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<h1 id="nibbāna"><a class="header" href="#nibbāna">Nibbāna</a></h1>
<p><em>The Supreme Peace</em></p>
<div class="opening-illustration">
<p><a href="https://buddhadhamma.github.io/includes/images/illustrations/ch-6-trade.pdf"><img src="./includes/images/illustrations/ch-6-trade.jpg" alt="image" /></a></p>
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<h2 id="introduction"><a class="header" href="#introduction">Introduction</a></h2>
<p>Human beings encounter many trials and tribulations. The situation can
be summed up in one word: suffering (<em>dukkha</em>). (See
Note <a href="#note-dukkha">Translations of Dukkha</a>.) Most people freely acknowledge that life,
both on a personal and on a social level, involves facing problems.
These problems affect their happiness and present moral dilemmas. A
close inspection reveals that all of these problems stem from the same
source, that is, by its very nature, human life is endowed with problems
or it has the potential to cause problems.</p>
<p>Saying that the purpose of life is to pursue happiness implies
suffering: the very search for happiness reveals an inner deficiency
that drives people to seek fulfilment. This suffering has many
consequences. The search for happiness gives rise to conflicts of
interest and to social problems. What begins as a personal problem is
magnified and spreads outwards.</p>
<div class="note">
<p><span class="caption">Translations of Dukkha</span><a id="note-dukkha"></a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Trans.: there are many English translations for <em>dukkha</em>, including:
’suffering’, ’unsatisfactoriness’, ’stress’, ’pain’, and ’misery’. The
Buddha used this word in different contexts, most notably in:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p><em>(a)</em> The Three Characteristics, referring to the stress and
pressure inherent in conditioned phenomena (see Chapter 3);</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><em>(b)</em> the Four Noble Truths, referring to human suffering caused
by ignorance and craving (see chapter 19); and</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><em>(c)</em> the three kinds of feeling (<em>vedanā</em>), referring to ’painful
sensation’ (see chapter 1).</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>The author here is highlighting the overlap and connection between
these meanings, especially (a) and (b).</p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p>Yet this description is still rather ambiguous; for the sake of clarity
one needs to get to the heart of the matter. A basic truth of life is
that it is characterized by <em>dukkha</em>; the very nature of human life is
marked by this universal characteristic of <em>dukkha</em>. Human life is a
conditioned phenomenon (<em>saṅkhāra</em>), subject to various causes and
conditions. It is impermanent, unstable, fleeting, and devoid of any
lasting self or substance. One is unable to sustain life or to shape it
purely according to one’s desires; one must conform to causes and
conditions. This is <em>dukkha</em> on a more fundamental level.</p>
<p>The <em>dukkha</em> fundamental to life can be summed up by the words ’aging’
(<em>jarā</em>) and ’death’ (<em>maraṇa</em>), or by the words ’decay’ and
’dissolution’. In the wake of this fundamental <em>dukkha</em> follows <em>dukkha</em>
as a human feeling or emotion, for example: ’suffering’, ’distress’,
’grief’, and ’regret’.</p>
<p>Due to the fact that life is characterized by a basic form of <em>dukkha</em>,
for people to truly solve problems, bring suffering to an end, and
experience real happiness, they must firmly abide in the truth. To begin
with they must come to terms with the fundamental characteristic of
<em>dukkha</em>, by applying wisdom in order to be free from it or to live with
it at ease and to not create problems around it. If one is unable to
reach this state, one should at least gain insight into this fundamental
<em>dukkha</em> and develop a proper mental attitude in regard to it. One thus
acknowledges and faces the truth with understanding.</p>
<p>If people lack this stability and are unable to come to terms with the
fundamental characteristic of <em>dukkha</em>, they allow it to become a hidden
problem lying within. They then try to bury their problems and to turn a
blind eye to suffering. They end up deceiving themselves, and the
problems festering in the mind intensify and increase. {326}</p>
<p>People claim that they desire happiness and are averse to suffering, but
they often create problems for themselves precisely through the means
they use to achieve happiness. Instead of dispelling suffering and
generating happiness, they evade suffering in order to pursue happiness.
They do not attend to the underlying roots of suffering. Their problems
then develop into more serious mental complexes. Instead of dispelling
or reducing suffering, they increase and compound it, both within
themselves and outwards in their conflicts with society.</p>
<p>For those people who attempt to cover over and conceal their suffering,
their pursuit of happiness indicates a sense of lack, distress, anxiety,
and unhappiness. They seek things in order to feel fulfilled or to
dispel their agitation, yet in this search they come into conflict with
others. Moral issues in society thus become intensified.</p>
<p>By attending to suffering incorrectly, people vent their frustrations
outwards, increasing suffering both for themselves and others. As a
consequence, the inherent stress which is part and parcel of the
conditioned nature of life is neglected rather than addressed. With
their singular ingenuity people concoct a whole host of problems, until
the basic predicament of life (of inherent stress) is virtually
forgotten.</p>
<p>People may even delude themselves by thinking that happiness results
from turning a blind eye to suffering.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn1-1"><a href="#fn-fn1">1</a></sup> To make matters worse, that
inherent stress, which has been avoided, covertly incites people to
search for and indulge in ever more passionate and restless forms of
pleasure, depriving them of confidence and contentment. As a result,
moral crises in society become more serious, for instance through the
increase of competition and oppression, and suffering is exacerbated.</p>
<p>As long as people are unable to come to terms with this fundamental
aspect of life – unable to reconcile themselves to the universal
characteristic of <em>dukkha</em> – they will not succeed in resolving their
problems. They will not escape the oppression of <em>dukkha</em>, no matter how
much pleasure they experience, and they will not meet with true,
constant happiness, which is intrinsically complete and fully
satisfying.</p>
<p>Human life involves solving problems and seeking release from suffering.
