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An Arahat's Outlook On Life

The Arahat has no illusion about the nature of sense-objects. He is aware of their unwholesomeness and this means he realizes the truth of dukkha because he is free from ignorance (avijja). So he has no craving for anything. Inevitably, he has to fill the biological needs of his physical body such as eating, sleeping, etc., but he regards them as conditioned (sankhara) dukkha and finds nothing that is pleasant to him.

The question arises as to whether he should long for speedy death to end such suffering. But the desire for early death or dissolution of the physical body too is a destructive desire and the Arahat is free from it. So there is an Arahat's saying in the Theragatha that he has neither the wish to die nor the wish to live.

The Arahat does not wish to live a long life for life means largely the burden of suffering inherent in khandha. Although the burden of khandha needs constant care and attention, it is not in the least reliable. To many middle-aged or old people, life offers little more than frustration, disappointment and bitterness. Living conditions go from bad to worse, physical health declines and there is nothing but complete disintegration and death that await us. Yet, because of ignorance and attachment many people take delight in existence. On the other hand, the Arahat is disillusioned and he finds life dreary and monotonous. Hence, his distaste for life.

But the Arahat does not prefer death either. For death-wish is an aggressive instinct which he has also conquered. What he wants is to attain Nibbana, a longing that is somewhat analogous to that of a worker who wishes to get his daily or monthly wage.

The worker does not like to face hardship and privations for he has to work inevitably just to make his living but he does not want to lose his job either. He wants only money and looks forward to pay-day. Likewise, the Arahat waits for the moment when he should attain Nibbana without anything left of his body-mind complex. So when they think of their life-span, the Arahats wonder how long they will have to bear the burden of nama-rupa khandha. Because of his disillusionment, the Arahat's life-stream is completely cut off after Nibbana, hence it is called //anupadisesanibbana//.
 
 

Not Annihilation, But Extinction Of Suffering

Those who believe in ego or soul deprecate Nibbana as eternal death of a living being. In reality, it is the total extinction of suffering that results from the non-recurrence of psycho-physical phenomena together with their causes viz., kamma and defilements. So the Buddha points out the cessation of upadana arising from the complete cessation of craving, the process of becoming (bhava) ceasing to arise due to cessation of upadana and so on. With the non-arising of rebirth, there is the complete cessation of old age, death and other kinds of suffering.

Here, the popular view is that birth, old age and death are evils that afflict living beings but, in point of fact, these evils characterize only the psycho-physical process and have nothing to do with a living entity. Since there is no ego or soul, it makes no sense to speak of the annihilation of a living being with the cessation of rebirth and suffering.

So those who regard Nibbana as annihilation are not free from the illusion of ego-entity. To the intelligent Buddhist, Nibbana means only cessation of suffering. This is evident in the story of bhikkhu Yamaka in the time of the Buddha.
 
 
 
 

Story Of Yamaka

Yamaka believed that the Arahat was annihilated after his death. He clung to his view although other bhikkhus pointed out its falsity. Then, Sariputta summoned him. Questioned by the elder thera, Yamaka admitted that all the five khandhas are impermanent and suffering, that it would be a mistake to regard them as one's possession or self. Sariputta told him to see the five khandhas as they really are. He would then become disillusioned, detached and liberated.

While hearing the sermon, Yamaka attained the sotapanna stage. He was now free from false beliefs. Sariputta then questioned him again. In response to the thera's questions, Yamaka said that he did not identify the Arahat with the physical body, the perception, the feeling, conformations (sankhara) or the consciousness. Nor did he believe that the Arahat existed elsewhere without the rupa, vedana or any other khandha. Therefore, since the Arahat or a living entity is not to be found in the five khandhas even before death, it makes no sense to speak of the Arahat's annihilation after his parinibbana.

Yamaka confessed his mistaken view. He was now free from it and he knew what to say about the destiny of the Arahat. If someone were to ask him, "What happens when the Arahat passes away?", he would answer, "The death of the Arahat means the complete cessation of suffering inherent in the impermanent five khandhas."

This statement about the Arahat was confirmed by Sariputta. The thera likened the khandhas to the murderer who poses as a friend and said that identifying the khandhas with atta is like welcoming the murderer, etc.

Here, the thera Yamaka at first believed that the Arahat was annihilated after death, that there was nothing left. This belief presupposes the illusion of ego-entity and so the annihilation view of Nibbana is called ucchedaditthi, the view that Nibbana means the negation of atta after death. When he realized the truth and attained sotapanna, Yamaka said that the death of the Arahat means the complete extinction of suffering inherent in the impermanent five khandhas.

To sum up the way to the cessation of suffering, failure to note seeing, hearing and other psycho-physical phenomena leads to the arising of avijja, tanha, upadana, kamma, and sankhara that in turn cause birth, old age and death in future. Mindfulness of all phenomena forestalls the five present causes viz., avijja, etc., and the five consequences that involve suffering.

Bhikkhuni Vajira On The Nature Of Khandhas

Moreover, it is the extinction of suffering that is underscored in the famous saying of bhikkhuni Vajira. While she was sitting under a tree near Jetavana monastery, Mara appeared and in order to scare and discomfit her, asked her, "Hey, bhikkhuni! Who created a living being? Where is the creator? How did a living being originate and how would he come to an end?"

Bhikkhuni Vajira replied, "O, Mara! What do you think is a living being? Is not your belief in a living being an illusion? What you regard as a living being is nothing but a heap of sankhara. No being is to be found in this heap, a living being (sattava) is merely a term for the collection of five khandhas viz., rupa, vedana, etc., just as "chariot" is the term for the combination of wheel, axle, etc.; there is no being but only the group of five khandhas: That cause suffering - in fact, it is only suffering (dukkha) that arises, exists and ends. There is no arising and extinction of anything other than dukkha."

Therefore, a living being is to be understood only in the popular acceptation of the term. It does not exist in the absolute sense; there is only the psycho-physical process which comprises ignorance, craving, attachment, kamma and kammic effort as causes and consciousness, body-mind, sense bases, impression and feeling as effects. These effects in turn become causes that give rise to rebirth and suffering.