But Gotama was not concerned with the next life so much as with this.
He laid emphasis also upon the wonderful joy and peace which the fixed
purpose to achieve _Nibbāna_ had caused him to experience. This was
the real relief from suffering, which he had in mind. "Whoso is pure
from all _tanhā_, he is in _Nibbāna_." This he preached with great
conviction and enthusiasm, declaring that men might aim in this life
to attain the position of an _arhat_ (saint) and actually enter into
the preliminary experience of _Nibbāna_. It is this aspect of
Buddhism which makes it a true religion. Its joy and power can be
experienced in the midst of the world's pain. So it is called an
"Island," a "Refuge," where the drowning man may escape, or a "Cool
Retreat," whither one may fly from a world in flames.