But if we do not know the correct way leading to freedom, our attempted
solutions to these problems only bring about increased suffering. The
greater the effort, the greater the affliction, becoming an ever more
complex cycle: a whirlpool of suffering. This state of affairs is
<em>saṁsāra-vaṭṭa</em>, the ’wandering around’ or round of rebirth, which the
Buddha explained in the teaching of Dependent Origination
(<em>paṭiccasamuppāda</em>) under the cycle of origination (<em>samudaya-vāra</em>)
and the forward sequence (<em>anuloma-paṭiccasamuppāda</em>). There it is
revealed how human suffering arises according to cause and effect.</p>
<p>If people are able to face the truth and to understand the true nature
of <em>dukkha</em>, besides being free of mental disorders that create and
compound problems, they will be able to develop wisdom and to free their
minds, even from the fundamental <em>dukkha</em> inherent to life. {327} The
stress and pressure inherent in nature is recognized simply for what it
is. It then has no power to create suffering in the minds of these
individuals.</p>
<p>Even before they have reached complete liberation, those people who are
not deceived or obstructed by unhealthy mental complexes created from
unresolved suffering are able to experience happiness in a full and
satisfactory way. At the same time they have the opportunity to develop
happiness, by accessing ever more refined, independent, spacious,
replete, and pure forms of happiness, until they eventually realize the
happiness that is completely free from suffering. Their pathway to
happiness is unrestricted and limitless.</p>
<p>When the Buddha taught Dependent Origination, he did not end with the
origin of suffering. He also taught the cycle of cessation
(<em>paṭiccasamuppāda-nirodhavāra</em>), which is the process of turning back,
or turning away (<em>vivaṭṭa</em>): the end of suffering. Human suffering can
be remedied and there are ways to achieve this. The Buddha went on to
reveal the supreme state, in which humans are able to live noble lives,
enjoy genuine happiness, and bring true benefit and meaning to life.
They become free, without having to rely on external things or to depend
on the happiness determined by conditioned phenomena.</p>
<p>Conditioned phenomena cannot sustain themselves, let alone sustain our
happiness. Happiness dependent on external things offers no true
support, since it is continually reliant on these things. Seeking
meaning in this insecure form of happiness results in losing freedom and
independence.</p>
<p>Although one may not fully attain the state of ’turning away’ at first,
to the extent that one correctly attends to problems – reducing the
force of the origination cycle and increasing the force of the cessation
cycle – suffering will gradually abate and one’s life will be enhanced.
One will be able to experience the pleasures of the world with wisdom,
not enslaved to them or harmed by their fluctuating currents. Worldly
pleasures will not be a source of trouble to oneself or others, and this
healthy relationship to pleasure will promote wellbeing within society.</p>
<p>The discussion here focuses on the cessation cycle and the end of
suffering, which directly opposes the origination cycle with its
resultant suffering.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn2-1"><a href="#fn-fn2">2</a></sup> {328}</p>
<h2 id="cessation-of-suffering"><a class="header" href="#cessation-of-suffering">Cessation of Suffering</a></h2>
<h3 id="long-format"><a class="header" href="#long-format">Long Format</a></h3>
<p>Before we can solve problems, however large or trivial these problems
may be, we must first understand them accurately. If not, they may
become more complex and severe. To effectively resolve life’s dilemmas
we must understand each dilemma as well as the conditions giving rise to
it. This is especially true when dealing with life’s fundamental
problem: we must know suffering and the causes that bring about
suffering. We must have an understanding of the truth, which is the
essential factor for bringing an end to all suffering. A
misunderstanding of the truth, on the other hand, creates problems. It
results in people’s attempted solutions having an effect counter to the
desired effect and further intensifying suffering.</p>
<p>The origination cycle, i.e. the creation of suffering, begins with
ignorance:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Ignorance (<em>avijjā</em>) → volitional activities (<em>saṅkhāra</em>) →
consciousness (<em>viññāṇa</em>) → mentality and corporeality (<em>nāma-rūpa</em>) →
6 sense bases (<em>saḷāyatana</em>) → contact (<em>phassa</em>) → feeling (<em>vedanā</em>)
→ craving (<em>taṇhā</em>) → clinging (<em>upādāna</em>) → becoming (<em>bhava</em>) →
birth (<em>jāti</em>) → aging and death (<em>jarāmaraṇa</em>), sorrow (<em>soka</em>),
lamentation (<em>parideva</em>), pain (<em>dukkha</em>), grief (<em>domanassa</em>), and
despair (<em>upāyāsa</em>) = origin of suffering (<em>dukkha-samudaya</em>).</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The reverse form of this is the cessation cycle, which begins with the
extinguishing or absence of ignorance:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Ignorance ceases → volitional activities cease → consciousness ceases
→ mentality and corporeality cease → 6 sense bases cease → contact
ceases → feeling ceases → craving ceases → clinging ceases → becoming
ceases → birth ceases → aging, death + sorrow … despair cease =
cessation of suffering (<em>dukkha-nirodha</em>). (See
Note <a href="#note-cycles">Cycles of Paṭiccasamuppāda</a>)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The word <em>nirodha</em> (cessation) does not merely mean that something comes
to an end, but also that it cannot reappear or function in the future.
