Is Nirvana like the Christian heaven?
Is Nirvana where worthy souls go when they die?
Is it purely a psychological state in this life that ends with this life?
If it does not end with this life, where is it?
What does one have to do or be to attain it?
Your thoughts.
I’ve taken university courses on Buddhism and Eastern religious traditions. I’ve also taken educational courses led by Lamas in the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition from Tibet. One of my younger brothers is also Buddhist. However, many Indian thought-systems have different ideas on what Nirvana is. I assume you mean the Buddhist concept?
Is Nirvana like Christian heaven?
No. Nirvana means extinguishing and it is not at all like we understand Christian heaven. It is not concerned with a delineation between the state of being alive or dead. The aim of Buddhism is to extinguish attachments to things because attachments will cause us, and ultimately all sentient beings, to suffer. It is not a place but a state of seeing reality for how it really is and not being delusional about our own existence as separate from all other cognizant beings (including gods, demons, viruses, everything).
Depending on which Buddhist tradition, or even in some other Indian religious systems, the way and timing of entering Nirvana can differ widely.
The Buddhist tradition most common in my area (Colorado) is Vajrayana style which means the Lightning Vehicle. They believe we can reach Nirvana within a matter of years in this one life, not after many reincarnations.
Is Nirvana where worthy souls go when they die?
Again, Nirvana is not a place, but a state of seeing reality as it actually is. We cannot “go” there because we are all already there but have failed to realize it because we are distracted by our attachments in this life (to extreme feelings, gods, etc.).
Is it purely a psychological state in this life that ends with this life?
In Buddhism, I think they would say my life is not my own to lose and Nirvana is not a personal thing. All sentient beings are already in Nirvana, but we have become distracted by the cycle of grasping, attachment, suffering, rebirth. A psychology assumes there should be a singular ‘person’ for evaluation, but there is no ‘self’ that exists to ‘give away’ Nirvana upon dying.
If it does not end with this life, where is it?
We are already existing in this reality but we have become distracted.
What does one have to do or be to attain it?
There are infinite paths to freeing ourselves from delusion, but in the Buddha’s experience, accepting the Noble Truths and following his moderate Eightfold Path and finding refuge in the Law, Community of Tradition, and the Buddha we can quickly enter that state in this human life which is the rarest incarnation and a precious chance to leave the cycle of death and rebirth.
A rather helpful description I’ve heard from a monk is that Enlightenment is like being ill. We are aware of our illness and we are suffering, but it is not how we are by default. We slowly heal and then finally one day, at one moment we realize that we are no longer ill and we have been moving through our life without this suffering still. At this point, we have seemingly limitless energies to help all others who are suffering still. This is what Nirvana is like: it’s not a huge cosmic explosion with psychedelic colors and sitars playing in the background as Western images might have us expect.
Hope this is accurate! Any Buddhists please correct me.
