Why people today need to think about Nirvana

The recent apocalyptic natural disasters especially those in Japan including

large numbers of animal deaths, such as birds, fish and crabs, are quite enough to
fill people’s minds with worries, anxiety and even fear of the uncertain future. Many
people believe that all these recent calamities are merely a run-up towards a major
event in 2012, assuming it will be the end of the world. This must be a terrifying
prospect for many people, especially those who are afraid of death.

People who know the Dhamma and others have come out to remind people
that material wealth and fame cannot be carried to their after-life; only the effects of
wholesome and unwholesome deeds can be taken with them. They hope this will
motivate people to do good deeds. In addition to helping people who are truly
suffering, at least the good deeds can help assure a good rebirth.

What I am about to say in this article may be different from other Dhamma
teachers and may go against the belief of many Buddhists in Thailand. As far as I am
concerned, I view these recent natural disasters as a significant opportunity for
people to realise the truth about the prison of life and why we must do our best to
leave this epic prison.

It is because natural disasters on such a grand scale do not happen very

often in our life time that I am prompted to write this. Even with a life span of 100
years, and even if we have walked through this earth for tens of thousands of
lifetimes, there is still no guarantee that we will witness a near apocalyptic event.
People need to experience hardship to be able to gain wisdom. If there is no awful
experience, most people will be complacent and have no motivation to search for
something that really matters and is meaningful to life. That’s why I think that recent
‘biblical scale’ natural disasters should prompt us to search for our ultimate freedom
– leaving the prison of life (attaining Nirvana).

Before people will want to think about Nirvana, it is necessary for them to
witness the danger or the threat of the prison of life in whch we are all trapped as
prisoners. According to the Buddha, the prison of life, known as samsara, has six
major realms or landscapes. Most people know them as heaven and hell but they
are actually made up of the positive (wholesome) realms: the Celestial world, the
Brahma world, and the human world and the negative (unwholesome) realms: the
animal world, the hungry ghost world and the hellish world. These six landscapes
make up a colossal prison of life (samsara) confining all sentient-beings.

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 This prison of life (pictured above) is divided into the upper left realms and the
lower right realms. If you are the well-behaved prisoners, you will be sent to the
realms on the upper left where you will have some comfort. On the contrary, if you
behave badly, you will be sent to the lower right realms where you will be “punished”
with the effects of the bad behaviour. But after the prisoners have been slapped with
either (good) reward or (bad) punishment (for the life expectancy of each realm), all
prisoners will be sent back to the central hall, (human realm) known as the land of
opportunity. Only by being in the human realm, can one choose to be a good or bad
prisoner and be prepared to face those karmic consequences. Or one can choose
the third alternative which is to leave the prison of life altogether.

Wise people realise that even good prisoners living in the wholesome realms
are still subjected to rebirth, aging, illness and death; there isn’t eternal peace and
happiness for prisoners in samsara. Therefore, the best choice is to leave the prison
of life for good. This is the only access to eternal peace and ultimate freedom.

The danger of becoming prisoners in the prison of life is being subjected to

endless rebirth, aging, illness and death, all directly related to our lives. Not only that,
there are also threats from natural disasters like those we’ve been facing because
the world and all entities in the entire universe are also subjected to rebirth, aging,
illness and death too. This changing nature is a very normal process of life on earth
and of all things in the universe. Everything in the universe falls into the cyclic pattern
of nothing which then materialises into something, then existing for a while and
finally disappearing into nothing again and the cycle goes on endlessly for eons.
Existing may last only a blink of an eye, like bubbles or dew drops, or it may last a bit
longer like a human’s life span of 80 years, or it may last longer like trees and even
much longer to thousands and millions of years like earth, rocks and mountains.
(I have explained how the universe is a process in four stages of change in The User
Guide to Life: The Law of Karma.)

