Is nibbana similar to annihilation?

A solid concrete answer is a Sankhara.
Nibbana is ending all Sankharas. (ie: ending all concrete answers)

That also depending on which teacher and which teachings you are following ?
For example , if you follows Pak auk sayadaw , and you practice crystal ball visualization of the dharmakaya , where were you headed is a huge questions ?!

Consciousness only arises when there is a contact , so the question is , how can Nibbāna as a state of beyond the existence and Non existence being the object of an experience ?!
Now, this is a dilemma !
Unless , Nibbāna is just the ending of dads ! The moment the consciousness does not land at any where , it just stop , then the stopping of it is called Nibbana !

So , the question goes back to you .
Does your answering help you in any way , if not , why bother .

Come on man , you are back to square one , you are still the same old fellow , the difference is you are more knowledgeable than before only !

If you can not know it now , how sure are you going to know it in the next 10 years or next life ?

Yes this immensely helped me!
Before I came to this conclusion I asked many silly stupid question like you.
When you come to my age probably you will be better than me assuming you started your journey when you are young.
:stuck_out_tongue:

Because you are saying ending of sankhara is Nibbāna , and five aggregates is your existence as sankhara and is the one whom are going to experience Nibbāna !
Therefore , you contradict your self by saying ending of sankhara is Nibbāna !
Who will remain to experience Nibbāna if your sankhara already ended !?

BTW , many intelligent people here also asked this stupid silly question before !

Ps . Just being curious , at your this age (I don’t know how Old are you) , should not you striving ardently to end your sankhara ? Instead of answering my silly stupid questions by wasting your precious time and life ?! Unless , you are really helping any one to end their doubt and ignorant !

Your present five aggregate is the result of your old Kamma. But you will not make any new Sankhara. The old five aggregate will take its own cause until Parinibbana. All five aggregate experience the Nibbana here and now.

Actually I am not wasting my time. I am just do lot of work in between. (you just will be surprise) This is my pass time. (pleasant abiding)
:grinning:

OK, what about hereafter ?

Why don’t you enjoy today.
You can’t enjoy tomorrow, today.
For an Arahant tomorrow will be the same as today.

Two Arahants will be the same in consciousness but differ only from their bodies.
Can you imagine the state of two identical consciousness?

OK , arahant !
Let’s go and have some drinks !

Cheers for the thirst of Dhamma!
:grinning:

Just to establish that the ability to experience Nibbana while alive is EBT based:

“Friend Sāriputta, could a bhikkhu obtain such a state of concentration that (1) he would not be percipient of earth in relation to earth; (2) of water in relation to water; (3) of fire in relation to fire; (4) of air in relation to air; (5) of the base of the infinity of space in relation to the base of the infinity of space; (6) of the base of the infinity of consciousness in relation to the base of the infinity of consciousness; (7) of the base of nothingness in relation to the base of nothingness; (8) of the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception in relation to the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception; (9) of this world in relation to this world; (10) of the other world in relation to the other world, but he would still be percipient?”
.
“He could, friend Ānanda.”
.
“But how, friend Sāriputta, could he obtain such a state of concentration?” AN10.7

Consider the sankhara gives rise to consciousness (vinnana), according the DO. If there is intension to observe or be mindful then as long as the intension persists Mindfulness will persist. If the object then vanishes while being watched, consciousness will still persist while being aware of Nibbana. If the will to be mindfulness is renounced then consciousness will also cease.

With metta

The contact is ceaselessly ,
I suppose the sutta mentioned the ending of existence is Nibbāna , but , I would say that one instance the bhava cease, that is Nibbāna , and another one perception arises and it says that previous instance expires is Nibbāna .
Not that when that instance bhava cease still can identify it as Nibbāna .

Yes, that’s right. Knowledge of Nibbana arises when one comes out of it (paccavekkhana nana?), and not while in it.

With metta

Yes! There are differences.
Nibbana is the teaching via the middle-way, between the extremes, to reach the origination where there is knowledge & vision, leading to "release "!

Annihilation is based on extreme, ie physical based on false perception, which doesn’t lead to knowledge & vision and “release”!

"Release " allows for escaping the cycle of existence!..hence annihilation is unequal!
Don’t be fooled by appearances!