It is prevented from arising; it is stilled or ’detoxified’. The term
<em>paṭiccasamuppāda-nirodhavāra</em> means the ending of existent suffering
and the prevention of further suffering; a process in which suffering
does not arise. The expression ’ignorance ceases’ means both the end of
existing ignorance and the non-arising of future ignorance. It refers to
knowledge (<em>vijjā</em>): to freedom from ignorance. {329}</p>
<div class="note">
<p><span class="caption">Cycles of Paṭiccasamuppāda</span><a id="note-cycles"></a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Traditionally, there are four formats for outlining
<em>paṭiccasamuppāda</em>, both the <em>samudayavāra</em> and the <em>nirodhavāra</em>
cycles:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li>
<p>From beginning to end (the usual format): <em>avijjā</em> → <em>saṅkhāra</em>
→ <em>viññāṇa</em> → <em>nāmarūpa</em> → <em>saḷāyatana</em> → <em>phassa</em> → <em>vedanā</em> →
<em>taṇhā</em> → <em>upādāna</em> → <em>bhava</em> → <em>jāti</em> → <em>jarāmaraṇa + soka …
upāyāsa</em> (e.g. S. II. 1-2).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>From the end to the beginning: <em>jarāmaraṇa (dukkha)</em> ← <em>jāti</em> ←
<em>bhava</em> ← <em>upādāna</em> ← <em>taṇhā</em> ← <em>vedanā</em> ← <em>phassa</em> ←
<em>saḷāyatana</em> ← <em>nāmarūpa</em> ← <em>viññāṇa</em> ← <em>saṅkhāra</em> ← <em>avijjā</em>
(M. I. 261-2).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>From the middle to the beginning: <em>4 ahāra</em> ← <em>taṇhā</em> ← <em>vedanā</em>
← <em>phassa</em> ← <em>saḷāyatana</em> ← <em>nāmarūpa</em> ← <em>viññāṇa</em> ← <em>saṅkhāra</em>
← <em>avijjā</em> (S. II. 11-12).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>From the middle to the end: (<em>saḷāyatana</em> → <em>phassa</em>) → <em>vedanā</em>
→ <em>(taṇhā)</em> → <em>upādāna</em> → <em>bhava</em> → <em>jāti</em> → <em>jarāmaraṇa + soka
… upāyāsa</em> (M. I. 266).</p>
</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>In the context of <em>nirodhavāra</em>, the long format beginning with the
cessation of ignorance is most commonly used. When explaining
<em>nirodhavāra</em> in the first three formats, the complete sequence is
shown (from or up to <em>avijjā</em>), but in the fourth format a shorter
sequence is presented, as will be discussed soon.</p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<h3 id="short-format"><a class="header" href="#short-format">Short Format</a></h3>
<p>Both the origination cycle and cessation cycle shown above are expressed
in the long format, with all twelve constituent factors. Each cycle
proceeds in consecutive order until all factors are complete. However,
these cycles are not always shown in this way, with the entire sequence
of twelve factors. In the Pali Canon there are passages where for
practical application the Buddha presented a process observable in daily
life. The structure of these shortened formats depends on the point at
which a problem begins or on the aspect he wished to emphasize.</p>
<p>The short format of the origination cycle begins with cognition at the
six sense bases (<em>āyatana</em>) and then proceeds as an unbroken chain to
aging, death, sorrow and despair. The initial part of the process, from
ignorance up to the six sense bases, is omitted as its inherent
influence is understood. The short format of the cessation cycle begins
at the cessation of craving – after initial contact and feeling.</p>
<p>Here are two examples from the Pali Canon of the origination cycle
(short format):</p>
<div class="sutta">
<blockquote>
<p>Monks, a child grows up and his faculties mature still further; the
youth enjoys himself provided and endowed with the five strands of
sensual pleasure: with forms, sounds, odours, flavours, and tangibles
that are wished for, desired, agreeable and endearing, connected with
sensual desire, and provocative of lust.</p>
<p>On seeing a form with the eye, hearing a sound with the ear, smelling
an odour with the nose, tasting a flavour with the tongue, touching a
tangible with the body, cognizing a mind-object with the mind, he is
fond of it if it is pleasing; he dislikes it if it is displeasing. He
abides with mindfulness of the body unestablished, with an inferior
(undeveloped) mind, and he does not understand as it actually is
deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom wherein evil,
unwholesome states cease without remainder. {330}</p>
<p>Engaged as he is in favouring and opposing, whatever feeling he feels,
whether pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, he is
gratified by that feeling, he broods over and welcomes it, and submits
to it. As he does so, delight (nandi; ’infatuation’) arises in him.
Now delight in feelings is clinging. With his clinging as condition,
becoming arises; with becoming as condition, birth; with birth as
condition, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and
despair come to be. Such is the origin of this whole mass of
suffering.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn3-1"><a href="#fn-fn3">3</a></sup></p>
<p><em>M. I. 266-7.</em></p>
<p>Bhikkhus, what is the origin of suffering? Dependent on the eye and
form, eye-consciousness arises. The union of these three is contact.
With contact as condition, there is feeling. With feeling as
condition, there is craving. This is the origin of suffering. (The
same for the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.)</p>
<p><em>S. II. 72-3; S. IV. 87.</em></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p>Selecting the principal elements in the above texts the origination
cycle can be shown as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p>(Six sense bases → contact →) feeling → delight (nandi) → clinging →
becoming → birth → aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief
and despair = the arising of suffering.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>(Six sense bases →) contact→ feeling → craving (taṇhā) = the arising
of suffering.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>These two examples are essentially the same; they both begin with
cognition at the sense bases. The first example presents the process up
to the end. The second example presents the process only up to craving;
the remainder is to be inferred.</p>
<p>Now, two examples of the cessation cycle (short format):</p>
<div class="sutta">
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li>
<p>The aforementioned child has studied and practised the Dhamma,
consisting of moral conduct and sense restraint, and developed
concentrative absorption (jhāna): On seeing a form with the eye
… cognizing a mind-object with the mind, he is not fond of it if
it is pleasing; he is not annoyed with it if it is displeasing. He
abides with mindfulness of the body established, with a developed,
immeasurable mind, and he understands as it actually is
deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom wherein those evil,
unwholesome states cease without remainder. Having thus abandoned
favouring and opposing, whatever feeling he feels, whether
pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, he is not
gratified by that feeling, he does not welcome it or submit to it.
As he does not do so, delight (infatuation) in feelings ceases in
him. With the cessation of his delight comes cessation of
clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of becoming;
with the cessation of becoming, cessation of birth; with the
cessation of birth – aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain,
grief and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass
of suffering. {331}</p>
<p><em>M. I. 270.</em></p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Bhikkhus, what is the passing away of suffering? Dependent on the
eye and form, eye-consciousness arises. The union of these three
is contact. With contact as condition, there is feeling. With
feeling as condition, there is craving. Because that craving
ceases and is extinguished without remainder, clinging ceases.