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 It doesn’t matter how long lives and elements last, the truth is that they are
subjected to endless change and will have to die or disappear at a certain point. A
natural calamity is merely the display of the birth, aging, illness and death of Mother
Nature. This fundamental truth (changing nature) has become the real threat to all
lives on earth and in samsara. That’s why the Buddha told people to find the long
lasting happiness by leaving the prison of life instead. If one prefers to be reborn in
this samsara, one must be prepared to face up the dangers of samsara too,
including being caught up in the horror of the apocalyptic natural disasters many
people have been facing, i.e. the 2004 tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, Cyclone Nargis
and massive earthquakes in various places from Haiti to Chile to New Zealand to
India to China and Japan where people have died in mass numbers. Viewed with the
eye of wisdom, the sheer horrors to humankind are absolutely normal to Mother
Nature. You cannot possibly think that you can find true peace and happiness in a
prison, can you? Well, samsara is indeed a profound prison of life which isn’t made
of bricks but it is still a prison full of threats. If there is truly a 2012 end of the world
event, it certainly won’t be the first, and absolutely won’t be the last either. This
pattern, appearing and disappearing events on earth and in the entire universe, has
already been happening for eons.

Some of us may think that humans are not responsible for the natural
disasters on a biblical scale, thinking these must be the act of nature or, as some
believe, an act of God. The Buddha had a rather different view on this subject. In
modern terms, he said that whenever humanity is filled with unwholesomeness (sin),
atrocity and other destructive activities, Mother Nature would do a clean up and
make a fresh start again. What has been happening in the world in the past 90
years might well fit into this category. We’ve been through two world wars including
many small-scale wars in all corners of the world. The capitalist economy has
created a widespread culture of greed and used up plus destroyed many of the
limited natural resources without thinking of the future generations who also have the
rights for these resources too. The whole world is filled with injustice and inequality
despite our being born equal – naked! It is hardly a surprise why Mother Nature
might want to do a bit of a clean up now, just like she has done before countless
times in the past. Our extremely short span of life is not long enough to witness a full
cycle of nature. Even though we may pass through this earth many times, there is
still no guarantee that we will see such awesome but profoundly sad events thrust
upon us by the almighty Mother Nature.

Therefore, we must view this pending apocalyptic eventuality as a significant

opportunity for us to get closer to the gateway of profound wisdom and to understand
why we must search for Nirvana (leaving the prison of life). I won’t be surprised at all
if there is really a 2012 end of the world event which can be allegorised as the main
meal. It means that what we have been witnessing in the past decade is merely the
starter or the run-up to the real events (the main course), which is enough to fill
people with fear, anxiety and uncertainty. You may be able to run for higher ground
now, but when a real apocalyptic event takes place, running as high as Tibet won’t
shield anyone from the almighty force of nature.

Followers of the Buddha’s teaching (and all people who are ready to be
enlightened) must understand correctly that we cannot possibly live happily ever
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after in a prison. Neither can we live in peace without facing any danger in a prison
of life. Birth, aging, illness and death are dangers that no one and nothing can
escape.

Most people think that physical death is the worst and the most terrifying
event in life and that we must do all we can to save this most precious life. This is a
delusion of our own thoughts (Jerry). As a matter of fact, our borrowed physical self
has died over and over countless times. The body then turns into earth, water, wind
and fire blending with Mother Nature again and again. The mental self (soul) then
moves on, travels further in the prison of life (samsara). Should we come back to
human form again, we (our souls) will then find yet another shell (physical self). For
this reason, the Buddha urged people not to be afraid of physical death but to search
for an eternal state instead, when the soul (mental self) no longer has to come back
to this prison of life. So, what we should be afraid of is certainly not physical death,
but our physical death in combination with ignorance and not knowing about the
ultimate freedom outside samsara. Hence, people must make sure that they take this
crucial knowledge with them to their graves.

That’s why I view all these recent natural disasters as real wake-up calls for
us to gain wisdom about leaving samsara (prison of life). If you can follow what I’ve
said, you should consider yourself being fortunate in having a chance to learn from
natural disasters on such a grand scale as the recent one in Japan. It is beyond any
doubt that it was a profoundly sad matter for all of us, not to mention the Japanese
especially in the worst hit areas. But only such disastrous events allow us to see the
illusive nature of material wealth, properties, status and ultimately, our egos. We
have been too proud of our technology and its results. We were quite sure that we
could make buildings, roads, bridges and railways that could withstand the force of
earthquakes but we never thought of the power of tsunamis, the direct consequence
of earthquakes under the ocean. This should wipe away some degree of our
arrogance - having the tendency to think that with our human brain, we can conquer
everything, a belief that has been proved wrong by the recent disasters. We should
now see how fragile everything is including ourselves. We may spend our entire
working life to build and accumulate all our possessions, but they can be taken away
in a matter of minutes including our precious lives too. It’s high time we had enough
of this prison of life filled with danger and really work to leave the prison for good.

