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down into the depths of hell, what awaits? Wish me luck
 
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===[[Lockdown (2008)]]===
{{two other uses|the philosophical concept|the American grunge band|Nirvana (band)}}
{{Buddhism|}}
{{Jainism}}
{{Buddhist term
|en=Awakening, Enlightenment
|pi=Nibbāna
|sa=निर्वाण ({{IAST|Nirvāṇa}})
|vi=Niết bàn
|zh=涅槃(T) / 涅盘(S)
|zh-Latn=nièpán
|mn=asalang-aca nögcigsen
|my=nate ban edAmef
|ja=涅槃
|ja-Latn=nehan
|ko=열반 (yeolban)
|th=นิพพาน (nibpan)
|bo=mya-ngan-las-'das-pa
|my=နိဗ္ဗာန်
|my-Latn={{IPA|neiʔbà̃}} neibban
}}
In [[sramana|sramanic]] philosophy, '''Nirvana''' ({{lang-sa|निर्वाण|}}, ''{{IAST|Nirvāṇa}}''; {{lang-pi|निब्बान}}, ''{{IAST|Nibbāna}}''; [[Prakrit]]: णिव्वाण)
<!-- no need for long list of language translations
, ''{{IAST|Nivvāṇa}}''; {{lang-vi|Niết bàn}}; {{lang-zh|涅槃}}, [[Mandarin (linguistics)|Mandarin]]: ''nièpán'', [[Cantonese language|Cantonese]]: ''nihppùhn''; {{lang-ja|涅槃}}, ''nehan''; {{lang-ko|열반}}, ''yeolban''; {{lang-th|นิพพาน}}, ''nibpan''; {{lang-bo|mya-ngan-las-'das-pa}}; {{lang-mn|asalang-aca nögcigsen}}; {{lang-my|နိဗ္ဗာန်}} ''neibban''; [[Malay language|Malay]]: ''nirwana''; [[Lao language|Lao]]: ''nibbana'')
-->
is the state of being free from both suffering and the cycle of rebirth. It is an important concept in [[Buddhism]] and [[Jainism]].


:<small>''Nominator(s): --[[User:Wrestlinglover|<font color="Red">'''Will'''</font>]][[User talk:Wrestlinglover|<font color="Blue">'''C'''</font>]] 07:56, 13 October 2008 (UTC)''</small>
'Nirvana' is a [[Sanskrit]] word that literally means "to cease blowing" or "extinguishing" as when a candle flame ceases to flicker (that is, of the uncontrolled passions) or
<noinclude>{{Wikipedia:Featured article tools|1=Lockdown (2008)}}</noinclude>
"unbinding" (that is, of the [[Fetter_(Buddhism)|fetters]] of the mind).<ref>Thanissaro Bhikkhu, [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/nirvanaverb.html].</ref>
<!-- Please don't edit anything above here; just include your reasons for nominating below. -->


I'm nominating this article for featured article because, as most do, I feel it meets [[Wikipedia:Featured article criteria|FA criteria]]. It has went under three different [[WP:GA|GA]] reviews under one nomination, two different peer reviews (one before GA and one after GA), and under multiple copyedits and smaller reviews.[[User:Wrestlinglover|<font color="Red">'''Will'''</font>]][[User talk:Wrestlinglover|<font color="Blue">'''C'''</font>]] 07:56, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
==Nirvana in Buddhism==

