Toh 120The Mahāyāna Sūtra of the Great Parinirvāṇa

Explanation of the Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra (Mahāparinirvāṇamahāyānasūtra)

Background

The Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra (Mahāparinirvāṇamahāyānasūtra) is one of the most important scriptures of the Mahāyāna tradition, recorded in the Northern Transmission canon, the Tibetan Kangyur. This sūtra proclaims the theory of buddha-nature and impermanence, which are foundations of Mahāyāna philosophy.

In the context of Buddhist teaching, parinirvāṇa (Great Nirvāṇa) is not an impermanent extinction, but the supreme state of liberation, where all suffering, delusion, and defilement have been completely relinquished. The antecedents of this sūtra are translations from Sanskrit, but the version in the Kangyur reflects the profound development of Mahāyāna thought on the nature of Buddhahood, especially through the lens of eternal buddha-nature (Buddha-nature, भूद्धनुवाधसुवभावः).

Main Content

The Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra proclaims that all beings possess buddha-nature (buddha-dhātu), meaning the inherent potential to attain buddhahood. This is the core teaching that distinguishes the Mahāyāna from earlier traditions: it is not only arhats who have the capacity for awakening, but all beings, from human beings to animals, can become buddhas.

The sūtra teaches that nirvana is not the destruction of consciousness or a groundless void. Instead, it is the transformation of the five skandhas into the five Buddha bodies (pañcakāya), a distinctive theory within the Mahāyāna. This teaching differs from the view that nirvana is silence and immobility.

The sūtra also emphasizes the eternity of the Buddha’s Dharmakāya, the formless body that is not bound by birth and death. Therefore, although Śākyamuni Buddha left his physical body in the world, the Dharmakāya still illuminates the entire dharmadhātu and continues to teach beings through countless forms.