Question asked by Eli Levine
Good afternoon/evening Pastors!
Tashi delek!
I was reading the Heart Sutra translation from Thich Nhat Hanh, and it occurs to me that, while we can be free of suffering in this lifetime, as I think I'm becoming, that we will not ultimately be free of suffering and karmic action until after we have passed on (parinirvana). Could you please elaborate more on parinirvana and the ultimate death of death and rebirth?
Thank you so much.












































































































Dear Eli Levine,
Karma is the force that keeps us bound in samsara and therefore suffering. On the Buddhist path, we seek to purify our karma completely and understand the true nature of reality. When this is achieved we attain enlightenment, this is the point when we are no longer affected by karma therefore it is the end of death and rebirth. If this is achieved when in physical form, such as the example of Buddha Shakyamuni, he achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, but passed into Parinirvana when he gave up his physical form. When he achieved enlightenment, he became the Buddha, but he still had a physical form. He is said to have given up his physical form at the end of his life, rather than dying because he was no longer bound to death or rebirth. Therefore parinirvana is known as the formless state of a Buddha.