With the cessation of clinging, becoming ceases. With the
cessation of becoming, birth ceases. With the cessation of birth
– old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair
cease. In this way the entire mass of suffering ceases. This is
the passing away of suffering. (Same for the ear, nose, tongue,
body, and mind.)</p>
<p><em>S. II. 72-3; S. IV. 87.</em></p>
</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p>Based on these two texts the cessation cycle can be depicted as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p>(6 senses bases → contact →) feeling → delight (nandi) ceases →
clinging ceases → becoming ceases → birth ceases → aging and death,
sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and affliction cease = the
cessation of suffering.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>(6 senses bases →) contact → feeling → craving (taṇhā); (but)
craving ceases → clinging ceases → becoming ceases → birth ceases →
aging and death, sorrow … affliction cease = the cessation of
suffering.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>The first example presents all components of the short format but in
reversed form to the origination cycle. The second example begins the
same way as example two of the origination cycle, above. But where the
origination cycle ends at craving, here the process changes course and
completes the cycle of cessation. These two examples are essentially the
same; they both demonstrate a severance of the cycle following initial
cognition and feeling. As a result, delight or craving is prevented from
arising and suffering ceases.</p>
<p>Note that the meaning of <em>nandi</em> in the first passage is similar to that
of <em>taṇhā</em> in the second. The meaning differs only slightly, suited to
the context of the first passage. Note also that the expression ’delight
ceases’ in example one indicates clearly that delight does not arise;
there is no delight (infatuation). One can apply this to passage two:
unlike the origination cycle where craving arises subsequent to initial
cognition and feeling, craving is now uprooted; the cycle is broken and
the subsequent factors do not arise. The cessation of suffering is
accomplished.</p>
<p>Although the short formats of <em>saṁsāra-vaṭṭa</em> and <em>vivaṭṭa</em> do not
mention ignorance, the notion of ignorance is integral to both the
origination and cessation cycles. When a feeling is experienced in the
origination cycle, craving arises as a result of not fully comprehending
the truth about the object encountered: that it is impermanent
(<em>anicca</em>), subject to stress (<em>dukkha</em>), and nonself (<em>anattā</em>), and
that it cannot be truly held on to as one’s own. Also, a person does not
know how the object is beneficial or harmful. He cognizes with
ignorance: <em>avijjā-samphassa</em>.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn4-1"><a href="#fn-fn4">4</a></sup> The feeling ensuing from such contact
gives rise to craving. {332}</p>
<p>In contrast, when a feeling is experienced in the cycle of cessation,
craving does not arise, because the conditioned nature of the object is
fully understood. With knowledge (<em>vijjā</em>) as a basis, cognition occurs
in a way not influenced by ignorance; contact and feeling then do not
lead to craving. The expression ’craving ceases’ implies the cessation
of ignorance. Here, the short format indirectly points to the cessation
of ignorance by highlighting the cessation of craving. This is analogous
to the Buddha’s concise definition of the second and third noble truths:
craving is the cause of suffering, and the end of suffering occurs with
the end of craving. The Buddha used this way of speaking for practical
reasons, to illustrate the Path and its immediate benefits.</p>
<p>The key feature of cessation, in both the long and short formats, is the
breaking of the sequence. Generally, the sequence is broken at one of
two junctures: the primary break is at ignorance and the secondary break
is at craving. Breaking the cycle is of two types: directly at
ignorance, and indirectly at craving. In either case, the break that is
made must include the elimination of ignorance.</p>
<p>Once the cycle is broken, the round of rebirths (<em>saṁsāra-vaṭṭa</em>) ends,
the process of turning away (<em>vivaṭṭa</em>) is reached, and freedom from
suffering is attained. A person thus vanquishes all of life’s troubles
and is without sorrow and affliction. He or she has true happiness,
arriving at knowledge (<em>vijjā</em>), liberation (<em>vimutti</em>), purity
(<em>visuddhi</em>), peace (<em>santi</em>), and Nibbāna. This is the highest benefit
that human beings can obtain, making life worthwhile.</p>
<h2 id="state-of-nibbāna"><a class="header" href="#state-of-nibbāna">State of Nibbāna</a></h2>
<p>Etymologically, <em>Nibbāna</em> derives from the prefix <em>ni-</em> (’out’,
’without’, ’finished’, or ’ended’), and <em>vāna</em>, (’to blow’, ’to go’, ’to
move’, or in another sense a ’restraint’). It can be used in relation to
fire or burning, meaning extinguishing, quenching, cooling, or coolness
– but not extinction. In reference to the mind, it means peaceful,
refreshed, and happy: an absence of agitation and anxiety.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn5-1"><a href="#fn-fn5">5</a></sup>
Similarly, it refers to the end of defilements: of greed, hatred and
delusion. The commentaries and subcommentaries usually define Nibbāna as
the end of or escape from craving, which binds people to repeated
existence. (See
Note <a href="#note-nibbana">Definitions of Nibbāna</a>)</p>
<div class="note">
<p><span class="caption">Definitions of Nibbāna</span><a id="note-nibbana"></a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Analyses of the word <em>nibbāna</em> occur at many scriptural passages,
especially: Nd2. 33; VinA.: Pārājikaṇḍaṁ, Paṭhamapārājikaṁ,
Sudinnabhāṇavāravaṇṇana; DA. II. 464; AA. II. 283; KhA. 151; ItA. I.
165; SnA. I. 253, 299; NdA. I. 82, 104; DhsA. 409; Vism. 293-4; VinṬ.:
Paṭhamo Bhāgo, Verañjakaṇḍavaṇṇanā, Vinayapaññattiyācanakathā; VismṬ.:
Paṭhamo Bhāgo, Samādhiniddesavaṇṇanā, Samādhi-ānisaṅsakathāvaṇṇanā;
CompṬ.: Abhidhammatthavibhāvinīṭīkā, Paramatthadhammavaṇṇanā.</p>
<p>Most of these explanations are identical or similar.</p>
<p>Further definitions include:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>’free from the jungle’ (i.e. the tangle of impurities): A. III.
