Buddha ~ Where is He?

I was asked the question about the whereabouts of Gautam Buddha, as to where nirvana is?

When I said previously that I communicated with Buddha, some readers were astonished that I would say that. Some outright thought that I imagined an audience with a person who no longer exist, who went into nirvana.

But for any of these persons to explain nirvana, is a problem.

I found an interesting paragraph in the book, “The Way to Buddhahood” by Yin shun (page 103):

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In one assembly, Shakyamuni Buddha personally designated Maitreya Bodhisattvas as the next buddha of the world. At present Maitreya Bodhisattva is living in the Tushita Heaven in a special region called the inner court of Tushita. Whoever will be the next to descend here as a buddha must first live there; Shakyamuni Buddha did so in the past. The inner court of Tushita is an adorned Pure Land where Maitreya Bodhisattva frequently preaches the Dharma to infinite numbers of beings. After some time, Maitreya Bodhisattva will come to Jambhudvipa to become a buddha. By then, this world will have already been transformed into a Pure land.

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This does not show where Buddha is currently but it does clarify that there are Pure Lands where exalted beings reside. Jambhudvipa is another terms for the earth.

There is also a related statement in the same book. This one is about Buddha as a deity who is reached via idol/image forms (page 261):

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When one begins one’s practice, one should have a clear image of the form of a buddha, for which one can use a stone or wooden statue or a portrait. One should focus on this image to collect the mind. During practice, however, one should think that the image one is focused on is a real buddha and not the statue of buddha made from wood, stone, etc. Only in this way can one succeed. When one does so, a buddha will be visualized emitting light and expounding the Dharma. If one practices with the thought that this image is a statue of Buddha these virtues will be lost.