What did the Buddha mean when saying Anurādha "didn't actually find a realized one (tathāgate) in the present life"?

[NgXinZhao]

@Green

And what does the cow refer to?

analogies are not perfect.

@Green

Nibbana is described as extinguishment of the 3 fires which becomes with coolness, peace, being at ease in a world burning. Or as mind without clinging, detached, limitless. Or as mind that does not construct (cessation of bhava) etc

Don’t mix up nibbāna with remainder with nibbāna without reminder. The remainder is the body and mind freed from defilements.

@Green

that idea of nothing felt or perceived as the goal or the end of ones suffering is called vibhava tanha

Ideas are not craving. Anyway, the craving is cause of suffering, is the craving part, not the non existence part. It is due to craving that the non existence part is not possible, so it is an overreach. Eventually, we have to let go of the craving to get to nibbāna in order to get to nibbāna.

Idea wise I addressed it here: Nature of Parinibbāna - General Theravada topics - Classical Theravāda

Comparison of highest happiness wise, it makes no sense to downgrade parinibbāna with anything at all.

The cessation of perception and feelings: a temporary nibbāna?

In the abhidhamma model, there’s still consciousness there, called supramundane consciousness which takes nibbāna as an object. Since nibbāna is the cessation of all conditioned things without any more arising, could be said of seeing cessation. This is not the same as cessation of perception and feeling. As Bhante Aggacitta’s booklet listed clearly, the path and fruit mind moments are just apparent cessation. As for experiencing (body contact/body witness) nibbāna, it’s only arahants that c…