344; AA. III. 371; Dh. verse 283; DhA. III. 204; and</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>an ’end to the triad of <em>dukkha</em>’: <em>dukkha-dukkha</em>,
<em>vipariṇāma-dukkha</em>, and <em>saṅkhāra-dukkha</em>: VismṬ.: Paṭhamo Bhāgo,
Samādhiniddesavaṇṇanā, Samādhi-anisaṅsakathāvaṇṇanā.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>free of ’piercing arrows’: included in the <em>Dhammavicāraṇa</em> of
Somdet Phra Mahāsamaṇa Chao Krom Phraya Vajirañāṇavarorasa
(Mahāmakuta University Press, 1958, p. 55).</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>[Trans.: this introductory paragraph is found at p. 385 of the Thai
edition.]</p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p>When the round of rebirth (<em>saṁsāravaṭṭa</em>) ends, freedom from rebirth
(<em>vivaṭṭa</em>) takes over immediately and automatically.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn6-1"><a href="#fn-fn6">6</a></sup> One does not
travel from a place of <em>saṁsāravaṭṭa</em> to a place of <em>vivaṭṭa</em>, unless
one is speaking figuratively or comparatively. Ignorance, craving and
clinging cease and Nibbāna appears simultaneously in their place. One
can say that the cessation of ignorance, craving and clinging <em>is</em>
Nibbāna.</p>
<p>Ignorance, craving and clinging disturb the minds of unenlightened
people (<em>puthujjana</em>) and conceal wisdom; they entangle the mind with
defilements (<em>kilesa</em>) and distort vision. When ignorance, craving and
clinging cease, luminous wisdom (<em>vijjā</em>) arises. With such wisdom one
sees all things accurately, not through the lens of one’s desires. A
person’s perception, attitudes and personality change. A new knowledge
and vision arises; things appear that one has never known, seen or
conceived of because they were concealed in the shadows or because one
was preoccupied with other objects. The mind unfolds and expands
immeasurably; it is clear, free, resplendent, peaceful, and profound.
{333} When the state of Nibbāna is reached one knows this for oneself:</p>
<div class="sutta">
<blockquote>
<p>Nibbāna is to be seen for oneself,<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn7-1"><a href="#fn-fn7">7</a></sup> timeless, inviting one to come
and see, to be brought within and realized, to be experienced
individually by the wise.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn8-1"><a href="#fn-fn8">8</a></sup></p>
<p><em>A. I. 158-9.</em></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p>Ordinary people are unable to comprehend or imagine the state of
Nibbāna. When encountering new concepts people normally use previous
knowledge as a basis for comparison, and in attempting to understand
Nibbāna they create an image that is a composite of pre-existing
perceptions.</p>
<p>Take for example a person who has never heard of an elephant. On hearing
the word ’elephant’ he may think it is a foreign word or simply
nonsense. Learning that an elephant is an animal, he may consider all
animals, from ants to whales, irrespective of size or type. The image is
clearer when he is told that an elephant is an enormous land animal with
big ears, small eyes, tusks, and a trunk.</p>
<p>This image may be close to reality or far from it; if he were to draw a
picture on paper of what he sees in his mind, it may resemble some
bizarre, mythological beast. Having never seen the real thing, he uses
familiar perceptions to create an elaborate new image. The image will
depend both on the accuracy of the speaker’s descriptions of the object,
and on the listener’s stored perceptions used as components for a new
perception.</p>
<p>In the case of something utterly different from anything previously
perceived, and thoroughly incomparable, the listener has no way to
conceive of it. If he attempts to understand this thing by means of
familiar concepts and perceptions, the only reasonable way for the
speaker to respond is by negation. Further speculation by the listener,
using stored perceptions for comparison, can easily lead to
misunderstanding. He may even go so far as outright rejection, accusing
the speaker of deception and claiming that the thing in question does
not exist. {334} Such rejection, based on unfamiliarity and an inability
to conceive of something, would be ungrounded.</p>
<p>Nibbāna is beyond everything known by ordinary people – beyond their
sphere and range – surpassing cognition influenced by ignorance,
craving and clinging. It is a state arrived at directly with the
abandonment of defilements, like sliding back a screen and seeing the
sky. Nibbāna has no properties similar to things known by ordinary
people. But claiming Nibbāna does not exist is incorrect.</p>
<p>The following fable has been used to illustrate how the unknown is not
necessarily the unreal:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>A fish and a turtle were close friends. The fish had spent its entire
life in a lake, whereas the amphibious turtle knew both land and lake.
One day the turtle returned to the lake after a walk on land. He told
the fish how refreshing it was to walk on land, among open fields and
a pleasant breeze. The fish listened for a while perplexed and
thought: ’What is walking?’ ’What is dry land?’ ’How can there be
happiness without water? Certainly, it just spells death.’</em></p>
<p>The fish grew impatient and interrupted the turtle, seeking
clarification. The turtle explained using earth terms; when the fish
inquired with water terms, the turtle could only reject them. The
turtle could not find any suitable comparisons and the fish thus
concluded that the turtle was lying, that the story wasn’t true: dry
land does not exist and nor do fields, pleasant breezes or happiness
outside of water. The turtle spoke of something that does exist but it
lay beyond the fish’s ken. Since the fish had never been on land it
was unable to understand.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Consider the distinct experience and perception arising from each of the
senses. Sense impressions differ absolutely from each other and are not
comparable: sights cannot be compared with sounds, nor can sounds with
smells. A person blind from birth cannot understand the nature of green,
red, orange, pink, or other characteristics of sight, using perceptual
knowledge from other sense bases. Words such as ’loud’, ’faint’,
’malodorous’, ’fragrant’, ’sour’ or ’sweet’ would all be inadequate. No
one can accurately explain to a person born without the sense of smell
the quality of fetid, fragrant, the smell of roses, citrus or jasmine.
