Nirvana basically is reducing our habitual reactivity

Nirvana is a word that often conjures up visions of an otherworldly paradise, sort of like heaven.

But the literal meaning in Sanskrit is "blown out," as in blowing out a candle -- which points to the extinguishing of passions that lead to suffering, as desires are endless and so cause us to continually chase them, much as the proverbial donkey drawn to walk fast in an effort to get the carrot dangled in front of the animal's face that grabs its attention but is impossible to reach, though the donkey doesn't know this.

In Robert Wright's book, Why Buddhism is True, there's a chapter ("Nirvana in a Nutshell") that describes nirvana in a pleasingly clear fashion without delving into supernatural mumbo-jumbo like the dissolution of karmic bonds that keep a being reincarnating in various life forms.

Here's how Wright arrives at his basic notion of nirvana being the lessening of our habitual reactivity to things we like and don't like.

In ancient terms, nirvana is often described with a word that is commonly translated as "the unconditioned."... The conditioned, in Buddhist terminology, can be thought of as roughly synonymous with "the caused."

Which makes sense. After all, when we talk about the conditions that give rise to something -- the conditions that lead water to boil or rain to fall or the crime rate to rise -- we're basically saying these conditions are involved in the causal chain that led to that something. Things that are conditioned in the Buddhist sense are things that are subject to causes.

Now, obviously it is impossible to free ourselves from causes. And this isn't what Buddhism seeks. Instead, the goal is something more subtle: reducing the bondage of tanha, or craving. 

We crave the pleasant feelings and crave to escape the unpleasant feelings. Let's freeze frame right here, because this is where the action is. Here is how Bhikkhu Bodhi put it in a series of lectures he recorded in 1981: 

It is here in the space between feeling and craving that the battle will be fought which will determine whether bondage will continue indefinitely into the future or whether it will be replaced by enlightenment and liberation. For if instead of yielding to craving, to the driving thirst for pleasure, if a person contemplates with mindfulness and awareness the nature of feelings and understands these feelings as they are, then that person can prevent craving from crystallizing and solidifying.

This is where we start to segue from the exotic to the naturalistic. The liberation that Bhikkhu Bodhi is talking about is, in the first instance, a liberation from perpetual rebirth, a liberation that will fully kick in at the end of this life cycle. 

But it is also liberation in the here and now, liberation from the suffering tanha brings -- liberation from the craving to capture pleasant feelings and escape unpleasant feelings, liberation from the persistent desire for things to be different than they are.

...The main point is that whichever kind of nirvana you're focused on, the mechanics for getting there centrally involve mindfulness meditation cultivating an awareness of your feelings that fundamentally changes your relationship to them.

Regardless of how exotic or practical your aspirations -- whether you believe in a cycle of rebirth and want to escape it, or just want to attain complete liberation in the here and now, or just hope to find partial liberation in the here and now -- the essential tool for liberation is the same.

I'm good with partial liberation in the here and now. As I said in my previous post, I'm always going to be flawed, imperfect, confused, unsure what's best to do. But if I can lessen the degree to which I'm under the sway of unpleasant and unhelpful emotions, hey, give me a ticket for the Nirvana Train and I'll see if it can take me to a more desirable psychological place.

Wright speaks of going on a meditation retreat that made him feel like he was living in a zone of enchantment.

No, that's not the same as entering a zone that is magically impervious to causation. I was still reacting at least somewhat reflexively to the causes impinging on me. Still, one source of this enchantment, I think, was that I was spending less time reacting, less time having my buttons pushed, and more time observing -- which, as a bonus, allowed for more thoughtful responses to things. I assume living in the unconditioned would be great, but living in the less conditioned can be pretty great, too.

So how do we get to that less conditioned state? Wright says this near the end of his nirvana chapter.

You could say that enlightenment in the Buddhist sense has something in common with enlightenment in the Western scientific sense: it involves becoming more aware of what causes what.

All of this flies in the face of stereotype. Mindfulness meditation is often thought of as warm and fuzzy and, in a way, anti-rational. It is said to be about "getting in touch with your feelings" and "not making judgments." And, yes, it does involve those things.