No parachute - No ground

Nothing is annihilated when there is Nibbana - without remainder. Deluded beings have personality-belief. Personality-belief is not like some-thing that was there before that can be destroyed. That is a misunderstanding! It was just a case of not seeing clearly. In a desert you may see water in the distance but when you approach its not there. We see a rainbow in the sky but there is no rainbow in the sky - its an optical illusion. The ‘mind’ is not a thing it is an interactive process. There may be a belief that the mind is a thing - if this is the case - show me your mind? The body is what - when you look more closely? The body is a composite of many things in interaction.

The true essence or basis of any-thing is still unfound - existence may resolve itself in space - and space - in ? Formless Jhanas may provide insight into this question:

“Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to develop the eight liberations. Possessed of material form, one sees forms: this is the first liberation. Not perceiving form internally, one sees forms externally: this is the second liberation. One is resolved only upon the beautiful: this is the third liberation. With the complete surmounting of perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of sensory impact, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite,’ one enters upon and abides in the base of infinite space: this is the fourth liberation. By completely surmounting the base of infinite space, aware that ‘consciousness is infinite,’ one enters upon and abides in the base of infinite consciousness: this is the fifth liberation. By completely surmounting the base of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing,’ one enters upon and abides in the base of nothingness: this is the sixth liberation. By completely surmounting the base of nothingness, one enters upon and abides in the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception: this is the seventh liberation. By completely surmounting the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, one enters upon and abides in the cessation of perception and feeling: this is the eighth liberation. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge." - Majjhima Nikāya 77

"Quantum fluctuation

Due to quantum uncertainty, energy fluctuations such as an electron and its anti-particle, a positron, can arise spontaneously out of vacuum [space], but must disappear rapidly. The lower the energy of the bubble, the longer the duration it can exist. A gravitational field has negative energy. Matter has positive energy. The two values cancel out provided the universe is completely *flat. In that case, the universe has zero energy and can theoretically last forever." - Wikipedia

“Heterotic M-theory has been used to construct models of brane cosmology in which the observable universe is thought to exist on a brane in a higher dimensional ambient [space].” - Wikipedia

"The Chariot Simile

One of the King’s first questions is on the nature of the self and personal identity. Nagasena greeted the King by acknowledging that Nagasena was his name, but that “Nagasena” was only a designation; no permanent individual “Nagasena” could be found.

This amused the King. Who is it that wears robes and takes food? he asked. If there is no Nagasena, who earns merit or demerit? Who causes karma? If what you say is true, a man could kill you and there would be no murder. “Nagasena” would be nothing but a sound.

Nagasena asked the King how he had come to his hermitage, on foot or by horseback? I came in a chariot, the King said.

But what is a chariot?

Nagasena asked. Is it the wheels, or the axles, or the reigns, or the frame, or the seat, or the draught pole? Is it a combination of those elements? Or is it found outside those elements?

The King answered no to each question. Then there is no chariot! Nagasena said.

Now the King acknowledged the designation “chariot” depended on these constituent parts, but that “chariot” itself is a concept, or a mere name.

Just so, Nagasena said, “Nagasena” is a designation for something conceptual. It is a mere name. When the constituent parts are present we call it a chariot; When the Five Skandhas are present, we call it a being." - Barbara O’Brien

This body/mind has no-owner - nature takes its course - it is in constant transformation or this thread would have nowhere to go - it transforms into mind-moments (great wonder). Emptiness is dancing!

The annihilationists biggest delusion is the belief in a self that is annihilated at death. On closer inspection, the annihilationists-self is nowhere to be found. Annihilationists may not believe in the fairies at the end of the garden but they still believe in the figments of their own imagination.

“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” - T.S. Elliot

Cling to naught!

Before a question about annihilation can be asked we have to establish what has come ‘into’ being in the first place. This has not been established - conclusively - unless you believe in monkey-realism? Monkeys like bananas and they know when they have a banana and when they don’t - a banana is either there or it isn’t? Perhaps reality is a bit more complex? What is ‘being’ for something to come into it - and leave it?

*YouTube

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I don’t like the Chariot Simile.
Chariot does not take a rebirth (ie Samsara) but a human has a rebirth.

Take it up with Nagasena - some say he was an Arahant - good luck with that one! There is nothing that passes from one life to another - there is no-one who is reborn - who moves from this life to another. In science there is the observation of *action at a distance. Something happens over there and something happens somewhere else - there is an observed relationship between the two events but nothing passes in between. :heart_eyes:

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_at_a_distance

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