Nirvana (Internal Reference)¶
For deep study. Original texts are preserved exactly as written.
I. Definition and Essence¶
Emptiness Is Ultimate Nirvana
Emptiness is the Elysium World. Entering a state of emptiness is Ultimate Nirvana. Ultimate Nirvana means you have already arrived at the Elysium World.
Do you want to achieve Ultimate Nirvana? Do you want to go to the Elysium World?
As long as you enter a state of emptiness, you have already achieved Ultimate Nirvana. You have already arrived at the Elysium World.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Becoming Buddha · Emptiness Is Ultimate Nirvana)
We can logically deduce the following conclusion: Emptiness = No-Form = No-Self = Ultimate Nirvana = Elysium World = the Tao = Buddha = Celestial Being.
Based on this conclusion, if you attain No-Self, you can become the Tao, become a Buddha, become a Celestial Being, and enter the Elysium World. If you attain No-Form, you can become the Tao, become a Buddha, become a Celestial Being, and enter the Elysium World. Achieving Ultimate Nirvana is equivalent to becoming the Tao, becoming a Buddha, becoming a Celestial Being, and entering the Elysium World.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Becoming Buddha · Emptiness Is Ultimate Nirvana)
The Nirvana Mind — Source of Zen Heart-Teaching
The World-Honored One said: "I possess the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, the Wonderful Mind of Nirvana, the True Form of Formlessness, the Subtle and Wondrous Dharma Gate — it is not established in words and letters, transmitted separately from the teaching, pointing directly to the human mind, seeing one's nature and becoming a Buddha."
(Xuefeng Corpus · Questions & Answers · Bodhidharma Came from the West, All Through Heart and Mind)
II. Distinguishing Nirvana¶
Nirvana Is Lively, Not Merely Tranquil
All phenomena can be falsified within limited space-time, but cannot be falsified within infinite space-time. Due to the unity of opposites in the universe, one can cite countless examples for or against any phenomenon. For instance, the Three Dharma Seals of Buddhism — All Conditioned Things Are Impermanent, All Phenomena Are Without Self, Nirvana Is Tranquil — I can demonstrate the opposite: All Conditioned Things Have Constancy, All Phenomena Have Self, Nirvana Is Lively.
(Xuefeng Corpus · Questions & Answers · Is It Really True That Good Is Rewarded With Good?)
"Phoenix Nirvana" Method vs. Buddhist Tradition
The "Phoenix Nirvana" method I describe here shares similarities with its historical counterpart, especially in Buddhism, yet also differs from it. The nature is the same but the method is different — please do not conflate them or read meaning into it carelessly.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Thirty-Six Bagua Formations · Gravitational Formation)
Historical Truth of the Buddha's Nirvana
Furthermore, the Buddha [Shakyamuni] achieved Nirvana because he accidentally ate poisonous mushrooms — not, as "The Final Testament" describes, leisurely answering questions until "the Buddha was very calm, showing no sign of fatigue" before entering Nirvana. This does not accord with historical truth. In fact, the greatest human being in history was Christ Jesus, and the one with the highest wisdom was the Buddha Shakyamuni — these are ironclad facts. But later generations distorted history by over-deifying Christ and the Buddha, which actually makes it harder for humanity to draw close to them.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Becoming Buddha · "The Buddha's Final Testament Before Nirvana" Is Fabricated)
III. The State of Nirvana¶
Entering the Nirvana State Leads to the Antimatter World
Close your eyes. Be still. Completely clear your mind of material-world consciousness. In a state of Nirvana, we immediately enter a space tunnel (not a time tunnel). Based on the state of one's antimatter life structure, we can instantly arrive at another world. What you see in this other world is one scenic point of the antimatter world — a realm of incomprehensible vastness and complexity, trillions of times larger than the Earth we know.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Antimatter World · Preface to the Antimatter World)
As a Buddha, Already in Nirvana's Stillness; as a Celestial, Everything Becomes Play
"Nothing left to do" does not mean lying motionless or becoming like stone or wood. It means being flexible and harmonious, fully aligned with nature — able to be content wherever one finds oneself, transforming with conditions, moving with one's true nature, acting spontaneously — without striving, without supplication, without ideals, without desires, without attachment, without resentment, without worry, without intimacy or distance, without discrimination, without anxiety, without fear, without self. As a Buddha, one is already in Nirvana's stillness; as a Celestial Being, everything has become play.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation of Celestials · Nothing Left to Do Is to Be Buddha or Celestial)
IV. Paths to Nirvana¶
The Fundamental Path: Cultivation Practice
"The sea of bitterness is boundless; turn around and reach the shore!" Turn around? What does "turn around" mean? Turning around is death!
Why die? Because living is worse than death.
How to die? Nirvana.
How to achieve Nirvana?
Through cultivation practice.
How to cultivate?
By elevating awakening and increasing wisdom.
What is wisdom?
A supreme, all-encompassing understanding of life and death — that is wisdom.
(Chanyuan Corpus · On the Greatest Creator · Life and Death — A Phenomenon That Confuses Ordinary People)
Heart Unattached, Mind Unencumbered
Relying on the Prajna Paramita, the mind has no obstacles. With no obstacles, there is no fear; having moved far from delusion and confusion, one arrives at Ultimate Nirvana.
(New Era Human 800 Concepts, Fourth Edition · Concept 693)
If one wishes to cultivate into a Celestial, one must arrive at having no intimate friends. The Heart Sutra says it well: with the heart unattached, there will be no inverted dreams; then one can achieve Ultimate Nirvana and go directly to the Heavenly Kingdom.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation of Celestials · A Celestial Has No Intimate Friends)
Four Ways to Leave the Physical Body
Ways to leave the physical body: first, natural death; second, "transmutation"; third, "Phoenix Nirvana"; fourth, "soul separation." Lifechanyuan's emphasis is on the "Phoenix Nirvana" method.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Thirty-Six Bagua Formations · Gravitational Formation)
The Metaphor of Phoenix Nirvana
The silkworm cocoon protects the pupa. The pupa transforms within the cocoon, and once transformation is complete, it must break through to "Phoenix Nirvana" and "transmute into a Celestial." There are 36 Bagua Formations in the universe, each one a dense web of entanglement. Without escaping each web, one cannot complete the ascent and enter "another realm."
(Xuefeng Corpus · Famous People · The Panoramic Child-Thinker — To Ke Yunlu)
Releasing Fixed Views to Obtain Nirvana
The Buddha taught us to have "no self-form" — that was to inspire us to first let go of self-attachment. Only by discarding the fixed views, biases, and narrow perspectives of "I" can one see things as they truly are, see the Tathagata of one's own nature, roam freely through the 36-dimensional spaces, liberate oneself from all barriers and shackles, free oneself from the flux of appearances, thus obtaining Nirvana, possessing supreme perfect enlightenment — and all of this ultimately serves "the self."
(Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · All Dharmas Have Self)
V. The Ultimate Destination — The Joy of Nirvana¶
The Loss of Self-Centeredness, the Joy of an Open Heart
The loss of self-centeredness brings an open and joyful heart. The goal of losing self-centeredness is to enter emptiness. Entering emptiness enables an open and joyful heart. An open and joyful heart is the true scene of the Elysium World.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Becoming Buddha · Emptiness Is Ultimate Nirvana)
The Raft Metaphor: Having Attained Nirvana's Joy, One May Let Go of the Method
The Tathagata often says: "You monks, know that what I teach is like a raft parable — even the dharma should be let go, how much more the non-dharma?" ... If you have seen your own nature and attained the joy of Nirvana, you may let go of this method. Just as a bamboo raft is built to ferry people across the river — once you reach the other shore, there is no need for the raft anymore.
(Other Writings by the Guide · 2005 · Walking Out of the Heart's Prison, Forgetting Self and Other)
Achieving Nirvana to the Western Elysium World, Enjoying Eternal Bliss
By seeing the Tathagata and becoming a Buddha, one can escape the six-path reincarnation cycle, achieve Nirvana to the Western Elysium World, and enjoy an eternal life of supreme bliss.
(Other Writings by the Guide · 2024 · The Essence of Buddha-Dharma Secretly Revealed)