Seemingly contrary ideas of Nirvana are found in early Buddhist literature. Whereas some texts describe one who attains Nirvana as being conscious of everything, others depict Nirvana as a state in which consciousness has no object but emptiness or Nirvana. In this paper I deal with this paradox of Nirvana consciousness by exploring the correlations between several statements in early Buddhist texts. A number of sutta passages are cited to show that they contain doctrinal elements which, when considered collectively, may cast valuable light on how to reconcile this paradox. Two pivotal notions are ‘non-abiding consciousness’ and ‘consciousness that is infinite, pervasive all around’. These two notions are connected to each other and seem to subsume or bridge the two strikingly distinct forms of Nirvana consciousness mentioned above. Nirvana consciousness said to be ‘non-abiding’, which is analogous to ‘without object’, does ‘not abide’ (non-abiding) in any objects in the sense that it does not cling to them or rest on them. The ‘infinite, all-pervasive’ consciousness, based on stopping normal consciousness, does not depend on any sense objects, and hence it is unconditioned by them and operates unhindered. Nirvana consciousness thus constitutes the infinite realization free from all conditioning and hindrance. This resonates with the idea that one who attains Nirvana is conscious of everything.

中文翻译：

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有意识还是无对象意识？涅槃悖论

在早期的佛教文献中发现了看似相反的涅槃观念。有些经文将证得涅盘的人描述为对一切都有意识，而另一些则将涅盘描述为一种意识状态，在这种状态下，意识除了空性或涅槃之外别无他物。在这篇论文中，我通过探索早期佛教典籍中几个陈述之间的相关性来处理这种涅槃意识的悖论。引用了许多经节来表明它们包含教义元素，当综合考虑时，这些元素可能会为如何调和这个悖论提供宝贵的启示。两个关键概念是“无住心”和“无边无际、无处不在的心”。这两个概念相互关联，似乎包含或弥合了上述两种截然不同的涅槃意识形式。涅槃心被称为“无住”，类似于“无所缘”，在任何对象上都“不住”（不住），即它不依附于它们或停留在它们上。“无量遍遍”心，以止法心为基础，不依附于任何所缘，故不受其所制约，不受阻碍地运行。因此，涅槃心构成了无一切缘与障的无量证悟。这与证悟涅盘的人对一切都了知的想法产生了共鸣。不依附于任何感官对象，因此不受它们的制约，不受阻碍地运行。因此，涅槃心构成了无一切缘与障的无量证悟。这与证悟涅盘的人对一切都了知的想法产生了共鸣。不依附于任何感官对象，因此不受它们的制约，不受阻碍地运行。因此，涅槃心构成了无一切缘与障的无量证悟。这与证悟涅盘的人对一切都了知的想法产生了共鸣。