If Nibbana doesn't exist, would Buddhism still be worth it?

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
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Pannapetar
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Re: If Nibbana doesn't exist, would Buddhism still be worth it?

Post by Pannapetar »

Virgo wrote:Which Ajahn have told you that?
Ajahn Brain, the one who is always with me. Some questions can actually be solved by thinking about them.

Cheers, Thomas
PeterB
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Re: If Nibbana doesn't exist, would Buddhism still be worth it?

Post by PeterB »

retrofuturist wrote:Greetings Wind,

For a while I doubted whether nibbana was actually possible.

Even when I was unsure about this I still knew Buddhism was worthwhile for the benefits it brings here and now.

At Dharma Wheel, m0rl0ck recently posted this little animated Dharma comic... http://www.buddhanet.net/flash/toc/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... which concludes with the following words...

"Truth is subject to practice and testing. If it is proper Truth, we definitely should be able to acquire sweet fruits through practice right away. If it only abstractly promises a reward in the next life, this may be an irresponsible trick to delude the Ignorant."

I agree with the sentiment of this. If Buddhism did nothing for me here and now, on what basis would there be for regarding it any more highly than any other religion which promised fruits in the afterlife? If that's all Buddhism offered, I would never have bothered with it.

Metta,
Retro. :)
Nor me.
Time spent in meditation in hours per day...2
Average number of retreats per year .. 4
Time in minutes spent thinking about Nibbana in the course of an average month ? Nil.
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Goofaholix
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Re: If Nibbana doesn't exist, would Buddhism still be worth it?

Post by Goofaholix »

Wind wrote:I was just thinking if Nibbana doesn't exist but everything else is still true, would Buddhism still be worth practicing for you?
The problem with this question is that Nibbana is not a thing or a place, if it were a thing or a place then it would be appropriate to ask whether it existed or not.

A more real challenge for us is not so much believing that it exists but knowing what it's really like. We've all got ideas in our heads that have come from a combination of sources combined with our own imagination and ideals about what it would be like, but that's just a finger pointing at the moon and the reality of it could be very different.

So I think for most of us a little bit of nibbana and a little bit less samsara in our present lives is what keeps us going.
Pronouns (no self / not self)
“Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher. Where you experience suffering, you can also find freedom from suffering. Trying to run away from suffering is actually to run toward it.”
― Ajahn Chah
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christopher:::
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Re: If Nibbana doesn't exist, would Buddhism still be worth it?

Post by christopher::: »

Lots of excellent responses here.
Paññāsikhara wrote:
Wind wrote:I was just thinking if Nibbana doesn't exist but everything else is still true, would Buddhism still be worth practicing for you?
Nibbana exist? What sort of thing is a nibbana? The question seems loaded with that kind of nibbana as an unconditioned existent type of idea. I'll leave that for others.

On the other hand, if you were to ask me, "... if nibbana = extinction were not possible, but ..." then that is a different matter.

In this case, the extinction of a given dukkha is its nibbana. The extinction of the totality of dukkha is full nibbana. If the extinction = nibbana of a given dukkha were not possible, what Buddha dhamma would there even be in the first place? When one truth is not possible, the other three are not possible. When the four truths are not, the Dhamma is not.

I can't even make sense out of the question. :tongue:
:bow:
"As Buddhists, we should aim to develop relationships that are not predominated by grasping and clinging. Our relationships should be characterised by the brahmaviharas of metta (loving kindness), mudita (sympathetic joy), karuna (compassion), and upekkha (equanimity)."
~post by Ben, Jul 02, 2009
chownah
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Re: If Nibbana doesn't exist, would Buddhism still be worth it?

Post by chownah »

Buddhism is not worth it regardless.
Nothing is worth it.
It's all dukkha.
Give it up.
chownah
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