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The Buddha responded:
If a man is struck by an arrow and is in excruciating pain, will he not remove the arrow and place medications on the wound? Or will that person first search for the cause of the arrow being shot at him? Will he first seek to know the intention of the person who shot the arrow?
The inquirer answered, that, the person will first remove the arrow and treat the wound. The Buddha then said:
Dear friend, you have been struck by the arrow of deaththe cycle of death and rebirth (Kala), and therefore you should first rid yourself of the suffering, just as the man struck by an arrow first removed the arrow. Then you may consider questions about who created this world, and why, and by what means.
This example shows that getting rid of the arrow of suffering is a way to understand nirvana, which is ridding ourselves of the cycle of birth and death. It is not an exaggeration to say that one who conquers death through Sadhana (meditation) attains
nirvana.
Several definitions of nirvana are given in the Buddhist texts:
Nirvana is a state in which all the samskaras (imprints of karmas and tendencies) are erased. It is a state in which all afflictions and pains are destroyed, selfish desires are overcome, and one is devoid of attachments. (Dighanikaya, Mahapdanasutta)
Another Buddhist text recounts of a time when an ascetic approached the Buddha and asked:
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