Nirvana: A Story of Buddhist Psychology

The work opens with a Preamble that introduces the Buddha as the Enlightened One who teaches the origin of suffering and the path to liberation. The first narrative movement, “Sudatta, the Brahman Youth, at the Plow,” presents Sudatta’s encounter with Anuruddha and introduces the ethical problem of violence toward living beings. “The Story of the Hare” explains self-sacrifice, compassion, and the Bodhisatta path. “What is Nirvana?” gives the central doctrinal explanation of Nirvana as the extinction of craving, hatred, illusion, and mental disturbance. “Begging for Alms” and “The Wedding” place Buddhist discipline in contact with Brahmanical social life. “A Sermon on Happiness” and “The Controversy” explore the contrast between ritual, caste-based religion, and Buddhist insight into non-self. “The Katha-Upanishad” and “The Immortality of Deeds” further examine the relation between the soul, action, and moral continuity. “The Epidemic,” “Copying the Manuscript,” “Young Subhuti,” and “The Blessed One” bring the narrative toward its spiritual resolution, showing how Buddhist teaching transforms grief, doubt, and inherited belief into insight, compassion, and devotion to the path.