It can let you experience your feelings -- anger, love, sorrow, joy -- with new sensitivity, seeing their texture, even feeling their texture, as never before. And the reason this is possible is that you are, in a sense, not making judgments -- that is, you are not mindlessly labeling your feelings as bad or good, not fleeing from them or rushing to embrace them. So you can stay close to them yet not be lost in them; you can pay attention to what they actually feel like.

Still, you do this not in oder to abandon your rational faculties but rather to engage them: you can now subject your feelings to a kind of reasoned analysis that will let you judiciously decide which ones are good guiding lights.

So what "not making judgments" ultimately means is not letting your feelings make judgments for you. And what "getting in touch with your feelings" ultimately means is not being so oblivious to them that you get pushed around by them. And all of this means informing your responses to the world with the clearest possible view of the world.

Underlying this whole endeavor is a highly mechanistic conception of how the mind works. The idea is to finely sense the workings of the machine and use that understanding to rewire it, to subvert its programming, to radically alter its response to the causes, the conditions, impinging on it.

Doing this doesn't let you enter "the unconditioned" in the strict sense; it doesn't let you literally escape the realm of cause and effect. Then again, airplanes don't literally defy the law of gravity. But they still fly.

Comments

[Appreciative Reader]

Enjoyed this post. And loved the airplane analogy, and argument, that you end it with.

[October]

As per Grok
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Buddhism, Nirvana is the ultimate state of liberation and enlightenment, where one is free from suffering, desire, and the cycle of birth and death (samsara). It represents the cessation of ignorance and craving, leading to profound peace and awakening to the true nature of reality. Nirvana is often described as beyond conceptual understanding, transcending dualities like existence and non-existence. In Theravada Buddhism, it’s the final goal for arhats, while in Mahayana, it’s linked to the bodhisattva path, emphasizing universal liberation.

An Arhat (or Arahant in Pali) in Buddhism is a person who has attained enlightenment and achieved Nirvana, fully liberating themselves from the cycle of birth and death (samsara). In Theravada Buddhism, an Arhat is someone who has eradicated all defilements—such as greed, hatred, and ignorance—through wisdom and ethical practice, realizing the Four Noble Truths. They are free from suffering and no longer subject to rebirth. In Mahayana Buddhism, the Arhat is sometimes contrasted with the Bodhisattva, who delays final Nirvana to help others, though both are enlightened states.

No, Nirvana in Buddhism does not mean death. It refers to a state of ultimate liberation and enlightenment, where one is free from suffering, desire, and the cycle of birth and death (samsara). It’s the cessation of ignorance and craving, leading to profound peace and awakening to reality’s true nature. While an Arhat may attain Nirvana during life (called "Nirvana with remainder"), physical death follows naturally later. "Final Nirvana" (Parinirvana) occurs at death, marking complete liberation without rebirth, but Nirvana itself is a mental and spiritual state, not death.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Take on it-->

Nirvana means end of desires completely and permanently.Desires are not forced on you which is the way for common people. People just cant decide that " Let desires not arise in my mind" its impossible because as long as one is caught in Maya, Om the driver will keep on throwing endless desires on you.Here i am mentioning Om, Since it is the driver of Maya. Maya cant move on itself.
Even slightest bit of movement is caused by Om driving the Maya.

Its difficult to realize at first, But as one moves along ,one sees it. That's why Om is such a sacred symbol in religions like Hinduism and even in Buddhism. Many of their mantras contain it.
But i have found nowhere has it been explained. Its possible that nobody just didn't care to look into it.

Realization of Om as driver of Maya automatically puts you in state of nirvana. There you are not forced to do things(like not forcing desires to arise).

Its like you are sitting at the eighth floor of a building where no one has access but you as individual.From eight floor you look down at all below floors and ground. Ground is where everywhere in the world is acting. And if someone starts spiritual journey, one starts climbing the floors with each step a challenge. It becomes so difficult at times one might like to give up but state of bliss achieved at 8th floor is so profound that one simply dont leave the state of nirvana eventually.
One can try any meditation methods (including Surat shabd yoga) to achieve this. each method has its advantages and challenges.

i see everyone puts emphasis on Om but no really cares about what exactly it is. Until one experiences such a state, One remains in state of turmoil all the time doing everything(including reading books) but actual practice is done by none.

May Nirvana be achieved by every seeking soul effortlessly ( Sahaj way).

