EricLee

UWRT1102
Thebeginningandending,thatis,Nirvana
Howwouldyoudefineasuccessfullife?Isithappiness,money,oryourremembrance?
Ofcourse,therearemanythoughtsandviews,thereisultimatelyoneanswerforthosewho
believeinBuddhism.ToachieveNirvanameanstoachievesuccesssatisfactionoflife3.Butwhy
doBuddhiststhrivefornirvana?Whatdoesitmeanforthemandtowhatextentwouldthey
chaseit?NirvanaisawidelycontroversialtopicamongstthosethatareandarentBuddhist.
Therearemultipleaspectstonirvanathatmustbebrokendown.Thereisacommon
misconceptionthatnirvanaisaBuddhistequivalenttoHeaven.Nirvanaisntaplacethat
someonewillgoafterdeath,itisastateofmindofwhichthereisnosuffering,angst,craving,
anger,andetc.whichisknowntobetheperfectstateofpeace2.Thereasonwhypeoplewould
wanttoattainthislevelofpeaceisbecauseofthesamsara2.Samsaraisknowntobethecycleof
birth,deathandrebirth2.Asonelivestheirlives,theirkarmafollowsthem,whichisthesumof
onesgoodorbaddeedswhichdirectlycorrelatestohowtheirfutureexistencewilllivetobe2.
Thisgoeshandinhandwithsamsarabutonceonehasreachedthestateofnirvana,theyhave
brokenfreefromthiscycle2.Tohavebeenbrokenfromthecycleoflifeanddeathmeansthat
theretheyhaverealizedthetruth2.
AccordingtoBuddhistteachings,everyoneisbornwiththetruthembeddedintothembut
areblindedbysecularthingswhichcloudtheirknowledgeofthetruth2.ToattainNirvanameans
tohavecometotheunderstandingofthetruththatweareallapartofoneandthatwemust
reunitetobecomeoneagain2.IbelievethatChrisMcCandlessfromIntotheWildhadreached
nirvanaupondeath.Inboththemovieandbook,ChrisMcCandlessdecidedthatsocietyis

poison.1Thispoisonthathespeaksofreferstoboththeaspectofmentalityandexpectations.
McCandlessmaynothavebeenBuddhistbuttherewerealotofBuddhistidealsthatcouldbe
implicitlyseenwithinhisactionsandthoughts.Histhoughtsocietybeingpoisonisdefinitelya
Buddhistmentalityalongwithhiswaysofwantingtorelyonnothingexceptforthenecessaries,
whichcouldbeseenwhereheburnsallofthecashhehasandleaveshiscarbehind1.Inorderto
reachNirvana,itisessentialtoleavebehindsecularmaterialbecauseintheafterlife,everything
willbeleftbehind4.
AlmostalloftheideologyexpressedbyMcCandlesscanberelatedtoBuddhism.The
onlydeterrencewouldbehisinevitabledislikeofhisfather,whichisresolvedattheveryend
wherehedecidesthatloveandhappinessmustbeshared1.McCandlessseemedtohaveavery
transcendentalphilosophyofwhichhisownbeingismuchmoreimportantthantheobligations
andtitlesheheldinsecularity.Albeithedidleavesociety,heleftinordertofindhimselfandhis
ownidentitywhichmaybeseentobesynonymoustotheBuddhistphilosophyofmodesty5.
Buddhistsbelieveinmodestyinthemostextremeways5.Itcannottrulybeknownif
McCandlesshadaspecificassociationwithreligionbutduringhistalkwithRonFranz,itwas
statedthathehadproblemswiththechurchbutfromtheinformationcollectedfromthetext,it
couldbeseenthatMcCandlessbelievesthatthereisanexistence,lifeorspiritwithineverything
heencounteredwhethermayitbeatreeoradeer1.ThisisverysynonymoustotheBuddhist
beliefofSamsara.
Uponneardeath,McCandlesswrotesomethingpivotalinhisjournal;Happinessonly
realwhenshared.5WhatdoesBuddhismsayaboutthis?IronicallyMcCandlessreachedthis
conclusionashewasneardeath.Allegorically,onereachesthestateofenlightenmentoncethey

haveopenedtheireyes.Asstatedpreviously,Nirvanacanonlybeattainedwhenoneis
enlightenedwhichleadstothefactthatenlightenmentmeansthatonehasrealizedthetruth
whichisobscuredthroughthehindranceofsocietyandsin.Nirvanaisnotjustastateofmind
strictlyforBuddhists.EnlightenmentandNirvanacanbeattainedbyanyonebecauseitisthe
realizationofthetruth5.Buddhismisnotrequiredtorealizethetruth,infact,Christians,Hindus,
AtheistsandIslamscanallreachNirvanaandEnlightenmentatanypointoftheirlife5.
Ultimately,IbelievethatChrisMcCandlessreachedNirvanaduringhisperiodofillness
beforedeath.IntotheWildremindsofanoldphilosophybyPlato,theallegoryofthecave.
Thosewhoarewithinthecaveareblindandthosewholeavethecavewillfindthetruth.Once
theenlightenedonetriestoconvincetheothers,theyareshunnedbecausetheyareleadbythe
puppeteersofdarkness.ManypeopledonotbelievethatMcCandlesschosetherightthingand
justasmanypeoplemaybelievethatheiscrazybutIbelievethatMcCandlessreachedNirvana
andEnlightenmentthroughhisactions.Heattainedultimateshameandultimatewisdomthrough
histrip.Whatdoyouthink?