[[Gautama Buddha|The Buddha]] described nirvana as the perfect peace of the mind that is free from craving, anger and other afflictive states (''[[kilesa]]''). This peace, which is in reality the fundamental nature of the mind, is revealed when the root causes of the afflictive states are dissolved. The causes themselves (''see [[sankhara]]'') lie deep within the mind (that part of the mind that Western psychology calls the subconscious) but their undoing is gradually achieved by living a disciplined life (see [[eightfold path]]). In Nibbana the root causes of craving and aversion have been extinguished such that one is no longer subject to human [[dukkha|suffering]] (''dukkha'') or further states of [[Rebirth (Buddhism)|rebirth]]s in [[samsara]]. The [[Pali Canon]] also contains two other perspectives on nirvana; for one, it is linked to the seeing-through of the [[sunyata|empty]] nature of phenomena. It is also presented as a radical reordering of consciousness and unleashing of awareness.<ref>Peter Harvey, ''Consciousness mysticism in the discourses of the Buddha.'' in Karel Werner, ''The Yogi and the Mystic; Studies in Indian and Comparative Mysticism." Routledge, 1995, page 82; [http://books.google.com/books?id=p7J-Gy7PSSEC&pg=PA82&dq=karel+werner+consciousness+mysticism&lr=&sig=ACfU3U0astQaAHoyFZofP5vJblCz_wT_DQ].</ref> Scholar Herbert Guenther states that with nirvana "the ideal personality, the true human being" becomes reality.<ref>Guenther, ''The Problem of the Soul in Early Buddhism'', Curt Weller Verlag, Constanz, 1949, pp. 156-157.</ref>

The Buddha in the [[Dhammapada]] says of nirvana that it is "the highest happiness". This happiness is an enduring, transcendental happiness integral to the calmness attained through [[bodhi|enlightenment]] or ''bodhi'', rather than the happiness derived from [[anicca|impermanent]] things. The knowledge accompanying nirvana is expressed through the word ''[[bodhi]]''.

The [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] explains nirvana as "the unconditioned" (''asankhata'') mind, a mind that has come to a point of perfect lucidity and clarity due to the absence of [[sankhara|volitional formations]]. This being is described by the Buddha as "deathlessness" ([[Pali]]: ''amata'' or ''amaravati'') and as the highest spiritual attainment, the natural result that accrues to one who lives a life of virtuous conduct and practise in accordance with the [[Noble Eightfold Path]]. Such a life dissolves the causes for future becoming ([[sanskrit|Skt]], ''[[karma]]''; [[Pali]], ''kamma'') that otherwise keep beings forever wandering through the impermanent and suffering-generating realms of desire, form, and formlessness, collectively termed ''[[samsara]]''.

===Overview===
Nirvana in [[sutra]] is never conceived of as a place (such as one might conceive heaven), but rather the antinomy of [[Samsara (Buddhism)|samsara]] (see below) which itself is synonymous with [[ignorance]] ('''[[Avidya|avidyā]]''', Pāli '''avijjā'''). This said:
:"'the liberated mind (citta) that no longer clings' means Nibbāna" ([[Majjhima Nikaya]] 2-Att. 4.68).

Nirvāna is meant specifically - as pertains [[gnosis]] - that which ends the identity of the mind (citta) with empirical phenomena. Doctrinally Nibbāna is said of the mind which "no longer is coming (''bhava'') and going (''vibhava'')", but which has attained a status in perpetuity, whereby "liberation (''vimutta'') can be said".

It carries further connotations of stilling, cooling, and peace. The realizing of nirvana is compared to the ending of avidyā (ignorance) which perpetuates the will (cetana) into effecting the incarnation of mind into biological or other form passing on forever through life after life (samsara).Samsara is caused principally by craving and ignorance (see [[dependent origination]]). Nirvana, then, is not a place nor a state, it is an absolute truth to be realized, and a person can do so without dying. When a person who has realized nirvana dies, his death is referred as his '''[[parinirvana|{{IAST|parinirvāṇa}}]]''' (Pali: parinibbana), his ''fully passing away'', as his life was his last link to the cycle of death and rebirth ('''[[Samsara (Buddhism)|samsara]]'''), and he will not be reborn again. Buddhism holds that the ultimate goal and end of samsaric existence (of ever "becoming" and "dying" and never truly [[being]]) is realization of nirvana; what happens to a person after his {{IAST|parinirvāṇa}} cannot be explained, as it is outside of all conceivable experience.

