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Gandhi's Teachers : Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta
new is produced, nothing disappears, and there is no change or motion. Nirvana is simply the quiescence of all plurality and no words are available to describe this state where thoughts and feeling do not arise, there is no subject of object of knowledge, there is no turmoil like birth, death, old age, disease, and only eternal bliss prevails. Buddha refrains from attributing positive character to reality, self, world, or changes in the world. No positive character is attached to the series of physical or mental happenings. There is no positive character of nirvana either. Buddha is silent on these issues and instead is interested in ethical and moral remaking of man.
As Buddhism aged, the tradition got divided into Hinayana, and Mahayana brnaches and different answers were given to the raised metaphysical questions. Hinayana tradition stayed closer to Buddha's original teachings and developed the doctrine of transitory nature of entities and substances. The goal of nirvana was prescribed and its nature specified. Popular gods were introduced as objects of meditation and veneration. The ideal was of arhat, a saintly person who frees self from the bondage of karmas through own ideals and efforts without external help. Buddha, in this tradition, is an ordinary person who developed into arhat and serves as example for others. Mahayana tradition developed the idea of a community-of-fate in which living and liberation were collective. The whole creation led a common life, shared common karmas, and worked out a common fate for liberation. Thus nirvana in this branch is not a matter of individual effort, but lots of outside help is available through multitudes of Buddhas, gods, and other sources. The core concept of Adi-Buddha was developed in Mahayana, who is original, primordial, unborn, uncreated, and unformed.40 Then there is the conception of Absolute Being or bhutatathata, who is the essence of existence and embodiment of truth and law or dharmakaya. Dharmakaya transforms into sambhogakaya (bliss body) and it transforms into nirmanakaya (assumed body). In addition, there are other Buddhas for meditation. Bodhisattvas (Buddhas in-the
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