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I read the following on the internet:

But the core of the Realization has nothing to do with causality, otherwise Nirvana would still be subordinate to Samsara, while in fact Nirvana is famously unconditioned which is to say it transcends causality. The first time it [Nirvana] is perceived is referred to as a realization aka awakening to a truth never seen before.

What Pali or Sanskrit words in Buddhism are usually used to mean 'Realization'? Is Nirvana a Realization? Is Realization a nama-dhamma (mental phenomena) or can it be an asankhata-dhatu (unconditioned phenomena)? Can Realization be unconditioned & have nothing to do with causality? What Pali or Sanskrit words in Buddhism are usually used to refer to attaining the experience of Nibbana?

Dhamma Dhatu
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    In the Theravāda tradition, vipassanā is a practice that seeks "insight into the true nature of reality" – blue_ego Sep 27 '23 at 02:01
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    Please highlight "the core of" as well. Otherwise you are making it look like I said realization itself has nothing to do with causality. Here "the core" was a reference to the object of the realization aka Nirvana. I didn't use the word "object" because Nirvana is beyond subject/object separation, so I used the word "core" instead. – Andriy Volkov Sep 27 '23 at 11:42

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Sanskrit word for Nibbana is Nirvana. Nirvana means end of suffering. Although both words mean the same but the end result is different. Buddha says cessation of feelings and perceptions is Nibbana. But in Hinduism nirvana is merging into one undivided consciousness which is considered pure and blissful.

Realisation means becoming aware of some fact. Without realisation you can not attain Nibbana. Realisation that you are not body , you are not feelings , you are not perceptions, you are not choices, you are not consciousness.

I have not met anyone who has attained Nibbana. There are people who claim to enlightened but they are not fully realised.

Nibbana is said to be unconditioned. Even that is not self. Nibbana is unborn , unbecoming , uncreated , unoriginated and unformed. How can causality affect anything which is unborn ? Nibbana is escape from born , becoming, created , originated and formed.

Dheeraj Verma
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  • how do you know the end result is different? the words may be different but the actual difference is what? – blue_ego Sep 27 '23 at 22:48
  • @blue_ego I have already said what is the difference. I know because I have read both Hindu and Buddhist literature. – Dheeraj Verma Sep 28 '23 at 05:09
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What Pali or Sanskrit words in Buddhism are usually used to mean 'Realization'?

Without using a dictionary I think the English word "realize" has two meanings:

  1. Literally, "to make real" or "to actualize" -- e.g. "he realized his objective" -- where the word "real" to me means, literally or etymologically, "thing-like" or "tangible"
  2. Figuratively, "to understand" -- e.g. "I realized what you were saying"

When it's used in the context of Buddhist "enlightenment" I think that it's the second meaning, and that it's a one-word summary of what's described in more detail in SN 56.11:

‘This is the noble truth of suffering.’ Such was the vision, knowledge, wisdom, realization, and light that arose in me regarding teachings not learned before from another.

So it's Pali words like ñāṇa ("knowledge, understanding"), paññā ("wisdom; knowledge; insight"), vijjā ("higher knowledge; science").

Is Nirvana a Realization?

A better question might be, "do you understand it?"' -- or, referencing SN 56.11 again, has it "been understood?" (i.e. using the "perfect tense" to denote a completed action).

English-language grammar distinguishes nouns and verbs, i.e. "things" and "actions" -- and to say that Nirvana is a noun ("it is a realization") implies that it's some kind of thing, which is confusing -- and it's an example of "reification" (which is one of the themes of the post in question).

Is Realization a nama-dhamma (mental phenomena) or can it be an asankhata-dhatu (unconditioned phenomena)?

Did you ever read and enjoy Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance? The question reminds me of the bit about four fifths of the way through -- where he warns against Aristotle's classifying everything, and being a "professional academician", the theory that "dialectic comes before everything else", and the protagonist's complaint that what he considers primary is arbitrarily classified as a subcategory of something else.

But I think another answer on this site said it's conditioned -- that the act or process of enlightenment depends on conditions (e.g. "the factors of enlightenment").

ChrisW
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