Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c7.s3.t19.16

c7.s3.t19.16

This reply of Buddhaghosa did not, it seems, convince his opponent who passed on to the next argument as to whether the khaya, i.e., destruction of attachment (rāgakkhaya), etc. should be taken as Nibbāna.² Buddhaghosa answered in the negative, saying that in that case arhathood would also be mere extinction. Besides to take Nibbāna as khaya (destruction) of something would make Nibbāna impermanent, constituted, and disconnected with sammāvāyāma, etc. To this the opponent replied: It would not be wrong to say that because a thing after its decay has no more origination, it has attained Nibbāna.