Words such as ’red’, ’blue’, ’heavy’, ’light’, ’fat’, ’thin’, ’bitter’
and ’salty’ would all be unsuitable. Human beings have five sense organs
for cognizing the world’s properties, the sense objects (<em>ārammaṇa</em>).
Knowledge surpassing the domain of mundane objects generally remains
hidden. Even the five recognized sense objects are known according to
disparate qualities. Lack of familiarity or an inability to conceive of
something is therefore not a guarantee of its non-existence.</p>
<p>Soon after the Buddha’s enlightenment, before proclaiming the Dhamma, he
had this thought:</p>
<div class="sutta">
<blockquote>
<p>The Dhamma<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn9-1"><a href="#fn-fn9">9</a></sup> that I have attained is profound, difficult to see,
difficult to realize, peaceful, excellent, not accessible by
reasoning,<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn10-1"><a href="#fn-fn10">10</a></sup> subtle, to be known by the wise. {335}</p>
<p>This is followed by the verse: I should not now teach what I have
attained with such tribulation; this Dhamma cannot be easily realized
by those overcome with greed and hatred. Beings dyed in lust,
enveloped in darkness (ignorance), will not discern that which goes
against the current, is subtle, profound, difficult to see, refined.</p>
<p><em>Vin. I. 5; M. I. 168.</em></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p>Despite its complexity the Buddha did make great effort to teach and
explain the Dhamma. However, Nibbāna cannot be penetrated by mere
thought. No words or perceptions exist to accurately describe or define
it. Conceptualizing and disputing the subject of Nibbāna only leads to
misunderstanding. The correct way is to apply the teachings so as to
arrive at Nibbāna and see it clearly for oneself. With proper
determination, rather than being ’inconceivable’ or ’indescribable’,
Nibbāna is merely ’difficult to see, difficult to realize’, as quoted by
the Buddha above.</p>
<p>It is worth noting the expressions the Buddha used when he spoke about
Nibbāna. The definitions of Nibbāna can be summarised in the following
four ways:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p><strong>By negation</strong>: those expressions marking the renunciation and
removal of some inferior, unlovely or disadvantageous condition
belonging to the round of rebirth (<em>vaṭṭa</em>). For example: <em>Nibbāna
is the end of greed, hatred and delusion;</em><sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn11-1"><a href="#fn-fn11">11</a></sup> <em>Nibbāna is the
cessation of becoming;</em><sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn12-1"><a href="#fn-fn12">12</a></sup> <em>Nibbāna is the end of craving;</em><sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn13-1"><a href="#fn-fn13">13</a></sup>
and, <em>the end of suffering</em>.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn14-1"><a href="#fn-fn14">14</a></sup> Such descriptions also use terms
revealing a quality directly opposite to an attribute of <em>vaṭṭa</em>.
For example, Nibbāna is unconditioned (<em>asaṅkhata</em>), ageless
(<em>ajara</em>), and deathless (<em>amata</em>).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>By synonym</strong>: those terms indicating completion or perfection. For
example: <em>santa</em> (’peaceful’), <em>paṇīta</em> (’excellent’), <em>suddhi</em>
(’pure’), and <em>khema</em> (’secure’).<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn15-1"><a href="#fn-fn15">15</a></sup> {336}</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>By simile and metaphor</strong>: similes are more often used for
explaining the state and traits of a person who has attained Nibbāna
than for Nibbāna itself. For example, the comparison of an arahant
to a bull, leading his herd across the river to arrive at the other
side,<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn16-1"><a href="#fn-fn16">16</a></sup> or to a person crossing a great ocean filled with dangers
and reaching the shore.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn17-1"><a href="#fn-fn17">17</a></sup> The Buddha claimed that it is
inaccurate to say an arahant is reborn (’reappears’) somewhere, or
is not born; he compared an arahant to a fire that is extinguished
because there is no more fuel.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn18-1"><a href="#fn-fn18">18</a></sup></p>
<p>There are some direct similes, for example: Nibbāna is like a
tranquil, pleasant region;<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn19-1"><a href="#fn-fn19">19</a></sup> like the other shore, secure and
free from danger;<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn20-1"><a href="#fn-fn20">20</a></sup> and like a message of truth.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn21-1"><a href="#fn-fn21">21</a></sup> There are
many metaphors, for example: <em>ārogya</em> (without illness; perfect
health), <em>dīpa</em> (an island; freedom from danger), and <em>leṇa</em> (a
cave; shelter from danger). In later scriptures composed by
disciples there are metaphors referring to Nibbāna as a city, e.g.
<em>puramuttamaṁ</em> (’magnificent city’)<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn22-1"><a href="#fn-fn22">22</a></sup> and <em>nibbāna-nagara</em>
(’fortress of Nibbāna’)<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn23-1"><a href="#fn-fn23">23</a></sup> used as oratorical and literary terms.
Thai idioms include ’great deathless citadel’
(<em>amatamahānagara-nirvāna</em>), and ’crystal city’, but these later
words are not recognized as accurate terms revealing the true state
of Nibbāna.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>By direct explanation</strong>: these explanations occur in only a few
places, but they are of much interest to scholars, especially for
those who consider Buddhism a philosophy. The varying
interpretations have given rise to numerous debates. I have
presented a selection below.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Epithets for Nibbāna are occasionally found grouped in a single passage.
