What is Nirvana ?

[narrator] The sacred texts
say that after 40 days

the truth came to Siddhartha in stages.

During the first night watch, he achieved
insight into all his past lives.

During the second night watch,

he discovered the coherence
of cyclical existences.

The law of cause and effect.

The movement of karma.

During the third and last night watch,

he conquered the 4 mental poisons.

Sensual desire.

Attachment.

Wrong views.

And ignorance.

That evening, under a full moon
of the month of May

at the age of 35,

he attained enlightenment.

Awakening.

Supreme knowledge.

Nirvana.

[Hanh] In Buddhism, we speak of nirvana.

Which is the sensation of all suffering.

Nirvana means the sensation-
the instinction of all suffering.

But our suffering

come from our wrong perceptions.

Misunderstanding.

And that is why the practice of meditation

the practice of looking deeply has the
purpose of removing wrong perceptions

from us.

If we are able to remove
our wrong perceptions

we will be able to be free from that
afflictions and the sufferings

that always arrive from wrong perceptions.

You have wrong perception on yourself
and on the other,

and the other has wrong perception on
themselves and on you.

And that is the goals of fear,
of violence, of hatred.

That is why trying to remove
wrong perceptions is the

only way to peace.

And that is why nirvana is first of all,
the removal of wrong perceptions.

And when you remove wrong perceptions,
you remove the suffering.

And to meditate deeply, you'll find now
that even ideas like

being and non being,

birth and death,

coming and going,

of wrong ideas.

If you can touch reality in depth you'll
realize that suchness

means an ultimate reality is free from
birth, from dying, from coming, from going.

From being, from non being.

That is why nirvana is first of all the
removal of notions, of ideas

that serve the beast of misunderstanding
and suffering.

If you are afraid of death,
of nothingness, of non being,

because you have wrong perceptions
on death and on non being.

The french scientist Lavoisier said

there's no birth, there's no death.

He just observe reality around him

and come to the conclusion that
[inaudible].

And when you look at the cloud

you think of the cloud as a being,

and later on when the
cloud become the rain,

you don't see the cloud anymore,

and you say the cloud is not there.

You describe the cloud as non being.

But if you look deeply, you can see
the cloud in the rain.

And that is why it's impossible for
a cloud to die.

A cloud can become the rain, snow, or ice.

But a cloud can not become nothing.

And that is why the notion of death can
not be applied to reality.

There is a transformation,
there is a continuation,

but you can not say that there is death.

Because in your mind to die means
from something,

you suddenly become nothing.

From someone you suddenly
become no one.

And so the notion of death
can not apply to reality.

Whether to a cloud
or to a human being.

The Buddha did not die,

the Buddha only continued by
his [inaudible], by his dharma.

And you can touch the Buddha in
the here and the now.

And that is why ideas like being born,
dying, coming and going,

being and non being should be removed
by the practice of looking deeply.

And when you can remove these notions
you are free.

And you have non fear.

And non fear is the true foundation
of great happiness.

As far as fear is there in your heart,
happiness can not be perfect.

And that is why nirvana is not something
that you get in the future,

nirvana is the capacity of removing
wrong notions, wrong perceptions

which is the practice of freedom.

Nirvana can be translated as freedom.

Freedom from views.

Any Buddhism, all views are wrong views.

When you get in touch with reality
you no longer have views.

You have wisdom.

You have a direct encounter with reality.

And that is no longer called views.