{"id":242,"date":"2011-02-15T10:09:28","date_gmt":"2011-02-15T10:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/2011\/02\/nirvana-day.html"},"modified":"2011-02-15T10:09:28","modified_gmt":"2011-02-15T10:09:28","slug":"nirvana-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2011\/02\/nirvana-day.html","title":{"rendered":"Nirvana Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"buddha_golden.jpg\"<\/a><\/span>Today, 15 February, marks the Buddhist holiday of “Nirvana Day.” It celebrates the Buddha’s death at the age of 80 and his transition into paranirvana — the ultimate nirvana. <\/p>\n

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The idea of paranirvana is predicated on the idea of rebirth. When the Buddha died he was, according the traditional view, liberated from the cycles of death and rebirth. He did not have to be reborn unless he chose to. <\/div>\n
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There’s a lot of epistemological baggage with this idea that is not sanguine to a lot of Westerners. Stephen Batchelor has articulated a secular form of Buddhism in his beautifully written Buddhism Without Beliefs<\/a><\/i> and more recently Confession of a Buddhist Atheist<\/a><\/i>.<\/a><\/div>\n
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It’s possible for us all to be Buddha without subscribing to any particular form of Buddhism or any of the untestable ideas such as rebirth. If the idea of rebirth appeals to you, you will find great comfort and color in the practices and beliefs of Tibetan Buddhism.<\/div>\n
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Nirvana (or nibbana in Pali) is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Buddhism (right up there with karma). It’s often mistaken for some kind of blissed-out realm or state of being where everything is light and love. <\/div>\n
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Nirvana means “cessation” or more literally “blowing out” as you would a candle flame. It refers to the cessation of all the mental activities that creates suffering and is the promise of the Third Noble Truth. When we stop indoctrinating ourselves with anguish-producing thoughts there is a release into what is called nirvana. <\/div>\n
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Now, of course, this experience may be accompanied by peacefulness, serenity, bliss, and a feeling of great expansiveness. It can also be quite ordinary; a simple coming to the ground of now. <\/div>\n
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To read more about Nirvana day, you can check out this story on the BBC<\/a>. <\/div>\n
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 <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}