Nirvana : The Highest Happiness : Meditations on Buddhist Issues Book

Contents: Acknowledgements. 1. The personality of the Buddha. 2. Ambapali : a lady of pleasure who attained Buddhist sainthood. 3. Angulimala was a serial Killer-turned-Arhat. 4. The Buddhist doctrine of Karma. 5. Meditations on the practice of meditation. 6. The art of real meditation. 7. Does the "I" really exist? 8. What is the purpose of the Dharma? 9. The belief in a Creator-God. 10. Why believe in God? 11. The Buddha’s conversation with a farmer. 12. In praise of a solitary life. 13. Who is a genuine Brahmin? 14. Who is a sincere friend? 15. Does Buddhism condone or condemn meat eating? 16. The power of Paritta chanting. 17. Our debt of gratitude to our parents. 18. What is Nirvana?

"Nirvana, is the extinction of all illusion from consciousness, especially the deep-rooted delusion of ‘I’. It has been described as that which is unborn, unoriginated and unformed. This well researched and clear-sighted collection of essays is the work of an eminent writer in the field of Indology. Though written from the standpoint of Theravada, the author occasionally expresses views that lie outside the mainstream of current Theravada.

A collection of refreshingly original essays offer enquiry into the self from the Buddhist perspective.

"Who has the patience to endure suffering for an indefinite period of time? Let us rejoice that there is the possibility of immediate realisation, instantaneous spiritual transformation as it were in the twinkling of an eye. So if we fail to find the releases of enlightenment in this present life, we have only ourselves to blame for our great lassitude and lack of enthusiasm for Nirvana""