Examples of all four kinds of definition are listed below, in Pali
alphabetical order.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn24-1"><a href="#fn-fn24">24</a></sup></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em><em>Akaṇha-asukka</em>: ’not black, not white’ (not confined to social class
or caste; neither good nor bad; neither <em>puñña</em> nor <em>pāpa</em>).</em></p>
<p><em>Akata</em>: not made; not built.</p>
<p><em>Akiñcana</em>: nothing lingering in the mind; free from anxiety.</p>
<p><em>Akuto-bhaya</em>: fearless.</p>
<p><em>Accuta</em>: immovable; undeparting.</p>
<p><em>Acchariya</em>: marvellous.</p>
<p><em>Ajara</em>, <em>Ajajjara</em>: ageless; undecaying.</p>
<p><em>Ajāta</em>: not born.</p>
<p><em>Anata</em>: not swayed; an absence of craving.</p>
<p><em>Ananta</em>: limitless.</p>
<p><em>Anādāna</em>: no grasping.</p>
<p><em>Anāpara</em>: sublime; foremost.</p>
<p><em>Anālaya</em>: without longing; an absence of clinging.</p>
<p><em>Anāsava</em>: without <em>āsava</em> (effluents/taints).</p>
<p><em>Anidassana</em>: not seen with the eye; signless.</p>
<p><em>Anītika</em>: without calamity.</p>
<p><em>Anuttara</em>: unsurpassed; supreme.</p>
<p><em>Apalokita</em> (-<em>na</em>): not disintegrating; not dissolving.</p>
<p><em>Abhaya</em>: free of danger.</p>
<p><em>Abbhūta</em>: ’has not been before’; wonderful.</p>
<p><em>Abyādhi</em>: without disease.</p>
<p><em>Abyāpajjha</em>: without oppression; free from <em>dukkha</em>.</p>
<p><em>Abhūta</em>: ’not coming to be’.</p>
<p><em>Amata</em>: deathless.</p>
<p><em>Amosa-dhamma</em>: not declining; immutable.</p>
<p><em>Asaṅkiliṭṭha</em>: undefiled.</p>
<p><em>Asaṅkuppa</em>: unshakeable.</p>
<p><em>Asaṅkhata</em>: not constructed.</p>
<p><em>Asaṅhīra</em>: unshifting.</p>
<p><em>Asoka</em>: sorrowless.</p>
<p><em>Ārogya</em>: without sickness; perfect health.</p>
<p><em>Issariya</em>: freedom; mastership.</p>
<p><em>Khema</em>: security; safety.</p>
<p><em>Taṇhakkhaya</em>: the end of craving.</p>
<p><em>Tāṇa:</em> defender; protection.</p>
<p><em>Dīpa</em>: island; refuge.</p>
<p><em>Dukkhakkhaya</em>: the end of suffering.</p>
<p><em>Duddasa</em>: difficult to see.</p>
<p><em>Dhuva</em>: enduring.</p>
<p><em>Nipuṇa</em>: subtle.</p>
<p><em>Nippapañca</em>: without obstructive defilements; without <em>papañca</em>.</p>
<p><em>Nibbāna</em>: the cessation of defilements and all suffering.</p>
<p><em>Nibbuti</em>: cooling; the allayment of affliction. {337}</p>
<p><em>Nirodha</em>: cessation of suffering.</p>
<p><em>Paṇīta</em>: excellent.</p>
<p><em>Paramattha</em>: the supreme benefit.</p>
<p><em>Parama-sacca</em>: the supreme truth.</p>
<p><em>Pāra</em>: the other shore; safe destination.</p>
<p><em>Mutti</em>: release; emancipation.</p>
<p><em>Mokkha</em>: salvation.</p>
<p><em>Yogakkhema</em>: freedom from bondage.</p>
<p><em>Leṇa</em>: sanctuary; shelter from danger.</p>
<p><em>Vimutti</em>: liberation; freedom.</p>
<p><em>Vimokkha</em>: liberation.</p>
<p><em>Viraja</em>: stainless.</p>
<p><em>Virāga</em>: the fading, cooling off, and expiration of lust.</p>
<p><em>Visuddhi</em>: purity; impeccable.</p>
<p><em>Sacca</em>: truth.</p>
<p><em>Santa</em>: peaceful; still.</p>
<p><em>Santi</em>: peace.</p>
<p><em>Saraṇa</em>: refuge.</p>
<p><em>Siva</em>: highest bliss.</p>
<p><em>Suddhi</em>: purity.</p>
<p><em>Sududdasa</em>: exceedingly difficult to see.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are many more references and descriptions for Nibbāna in the
scriptures containing verses by disciples and in the commentaries (e.g.
Niddesa, Paṭisambhidāmagga, Theragāthā, Therīgāthā, Apadāna), as well as
in later scriptures, (e.g. Abhidhānappadīpikā). Examples are listed
below:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em><em>Akkhara</em>: imperishable; interminable.</em></p>
<p><em>Akhalita</em>: unfaltering.</p>
<p><em>Acala</em>: unwavering.</p>
<p><em>Anārammaṇa</em>: free from constraints; independent of sense objects.</p>
<p><em>Anuppāda</em>: not born.</p>
<p><em>Apavagga</em>: without formations (<em>saṅkhāra</em>); final emancipation.</p>
<p><em>Amaraṇa</em>: deathless.</p>
<p><em>Arūpa</em>: without <em>rūpa</em>; formless.</p>
<p><em>Asapatta</em>: without enemies.</p>
<p><em>Asambādha</em>: unconfined; unoppressed.</p>
<p><em>Kevala</em>: unadulterated; inherently complete.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn25-1"><a href="#fn-fn25">25</a></sup></p>
<p><em>Nicca</em>: constant; certain.</p>
<p><em>Nirupatāpa</em>: free from distress.</p>
<p><em>Paṭipassaddhi</em>: tranquillity; calm.</p>
<p><em>Pada</em>: place to be reached; destination.</p>
<p><em>Para</em>: the beyond; the ultimate.</p>
<p><em>Pariyosāna</em>: conclusion; goal.</p>
<p><em>Pahāna</em>: the abandonment of defilements.</p>
<p><em>Vivaṭṭa</em>: deliverance from the round of rebirth (<em>vaṭṭa</em>); without
<em>vaṭṭa</em>.</p>
<p><em>Vūpasama</em>: stillness. {338}</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some of these terms are very important, since they are repeatedly used
as definitions for Nibbāna, for example: <em>asaṅkhata</em>, <em>nirodha</em>,
<em>vimutti</em>, <em>virāga</em>, <em>santa</em> and <em>santi</em>. Other words are used
infrequently. Some are used in only one location, others in two or three
locations, so they should not be regarded as highly significant. They
are included here to increase understanding. The same is true for the
translations; they provide some sense of the meaning, but they might not
give a complete flavour as they lack the supportive context.</p>
<p>And very important, many terms were familiar to people in the specific
time period, region, and community in which the Buddha taught, and the
terms were associated with their personal values or religious beliefs.
