Is it possible that nibbana after death does not exist, and even if you become enlightened, there is nothing after death?
And if this is so, wouldn't this make living as a monk, trying to become enlightened, pointless, as when you die, your consciousness, which is in your brain, decays and is proven to not exist anymore?
The universe and life can be eternal, no matter if you're enlightened or not.
Wow, that's a breathful mouthful.
Anything's possible if you haven't experienced reality.
If you haven't come to see the truth for yourself, then yeah, anything's possible.
It's possible that God's waiting to receive you in heaven for eternity or send you to hell for eternity.
It's not logical, but it's just as possible as anything else before you have the facts.
But once you have the facts from empirical observation, I mean the corollary is kind of funny because obviously I do have a view that nibana after death does exist for an arahat, not for anyone else.
But wait, so if you become enlightened, there is nothing after death.
I think you're misunderstanding here.
Nibbana is not a place that you go after death.
Nibbana does mean there is, in a sense, nothing after death because there's no more arising of that which is impermanent suffering and non-self.
But I think you're hitting on a very important point that considering that it's nothing, there is really no point
The only point that you can say, there is kind of a point, and the only way you can say that, we've talked about this many times before, the only way you can say there's a point to say Nibbana is that it's internally consistent.
You want to be free from suffering and you don't suffer.
Any other path is internally inconsistent because you want to be free from suffering and yet you're acting in such a way that brings about suffering.
The attainment of nibbana is the only way to be logic, be internally consistent.
Be consistent to your own desires, your own wishes, your own intentions.
But the point is that if you're not enlightened, this doesn't happen.
If you're not enlightened, when you die you have to come back.
That's our view as Buddhists.
Agree with it or don't agree with it, that's really the problem because if it weren't the case, then there wouldn't be any point to meditating.
You just wait until you die or even commit suicide.
There's really no point to life at all.
That's why they say things like Buddhism are wishful thinking or religion is all wishful thinking.
Just because you want it to be true doesn't make it true.
That's true.
It certainly doesn't.
But it doesn't make it false either.
So seeing the truth, observing objectively, is what allows you to see the truth.