===Luminous consciousness===
The Buddha discusses, in the context of nirvana, a consciousness differing from the consciousness factor in [[dependent co-arising]], which is defined in terms of the six sense media. This consciousness is described as: <blockquote>Consciousness without feature, without end, luminous all around.<ref>Thanissaro Bhikkhu, [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.11.0.than.html#t-1]</ref><ref>Peter Harvey, ''Consciousness mysticism in the discourses of the Buddha.'' in Karel Werner, ''The Yogi and the Mystic; Studies in Indian and Comparative Mysticism." Routledge, 1995, page 82; [http://books.google.com/books?id=p7J-Gy7PSSEC&pg=PA82&dq=karel+werner+consciousness+mysticism&lr=&sig=ACfU3U0astQaAHoyFZofP5vJblCz_wT_DQ].</ref></blockquote> This "consciousness without surface" differs from the kinds of consciousness associated to the six sense media, which have a "surface" that they fall upon and arise in response to.<ref>Thanissaro Bhikkhu, [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.11.0.than.html#t-1]</ref> In a liberated individual it is directly known, without intermediary, free from any dependence on conditions at all.<ref>Thanissaro Bhukkhu's commentary on the Brahma-nimantanika Sutta, [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.049.than.html#n-9].</ref><ref>Thanissaro Bhikkhu, [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.11.0.than.html#t-1]</ref> This consciousness, as experienced by an [[arahat]], may be seen as identical with nirvana.<ref>Thanissaro Bhukkhu's commentary on the Brahma-nimantanika Sutta, [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.049.than.html#n-9].</ref> A passage in the Majjhima Nikaya likens it to empty space.<ref>Peter Harvey, ''Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha.'' In Karel Werner, ed., ''The Yogi and the Mystic.'' Curzon Press 1989, page 88. The quote is MN I, 127-128.</ref> Individuals up to the level of [[Anagami|non-returning]] may experience it as an object of mental consciousness.<ref>Thanissaro Bhikkhu's commentary to the Brahma-nimantantika Sutta, [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.049.than.html#n-9].</ref><ref>See for example the Jhana Sutta, [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an09/an09.036.than.html].</ref> Certain contemplations while nibbana is an object of [[Samadhi (Buddhism)|samadhi]] lead, if developed, to the level of non-returning or the [[gnosis]] of the [[arahant]].<ref>Peter Harvey, ''Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha.'' In Karel Werner, ed., ''The Yogi and the Mystic.'' Curzon Press 1989, page 91.</ref> At that point of contemplation, which is reached through a progression of [[Vipassana|insight]], if the meditator realizes that even that state is constructed and therefore impermanent, the [[Fetter (Buddhism)|fetters]] are destroyed, arahantship is attained, and nibbana is fully experienced.<ref>Peter Harvey, ''Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha.'' In Karel Werner, ed., ''The Yogi and the Mystic.'' Curzon Press 1989, page 93.</ref> For liberated ones the luminous, unsupported consciousness of nibbana is directly known without mediation of the mental consciousness factor in dependent co-arising, and is the transcending of all objects of mental consciousness.<ref>Thanissaro Bhikkhu's commentary to the Brahma-nimantantika Sutta, [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.049.than.html#n-9].</ref><ref>Peter Harvey, ''Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha.'' In Karel Werner, ed., ''The Yogi and the Mystic.'' Curzon Press 1989, page 93.</ref>

[[Nagarjuna]] alluded to a passage regarding this level of consciousness in the [[Dighanikaya]] ([http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.11.0.than.html#t-1 DN 11]) in two different works. He wrote: <blockquote>The Sage has declared that earth, water, fire, and wind, long, short, fine and coarse, good, and so on are extinguished in consciousness. In this invisible, endless and all-powerful consciousness there is no place to be found for earth, water, fire, and wind. Here long and short, fine and coarse, good and bad, here name and form all stop.<ref>Christian Lindtner, ''Master of Wisdom.'' Dharma Publishing, 1997, page 322. Lindtner says that Nagarjuna is referencing the DN.</ref></blockquote>

