This is a common question rooted in the desire for the highest attainment—yet often without a clear understanding of what that entails.

It’s common because we’re conditioned in daily life to aim for the best. So when we encounter Buddhism, we instinctively ask: “What’s the highest goal?” However, this seemingly simple question reveals multiple layers of misunderstanding. While the question itself may arise from conceptual confusion, the motivation behind it—a sincere desire to understand and attain the highest—is commendable.

The first misunderstanding concerns what it means to be a Buddha. Some mistakenly equate a Buddha with a god or deity. If one’s religious understanding is shaped by polytheistic systems—such as Hinduism, Taoism, or ancient Greek religion—then the question effectively becomes: “Who is the supreme being in Buddhism, and can I become that?” “Does Theravāda Buddhism offer a way to that attainment?” But Buddhism is not a theistic religion, so this framing is already misplaced.

The next misunderstanding involves Nirvana. The question then morphs into: “Whose Nirvana is better—the Buddha’s, the arahant’s, or the bodhisattva’s?”

So, what did the Buddha say about Nirvana?

“And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: the remainderless fading and cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, and letting go of that very craving.” (The Third Noble Truth)

In other words, Nirvana is the end of craving. It’s a binary state: either craving remains, or it doesn’t. Using a medical analogy, one is either sick or healed. While stages of recovery may exist, full healing only occurs when craving ceases.

The confusion in this question is caused by a misunderstanding that there are various types of Nirvana. This is because if we examine the Pāli Sutta, it is clear that Shakyamuni Buddha did possess more transcendental characteristics than his monks. However, all those characteristics should not be equated with the cessation of craving.

For example, Sāriputta and Moggallāna are both arahants. Sāriputta was foremost in wisdom, and Moggallāna was foremost in psychic abilities. But the Buddha possessed both qualities.

Even though Sāriputta and Moggallāna are both arahants, their external capabilities differ. This is because their karma differs. But both had erased cravings and achieved freedom from dukkha. And we all know that Shakyamuni Buddha is more exceptional in skill and faculties than both of them—but that is because he had created the karma or the conditions to be better endowed with capabilities, not because Shakyamuni Buddha’s Nirvana is of a higher kind.

The Buddha taught only one Nirvana, and Nirvana means the cessation of craving. Anyone can attain that. It has nothing to do with how you look, your gender, your wealth, etc. Anyone who attains it through his teachings is called an arahant. The Nirvana of an arahant and a Buddha is the same in essence.

However, we do not say that an arahant is a Buddha. But we do say the Buddha is an arahant.

To become a Buddha, one must discover the path to Nirvana entirely on their own, without the guidance of any existing Dharma. Continuing the medical metaphor: the Buddha is like the discoverer of penicillin who cured himself. Those who are cured using his discovery are arahants.

Since samsāra, including the universe, is seen as an endless cycle of rebirth and dissolution, aspiring to Buddhahood means choosing to delay one’s own healing through the existing Dharma, with the compassionate vow to rediscover it in a future age when it has been forgotten. This is not an act of pride or ambition, but a profoundly altruistic choice made out of great compassion for future beings.

If, after rediscovering the Dharma, one successfully teaches others, they are called a Sammāsambuddha. If they gain enlightenment but are unable to teach due to external conditions, they are called a Paccekabuddha (Silent Buddha).

According to Buddhism, our circumstances are shaped by karma. The conditions that made Shakyamuni Buddha’s life conducive to spreading the Dharma—being born into a respected family, possessing charisma, intelligence, compassion, and miraculous abilities—were earned through countless lifetimes of virtuous actions.

Therefore, the path to become a Sammāsambuddha becomes an arduous journey that takes millions of years, where we will have to create the karma that leads to conditions that are conducive for our goal.

That said, who would consciously choose to delay healing? Based on Buddhist cosmology, a time will come when the Dharma is lost, and beings suffer without guidance. The aspiration to one day lead them out of suffering is deeply noble—and not limited to any one Buddhist tradition.

Therefore, someone who follows the Pāli Canon or Theravāda tradition can still aspire to Buddhahood. After all, Shakyamuni Buddha himself described his path to enlightenment in these very texts. Those practices are known as the perfection of pāramī in the Theravāda tradition.

Ultimately, whether we choose to be healed (an arahant) or to become the next discoverer (a Buddha) is a personal decision. But remember: Nirvana is not a title or rank—it is simply the cessation of craving. The difference lies in how one reaches that final peace.

May all be well and happy.