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world, the next world, the moon, 
the sun 
have no part. 
0! Monks! I do not say that that 
sphere has 
coming, going, existence, arising, 
falling 
away, in a place that has no abode, 
without 
feeling . . . this, is the end of 
suffering. 
4. Nirvana as the final destination 
[parinibbAna]: 
A last term which it is necessary to 
know to make 
sense of Buddhist texts is the word 
`parinibbAna' 
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— which is usually used as a verb 
to indicate the 
action of entry into AnupAdisesa 
Nirvana for the 
final time by an arahant or by the 
Buddha. Sometimes 
it is used as a noun to indicate the 
occasion 
of the final entry of an arahant of 
Buddha 
into AnupAdisesa Nirvana at 
death. 
Although in the scriptures, a clear 
distinction is 
made between the terms 
`Sa-upAdisesa Nirvana' 
and `AnupAdisesa Nirvana' 
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(It.38), most of our 
knowledge of the difference 
between these terms 
comes to only courtesy of the 
commentary by the 
Great Abbot of Wat Paknam 
Bhasicharoen 
(Phramonkolthepmuni). Without 
understanding 
this distinction, the more you read 
about Nirvana 
in the textbooks, the more 
confused you will become. 
The reason is that most of the 
textbooks have 
been based on interpretation of 
older texts rather 
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than being based on experience. 
Some texts even 
go so far as to say that Nirvana 
doesn't exist. They 
Blessing Thirty-Four: The 
Attainment of Nirvana 389 
say that it is just a metaphor for 
having come to an 
end of defilements. Some even say 
that animals can 
go to Nirvana. This is no surprise 
because even 
heaven and hell, let alone 
something as lofty as 
Nirvana, have become subject to 
interpretation. 
Some believe that the two realms 
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are nothing more 
than states of mind — they say that 
when you do 
good deeds, you feel relieved and 
fulfilled just as if 
you were in heaven; when you do 
bad deeds you 
feel guilty and anxious just as if 
you were in hell; 
and they would have us believe 
that there is nothing 
more to heaven and hell than states 
of mind 
that the corresponding realms do 
not exist. At the 
same time there are others who 
believe that heaven 
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really exists as a realm with its 
angels and heavenly 
mansions and that hell exists as a 
realm with 
its fire and cauldrons of molten 
metal to incinerate 
its denizens. It is therefore our 
good fortune to have 
clear guidance on Nirvana still 
available to us 
within living memory, so that our 
inspiration to 
cultivate ourselves until being able 
to attain Nirvana 
for ourselves is not misplaced. 
B.3 The Characteristics of 
Nirvana 
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From the passage quoted from the 
PaEhama 
NibbAna Sutta above, we can see 
that there are three 
major characteristics of Nirvana in 
contrast to the 
characteristics of matter still within 
the grasp of the 
three Universal Characteristics 
[sAmafifia-lakkhaAa]: 
Nirvana is asserted to be outside 
the influence of 
the Three Characteristics 
[ti-lakkhaAa]1 — specifically 
it is permanent rather than 
impermanent: 
asaOhEraO asaIkuppaO 
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... it cannot be taken away or 
changed 
Nd2.56 
. . . and the Buddha taught that 
anything that is 
permanent is no longer subject to 
suffering or `notself 
YadaniccaO taO dukkhaO 
yaO dukkhaO tadanattA 
whatever thing is (of the nature of) 
impermanence 
is also (of the nature of) suffering; 
whatever thing is (of the nature of) 
suffering 
is also (of the nature of) 
no/not-self. 
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S.iii.22 
Furthermore, the Buddha 
specifically said that Nirvana 
is of the nature of happiness 
[sukhaO] 
NibbAnaO paramaO sukhaO 
Nirvana is the highest happiness. 
