What's Wrong with Nirvana?
(not the singing group...we're not going there...)

The other night, I was having dinner with a teacher friend of mine at Freebirds (yum) and we we were talking about the Christian life and how difficult it can be at times. She mentioned Nirvana and how Buddhism has a pretty interesting way of looking at desire and how it should be handled. She made a point to say that Buddhism is not a religion, but a way of life. I hadn't thought of that before, but at the same time, if you think about it, Christianity is both a religion and a way of life. In fact, most religions are a way of life...or at least a set of guidelines by which to live life. I think Buddhism is also both a religion and a way of life.

But, that's actually an afterthought to the conversation we were having. While we were talking, my immediate thought with regard to Nirvana is that it falls short of dealing with the entire human experience. In essence, it throws the baby out with the bath water. I know it has to do with eliminating desires and it's goal is to reach a level of absence of feelings and escape the pain that comes from unfulfilled desires (Very reminiscent of the advice Yoda gave young Anakin with regard to his love for Padme).

However, not being a Buddhist, I don't really know that much about the idea of Nirvana, so I decided to read up a little more, so I could write from an informed perspective rather than an ignorant one. Here's what I discovered. There's a lot of gibberish surrounding definitions of the concept and a lot more terms that would have to be defined in order to even begin to understand what in the world they're talking about. Here's the opening paragraph from Wikipedia's article on Nirvana. It's the best synopsis I've found so far:

[Nirvana] is a mode of being that is free from mind-contaminants (Kilesa) such as lust, anger or craving. It is thus a state of great inner peace and contentment - the end of suffering, or Dukkha. The Buddha in the Dhammapada says of Nirvana that it is "the highest happiness." This is not the transitory, sense-based happiness of everyday life, but rather an enduring, transcendental happiness integral to the calmness attained through enlightenment.

Here are my thoughts. As I was saying earlier, Nirvana throws the baby out with the bathwater. What I mean is that in order to get rid of the natural desires of the flesh, one would also have to give up the joy involved in the fulfillment of those desires. I don't believe God made us to be stoics (another philosophy involving the abandonment of desire). He made us in His image, with feelings. He made us male and female and He designed us for relationships. Yes, sin came into the world and brought with it pain and suffering, but although it marred the image of God in man, it did not eliminate it. The goal of attaining enlightenment seems to me to be an utterly selfish one in which relationships, as well as desires, would have to be sacrificed. While we cannot seek to make ourselves happy solely through relationships with others, God did create us for a relationship with Him and it is only in restoring that relationship through the experience of salvation that we find the abundant life He intended for Adam and Eve.

Nirvana seeks to get rid of pain by getting rid of desire, but the problem with that is that pain is also part of the human experience and serves a very real and in the long run, welcome, purpose of making us stronger, more mature, and better able to relate to others. Also, pain and suffering help us to long for Heaven, the true place of fulfillment.

Here are some additional thoughts of my friend Brant on the subject:
Some of the concepts about nirvana and Buddhism are so abstract, they are kind of hard to grasp. I read that Buddha, as a young kid, was sheltered from different kinds of suffering...people of old age...sickness...etc. At 29 years of age, he sought to find the origin of suffering and how it could be overcome. I guess the goal of Buddhism is to obtain the state of nirvana. In doing this, it involves getting rid of the desires which in the end lead to suffering. I agree with you in that setting a goal of nirvana is a selfish one. It reminds of some new age thoughts that are centered around "feeling good." I am also reminded of a saying I heard one time, "The worship service is not about giving you goose bumps! When you leave a service, you should not be concerned with how YOU feel, but how does God feel. Was he lifted up?" (paraphrase)
For a Christian, we are told in scripture that there will be persecution..suffering. There is no way to escape it. For some, it may be emotional suffering, but for some, such as persecuted believers and martyrs, there is actual physical suffering. Even though suffering may not be pleasant, it definitely has its place in a Christian's life. It reminds us of our weakness, teaches us about God, builds perserverance and helps us understand Christ's sacrifice. I found this passage Matt. 5:4..it says, "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. " I look to our perfect example of how we should live...Jesus Christ...and how he suffered. It weird we can find enjoyment through suffereing for the cause, but its true.

What do you think?

Cry Out to Jesus

After dropping Granddaddy off at his church, I was headed back to the house to get ready to go to mine when I passed a house with an assortment of inflatable Christmas decorations...you know the six-foot Santa, the Christmas Merry-Go-Round and of course the giant Frosty. As I approached, I could tell Frosty was holding something in his hand, but I couldn't tell what it was until I got closer. It was a candy cane-outstretched like he was offering it to someone, only the air had seeped out and the candy cane was drooping, just like the real ones when they're broken in half, but still hanging on by the plastic wrapper. It hit me that sometimes we look like that to God. Holding out our broken lives saying "Here you go, God. It's broken, but it's all I've got."

When I was a child, there was a song by the Gaithers that I loved called "Give Them All." I can't remember all the words, but the chorus went something like this,

Give them all,
Give them all
Give them all to Jesus.
Shattered dreams
Wounded hearts
And broken toys.
Give them all
Give them all
Give them all to Jesus,
And He will turn
Your sorrows
Into joys.

I was too young to understand the shattered dreams and wounded hearts part, but I got the broken toys. Now that I'm older, the toys aren't so much what I mourn, but the disappointments in life make me feel like that inflatable Frosty holding out my droopy candy cane saying, "God, can you fix it, or better yet, can I have a new one?"

The problem of pain exists and it's not getting better this side of Heaven. We're all victims, 100%, of the pain, sorrow and frustration that plagues humanity and while we may be aware that the ultimate cause is sin, and that we live in a fallen world, it's hard to find comfort in that. The only way to find comfort is to bring our sorrows to the Cross.

We often think of the Cross as only a place to get our sins forgiven and have our way paid to Heaven, but the truth is that not only was our redemption purchased there, but all the effects of sin were washed away there. We can have peace in the midst of trouble if we take our anxieties to Christ. Even if the sorrow is our own doing and we have failed miserably, God can redeem our biggest failures and make something beautiful come of them.

So many books and songs have been written addressing this very situation of humanity. The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis; Where's God When it Hurts by Philip Yancey; When God Doesn't Make Sense by James Dobson...and the list goes on.

The CD in my car's stereo right now has a song by Third Day called "Cry out to Jesus." It says no matter your situation, whether you are sad because of a tragic death, stuck in a marriage that isn't working out, fighting an addiction that won't let go or just plain lonely, the answer is to cry out to Jesus.

So, if you're feeling like Frosty with your broken candy cane of a life and there seems to be no light at the end of your tunnel, I pray you'll cry out to Jesus and let Him turn your sorrows into joys.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).