Nirvana (Buddhism)
Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण; IAST: nirvāṇa; Pali: nibbāna) is the extinguishing of the passions,[1] the "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activity of the grasping mind and its related unease.[2] Nirvana is the goal of many Buddhist paths, and leads to the soteriological release from dukkha ('suffering') and rebirths in saṃsāra.[3][4] Nirvana is part of the Third Truth on "cessation of dukkha" in the Four Noble Truths,[3] and the "summum bonum of Buddhism and goal of the Eightfold Path."[4]
This article is about the concept in Buddhism. For its wider religious use, see Nirvana. For other uses, see Nirvana (disambiguation).
Translations of
Nirvana
blowing out,
extinguishing,
liberation
निर्वाण
(IAST: nirvāṇa)
निब्बान nibbāna
নির্বাণ nibbano
နိဗ္ဗာန်
(MLCTS: neɪʔbàɰ̃)
涅槃
(Pinyin: nièpán)
涅槃
(Rōmaji: nehan)
និព្វាន
(UNGEGN: nĭppéan)
열반
(RR: yeolban)
နဳဗာန်
([nìppàn])
γasalang-aca nögcigsen
ၼိၵ်ႈပၢၼ်ႇ
([nik3paan2])
නිවන
(nivana)
མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
mya ngan las 'das pa
nirvana
นิพพาน
(RTGS: nipphan)
Niết bàn
In the Buddhist tradition, nirvana has commonly been interpreted as the extinction of the "three fires" (in analogy to, but rejecting, the three sacrificial fires of the Vedic ritual),[5] or "three poisons",[6][7][note 1] greed (raga), aversion (dvesha) and ignorance (moha).[7] When these fires are extinguished, release from saṃsāra, the perpetual grasping activity of the mind, or the cycle of rebirth, is attained.
Nirvana has also been claimed by some scholars to be identical with anatta (non-self) and sunyata (emptiness) states though this is hotly contested by other scholars and practicing monks.[web 1][8][9][10][11]
There are two types of nirvana: sopadhishesa-nirvana literally "nirvana with a remainder", attained and maintained during life, and parinirvana or anupadhishesa-nirvana, meaning "nirvana without remainder" or final nirvana.[12] In Mahayana these are called "abiding" and "non-abiding nirvana." Nirvana, as the quenching of the burning mind, is the highest aim of the Theravada tradition. In the Mahayana tradition, the highest goal is Buddhahood, in which there is no abiding in nirvana.
In other Buddhist schools[edit]
Sthavira schools[edit]
The later Buddhist Abhidharma schools gave different meaning and interpretations of the term, moving away from the original metaphor of the extinction of the "three fires". The Sarvastivada Abhidharma compendium, the Mahavibhasasastra, says of nirvana: