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Encyclopedia > Mahaparinirvana
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The death of the Buddha, or Mahaparinirvana, Gandhara 2-3rd century.
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The death of the Buddha, or Mahaparinirvana, Gandhara 2-3rd century.
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Parinirvana. (Discuss)

Buddhist term meaning "great, complete Nirvana". 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; but it can also refer to that same state reached during such a being'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. Download high resolution version (862x653, 374 KB)The Paranirvana of the Buddha. ... Download high resolution version (862x653, 374 KB)The Paranirvana of the Buddha. ... Jump to: navigation, search Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ... Jump to: navigation, search Buddhas First Sermon at Sarnath, Kushan Period, ca. ... Image File history File links Merge-arrows. ... Jump to: navigation, search In Buddhism, parinirvana (Sanskrit -- Pali: Parinibbana -- Chinese: 般涅槃; Pinyin: bō niè pán) is the final nirvana, traditionally understood to be within reach only upon the death of someone who attained complete enlightenment. ... In Buddhism and other Indian religions, nirvāna (from the Sanskrit निर्वाण, Pali: Nibbāna -- Chinese: 涅槃; Pinyin: niè pán; Thailand: นิพพาน), literally extinction and/or extinguishing, is the culmination of the yogis pursuit of liberation. ... A garden featuring depictions of various arhats (Hsi Lai Temple, California) An arhat (Sanskrit, also arahat or arahant (Pali); Chinese: 阿羅漢, āluóhàn; Tibetan: dgra-bcom-pa; Jp. ... Nirvana Sutra or Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (Chinese: Niepan Jing (涅槃經); Japanese: Nehangyō (涅槃経)) is one of the major texts of Mahāyāna Buddhism. ... This is a disambiguation page for the term atman (or atma). ...


See also

Jump to: navigation, search Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ... Nirvana Sutra or Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (Chinese: Niepan Jing (涅槃經); Japanese: Nehangyō (涅槃経)) is one of the major texts of Mahāyāna Buddhism. ...

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Nirvana Sutra :: Appreciation of the "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra" (1316 words)
The Mahaparinirvana Sutra claims to preserve the final, ultimate and true Mahayana teachings delivered by the Buddha on his last day and night of life upon earth.
The Mahaparinirvana Sutra is a key sutra for an understanding of the Buddha's teachings on the Buddha-dhatu ("Buddha Nature", "Buddha Element", "Buddha Principle") and the synonymous Tathagatagarbha (indwelling Buddha Essence of each being).
The English text of the sutra mainly cited for reference throughout this study is the specially commissioned English translation by Stephen Hodge of the Tibetan version of the scripture, as well as that same scholar's occasional forays into the Faxian and the Dharmakshema "Northern" versions of the scripture.
Buddha-nature: Information from Answers.com (1018 words)
However, in the Mahayana version of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Tathagatagarbha is equated with Atman in, for some, direct contradiction of the Buddhist doctrine of anatman and is actually spoken of as an inner Reality which "nurtures/sustains" the being.
The "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra" is, however, generally accepted by Mahayana Buddhists as genuine "Buddha-word" and is not alone amongst Mahayana sutras in asserting the reality of an essential Self within each sentient being (including animals) and linking it to the Tathagatagarbha/Buddha-dhatu.
The main concern in the "Mahaparinirvana Sutra" in contrasting this doctrine of the Self with that of the Astikas seems to have been to remove the reifying notion that the Self was a little person, the size of a grain of rice or of one's thumb, sitting in the heart of the being.
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