You are here:

Buddhists/Class project (again sorry)

Advertisement

Expert: - 9/30/2009


Question
I'd like to rephrase one of my previous questions. I had asked if you had ever reached nirvana and if so, what was it like?

In response to your answer, what is your personal interpretation of nirvana?

Answer
Nirvana is not a place, nor a "state" that you can experience and report on.
Literally "nirvana" just means extiction. That is not the extinction of yourself (as you never really had a self anyway). It means that the seeds of stupidity, greed and hatred are extinct in your mindstream. Their root has been cut, and they cannot return.
No, that hasn't happened to me!

Buddhists

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Alex Wilding

Expertise

I have practiced and studied Tibetan Buddhism in the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions since the early 1970s, and have a good knowledge of theory, history and of the struggles of trying to practice the teachings, including meditation, while leading a normal, modern life. I am also available to provide background information for journalists.

Experience

I have been a practitioner since the early 1970s; have run a small Buddhist centre in the English Midlands and was vice-president of Kagyu Benchen Ling e.V. in Germany, for whom I managed three large Buddhist summer-camps. More importantly, I maintain a habit of personal practice. I am the "owner" of the Kagyu list at Yahoo.

Education/Credentials
My first degree was an M.A. from Oxford. I later obtained a Master of Philosophy degree for a research thesis in "Initiation in Tibetan Buddhism" from Leicester University. I also have engineering and educational qualifications.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.