When the words were spoken, the listeners probably understood the
meaning completely. Sometimes the Buddha used descriptive words for
Nibbāna to facilitate communication while substituting a new meaning in
accord with Buddha-Dhamma. People outside of those time periods, places,
and groups may not completely understand the meaning of these words.</p>
<p>An important word for describing Nibbāna is <em>asaṅkhata</em> (’not
constructed’). Nibbāna does not exist as a result of causes or
conditions. It may be claimed that Nibbāna must arise from causes, since
Nibbāna is the fruit of <em>magga</em> (the Path, the Way) or of practice in
accordance with the Way. This doubt can be answered briefly by way of
analogy: if we compare practice for reaching Nibbāna with travelling to
the city of Chiang Mai, we see that Chiang Mai, which is the goal of the
journey, is not the result of the path or the act of travelling.
Regardless of the road or of travelling, Chiang Mai exists. The road and
travelling are causes for reaching Chiang Mai, but not for Chiang Mai
itself. It is the same with the Path and practice along the Path, which
are causes for attaining Nibbāna, but not for Nibbāna itself.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn26-1"><a href="#fn-fn26">26</a></sup></p>
<p>Apart from <em>vimutti</em>, there are many other synonyms that reveal facets
of Nibbāna, as presented earlier. Of all these synonyms, there are two
often-used words that represent important properties: <em>visuddhi</em> and
<em>santi</em>. <em>Visuddhi</em> is purity or cleanness, the absence of defilements,
which tarnish and obscure, and refers to the ability to see things
clearly. <em>Santi</em> is peace, the absence of agitation and affliction, the
end of turmoil; this state of mind is serene, deep, cool, settled,
self-reliant, able to fully experience the fruits of practice, and ready
to be employed for action.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn27-1"><a href="#fn-fn27">27</a></sup></p>
<p>The few passages that explain the state of Nibbāna explicitly are
presented below. In some cases a story is provided in order to give the
context for the Buddha’s words:</p>
<p>At one time the Buddha gave a Dhamma discourse to the bhikkhus
concerning Nibbāna. As the bhikkhus were listening intently, the Buddha
uttered this exclamation:</p>
<div class="sutta">
<blockquote>
<p>Monks, there exists that sphere (<em>āyatana</em>) where there is neither the
earth, water, fire, or air elements; nor the realm of infinite space;
nor the realm of infinite consciousness; nor the realm of nothingness;
nor the realm of neither perception nor non-perception; nor this
world; nor the next world; nor the moon; nor the sun. I do not say
that that sphere has going, coming, arising, staying, or passing away.
It has neither foundation, nor movement, nor constraint (<em>ārammaṇa</em>).
That is the end of suffering.</p>
<p><em>Ud. 80-81.</em></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p>On another occasion, the Buddha gave a similar teaching to the bhikkhus,
and uttered this verse:</p>
<div class="sutta">
<blockquote>
<p>Indeed, <em>anata</em> (the state of not inclining towards birth; being without
craving, i.e. Nibbāna) is difficult to see. Truth (<em>sacca</em>) is not
easily discerned. Having penetrated craving, and by knowing and seeing
[the truth], there will be nothing lingering in the mind (nothing to
cause mental anxiety).<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn28-1"><a href="#fn-fn28">28</a></sup></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p>On a similar occasion:</p>
<div class="sutta">
<blockquote>
<p>Monks, there is the Not-born (<em>ajāta</em>), Not-become (<em>abhūta</em>), Not-made
(<em>akata</em>), Not-constructed (<em>asaṅkhata</em>). If there were not the Not-born,
Not-become, Not-made, Not-constructed, then there could not be known
the escape here from the born, the become, the made and the
constructed. But because there is the Not-born, Not-become, Not-made,
Not-constructed, therefore the escape here can be known from the born,
become, made and constructed.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn29-1"><a href="#fn-fn29">29</a></sup> {339}</p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p>On a similar occasion:</p>
<div class="sutta">
<blockquote>
<p>Still being dependent, there is wavering. Not being dependent, there
is no wavering. There being no wavering, there is tranquillity. With
tranquillity, there is no favouring. With no favouring, no coming and
going. With no coming and going, no passing away and arising. With no
passing away and arising, there is neither this world, the other
world, nor a between-the-two. This is the end of suffering.<sup class="footnote-reference" id="fr-fn30-1"><a href="#fn-fn30">30</a></sup></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p>Another account describes the Buddha correcting the view of Brahma. In
brief, at one time this pernicious view arose in the Brahma named Baka:</p>
<div class="sutta">
<blockquote>
<p>This abode of Brahma is permanent, enduring and eternal. It is
absolute and imperishable. This abode of Brahma is not born; it does
not originate, age, die, or pass away. A superior salvation cannot be
found.</p>
<p>The Buddha, knowing Baka’s thought, went to him and said: Brahma, you
have lapsed into ignorance. Therefore, you claim that which is
impermanent as permanent, unstable as enduring, and uneternal as
eternal … and there being a superior salvation, you claim there is
none.</p>
<p>Then Māra possessed one of Brahma’s retinue, who spoke to the Buddha:
Bhikkhu, bhikkhu, do not offend Brahma, do not offend Brahma. This is
Brahma, the Great Brahma, the Lord (<em>abhibhū</em>), the Unvanquished, The
All Seeing One, the Omnipotent, the Sovereign, the Maker, the Creator,
Excellence, Providence, the Master, Father of those born and to be
born….</p>
<p>The Buddha admonished Māra, finishing with: Brahma and all his company
and retinue are in your hands, are in your power … but I have not
fallen into your hands, nor am I under your power.</p>
<p>When Baka maintained: I have declared the permanent as permanent, the