[October]

Continuing the discussion,

Our mind is engrossed in Maya which is in ever perpetual state of movement due to Om.Even slightest movement in thoughts in our head is caused by movement of OM. This slightest movement generates thoughts which leads to all types of outcomes like Desires,greed, lust among other things.As these things manifest in our head as part of Maya, karma is created.Movement of Maya in our head causes consequences to arise which we call karma. Hence karmic cycle is formed in our head and all these karmas are stored as kind of memory reservoir. If one achieves the zero movement of Om in our Maya(Personified for each individual), Generation of Karma gets stopped.What about already generated karmas? At the times of Nirvana, all such Karmas are fused to nil, as no there is no causation effect left.Om has separated from Maya And one becomes free from cycle of birth and death.

each thing is interlinked all we need is just a right eye to see it.

[sant64]

The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (The Discourse on Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dhamma) is considered the fundamental sutta of Theravada Buddhism. It’s the Buddha’s first sermon after enlightenment, and so, it's arguable the fundamental definition of what Buddhims is.

It was delivered in Sarnath to the Buddha's five former ascetic companions.
In it, he introduces the Four Noble Truths—the core framework of his teaching:
The truth of suffering (dukkha).

The cause of suffering (samudaya).

The cessation of suffering (nirodha).

The path leading to the cessation of suffering (magga), which is the Noble Eightfold Path.

This sutta, found in the Samyutta Nikaya (SN 56.11) of the Pali Canon, lays the foundation for Theravada’s emphasis on liberation through understanding suffering and following the path to nibbana. Its significance comes from its clarity and the way it encapsulates the essence of the Buddha’s insight.

From that, what is the path in earliest buddhism to the cessation of suffering?

In the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, the path to the cessation of suffering in earliest Buddhism is the Noble Eightfold Path, described as the fourth Noble Truth. It consists of:

Right View (sammā diṭṭhi): Understanding the Four Noble Truths and the nature of reality.

Right Intention (sammā saṅkappa): Cultivating intentions of renunciation, goodwill, and harmlessness.

Right Speech (sammā vācā): Speaking truthfully, kindly, and constructively.

Right Action (sammā kammanta): Acting ethically, avoiding harm, stealing, and sexual misconduct.

Right Livelihood (sammā ājīva): Earning a living in a way that doesn’t harm others.

Right Effort (sammā vāyāma): Striving to abandon unwholesome qualities and cultivate wholesome ones.

Right Mindfulness (sammā sati): Developing awareness of body, feelings, mind, and phenomena.

Right Concentration (sammā samādhi): Practicing meditation to achieve deep states of mental focus.

This path, emphasized in Theravada and rooted in the earliest teachings, integrates ethical conduct, mental discipline, and wisdom to end suffering and attain nibbana.

How does right mindfulness differ from right concentration?

In the Noble Eightfold Path from the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, Right Mindfulness (sammā sati) and Right Concentration (sammā samādhi) are distinct but complementary practices:

Right Mindfulness: This involves cultivating clear, continuous awareness of the present moment. It’s about observing body, feelings, mind, and phenomena (the four foundations of mindfulness) without attachment or aversion. The focus is broad, emphasizing insight into the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self nature of experience. For example, noticing thoughts or sensations as they arise and pass without getting caught up in them. It’s grounded in the Satipatthana Sutta for practical guidance.

Right Concentration: This refers to developing deep, focused mental absorption through meditative states called jhanas (stages of meditative concentration). It involves narrowing attention to a single object (like the breath) to achieve a unified, tranquil mind. The emphasis is on stability and depth, leading to profound calm and clarity, which supports insight but is more about mental stillness than active observation.

Key Difference: Mindfulness is expansive, fostering moment-to-moment awareness across various aspects of experience to develop insight. Concentration is intensive, honing the mind to a single point to achieve mental unification and tranquility. In practice, mindfulness prepares the mind for concentration by reducing distraction, while concentration deepens mindfulness by stabilizing attention for clearer insight. Both work together to end suffering by cultivating wisdom and liberation.

My conclusion: Buddhism isn't merely mindfulness. This is an important point because many people who take a mindfulness-only approach to meditation find it lacking. I'm referring here to many long-time Buddhist meditators who valiantly practiced vipassana, only to find that vipassana, by itself, does not lead to peace of mind.

