“It is like a flame struck by a sudden gust of wind, said the Buddha. “In a flash it has gone out and nothing more can be know about it. It is the same with a wise man freed from mental existence; in a flash he as gone out and nothing more or less can be known about him.”— Sutta-Nipata 1074 (tr., H. Saddhatissa)
One of the problems with mainline Buddhism is the problem of soteriology or the same, salvation. While mainline Buddhism acknowledges the fact that human beings suffer, the Buddhist rescue is unclear. Various attempts to explain it tend to divagate.
It is hardly comforting to imagine that if we reach Nirvana we will be extinguished like a flame, which is the general belief of mainline Buddhists. However, if this is the case, then how is Nirvana different from normal biological death? This serves to underscore the problem mainline Buddhism has with soteriology.
From the standpoint of Zen, the idea that Nirvana is extinction is regarded as a inaccurate reading of Buddhism. The frequently used analogy of the flame going out simply means that one no longer feeds off the fuel of materialism which in this case, in the human body. A person who goes to Nirvana leaves behind their attachment to the body (i.e., the fuel) for a higher reality. This higher reality is the pure Mind. Whereas before, the mind-flame fed off of the corporeal, it now comes to realize its higher nature which is free from rebirth and suffering. Thus, like a flame, it goes out of the world to the highest one.
Perhaps, a more modern analogy is to consider the following. When our mind attaches to something which is other than its own pure nature, which is free and independent, it becomes disturbed. Hence, the Buddhist idea of suffering. It is like experiencing an imperfect harmony. Mind, goaded by this disharmony, tries to find the right harmony. This prompts a kind of nisus or thirst to get out of this disturbance. At last, when mind attains insight into pure Mind in comes into perfect harmony which is the bliss of Nirvana.
Buddhism accomplishes salvation by teaching us to relinquish our grip on materialism by turning our mind to its own pure nature which is free of suffering. But so long as we choose to dip down into the oily fuel of materialism, which causes our passions to burn hot, bringing about even more suffering, we can never expect to be free from suffering. After the exhaustion of this fuel, our mind-flame, still thirsty, will go on to another kind of fuel; always being dependent.
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