Part 22 - The Cooling of the Fires: The Taste of Peace
(Nibbāna as Real Experience — Not Concept)
When becoming stops,
the fires that used to burn us—
the fires of wanting, resisting, and controlling—
begin to cool.
This cooling is nibbāna.
Not a mystical realm.
Not a reward after death.
Not an escape from the world.
It is simply:
the absence of tension
where tension used to be.
Fear softens.
Grasping loosens.
The heart becomes wide and gentle.
Peace is not something we create.
It is what remains
when the struggle to be “someone” ends.
Peace without conditions
Most people look for peace in:
- silence
- retreats
- nature
- meditation states
Those can help.
But they are conditional peace.
When conditions change—
the peace disappears.
Nibbāna is peace that does not depend
on sound, place, mood, or success.
It arises
when the cause of disturbance is absent.
The mind becomes trustworthy
As the fires cool:
- reactions slow down
- choices become easier
- kindness becomes natural
- wisdom becomes spontaneous
We stop fighting life.
We start flowing with it.
We begin to trust:
- experience
- change
- others
- and ourselves
This trust is not naive—
it is the result of no longer being a threat
to our own well-being.
Joy without excitement
This peace is not dull.
It is fresh, alive, intimate.
Like stepping out of heat
into a cool breeze.
Like putting down
a burden you didn’t realize
you were carrying.
The joy of nibbāna
is the joy of nothing to fix.
An everyday taste of liberation
We may still:
- work
- love
- feel emotions
- navigate challenges
But the inner contraction
is gone.
Life becomes simple
because there is no self
complicating it.
One sentence summary of Part 22
Nibbāna is the natural peace
that appears when the struggle to be “me” dissolves.