Lars Ims

Reaching Nirvana Lars Ims

When the author, Lars Ims, returned to complete his Sanskrit studies at the University of Oslo after staying many years with his Guru, Swami Shyam, in the Himalayas, he wanted to continue exploring the awakened or self-realized state of mind in the Indian tradition. He wanted to understand exactly what the most famous of all awakened beings - the Buddha - said about how he reached Nirvana and what it was like. He studied the earliest records of the Buddha's words from the Basket of Sermons (Sutta Pitaka) and realized that at the heart of the Buddha's teachings there is a very simple path which he discovered while searching for an end to his suffering. By meditating to bring peace (samatha) to your feelings, and applying mindfulness to bring clarity (vipassana) to your thoughts, the negative influences of desire and ignorance will leave the consciousness, and their removal will reveal the true nature of the human being, what you are behind the layers of false ideas about the self and the world: the immortal element, or amata dhatu. Nirvana is the revelation or realization of this Deathless being, which was the only reality for the Buddha. Everything else was illusion. In this book the meaning of Nirvana is explained, and the techniques to reach it are described in detail. The book also provides practical advice including a guided meditation. The most striking discovery during the author's research was the clarity and indubitability with which the Buddha explained what the meaning of Nirvana is: the realization of the Immortal being as the only reality. Nirvana is the true nature of the human being behind the illusion of the mind and body. Nirvana is not emptiness: it is the fullness of you. Nirvana is not disappearance: it is the appearance of you. Nirvana is not about denying this world: it is about being wholly present in it. Nirvana is not worrying about the past or the future, but living every moment with love and awareness. Nirvana is to uncover who you are, to discover the purpose of your life. This book is about this original message of the Buddha.