The goal of life acording to
Buddhism - Nirvana and an important signpost to it
Emptiness, Signlessness and Aimlessness are the three doors
of liberation in Buddhism. Nirvana arises when we pass through
these doors. This article is about Aimlessness.
Aimlessness basically means that there is nothing to attain,
nothing to strive for, nothing that we are compelled to do.
This enables us to be happy in the present moment, to live, to
do the experiencing of life.
This is the message of the Heart Sutra, which clearly says
that there is nothing to attain. This is basically looking at
Absolute Truth.
I had spoken of Relative Truth and Absolute Truth in an
earlier article. Basically Relative Truth is concerned with the
world of Form – like your age, name, sex, state of health,
financial status etc.
Buddhism & Nirvana
illustrated through an analogyI think that I can explain
better through an example. We are all waves in the ocean.
Relative Truth is regarding the size, distance from the shore
and all the other factors that make up the form of the wave.
Relative Truth is the path that leads to Absolute Truth which
is when the wave comes to the simple realization that it is
water and that it is part of the ocean; it is one with the
ocean and can never – even for a moment – be separate from the
ocean.
This realization is Nirvana. Buddhism is a path that leads
to this fearless and blissful life.
Once the wave realizes its unity with the ocean it will know
that there is nothing to strive for, it will understand that
the external aspects of its being are transient and
unimportant, it will be free to live its life and be happy.
This is Buddhist Nirvana or enlightenment. Buddhism leads to
this state of liberation.
It is possible to move towards this carefree and happy state
of mind if we start taking the external forms regarding
ourselves less seriously. External forms as regards our being
are our bodies, mind, feelings, intellect, family, wealth and
possessions, age, reputation, relationships etc. This is what
all of us worry about obsessively 24 hours a day. It is as if
the wave was getting a complex by comparing itself with other
waves, its relationships, its position in society as compared
to other waves and most importantly its own impending demise
that nothing at all can prevent.
The wave reaches Absolute Truth when it realizes that that
it is water and can never be apart from the ocean.
If we were to grow less concerned with external from
regarding ourselves we might come to a similar realization. At
any rate we would be moving towards Aimlessness of Buddhism. We
would be moving towards being carefree and happy in the present
moment.
There are many meditation methods that will enable you to
grow towards Aimlessness. Some of these, that I am familiar
with, are:
1) Mindfulness and meditation on Death. This is primarily a
Buddhist practice.
I would advice you not to try out this practice unless you
can do so under supervision. This is a very powerful method and
can lead to a lot of stress and anxiety and I would recommend
that you find yourself an accomplished master to guide you
before you try it out. I am speaking from experience - you will
be playing with fire.
In Buddhism Nirvana can be achieved through many paths and
there are certainly many other meditation practices that you
can safely try out.
2)
Vipassana Meditation as taught by S. N Goenka with its
stress on Impermanence.
3) Paul Brunton's meditation technique that he learned from
Ramana Maharshi. This is primarily a Hindu method and stresses
Discrimination to enable us to realize that the Body, Mind,
Intellect, Feelings and all the other external aspects of our
being are not the Self. Further details are on this page on
Hinduism
A different practice leading to
Nirvana. Buddhism has many such skillful meansAnother
method that I have found useful is if we regard ourselves as a
process and not as a self, separate from the rest of existence
(this view of our being is advocated by Buddhism). We are a
process whose function is simply to experience life. And we
might as well Drink to the Full and Dance. Further details are
on this page on
Being a Witness
Another concept or practice, which is useful to grow towards
Aimlessness advocated by Buddhism, is if we let go of our need
to make progress and better ourselves and regard ourselves and
our being as cyclical – like the seasons. More details can be
found on this page on the Taoist concept of
Yin Yang
It is possible within a few months to grow towards Aimlessness
advocated by Buddhism and learn to take ourselves far less
seriously. I myself have made good progress through Vipassana
Meditation. I had learned this technique some years back but
started meditating regularly only since July 2005.
The changes as regards my well being have been dramatic. It
is now possible for me to simply live in the moment and be
happy. In some ways it is like waking up from a dream.
So these are some of the traditional practices of Buddhism.
Nirvana is the ultimate goal but even otherwise you will be
much happier if you try these out and they work for you.
And all you need to do to enjoy this happiness of
Aimlessness of Buddhism – regardless of external circumstances
– is to learn to take the external aspects of your being less
seriously through any of the methods described above.
I hope you enjoyed this article and that it will be useful
to you.
Stay tuned for more in this continuing series.
Top of page on Aimlessness of
Buddhism
Back to Home page Eastern
Philosophy and Meditation
|