A related idea, which finds support in the Pali Canon and the contemporary Theravada practice tradition despite its absence in the Theravada commentaries and [[Abhidhamma]], is that the mind of the arahant is itself nibbana.<ref>Peter Harvey, ''Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha.'' In Karel Werner, ed., ''The Yogi and the Mystic.'' Curzon Press 1989, page 100.</ref>

There is a clear reference in the Anguttara Nikaya to a "[[luminous mind]]" present within all people, be they corrupt or pure, whether or not it itself is stained or pure.<ref>Peter Harvey, ''Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha.'' In Karel Werner, ed., ''The Yogi and the Mystic.'' Curzon Press 1989, page 94. The reference is at A I, 8-10.</ref> The Canon does not support the identification of the "luminous mind" with nirvanic consciousness, though it plays a role in the realization of nirvana.<ref>Peter Harvey, ''Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha.'' In Karel Werner, ed., ''The Yogi and the Mystic.'' Curzon Press 1989, pages 94, 97.</ref><ref>Thanissaro Bhikkhu, [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an01/an01.049.than.html].</ref> Upon the destruction of the fetters, according to one scholar, "the shining nibbanic consciousness flashes out" of it, "being without object or support, so transcending all limitations."<ref>Harvey, page 99.</ref>

===Final truth===
The Buddha is said not to have given lengthy descriptions of the mind of the [[arahant]]. According to Karel Werner, <blockquote>Experience is ... the path most elaborated in early Buddhism. The doctrine on the other hand was kept low. The Buddha avoided doctrinal formulations concerning the final reality as much as possible in order to prevent his followers from resting content with minor achievements on the path in which the absence of the final experience could be substituted by conceptual understanding of the doctrine or by religious faith, a situation which sometimes occurs, in both varieties, in the context of Hindu systems of doctrine.<ref>Karel Werner, ''Mysticism and Indian Spirituality.'' In Karel Werner, ed., ''The Yogi and the Mystic.'' Curzon Press, 1989, page 27.</ref></blockquote>

He did say that "the ultimate [[Four Noble Truths|noble truth]] is nirvana in its true nature."<ref>Christian Lindtner, ''Master of Wisdom.'' Dharma Publishing, 1997. Page 322. Lindtner indicates that the passage can be found in Majjhima Nikaya III.</ref> This formulation was also used by Nagarjuna in the Yuktisastika.<ref>Christian Lindtner, ''Master of Wisdom.'' Dharma Publishing, 1997. Page 322.</ref>

{{seealso|Anatta#Nibbana and anatta}}

===Nirvana and samsara===
In [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna]] Buddhism, nirvana and samsara are said to be not-different in the sense that there is no metaphysical barrier between the two. An individual can attain nirvana by following the Buddhist path. If they were ultimately different this would be impossible. Thus, the duality between nirvana and samsara is only accurate on the conventional level. Another way to arrive at this conclusion is through the analysis that all phenomena are empty of an essential identity, and therefore suffering is never inherent in any situation. Thus liberation from suffering and its causes is not a metaphysical shift of any kind. For better explication of this thinking see [[two-truths doctrine]].

The [[Theravada|Theravāda]] school makes the antithesis of samsara and Nibbāna the starting point of the entire quest for deliverance. Even more, it treats this antithesis as determinative of the final goal, which is precisely the transcendence of samsara and the attainment of liberation in Nibbāna. Where [[Theravada]] differs significantly from the Mahāyāna schools, which also start with the duality of samsara and nirvana, is in not regarding this polarity as a mere preparatory lesson tailored for those with blunt faculties, to be eventually superseded by some higher realization of non-duality. From the standpoint of the Pāli Suttas, even for the Buddha and the Arahants suffering and its cessation, samsara and Nibbāna, remain distinct.

It is probably best to understand the relationship between nirvana and samsara in terms of the Buddha while on earth. Buddha was both in saṃsāra while having attained to Nirvāṇa so that he was seen by all, and simultaneously free from samsara.

