“Especially important is the idea which some people have that after death there is just voidness, nothingness. This view is fundamentally wrong.

The heart of the Lord Buddha and those of all the Arahants who have got rid of the kilesas which would otherwise lead them into birth and death, have hot been annihilated and reduced to nothing. They simply do not go wandering about searching for a place to be reborn; in contrast to the hearts of all others who have kilesas, which are the seeds that lead them to further birth and death.

The hearts of the Lord Buddha and the Arahants are still their hearts, but they are in the state of Nibbana without remainder (Anupddisesa-nibbana) of those who have completely got rid of all their kilesas.

“There are various ideas such as: after death there is just nothingness; there is no such thing as evil; there is no such thing as merit; there is no such place as hell; there is no such place as heaven; there is no such state as Nibbana.

All of these are doctrines taught in the textbook of the kilesas that rule the Triple Universe. Having mastered these doctrines, the kilesas use them to govern the hearts of all living beings.

No matter how severely they oppress living beings, they are not in the least afraid or concerned that anyone will dare to challenge their authority. Because their schooling is good and up-to-date, people accept it fully without reservations. All the knowledge that is learned from the textbook of the kilesas is bound to be knowledge which wipes out the truth of Dhamma. For example, the truth of Dhamma shows us that after death one is born again, whereas the knowledge which comes from the textbook of the kilesas teaches the opposite, that after death one is annihilated. In a similar way, Dhamma teaches that evil exists, merit exists, the hells exist, the heavens exist and Nibbana exists, whereas the teaching of the kilesas immediately denies all of them by teaching that the opposite is true.

(Kilesa : the mental defilements based upon greed, hate and delusion.)
Arahant : One who attains the ultimate state of Nibbana).

From “Venerable Ajaan Khao Analayo”  a Forest Dhamma Publication