Just before he passed away, the Buddha spoke to a crowd in a discourse called the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, or simply Nirvana Sutra, in which he explained that his earlier teachings on not-self and emptiness were preliminary teachings designed to free one from association. transitory phenomena with Reality, which is permanent and eternal. In this sutra, he tells his students that they needed to realize that the body and its experiences of ever-changing phenomena are not real, and now he is giving them the ultimate truth: “Self is Reality (tattva), Self is it is permanent (nitya), the Self is virtue (guna), the Self is eternal (sasvata), the Self is stable (dhruva), the Self is peace (siva), It is within us, but we are not aware of it.

Only by transcending ordinary thoughts and emotions, living a moral life and meditating, can the Self be seen. It is the realm of nirvana and shines within the soul of every person.

SELF AND GOD

The essence of our soul is the eternal Being –

A pure reflection of God’s love, light and joy,

His supreme power and his infinite intelligence.

The Self is what we are, and it is one with God.

If we love God and strive to know and do His will,

The nature of the Self and of God will be revealed.

His love and light will dispel our fear and guilt,

And we will find the joyous paradise of God within.

So we should strive to realize Self and God,

And talk to God and think of Him in everything we do.

Then we will know that we are one with Him and loved by Him,

And He will guide our steps wherever we go.

YOU ARE REVEALED

O Spirit,

Beauty, life and intelligence.

On earth and the universe tell us about You.

They allude to Your immensity, power and creativity.

The multitude of living species

With complex codes in each cell –

The means by which each animal and plant

It can thrive and grow and reproduce in its kind –

Fill us with awe at so much divine intelligence.

Vast snow-capped mountains; ancient and imposing trees;

Shooting stars, northern lights and rotating galaxies –

All of them reflect Your great power and majesty.

The sounds of thunder and soft falling rain,

The sunlit day and the moonlit night,

The bright leaves of autumn, the white of winter,

The green growth of spring and the lush delight of summer.

Reveal Your cyclical and rhythmic art.

And many other blessings from our earthly home –

The roar of the ocean, the soft breeze,

The wind that rises and the trees that sway,

The changing shapes and textures of the clouds above,

The varied colors, grace and beauty.

Of butterflies and flowers,

birds in flight and stars at night;

The happy love that you feel

When the human ego fades and hearts open –

All this suggests Your nature.

For all that is good in Your creation and humanity

It comes from and is sustained by Your creative love and light.

You are Supreme Reality;

Your infinite intelligence, but veiled, in each soul

ensure our progress safe and certain,

As through free choice, we stand, then we fall,

Then get up again; each time with lessons learned.

And when, in love and meditative stillness,

You are revealed through faculties within the soul,

We will merge with you in a sweet and silent communion.

In boundless bliss, in unity with Your glory,

The sorrows of the past will melt away.

All will be seen as one in Your transcendent sea of ​​light,

And, as you truly are, we will know you on that day.