===Nirvana in Buddhist commentaries===
Sarvastivādin commentary, [[Abhidharma]]-mahavibhāsa-sāstra, gives the complete context of the possible meanings from its Sanskrit roots:

*Vāna, implying the path of rebirth, + nir, meaning leaving off' or "being away from the path of rebirth."
*Vāna, meaning 'stench', + nir, meaning "freedom": "freedom from the stench of distressing kamma."
*Vāna, meaning "dense forests", + nir, meaning "to get rid of" = "to be permanently rid of the dense forest of the five aggregates" (panca skandha), or the "three roots of greed, hate and delusion" (lobha, dosa, moha) or "three characteristics of existence" (impermanence, anitya; unsatisfactoriness, dukkha, soullessness, anàtma).
*Vāna, meaning "weaving", + nir, meaning "knot" = "freedom from the knot of the distressful thread of kamma."

=== Nirvana in the {{IAST|Mahāparinirvāṇa}} Sūtra ===
{{Original research|date=July 2008}}
The nature of nirvana assumes a differently aspected [[Mahāyāna]] focus in the [[Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra]] or [[Nirvana Sutra]], which alleges to be the final of all Mahāyāna sutras, delivered - the sutra indicates - by the Buddha on his last day of life on earth. Here, as well as in a number of related "[[tathagatagarbha]]" sutras, in which the [[Tathagatagarbha]] is equated with the Buddha's eternal Self or eternal nature, nirvana is spoken of by the Mahāyāna Buddha in very "cataphatic", positive terms. Nirvana, or "Great Nirvana", is indicated to be the sphere or domain ('''vishaya''') of the True Self. It is seen as the state which constitutes the attainment of what is "Eternal, the Self, Bliss, and the Pure". ''{{IAST|Mahā-nirvāṇa}}'' ("Great Nirvana") thus becomes equivalent to the ineffable, unshakeable, blissful, all-pervading and deathless Selfhood of the Buddha himself - a mystery which no words can adequately reach and which, according to the ''{{IAST|Nirvāṇa}} Sutra'', can only be fully known by an Awakened Being - a perfect Buddha - directly. The "tathagatagarbha"/Buddha nature does not represent a substantial self (atman); rather, it is a positive language and expression of "[[sunyata]]" (emptiness) and represents the potentiality to realize Buddhahood through Buddhist practices; the intention of the teaching of 'tathagatagarbha'/Buddha nature is [[soteriology|soteriological]] rather than theoretical.<ref>Heng-Ching Shih, "The Significance Of 'Tathagatagarbha' --
A Positive Expression Of 'Sunyata.'" http://zencomp.com/greatwisdom/ebud/ebdha191.htm.</ref>

The Buddha of the ''{{IAST|Mahaparinirvāṇa}} Sutra'' gives the following definition of the attributes of nirvana, which includes the ultimate reality of the Self (not to be confused with the "worldly ego" of the five [[skandhas]]):

<blockquote>The attributes of nirvana are eightfold. What are these eight? Cessation (''nirodha''), loveliness/wholesomeness (''subha''), Truth (''satya''), Reality (''tattva''), eternity (''nitya''), bliss (''sukha''), the Self (''atman''), and complete purity (''parisuddhi''): that is nirvana.</blockquote>

He further states: "Non-Self is samsara (the cycle of rebirth); the Self ([[Atman (Buddhism)|atman]]) is {{IAST|Great Nirvāṇa}}."

An important facet of nirvana in general is that it is not something that comes about from a concatenation of causes, that springs into existence as a result of an act of creation or an agglomeration of causative factors: it was never created; it always was, is and will be. But due to the moral and mental darkness of ordinary, samsarically benighted sentient beings, it remains hidden from unawakened perception. The Buddha of the [[Nirvana Sutra|{{IAST|Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra}}]] insists on its eternal nature and affirms its identity with the enduring, blissful Self, saying:

