Talk:Mahaparinirvana

Hallo Nat: yes, I think it would be a good idea to merge "Parinirvana" with "Mahaparinirvana", as long as we make a few adjustments (and keep that nice Gandharan picture). There are a couple of points in the "Parinirvana" entry that I would take issue with (small points, though), viz: the claim that Parinirvana entails the destruction of the skandhas (there are actually Buddha-skandhas, which are indestructible, so this distinction from the mundane skandhas needs to be spelt out), and the reference to "form" ("rupa") as a "mental skandha" (it is of course the physical skandha). I would suggest the following entry for "Parinirvana/Mahaparinirvana":

In Buddhism, parinirvana (Sanskrit -- Pali: Parinibbana -- Chinese: 般涅槃; Pinyin: bō niè pán) is the final nirvana, usually understood to be within reach only upon the death of someone who has attained complete Awakening. It is the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice and implies a release from the cycle of deaths and rebirths as well as the dissolution of all worldly physical and mental aggregates or skandhas (form, feeling, perception, mental fabrications and consciousness).

The parinirvana of Gautama Buddha is depicted in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta and the Mahaparinirvana Sutra.

The Buddhist term, "Mahaparinirvana", meaning "great, complete Nirvana" is also encountered. The word "Mahaparinirvana" usually refers to the ultimate state of Nirvana (everlasting, highest peace and happiness) entered by an Awakened Being (Buddha) or "arhat" at the moment of physical death, when the mundane skandhas (constituent elements of the ordinary body and mind) are shed and only the Buddhic skandhas remain (this in Mahayana Buddhism). However, it can also refer (in the Mahayana) to the same inner spiritual state reached during a Buddha's physical lifetime too. In the Mahayana Buddhist scripture entitled the "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra", the Buddha teaches that unlike "ordinary" Nirvana, "Mahaparinirvana" is the highest state or realm realised by a perfect Buddha, a state in which that Buddhic being awakens to "the Eternal, Bliss, the Self, and the Pure". Only in Mahaparinirvana is this True Self ("atman") of the Buddha said to be fully discernible.

[edit] See also The life of the Buddha Mahaparinirvana Sutra [edit] External links The Life of Buddha in Legend and Art SN VI.15: Parinibbana Sutta - Total Unbiding Maha-parinibbana Sutta - The Great Discourse on the Total Unbinding The Life of Buddha in Legend and Art

Is this OK with you, Nat? Best wishes, from Tony TonyMPNS 15:15, 13 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with the above. Loocifah 00:29, 6 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]