How to get to Nirvana?

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The fourth noble truth states that the path to ending suffering is the noble eightfold path.

  1. Right view
  2. Right resolve
  3. Right speech
  4. Right action
  5. Right livelihood
  6. Right effort
  7. Right mindfulness
  8. Right concentration

1 and 2 are the foundations of wisdom. 3, 4 and 5 are the foundations for virtue, 6, 7 and 8 are the foundations of meditation.

This is a very broad outline of the path to nirvana. You should be wary of people who give a simple precise description with promises of results like "Just follow my practice for 10 years and you'll be nearly enlightened".

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Start walking through the Eightfold Path. Keep the first step today. so one day you will reach the destination. If you start your journey today Dhamma has the power to take you to the destination. That is why lord buddha told "Dhammo hawe Rakkathi dhamma chaari". It means those who behave within the Dhamma instructions Dhamma will protect them and take them to the Nirwana. Control you Body, Words, and Mind avoiding unwholesome acts and engaging in more and more wholesome acts while practicing one of the meditation method. Continuous engagement of this life style will take you to the right place.

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Just as an addition to all these quite detailed answers: As I understand it you can't get nibbana. This phrase is like an oxymoron. Nibbana is a word meant to describe the state of non-clinging, meaning you're doing less and not getting something new.

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(With the risk that this only corresponds to a certain interpretation of Theravada buddhism, in particular based on Mahasi Saydaw and Sayadaw U Pandita's texts.)

Nibbana is "state" when mental processes (samsara, uniterrupted moment-to-moment arising of conscious experience) cease, thus it is a "state" called supramundane, outside of time & space. It is said to have a profound impact on how one relates to experience and can be achieved through vipassana (contemplation practice). Vissudhimagga describes 16 stages of insight naturally occuring during contemplation and the knowledge of fruition (phala-nana, #15) is just this. The reason why I put "state" and "experience" in quotation marks is that the "moment" is missing from consciousness (like discontinuity in time which you only realize when it's gone). "It" is never achieved permanently but its purification effects are lasting.

The very first "experience" of nibbana is called stream-entry (sotapatti) and it can be attained repeatedly through practice.

The Buddha said that Nibbana is achieved through vipassana (which cultivates wisdom, and rests upon morality/personality and concentration), as explained in other answers in more detail.

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If there is ONE Sutta that tells in a nutshell the Factors of Enlightenment, the Path to Nibbana, it is the The Greater Discourse to Sakuludayin (Mahasakuludayi Sutta) . MN 77 . They are:

  • The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
  • The Four Right Kinds of Striving
  • The Four Bases for Spiritual Power
  • The Five Faculties
  • The Five Powers
  • The Seven Enlightenment Factors
  • The Noble Eightfold Path

Upvote:3

The noble eightfold path is the way to reach Nirvana. However, often the noble eightfold path is misapprehended, where: (i) the wisdom component is misinterpreted in a manner that disconnects it from the rest of the path rather than has it lead the path; (ii) 'self-views' (about karma & reincarnation) are created from the morality component; & (iii) the concentration component is practised like hatha yoga, with all kinds of rigid & structured mind-body exercises.

Fortunately, in many places, the Lord Buddha summarised the path to Nirvana as non-attachment.

To practise the noble eightfold path most accurately, every factor must be based in non-craving, non-attachment & non-egoism. Otherwise, ideas about the noble eightfold path may be followed for more than 10 years, enlightenment may never occur and ideas about reincarnation will be created to postpone practise for a future life you imagine the noble eightfold path teaches about.

In summary, the Right View component explains: (i) attaching to the five aggregates is suffering; (ii) this suffering arises due to craving & new becoming in the here-&-now; & most importantly; (iii) this craving (attachment & ego-becoming) are to be abandoned. It follows the Right Effort & Right Mindfulness factors function to keep the mind in a state of non-craving, non-craving & non-egoism, as described as follows:

Of those, right view is the forerunner (leader). One makes an effort for the abandoning of wrong view & for entering into right view: This is one's right effort. One is mindful to abandon wrong view & to enter & remain in right view: This is one's right mindfulness. Thus these three qualities β€” right view, right effort & right mindfulness β€” run & circle around right view.

MN 117

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A monk develops mindfulness as a factor for enlightenment dependent on seclusion, dependent on dispassion (non-craving), dependent on cessation, resulting in letting go (vossagga).

MN 118

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And what is the faculty of mindfulness? There is the case where a monk, a disciple of the noble ones, is mindful...abandoning greed & distress with reference to the world. This is called the faculty of mindfulness.

And what is the faculty of concentration? There is the case where a monk, a disciple of the noble ones, making it his object to let go (vossagga), attains concentration, attains singleness of mind. This is called the faculty of concentration.

SN 48.10

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