<blockquote>It is not the case that the inherent nature of nirvana did not primordially exist but now exists. If the inherent nature of nirvana did not primordially exist but does now exist, then it would not be free from taints ('''[[asravas|āsravas]]''') nor would it be eternally ('''[[nitya]]''') present in nature. Regardless of whether there are Buddhas or not, its intrinsic nature and attributes are eternally present ... Because of the obscuring darkness of the mental afflictions ('''[[Kilesa|kileśas]]'''), beings do not see it. The [[Tathagata|Tathāgata]], endowed with omniscient awareness ('''sarvajñā-jñāna'''), lights the lamp of insight with his skill-in-means ('''upāya-kauśalya''') and causes [[Bodhisattva]]s to perceive the Eternal, Bliss, the Self, and the Pure of nirvana.</blockquote>

Vitally, according to these Mahāyāna teachings, any being who has reached nirvana is not blotted out or extinguished: there is the extinction of the impermanent and suffering-prone "worldly self" or ego, comprised of the five changeful [[skandhas]], but not of the immortal "supramundane" Self of the indwelling Buddha Principle [''Buddha-dhatu'']. Spiritual death for such a nirvana-ed being becomes an utter impossibility. The Buddha states in the "{{IAST|Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sutra}}" (Tibetan version): "Nirvana is deathless ... Those who have passed into nirvana are deathless. I say that anybody who is endowed with careful assiduity is not compounded and, even though they involve themselves in compounded things, they do not age, they do not die, they do not perish."

=== Paths to nirvana in the Pali canon ===
In the [[Visuddhimagga]], Ch. I, v. 6 (Buddhaghosa & {{IAST|Ñāṇamoli}}, 1999, pp. 6-7), [[Buddhaghosa]] identifies various options within the [[Pali canon]] for pursuing a path to nirvana,<ref>A number of the suttas referenced below as well as Buddhaghosa himself refer not explicitly to nirvana but to "the path of purification" (Pali: ''Visuddhimagga''). In Visuddhimagga, Ch. I, v. 5, Buddhaghosa notes: "Herein, ''purification'' should be understood as nibbana, which being devoid of all stains, is utterly pure" (Buddhaghosa & {{IAST|Ñāṇamoli}}, 1999, p. 6).</ref> including:

# by insight (''[[vipassana]]'') alone (see [[Dhammapada|Dh.]] 277)<ref>See [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.20.budd.html#dhp-277 Buddharakkhita (1996a)]. In the Paramattha-mañjūsā (the Visuddhimagga commentary), vv. 9-10, it adds the following caveat regarding this option of "insight alone":
:The words 'insight alone' are meant to exclude, not virtue, etc., but serenity (i.e., [[jhana]]), ... [as typically reflected] in the pair, serenity and insight.... [T]he word 'alone' actually excludes only that concentration with distinction [of jhanic absorption]; for concentration is classed as both access [or momentary] and absorption.... Taking this stanza as the teaching for one whose vehicle is insight does not imply that there is no concentration; for no insight comes about with momentary concentration. And again, insight should be understood as the three contemplations of [[anicca|impermanence]], [[dukkha|pain]] and [[anatta|not-self]] [see ''[[Three marks of existence|tilakkhana]]'']; not contemplation of impermanence alone (Buddhaghosa & {{IAST|Ñāṇamoli}}, 1999, p. 750, ''n''. 3).</ref>
# by [[jhana]] and understanding (see Dh. 372)<ref> See [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.25.budd.html#dhp-372 Buddharakkhita (1996b)].</ref>
# by deeds, vision and righteousness (see [[Majjhima Nikaya|MN]] iii.262)<ref>See [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.143.than.html Thanissaro (2003)]. Verse 262 of this sutta is translated by Thanissaro as:
:Action, clear-knowing, & mental qualities,
:virtue, the highest [way of] life:
: through this are mortals purified,
: not through clan or wealth.</ref>
# by virtue, consciousness and understanding (7SN i.13)<ref>The option expressed by SN i.13 is the basis for the entire rest of the Visuddhimagga's exposition. It is the very first paragraph of the Visuddhimagga and states:
:When a wise man, established well in virtue,
:Develops consciousness and understanding,
:Then as a bhikku ardent and sagacious
:He succeeds in disentangling this tangle. (Buddhaghosa & {{IAST|Ñāṇamoli}}, 1999, p. 1)
In the Visuddhimagga, Ch. I, verse 2, Buddhaghosa comments that ''this tangle'' refers to "the network of craving." In verse 7, Buddhaghosa states that ''develops consciousness and understanding'' means "develops both concentration and insight." (Buddhaghosa & {{IAST|Ñāṇamoli}}, 1999, pp. 1, 7)</ref>
# by virtue, understanding, concentration and effort (see [[Samyutta Nikaya|SN]] i.53)<ref>Buddhaghosa & {{IAST|Ñāṇamoli}} (1999), p. 7, translate SN i.53 as:
:He who is possessed of constant virtue,
:Who has understanding, and is concentrated,
:Who is strenuous and diligent as well,
:Will cross the flood so difficult to cross.</ref>
# by the four foundations of mindfulness (see [[Satipatthana Sutta]], [[Digha Nikaya|DN]] ii.290)<ref>See [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html Thanissaro (2000)]. Verse 290 of this sutta is translated by Thanissaro as:
:The Blessed One said this: "This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment of the right method, & for the realization of Unbinding — in other words, the four frames of reference....</ref>