If there is truly a 2012 end of the world event, it could mean that the entire
human race is wiped out. The Buddhist texts report that there will be just a handful
people left in the world. The entire Buddhist establishment will also be wiped out too,
along with the wisdom of the Buddha about samsara and Nirvana. People will then
be living in a void of wisdom (living in ignorance). They will manage to know about
simple moral principles which bind society together as they can see that it was the
immorality that had just destroyed the human race. People’s life span will gradually
stretch again due to their moral behaviour. But morally good people can only go to
the wholesome realms in the prison of life. Morality is not sufficient to get people out
of this epic prison of life; only the four foundations of mindfulness or vipassana can
lead people out of samsara. But after the apocalyptic event, vipassana will be wiped
out along with the Buddhist establishment and there won’t be any enlightened

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teacher teaching vipassana anymore. That will be the end of the Buddha Gotama’s
responsibility in helping humankind.

Life on earth will then go on without this wisdom until the next Buddha
descends from a heavenly realm. It won’t be until human life span stretches to an
average of 80,000 years before the Bodhisattva Maitriya will come down from
heaven and work on His last stage of perfection (parami). This saint will then
become enlightened and become the next Buddha who will begin guiding people out
of samsara once again. But this will be a very long time. It means that all sentient
beings will be travelling between the realms of this prison of life (the wholesome and
the unwholesome realms) for a very long time too. (See the illustration in page 2)

It is entirely your choice. You can chose to wait for the future Buddha Maitriya
to guide you out of samsara or take a plunge with the teachings of the most recent
Buddha. My strong message to everyone is that the era of Buddha Gotama is nearly
over. It is a huge blessing that vipassana teaching still exists right now; this teaching
is virtually the last train taking people to Nirvana. If you don’t quickly hop onto this
train by adopting the practice seriously, you might miss the last train taking you out
of this prison of life. You will then have to wait for a long time for the next Buddha’s
coming to take over the duty of liberating the human race. The choice is all yours.

My duty is to assist you with the knowledge of how to get out of this epic
prison of life by means of the four foundations of mindfulness or vipassana or
bringing your mental self back home (my coinage), which is the direct route to
Nirvana. If you wish to go to Nirvana sooner rather than later, you must pay attention
to the crucial practice of how to bring your mental self back home. Once you reach
the 4th home and have the experience of the innocent perception (the grand melt-in
with nature), you will then have the taste of Nirvana and Godhood too. Through my
own experience gained from the nearly 40 years of practice, I am very certain that all
those Big Words below share exactly the same experience. As Albert Einstein said:
experience is the source of knowledge. That was how I could come up with the new
invention of words as: the innocent perception. Logic suggests that there is only
ONE ultimate truth but it can be expressed in many terms so that all believers,
religious and non-pious alike, can all be supported. they are:

The innocent perception = the ultimate truth = here and now = Nirvana = God = the
Tree of Life = Tao = the absolute ruling point in nature = life out of prison

To attain the ultimate truth or leaving the prison of life is the only reason for
our passing through this planet and the entire existence. Without this clear purpose,
can you find any rational answer as for why we are placed here? The Thai ancestors
therefore left us with the saying: do not waste your life in being born human and
bump into Buddhism. We are urged to make the most of our life by tackling the heart
of Buddhism and make our way to nirvana.
Simply work on the skill of the innocent perception, you will then have direct
access to the actual state of those Big Words without having to engage in endless
and often pointless debates and analysis. Unlike other religious Big Words (God,
Nirvana), the innocent perception is non-religious, scientific friendly, not subjected to
unnecessary debates and above all it is a skill just like driving, swimming and
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cooking; anyone can adopt and develop. The innocent perception can be achieved
and experienced by everyone who is willing to cultivate the practice of bringing your
mental self back home. This practice is very simple and scientific based; it can be
done by everyone who has enough of the endless emotional ups and downs
including threats from Mother Nature and wants to find eternal peace, the result of
leaving the prison of life.

Should you wish to learn more about the innocent perception, I have
explained this in a book titled: How To Bring Your Mental Self Back Home. This book
is made up of two parts: the theory and the practice, which offer readers a path to
engage in the first steps of the journey to the ultimate truth or Nirvana.

Supawan Green
22 March 2011

For more information, please email: supawanpg@gmail.com

www.supawangreen.in.th