The following text is a quotation from the book "Buddhist Practice
on Western Ground", writen by Harvey B. Aronson:
"When I was a graduate student in Buddhist studies, my major
professor, Richard Robinson, said that it was important to understand
the cultural context within any Buddhist teaching arose. He liked to
point out that, for example, at the time of Gautama, the term nirvana
was used with respect to a fire going out, and it was believed that
an extinguished fire went into some dormant, unmanifest state, not a
state of nonexistence. For Indians of that time, this understanding
of nirvana would have been implicit and unavoidable. When they heard
that Buddha attained nirvana, they would understand it to be the
attainment of a dormant, unmanifest condition rather than some
absolute nullity. Knowing this gives us a more nuanced understanding
of this important Buddhist concept".
Enjoy your sunday.
Regards,
Francisco.
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