Nirvana Immersion (2012, New York and Bahamas)

Are subtle, mental habits standing between you and pure freedom? In the Tibetan tradition, nirvana is defined as overcoming negative emotions within ourselves, primarily by addressing their root cause of misunderstanding reality. For example, the belief that criticism we receive from a spouse is coming from him or her, and not from how critical we were to someone else last week.

Nirvana is a kind of peace free of this cycle of misunderstanding, and is a stepping stone to full enlightenment. This immersion is designed to help all of us on a spiritual path, in an immediate practical way, get to the root of our own worst qualities, and see directly how a pattern of ignorance within our mind is perpetuating our experience of pain, and how to end that experience for good.

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Audio

Course Materials

Readings

Reading 1

Reading 2

Reading 3

Homework

Homework 1

Homework 2

Homework 3

Homework Masters

Homework Master 1

Homework Master 2

Homework Master 3

Supplemental Readings

Four Steps to Nirvana

Unweaving the Web: Four Possibilities

Options for Further Study

To deepen your study on many of the topics introduced in this lecture, please refer to the following courses on The Knowledge Base:

What is Nirvana and How Do We Get There? (2011, Bahamas, Geshe Michael Roach)

The word “nirvana” brings up many different ideas. Is it some kind of space into which we disappear? Is it some strange place where we are happy all the time, without a care for the problems of the rest of the world? In this series of talks, we will explore what nirvana really is, and practical ways of getting there, learning both the theory of nirvana, through the study of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras and practical meditation practices. We will see that nirvana is actually a very engaged state of being, where we are in total happiness but serving the world at the same time.

Me As Buddha: What Will I Be Like? (2012, New York, Geshe Michael Roach)

“Nirvana” means “blowing out” our negative emotions, forever. Reaching a truly pure and peaceful mind. But life doesn’t end with nirvana! After that, we have to continue on all the way to becoming a fully Enlightened Being. A lot of times though our mind gets stuck here. What exactly will I be like, when I turn into a Buddha? Can I still relate to friends and family? Will my favorite pair of jeans still fit?

During this special teaching by Geshe Michael Roach we’ll find out exactly what we’ll be like when we get to this highest goal. We’ll hear about the Four Forms and the Five Wisdoms of a Buddha—the body and mind that we will have when we get there—and just how, in practical terms, this will change our life on this planet. And we’ll also answer the jeans question.