Nirvana

I find I'm less interested in religious "concepts" than I am in concrete realities.  Nirvana as a philosophical concept leaves me cold, but this description of what Nirvana is supposed to produce in a practicing Buddhist who has attained it is fascinating and suggestive:


"He who has realized the Truth, Nirvana, is the happiest being in the world.  He is free from all 'complexes' and obsessions, the worries and troubles that torment others.  His mental health is perfect.  He does not repent the past, nor does he brood over the future.  He lives fully in the present.  Therefore he appreciates and enjoys things in the purest sense without self-projections.  He is joyful, exultant, enjoying the pure life, his faculties pleased, free from anxiety, serene and peaceful.  As he is free from selfish desire, hatred, ignorance, conceit, pride and all such 'defilements', he is pure and gentle, full of universal love, compassion, kindness, sympathy, understanding and tolerance.  His service to others is of the purest, For he has not thought of self."

Walpola Rahula
What the Buddha Taught