One doesn't have to be a supernaturalist to integrate other aspects of the Buddhist path into one's practice of Buddhism, to good effect. The moral directives, the jhanas, and metta can offer generous awards of bliss. They are all part of the original Buddhist path.

[Ron E.]

“Nirvana Basically Is Reducing Our Habitual Reactivity.” I reckon the title to this post just about sums Nirvana up. Quite often we are mesmerized into thinking (or wishing) that nirvana is something to do with bliss, almost other-worldly.

Buddhists talk of the mind, our ordinary everyday mind that is comprised of all the contents we have accumulated throughout our lives and which, almost unconsciously, govern our lives. These contents consist of our views and opinions, our particular store of knowledge, all of which affects the way we think and approach the world – basically, how we habitually react.

If I understand this right, Nirvana is simply seeing this, giving the ability to respond (if necessary) without all the baggage that routinely drags us into suffering and conflict. As every person’s mind is his/her own personal accumulation of contents which includes the sense of me, self or ego, clashes with other minds – or the world – can only cause conflict and suffering.

As Wight goes on to say: - “Underlying this whole endeavor is a highly mechanistic conception of how the mind works. The idea is to finely sense the workings of the machine and use that under-standing to rewire it, to subvert its programming, to radically alter its response to the causes, the conditions, impinging on it.”

Buddhists declare that when the process of reactivity is clearly seen, the mind is liberated (Nirvana, enlightenment). Good to understand this in terms of being naturalistic and not mysterious. Although they do go on to talk of being liberated into the one Mind (expressed with a capital M and of which we all are). Not clear what this means, perhaps Wright has some insight into this.

[sant64]

Mindfulness strategies, as promoted by figures like Sam Harris, often draw from secularized Buddhist practices and emphasize present-moment awareness, meditation, and non-judgmental observation of thoughts. While these techniques can benefit mental health and focus, they come with notable drawbacks, particularly when popularized in a one-size-fits-all manner. Below is a critical analysis of the limitations and potential pitfalls of such mindfulness strategies, grounded in available critiques and research:

1. Oversimplification of Complex Psychological Issues

Drawback: Mindfulness is often marketed as a universal fix for stress, anxiety, depression, or even trauma. Sam Harris, through platforms like his Waking Up app, presents mindfulness as a tool to transcend suffering by observing thoughts dispassionately. However, this approach can oversimplify serious mental health conditions that require professional intervention, such as therapy or medication.

Critique: Research, like a 2020 study in Clinical Psychology Review, suggests mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have modest effects for anxiety and depression compared to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for some populations. For severe cases, mindfulness alone may be inadequate or even counterproductive, as it encourages introspection without always addressing underlying causes like trauma or systemic stressors.

Example: Someone with PTSD might find mindfulness exercises, like focusing on bodily sensations, triggering rather than soothing, as noted in a 2018 Journal of Traumatic Stress study reporting adverse effects in some trauma survivors.

2. Potential for Adverse Effects

Drawback: Popular mindfulness narratives, including Harris’s, rarely emphasize potential negative outcomes. Meditation can lead to adverse effects like increased anxiety, dissociation, or emotional overwhelm, particularly for beginners or those with pre-existing mental health issues.

Critique: A 2022 study in Psychological Medicine found that 10-15% of meditation practitioners experience adverse effects, including hyperarousal (e.g., panic attacks) or depersonalization (feeling detached from oneself). Harris’s emphasis on “non-dual” awareness—dissolving the sense of self—can exacerbate these risks for unprepared practitioners, especially without guidance from a trained therapist.

Example: Prolonged meditation retreats, which Harris endorses, have been linked to cases of psychosis in rare instances, as documented in a 2017 Transcultural Psychiatry article.

3. Cultural Appropriation and Decontextualization

Drawback: Harris’s approach strips mindfulness from its Buddhist roots, repackaging it as a secular, science-backed tool. This removes ethical and communal frameworks that traditionally guide meditation, such as compassion or interdependence, potentially reducing it to a self-focused productivity hack.