Dh.57 
Thus Nirvana is specifically said to 
be of the 
nature of happiness and 
permanence. However, 
it is only by implication that 
Nirvana is 
said to be of the nature of `self' or 
not of the 
nature of `not-self . The major 
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debate concerning 
the characteristics of Nirvana 
concerns 
whether it is of the nature of `self' 
[atta] or 
`non-self [anattA] is an issue 
which they have 
been unable to agree upon since 
ancient times 
shortly after the time of the Lord 
Buddha's 
parinibbAna. This issue has been 
with us 
throughout the history of the 
development of 
Buddhism. Even in the present 
day, there are 
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academic scholars of the West and 
the East who 
are still debating this issue. In fact, 
there are 
several separate issues concerning 
this issue 
which they are debating: 
1. The existence of the teaching of 
the existence 
of true self [atta] in Buddhist 
teachings: 
There are those who believe that 
there exists 
such a thing as `true self' and those 
who 
believe that a `true self' doesn't 
exist. Proponents 
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of `true self' in Buddhism appear 
to be greater in numbers than 
opponents. 
Amongst their numbers are 
established 
western scholars such as Mrs. 
Rhys Davidsi, 
Conditioned 
Dhammas such as the 
Five Aggregates (with 
Three Characteristics) 
impermanent 
suffering 
not/no-self 
Nirvana as a non-conditioned 
phenomenon 
(without Three Characteristics) 
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permanent 
happy 
self..? 
1. The three Universal 
Characteristics [sAmariria-lakkhaAa] 
are 
the same as the Three Characteristics 
[ti-lakkhaAa] 
TABLE 34.1: Scriptural evidence 
for the Universal 
Characteristics in Conditioned 
and Unconditioned Phenomena 
390 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
and Miss I.B. Horner2. Both of 
these were scholars 
of incomparable dedication and 
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expertise in 
the study of Buddhist scriptures. 
Both had an 
important role to play in the 
compilation of the 
Pali Text Society (PTS) edition of 
the Pali 
TipiEaka, which is recorded in 
Romanized script 
— the edition of the Pali TipiEaka 
accepted by 
scholars throughout the world as 
the most authoritative. 
Among other scholars subscribing 
to 
the same view are Christmas 
Humphreys3 and 
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Edward Conze4. Such scholars 
agree upon two 
major arguments: 
1. That the Buddha never clearly 
denied that 
the true self [atta] doesn't exist or 
that true 
self doesn't exist in any level of 
the truth. 
2. That the original teachings of 
the Buddha implies 
that the true self exists in a state 
that is 
higher than the level of the Five 
Aggregates 
[khandha] or conditioned 
phenomena. 
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They say that the Buddha never 
referred directly 
to the existence of a true self is 
because those 
who have not attempted to practice 
meditation 
for themselves might 
misunderstand that the 
`true self in Buddhism was the 
same as the one 
in Hinduism. References for these 
arguments are 
found in texts as diverse as the Pali 
TipiEaka, 
the Sanskrit texts, the Chinese 
TipiEaka, the Tibetan 
TipiEaka and texts in other 
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languages. 
Even so there are still scholars who 
assert that 
there is no such thing as `true self' 
in the teaching 
of the Buddha and equally they 
have their 
own scriptural sources and 
arguments. 
2. The real meaning of the words 
`atta' and 
`anattA': A lot of confusion arises 
in academic 
circles as the result of scholars 
who encounter 
technical terms in the scriptures 
and assume that 
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one word has the same meaning in 
every place 
it appears in the scriptures. Each 
time the Buddha 
preached he adapted his teaching 
to the character 
and needs of the listener. Thus the 
use of 
words in the scriptures, even the 
same ones, may 
have hundreds of different 
implications. In the 
case of the words `atta' and 
`anattA' are no exception. 
Some say that the word ' atta' 
means `self' 
in the same way that `atman' 
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means `self in 
Hindu teachings. Hindus teach that 
there is a 
`self' inside every one of us, which 
will ultimately 
be re-united with the Great Being 
[paramAtman]. They are afraid 
that if Buddhists 
accept `self then they will be 
giving in to 
Brahminism. In fact, these fears 
are ill-founded 
because the word `atta' has many 
possible meanings. 
It can mean `imagined self(`me', 
`my') or 
the higher concept of `me' and 
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`my' for an angel 
or a god, which must be 
qualitatively very different. 
The word `atta' can also mean 
`true self' 
in an ultimate sense, of the sort 
that the Buddha 
advocated us to adopt as our 
`island' or `refuge'. 
AttadEpA viharathi, attasaraAA 
anafiriasaraAA, dhammadEpA 
dhammasaraAAa, anafffiasarariA 
May you all take your self as your 
island. 
May you take yourself as a refuge. 
Take no 
other thing as your refuge. May 
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