TRAVELLING TO ‘LAND OF NIBBANA'
All Buddhist whether they be laypersons or Samana (Bhikkhu) or Dharma practitioners all wish to be born in the land of Nibbana where there is always happiness and enjoyment.
This Land of Nibbana was found by Lord Buddha under the Maha bhodi Tree after he practiced his Kammathana. Before his attaining Enlightenment, Prince Siddhartha suffered beyond imagination. He has the ability to know past, present and future ad he knows accurately everything in the Universe and this is why we called him Boroma Guru and he has traveled to this Land of Nibbana.
In the Universe, Lord Buddha has described there are eight places for all world beings and souls are born. They are:-
To be born in this Nibbana world, they will be blessed with ten most precious blessings.
In the Nibbana world:-
At this stage, I know some of you would express some doubts and ask questions that ‘How do we know that there is such a place called Nibbana world? How do we know there are Demons, Gods and Goddesses? How can we prove these? To answer these questions, Lord Buddha has described that there are two types of Dharma:-
These two types of Dharma can prove that there are worlds beyond, that is, there is Hell, Heaven, Paradise. Anyone who does not believe can use these two types of Dharma to prove their existence as Dharma is ‘Akaliko' as there is no time and place limit and they can be practiced by anyone regardless of age and sex.
After his Enlightenment, Lord Buddha has constructed two types of vehicles for people to reach Heaven and these two vehicles are:-
Lord Buddha had already succeeded in doing so as countless number of people has already traveled to these places. Lord Buddha has declared his Sacca Dharma to the world of human beings, the world of Naga, the world of Bhrama and his Sacca Dharma has been practiced by beings of these worlds.
Lord Buddha's Dharma is still in existence. His teachings are real and they can be proven. His principle of teachings can be practiced by anyone at any time and can be used to travel to – Paradise, Bhrama and Nibbana worlds. His Teachings is Amatta and has proclaimed to the world for over 2539 years. We have been very fortunate to have been born to see and hear Lord Buddha Dharma, which, in another word, is called Phra Rattanatraya or Dharma Rattanatraya.
When I know something so precious like Lord Buddha Dharma I would like all of you to start exploring it so as to benefit yourself and others around you. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time, just like a monkey picking up a 10 carat diamond.
Lord Buddha's Dharma is so precious and I would urge all of you not to ignore it otherwise, in this life, you will achieve nothing. Also do not delay in practicing it as time and tide waits for no man. It will not be long before we leave this world and postponement from day to day is just like walking on a long and endless path.
How can we travel to Paradise, Bhrama and Nibbana worlds?
Lord Buddha traveled to these worlds by Hinayana (small vehicle) – meditative attainment. As for us, we need someone to lead us there and we have to use Mahayana (large vehicle). In order to be able to climb on the Mahayana it depends on our accumulative Parami (merits).
For Lord Buddha, after proclaiming Buddhism to the world at the City of Rajagaha (known in Lao and Thai as Rajakuk) which was ruled by Kind Bimbisana (Phimpisan) who later built a Buddhist temple and presented to Lord Buddha. The temple was called ‘Veruvannaram Temple'. It was the first temple presented to Lord Buddha. Later, Lord Buddha traveled to the City of Kapilavathu (Kabillapat) which was ruled by his father , King Sri Sudhodana (Southothana) who also built and presented the second temple to Lord Buddha. This temple was called ‘Khodharam Temple'. When Lord Buddha traveled to City of Savatthi where a wealthy man by the name of Anathapindika presented him the third temple.
When he traveled to City of Savadhi, a Lady by the name of Visakha Mahapalika presented him the fourth temple, which was called ‘BupharamTemple'. The fifth temple which was presented to Lord Buddha was from a wealthy man by the name of Khosaka, and the temple was called Khosritaram Temple' located at the Kosamphi City.
Also, the biggest Temple Hall (Sala) which was built by officials and wealthy persons was also presented to him after the fifth temple was presented to him Lord Buddha accepted all the five temples including the Sala Temple and realised the individual merits were not great so he decided to expand these merits to be Maha Parami by telling all donors that he would offer these Five Temples and Sala Temple to the public for being administered by the Sangha , not to any Bhikku in particular.
Lord Buddha had no temple for himself. Lord Buddha thus dedicated his Sanghadana to be the Five Mahayana (large vehicle) so as to transport those who demonstrated themselves to be Buddhamamaka, which includes Bhikkhu (monks), Bhikkhuni (Nuns), Upasoka and Upasikka (male and female Buddhist) who had sincere faith in him.
For those wishing to travel to Paradise, Brahman and Nibbana world after passing away from this human world, four main large vehicles are available which Lord Buddha had registered with ‘The Council of Devas'. Human beings can select which large vehicle they wish to travel to these places and these Four vehicle are:-
Which vehicle you wish to travel depends on yourself. You can select any vehicle that you feel comfortable with. With new technology, there are so many fast planes some of which can even break the speed of sound, but none of them can be used to travel to these worlds. There are three conditions, which are necessary for people to board these vehicles and these conditions are:-
If you have never been there and how can you go?
If you do not know the place and have never been to such a place, it is necessary for anyone of us to have someone leading us to that place as these places are so far away. In Pali the one who can lead us there is called ‘Sarana'. If we do not have a Sarana, we will not be able to get to those places. In Buddhism, Lord Buddha has given us Sarana, which we can rely on to go these places. These three Sarana, in another word, is called the triple Gems or Phra Rattranatraya and which are:-
You can also rely on Lord Buddha, but remember that Lord Buddha has passed away more than 2539 years ago. His Dharma teachings are still in existence and his disciples are still can be found all over the world.
If you decided to rely on Lord Buddha Teachings, you can select any part or portion, but remember that there are 84, 000 Phra Dharma Khanna. You can also rely on the Aryasangha, but again, they have all passed away like Lord Buddha himself. You can also rely on the Sammatti Sangha (authorised Sangha) who have been vigorously practiced according to Lord Buddha 's Teachings.
These Sammatti Sangha live in many parts of the world and they are ready to guide you to the right path to the places you want to reach after passing away. Whenever you are ready to accept power of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha – Sabba Buddha Nubbavena, Sabba Dharma Nubbavena and Sabbha Sangha Nubbavena any Buddhist monk is ready to give you guidance.
With the power of the Phra Sri Rattatraya, I pray for all Buddhamamaka to have wisdom and to be happy at all time. Before concluding this book, I would like to talk to you about 'Going to a Buddhist Funeral'