economic systems, to see capitalism and communism, liberalism and conservatism, not in opposition to one another, but as different facets of the way we manage social institutions. It would mean to uphold moral principles not from the constraints of societal obligation or self-suppression, but out of genuine compassion and authenticity. Nirvana would then cease to be a process of annihilation. It would no longer be a fragmentation of the human condition.
It would be the beginning of a higher existence, not the end.
It was once said that all worldly desires must be abandoned in order to attain the highest truth. You look to the ascetics who’ve subjected their physical body to the most extreme of conditions. You look to the monotheistic religions and see passionate, devout followers looking to a savior for a promised heaven. You look to the Buddhists travelling on the middle path to end all suffering. You look to the atheists who, in their objectivity and empiricism denounce such pursuits as all but wishful thinking. Yet, one basic human desire acts as the backbone to all these paradigms, and that is the need for existential certainty.
It can give us the drive to challenge the established norms of our time, or it can be used as an escapist crutch.
It can be a fire that illuminates our true purpose, or it can be a mask that hides the fears and insecurities buried deep within our subconscious, deep within the shadow.
Having been born into a Buddhist family, this search for a higher state of being is all too familiar. It is sad to see how this search often comes from a place of dread. The fear of dealing with the cycle of running and chasing infects our peace of mind. In doing so, we are taught to long for an escape from the cycle of reincarnation, an escape from samsara. We are taught to accumulate good deeds in this life so that our next could be more prosperous. In our attempts to live in the present, we look to an existence free of dukkha, believing that this discontent will never be justified by the pursuits of civilization, whether it’d be culture, philosophy, science, humanitarianism, and so forth. We put on not rose-tinted glasses, but dark shades that cast shadows of discontent onto the present, creating the illusion of paradise in a moment other than the one we are in.
In essence, the ideal of nirvana warps society into suffering.
To say that non-existence is the only peace worth pursuing only places a burden on our psyche with time. It assumes that the only two options for a life path are It claims that all societal aspirations are false hopes, rather than the source of true fulfillment. It paints a broad brush with material desire and the pursuit of personal meaning being seen as one and the same. Now, this is not to disparage the virtues that Buddhism and other ascetic philosophies are known for. The awareness of the constructed self, the observation of one’s neurotic tendencies, and so forth play a crucial role in improving the moral foundation of any society. Realizing the connection between internal conflict and external, societal problems caused by divisions of identity amongst one another is the first step in reducing or, should I say, justifying the struggle of life.
Now, that begs the question, “Is existential struggle something to be extinguished or something to be used as inspiration?” This is perhaps one of the most challenging, intimate questions to reflect upon, one with no simple answer.
Of course, this is all coming from the literal interpretation of nirvana. However, metaphorically speaking, what is the true essence of nirvana? If you take the concept of anatta, for example, which is the realization of the impermanent and constructed nature of the self identity, it appears that nirvana is, at its core, about unconditional contentment. How is one supposed to be unconditionally content? Well, if you look at meditation, it’s about becoming one with whatever emotion or physical sensation is present, whether it’d be happiness or sadness, pleasant or unpleasant sensations, and so on. Deep down, it’s about washing away the duality between the self and the present moment.
So why is it that renunciation appears to be extremely conditional, to follow a path in which individuals are choosing to avoid existential struggle, choosing to avoid society, choosing to avoid the full spectrum of human experience?
Because it’s not truly unconditional. It elevates the inherent value of certain experiences over others.
To be truly unconditional would mean using the merits of introspection and self-awareness in promoting a higher-consciousness society. It would be to acknowledge both your higher and lower selves and help the altruistic come together and heal the wounds of the disturbed, those we see as lesser than us. It would mean that we would have to go beyond the divisions of political and economic systems, to see capitalism and communism, liberalism and conservatism, not in opposition to one another, but as different facets of the way we manage social institutions. It would mean to uphold moral principles not from the constraints of societal obligation or self-suppression, but out of genuine compassion and authenticity. Nirvana would then cease to be a process of annihilation. It would no longer be a fragmentation of the human condition.
It would be the beginning of a higher existence, not the end.
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