Some thoughts about three

This is the very heart of the sutra. It is a frightening teaching in some ways. The ultimate goal, complete nirvana, is the extinction of the self. In some commentary I was reading, it says that "incomplete nirvana," is freedom from all mental attachments, such as the concept of self. I have a very developed concept of self right now, so I can only comment abstractly that this is a goal of buddhist practice. Evidently it means something different than simply having amnesia, which is ultimately a denial of the truth. I think in extinguishing the concept of self in Buddhist practice, the goal is to become fully in tune with reality, and to notice that like all concepts, the concept of self is fuzzy around the edges. After all, I am not the same person I was ten years ago, so in what sense do I have the same self? Self-hood is a useful concept, but like all dharmas, it is to be discarded when necessary. (I just used the word dharma there, and it is word whose definition I don't completely understand. However, I do know that teachings (and concepts) fall under the category of "dharma.") Elsewhere in this sutra, Bhudda says that this teaching will have a tendency to bewilder people and make them fearful. (more or less) The concept of extinguishing the self is indeed bewildering and frightening, although as I said it makes perfect logical sense. All of our mental models of the world break down at some point.

I mentioned the definition of incomplete nirvana in the preceding paragraph. Complete nirvana is like incomplete nirvana except the physical aspect is removed as well. In some ways it seems synonomous with death, and indeed the buddha is said to have reached complete nirvana when his physical body died. However, one of the commentaries I was reading has this to say:
"Nirvana is the place where we put an end to the round of birth and eath and escape the wheel of endless rebirth. It is truly the greatest and most wonderful of places. But it does not mean death. Ordinary people do not understand this and think it means death. They are wrong. By complete nirvana is meant ultimate liberation beyond which there is nothing else."[Wang Jih-hsiu] It was a belief at the time of the Buddha (a belief which still persists) that people are born and reborn. I suppose complete nirvana, according to this commentary, is the final death where your are never reborn. This is extremely odd to me. The ultimate aspiration of the buddhist is not to come back after death. Buddha is serious. He means detachment from everything . This is certainly something I need to reflect on. ta ta for now.