Heresy
The Selfish Nirvana

Whoever speaks of
  a selfish Nirvana
denigrates Nirvana

For there is no such thing
  has never been such a thing
will never be such a thing
  cannot be such a thing

It is an impossible thing

Nirvana by its very nature
  is selfless

I don’t know why Mahayana gurus cannot see this. How come this sectarian blindness? How come this delicate war between Mahayana and Theravada (derisively referred to as Hinayana, the “lesser” wagon, by many of those oh, so much “better” and “bigger”—and more in tune with what Gotama Buddha really meant—Mahayana gurus)?

And the main accusation, the main charge leveled at these “lesser” Buddhists? It is not that they mostly follow the Buddha Gotama’s advice and teachings to the Sutra letter, it is that they are, all of these lesser beings, utterly selfish.

Why selfish?

Because their only aim and goal is to achieve personal Nirvana, leaving the rest of this universe of sentient beings to fend for themselves.

Abandoning ship, in other words.

Just as did Buddha Gotama, who, according to Theravada scriptures, left the world for his Parinirvana (Nirvana after death) at the age of eighty. What a selfish guy, huh?

Not so the Mahayana Buddhist, who vows not to enter Nirvana until all sentient beings anywhere in this or any other universe have been liberated. This is the Bodhisattva vow, and—don’t take me wrong—it is a beautiful vow, and utterly true to the heart of Buddhism.

But here’s the nub: any Buddhist, whether Theravada or Mahayana, in order to “enter” Nirvana must first have abandoned all notions of “self” long ago and far behind. Nirvana, by its very definition, is selfless. There is no ego involved here, there is no self who leaves anyone behind. The selfish Nirvana thing is sheer Mahayana myth and, sadly, misinformation repeatedly perpetrated by many current gurus.

And here’s another nub, as it were: when truly liberated you are truly selfless. You are, as they say, now one with the universe. You’re Atman become Brahman, you are fragment become Sunyata. Entering a “selfish” Nirvana at this point would be to leave most of yourself behind—and that would be some trick if you ask me.

Yes, I believe and fully adopt the doctrine of Bodhisattva, the vow to remain Nirvana-less until all sentient beings have been liberated; for, in truth, there is no other thing you can do. You are all sentient beings. You cannot leave yourself behind, you cannot claim this particular little corner of Nirvana as yours. You are one, you are Samantabhadra, you are Buddha Nature, you must undo what has been done, and once undone, all of you (everyone) will dissolve into Nirvana together—as the one we are.

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