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[Alexandr Korol]

Nirvana in Buddhism. General concept. Here is what Wikipedia says:
“The word ‘nirvana’ comes from the Sanskrit word ‘nir,’ which means ‘extinguishing,’ ‘fading away.’ Based on this, 19th-century Buddhologists understood nirvana as complete death, the total cessation of life and existence, and accused Buddhism of pessimism. However, Buddhist texts explain nirvana differently. ‘Just as a lamp stops burning when the oil that feeds the flame runs out, or just as the surface of the sea stops surging when the wind that raises the waves ceases, in the same way all suffering ceases when all afflictions and desires that fuel suffering are exhausted.’ That is, it is passions, attachments, and other defilements (kleshas) that are extinguished, not existence itself. In the ‘Nibbana Sutta’ (‘The Question on Nibbana,’ SN 38.1), it is said that the destruction of craving (lobha), the destruction of anger (dosa), the destruction of delusion (moha) is called ‘nibbana.’” You see, it turns out that the monks of the 19th century began to protest, they didn’t like this nirvana, because why should one go into pessimism — what does that mean, that you have to what? Shut yourself away somewhere, sit, do nothing? You see, they misunderstood what nirvana is, took it too literally. And they thought it meant doing nothing and not caring about anything, not reacting to anything, cutting yourself off from everyone, becoming an outcast. But that’s not nirvana — that’s something entirely different. Nirvana is when you can be among people, when you can have everything, but at the same time you are not attached to anything, and you still remain conscious and vigilant, and you have none of that confusion, no illusions, no doubts, no overthinking, no emotional negative reactions toward others or yourself. And at the same time you can calmly, naturally live, so to speak, be in society and be a human being — and for that, you don’t need to lock yourself away in a cave — that’s wrong, that’s a wild extreme. And I would also like to add a comment — it was mentioned that “one of the ways to attain nirvana is through yoga.” But yoga, of course, does not mean the kind of yoga that is fashionable in the 21st century, where a person dresses nicely and takes photos in the lotus pose. What is meant here is yoga as practiced by the most ancient Tibetan Buddhists, specifically the teachings of Buddhist Tibetan monks, where they practiced yoga as an ancient and unique path to understanding the dharma and to reaching the state of nirvana. It’s not some kind of physical exercise for the body — it’s much more than that. Next.