Nibbana The Third Noble Truth The third noble

Nibbana – The Third Noble Truth

The third noble truth is: You can cease all suffering by stopping all desiring. Now leave me alone, I’m trying to sleep. Once you’ve achieved this, you have attained Nibbana. Remember, if you cling to the idea of Nibbana and crave it then you will never achieve it. . . you must cultivate non-attachment!

Non-Attachment What’s important is to rid yourself of all your attachments. If there is anything that you still have a Tanha for you will not attain Nibbana.

This is you. Draw this picture and attach as many things as possible that YOU are attached to that would stop you attaining Nibbana

Once you have gotten rid of your Tanha for all these things, you will be a Buddha, an enlightened one. You will have attained Nibbana. However there are different types of Buddhism and each type has a different understanding of how to rid yourself of all Tanha. This is what we are going to look at next.

Questions: 1. Why do you think Nibbana is difficult to describe? 2. What metaphors are used to describe Nibbana? Describe one of them in details. 3. Do you think the analogies are useful? Explain your view. 4. Explain 3 differences between the Buddhist idea of Nibbana and the Christian idea of heaven. 5. Which were the main events in the Buddha’s life which led to his enlightenment? 6. “Most people would find Nibbana difficult to achieve” How far do you agree with this? Explain. 7. Do you think you have to be religious to believe in Nibbana? Explain your answer.