By Lewis Gwilt
What are Samsara and Nirvana?
Samsara encompasses the experience of suffering of all beings. It is defined by the sense of being a permanent and separate self. This denotes suffering because what is experienced as permanent and separate is only imagined.
Nirvana, in contrast, is the extinction or cessation of false views and suffering. It is the definitive state of mind, free from distortion and unrest. In Buddhism, Nirvana is described as the shore a liberated being reaches after crossing the ‘sea’ of Samsara.
The key component of suffering which is extinguished is the insatiable desire that is a by-product of the experience as a separate self. It results in us being self-centred, thinking that nothing outside of ourselves concerns us or matters.
By reinforcing, we seek to satisfy our wants and likes. This creates a dissatisfaction whenever they are absent. In the attempt to fill the void their absence leaves, we desire more and more.
Rather than leaving us satisfied, it produces the opposite desired effect of more dissatisfaction. The Buddha teaches us that the solution is not to seek short-term satisfaction but to figure out the cause of the cycle of desire.
It is this endless loop of dissatisfaction which comprises Samsara and that Nirvana signifies the end of.
Two sides of the same coin
While we may think Samsara and Nirvana could not be more different, this is only partially true. On the relative level, how they appear, we distinguish between Samsara and Nirvana.
As Nirvana is liberation from the false views responsible for our experience of suffering, we cannot possibly say Samsara is as true as Nirvana. To reconcile this, Buddhism teaches that Samsara and Nirvana are one – what is known as ultimate truth.
Whereas Samsara is rooted in misperception, Nirvana is the clear and direct perception of the way things are. Just as cold and hot water are not two different waters, Samsara and Nirvana do not represent two separate realities – they only appear to be.
In sum, the two represent the false and correct understandings of, not only ourselves, but the nature of all beings and life itself. With the cessation of suffering, the veil of Samsara is lifted and we see that our identity as a separate self was constructed, cloaking the true nature of our experience.
