The Origin of Nirvana without Remainder

Regardless of the state of consciousness, the mental faculty is always active, engaged in deliberation and contemplation. When consciousness is unable to decide, one may choose to space out or enter a daze; unexpectedly, a good idea may emerge at some point. The activities of the mental faculty are extremely difficult to cease. Do not assume that when consciousness becomes still, the mental faculty also becomes still. The thought processes of the mental faculty are likely imperceptible to all of us, being far too profound. Temporary stillness of the mental faculty does not necessarily lead to entering Nirvana without remainder. We must hold a correct understanding of Nirvana without remainder. Only when the mental faculty completely severs attachment to the self's five aggregates body and eradicates all craving for the Triple Realm, abandoning any hope for the mundane world, can one enter Nirvana without remainder upon the end of life. Entering Nirvana without remainder involves a process: one must attain the first, second, third, and fourth fruits of enlightenment, possess meditative absorption at the level of the first dhyāna or higher, eliminate all afflictions, and then gradually reduce the mental activities of the mental faculty until they become fewer and fewer, making entry into meditative absorption extremely easy and swift. At life's end, when the four great elements of the physical body disintegrate, the five pervasive mental factors of the mental faculty decrease. It no longer directs attention toward the Triple Realm, no longer experiences sensations, no longer grasps at appearances, no longer discriminates, no longer makes choices, and desires no further activity. Consequently, the Tathāgatagarbha ceases to produce any phenomena, the five aggregates body then extinguishes, and without an intermediate state (antarābhava), one enters the state of Nirvana without remainder.