Lectures
These lectures comprise Rev. Issan Koyama's Ongoing Comparison Study of the Pali Mahāparinibbāna Sutta and the Mahayana Nirvana Sūtra.
Introduction to the Comparison Study.
Introducing six non-Buddhist teachers popular at the time of Gotama Buddha and the critical ways in which their teachings differed from his.
This lecture continues to examine the six popular non-Buddhist teachers and why their teachings fail to help King Ajatastru who is suffering from remorse at having killed his father and fears going to Avichi Hell.
Guided by Jivaka, King Ajasatru sets out to consult Gotama Buddha, urged on by King Bimbisara’s “voice from above.”
Having refused to delay entering Nirvana when asked by loyal disciples and countless human and nonhuman beings, Buddha announces that he will delay entering Parinirvana for the sake of King Ajasatru.
Examining Buddha's decision to delay entering Nirvana, Rev. Koyama explains how Buddhist concepts such as Buddha Nature, Dharmakaya and Liberation evolved and deepened in Mahayana Buddhism.
The Buddha begins speaking to King Ajatasatru, and this lecture focuses on the transformative potential of dukkha and the non-static nature of karma.
Part Eight of the comparison study examines a new way to think about causality.
Did King Ajatasatru sin by killing his father or not? Will he go to Avicchi hell?
The Buddha explains impermanence, emptiness and non-self, and upon hearing his words, King Ajatasattu finds peace, arouses bodhicitta and takes the bodhisattva vow.
These lectures are recordings of a Lecture Series offered by Rev. Issan Koyama. All materials may be accessed free of charge. Please do not use any written or audio-visual materials for commercial purposes. For permission to use these resources for educational purposes, kindly contact us in writing at: infor@nyzcfordogenstudy.org.
© 2026 New York Zen Community for Dōgen Study
Nirvana Sutra
Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra
(Japanese: Daihatsunehan-gyō)
Without flinching, the Nirvana Sutra plumbs the darkest depths of human suffering and reveals the extraordinary power of the dharma to liberate us from even the most agonizing distress.
Depicting the final days of Gotama Buddha’s life, the sutra offers an intimate portrait of the Buddha as an eighty-year-old man enduring the aches and pains of an aging body, increasingly prone to sickness and fatigue. Aware that death is approaching, he devotes his remaining days to clarifying the dharma, concerned that even some of his most devoted disciples may not yet fully understand his teaching.
Rev. Koyama’s exploration of the Nirvana Sutra is offered as a comparative study of the Mahayana Nirvana Sutra and the Pali Mahāparinibbāna Sutta rather than as a standalone lecture series.
Compiled around the first to second century CE, the Mahayana Nirvana Sutra is a greatly expanded and refined reworking of the Pali Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, which was composed much earlier, in the 4th century BCE.
Focusing on key events and figures common to both texts – such as King Ajātasattu, notorious for murdering his father, and Cunda, the layman who offered the Buddha his final meal -- Rev. Koyama demonstrates how Mahayana Buddhism elaborated and deepened fundamental Buddhist teachings with a more nuanced and empathetic understanding of human nature.
The English translation Rev. Koyama uses is based on the fifth-century Chinese version of the Nirvana Sutra translated by Dharmakshema. In this rendering, the Sanskrit term buddhadhātu is translated as “Buddha-nature,” marking the earliest appearance of what would become a central and widely debated concept in Buddhist thought.
Although the Nirvana Sutra contains passages that have sparked intense controversy, its influence on the understanding of the dharma has been profound and it is frequently cited by Dōgen and by teachers within our lineage. Above all, it is a deeply moving and inspiring look at human suffering and the Buddha’s non-discriminating compassion for all beings.
