My last attempt

saintmdterps said

Enlightenment, or Nirvana (which means "going out") is to be found in the elimination of Karma and the accompanying craving/aversion that bedevils us all. The extinction or "going out" of Enlightenment is the extinction of the very damaging notion that we are all separate discreet entities. Instead, Enlightenment focuses on finding unity with reality as it is, and not as we wish it to be, as this world is indeed a temporary illusion.

Click to expand...

You're touching on an important distinction. I listened to an interview with a convert to Catholicism who had practiced Buddhism for a long time and had apparently become pretty advanced according to whatever measure they would use to judge such a thing (sorry, I'm pretty ignorant of the subject so hopefully you get what I mean). Ultimately what caused him to choose Christianity was the realization that the solution to suffering was not to eliminate all desire. It was to embrace desire, realizing that there is a proper object of our hearts' longing and that seeking the right end fulfills our nature and purpose. That said, I do have an appreciation for the notions of sacrifice and discipline and the connection of that to the solution of suffering.