Nirvana is true peace

• Questions and answers
• Buddha nature
• Environmental karma
• The fourth seal: Nirvana is true peace
• What is happiness?
• Attachment versus love
• What is inherent existence?
• The sequence of the four seals
• The four seals and the four truths

The Foundation of Buddhist Practice 03: Nirvana is true peace (download)

Contemplation points

1. Spend some time really thinking about our situation in samsara: “Just as whatever grows from a poisonous seed will be poisonous, everything that arises from ignorance will be undesirable. As long as we remain under the control of ignorance and erroneous views, there is no possibility for lasting joy.” What kind of perspective and clarity does thinking about this bring to your mind? From what does lasting joy actually come?
2. As our wisdom increases and we get an idea of how thing actually exist, it begins to harm the ignorance. Reflect of mental states that arise from ignorance (like attachment, anger, jealousy…). Can you see how they are filtered through a focus on I, me, my, and mine; how that is a distorted way of viewing the world? How might cultivating wisdom that doubts and investigates your afflictions change the way you interact with the world? How might this lead to peace and joy in your life?
3. How does attachment interfere with the virtuous mind of love, defined as a wish for someone to have happiness and the causes of happiness simply because they exist? Can you differentiate between love and attachment as you reflect on your experience of relationships?
4. What is inherent existence? Use some examples in your environment to work through the examination process that Venerable Chodron employs in the teaching.
5. How is learning the Dharma different from the study you did in school? Why is repetition so important in the effort to transform the mind?