Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c7.s3.t16.8

c7.s3.t16.8

(iii) METAPHYSICAL. The metaphysical aspect of Nibbāna presents the greatest difficulties to the students of Buddhism and has been the source of many controversies. There is no end of metaphorical terms and passages in the Nikāyas to describe Nibbāna admitting of a metaphysical interpretation. The notable passage of the *Itivuttaka*¹: ‘Atthi, bhikkhave, abhūtam akatam asaṅkhatam’ shows that the early Buddhists conceived of Nibbāna not as annihilation but as something positive,² which is, however, infinite and indescribable like Ākāsa. It is called a dhātu (realm) beyond the three dhātus,—the Apariyāpanna- or Lokuttara-dhātu. It is a state to be realised (sacchikātabba) within one’s own self (paccattam veditabbo viññūhi). It is homogeneous (ekarasa) and in it there is no individuality. It is like the disappearance of flame in the fathomless state of existence in the infinite.