Critique: Scholars like Ronald Purser, author of McMindfulness (2019), argue that this commodification distorts mindfulness, prioritizing individual gain over collective well-being. It ignores the cultural and spiritual contexts of practices like Vipassana, which Harris draws from, potentially alienating practitioners who value those traditions.

Example: Harris’s app markets mindfulness for “clarity and calm,” appealing to corporate or tech audiences, but this framing can sideline the moral precepts (e.g., non-harming) central to Buddhist practice.

4. Reinforcement of Individualism and Passivity

Drawback: Harris’s mindfulness emphasizes personal liberation through detachment, which can foster a passive acceptance of external conditions rather than action to address systemic issues like inequality or injustice.

Critique: Critics, including Purser and a 2018 Behavioral Scientist article, argue that corporate mindfulness programs, inspired by figures like Harris, can pacify workers, making them more compliant in stressful or exploitative environments. By focusing on internal states, mindfulness may discourage collective resistance or structural change.

Example: A tech worker using Harris’s app to manage stress might feel temporarily calmer but remain disempowered to challenge toxic workplace dynamics, as mindfulness doesn’t inherently teach advocacy or systemic analysis.

5. Accessibility and Elitism

Drawback: Harris’s mindfulness resources, like the Waking Up app, require time, money, and a certain level of education to engage with effectively. His intellectualized delivery—laden with philosophical and neuroscientific jargon—can alienate those without a background in such areas.

Critique: A 2021 Journal of Health Psychology study highlights that mindfulness programs often cater to affluent, educated demographics, sidelining low-income or marginalized groups who may face barriers to access (e.g., subscription costs, time for daily practice). Harris offers free access to Waking Up for some, but the app’s $99/year subscription remains a hurdle for many.

Example: A single parent working multiple jobs may find Harris’s 20-minute guided meditations impractical, while his abstract discussions of consciousness feel disconnected from their lived realities.

6. Overreliance on Subjective Experience

Drawback: Harris’s approach heavily emphasizes subjective introspection, encouraging practitioners to trust their direct experience of consciousness. This can lead to overconfidence in personal insights, potentially dismissing external feedback or scientific evidence.

Critique: A 2019 Perspectives on Psychological Science article warns that excessive focus on subjective awareness can foster “insight traps,” where practitioners misinterpret fleeting meditative states as profound truths. Harris’s rejection of traditional religious frameworks, while appealing to skeptics, may leave practitioners without grounding principles to navigate these experiences.

Example: A practitioner might misattribute a meditative “ego dissolution” experience as evidence of ultimate reality, as Harris encourages, without critically evaluating psychological or neurological explanations.

7. Limited Empirical Support for Universal Claims
Drawback: Harris often presents mindfulness as a scientifically validated path to well-being, but the evidence is mixed, and long-term benefits are not universally established.

Critique: A 2014 American Psychologist meta-analysis found that mindfulness-based interventions show moderate efficacy for stress reduction but lack robust evidence for broader claims, like transforming one’s worldview or eliminating suffering. Harris’s assertions about mindfulness unlocking “happiness independent of conditions” may overpromise, as studies show benefits vary widely based on individual temperament and practice consistency.

Example: Someone expecting Harris’s techniques to eradicate chronic dissatisfaction may feel disillusioned when results are modest or temporary, as longitudinal studies on mindfulness outcomes are still inconclusive.

Conclusion

While Sam Harris’s mindfulness strategies offer tools for focus and stress relief, they carry significant drawbacks: oversimplifying mental health, risking adverse effects, decontextualizing cultural practices, reinforcing passivity, limiting accessibility, overemphasizing subjective experience, and overstating empirical support. These issues stem partly from the popularization of mindfulness as a secular, individualistic solution, divorced from its ethical and communal roots. For some, Harris’s approach may be transformative, but for others—especially those with complex mental health needs or marginalized backgrounds—it can be inadequate, alienating, or even harmful without proper guidance.

[Kranvir]

Nirvana is the absence of desire. So why has the param Sant sat guru gurinder singh dhillon full of greed , wants and desires. He desires money , sex, control , and definitely wants to be the top guru of the world. He even tried to get to the Pope's good book by traveling to the Vatican with his freeloading son, and kissing the Pope's hand, was he looking for a promotion...lol. we can conclude that gurinder is a land mafia crook , hiding as a guru as he has zero enlightenment