..續本文上一頁is here that Buddhism differs from the Semitic religions because not only does Buddhism promise happiness and prosperity in this life and next, Buddhism also offers liberation - Nirvana, the total, absolute and permanent cessation of suffering. This is the ultimate and final goal of Buddhism.

　　When we speak of Nirvana, we encounter certain problems of expression because when we are speaking of an experience, the exact nature of that experience cannot be communicated. It has to be experienced directly. This is true of all experiences whether they be the experiences of the taste of salt, sugar, chocolate or whatever. All these experiences cannot be exactly described. I often ask people here in Singapore in order to make this point. Imagine I have just recently arrived in Singapore and I have not eaten a durian. How would you describe to me the taste of a durian

　　 Would it be possible to describe accurately the taste of a durian if I have not eaten one myself

　　 We can describe it by means of comparison or simile or by means of negation. So, for instance, you might say that a durian is slightly sour, that it has a mealy texture. You might say a durian is something like a jackfruit or you might say a durian is not like a banana. So we have a similar kind of problem when we come to try to describe Nirvana. We find that the Buddha and Buddhist teachers have used these kinds of devices to describe Nirvana.

　　The Buddha described Nirvana as supreme happiness, as peace, as immortal. Similarly, He has described Nirvana as uncreated, unformed, as beyond the earth, as beyond water, fire, air, beyond the sun and moon, unfathomable, unmeasurable. So we have two approaches to the description of Nirvana. One is the positive approach where we liken Nirvana to something which we experience in this world where, say, when one experiences intense happiness accompanied by profound peace of mind one can imagine that one is experiencing a faint glimpse of Nirvana. But a jackfruit is not really like a durian. Similarly, we can say that Nirvana is not like anything in this world, is not like any experience that we have from day to day. It is uncreated. It is beyond the sun and the moon. It is beyond all these names and forms which we are used to thinking in terms of, through which we experience the world. The point of all these is that to understand what Nirvana is really like one has to experience it for oneself. To know what a durian is really like, one has to eat it. No amount of essays, no amount of descriptions of durians will even approach the experience of eating one. One has to experience the end of suffering for oneself and the way that one does it is through eliminating the causes of suffering - the defilements of desire (Raga) ill-will (Dosha) and ignorance (Avidya). When one has totally eliminated these causes of suffering, then one will experience for oneself Nirvana.

　　How does one remove these causes of suffering

　　 What are the means through which one can remove the defilements that lead to suffering

　　 This is the path taught by the Buddha. It is the Middle Path, the path of moderation. You will recall that the life of the Buddha before His Enlightenment falls into two quite distinct periods. The period before renunciation was a period when He enjoyed all the luxury possible. For instance, we are told that He had three palaces, one for each season. He experienced luxury to an extent which we can scarcely imagine. This period of luxury was superseded by six years of extreme asceticism and self-mortification when He abandoned the essential amenities of life, a period in which He lived in the open, wore the poorest garments and fasted for lengthy periods. In addition to these privations, He experienced the suffering of torturing His body through vario…

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