Depending on one's analysis, each of these options could be seen as a reframing of the Buddha's [[Threefold Training]] of [[sila|virtue]], [[bhavana|mental development]]<ref>In the [[Nikayas]] mental development generally suggests the attainment of jhanic absorption; however, as indicated above in the note regarding the "insight alone" option, in some contexts it can refer to attaining "access" or "momentary" concentration without full absorption.</ref> and [[Prajñā|wisdom]].

=== Quotations ===
* Gautama Buddha:
** "Nirvana is the highest happiness." [Dp 204]
** "Where there is nothing; where naught is grasped, there is the Isle of No-Beyond. Nirvana do I call it -- the utter extinction of aging and dying."
** "There is, monks, an unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated. If there were not that unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated, there would not be the case that emancipation from the born -- become -- made -- fabricated would be discerned. But precisely because there is an unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated, emancipation from the born -- become -- made -- fabricated is discerned." [Udana VIII.3]
** This said: ‘the liberated mind/will (citta) which does not cling’ means Nibbāna” [MN2-Att. 4.68]
** “'The subjugation of becoming means nirvana'; this means the subjugation of the five aggregates means nirvana.” [SN-Att. 2.123]
** In ''[[Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta]]'' the Buddha likens nibbana to the cessation and extinguishing of a fire where the materials for sustenance has been removed: "Profound, Vaccha, is this phenomenon, hard to see, hard to realize, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise."
** "There is that dimension where there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor wind; neither dimension of the infinitude of space, nor dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, nor dimension of nothingness, nor dimension of neither perception nor non-perception; neither this world, nor the next world, nor sun, nor moon. And there, I say, there is neither coming, nor going, nor stasis; neither passing away nor arising: without stance, without foundation, without support [mental object]. This, just this, is the end of stress."

*Said immediately after the physical death of Gotama Buddha wherein his mind (citta) is ={{IAST|parinirvāṇa}}=the essence of liberation:
**[DN 2.157] “No longer with (subsists by) in-breath nor out-breath, so is him (Gotama) who is steadfast in mind (citta), inherently quelled from all desires the mighty sage has passed beyond. With mind (citta) limitless he no longer bears sensations; illumined and unbound (nibbana), his mind (citta) is definitely (ahu) liberated.”


* Sutta Nipāta, tr. Rune Johansson:
** {{IAST|accī yathā vātavegena khitto <br/> atthaṁ paleti na upeti sankhaṁ <br/> evaṁ muni nāmakāyā kimutto <br/> atthaṁ paleti na upeti sankhaṁ}}
** {{IAST|atthan gatassa na pamāṇam atthi <br/> ynea naṁ vajju taṁ tassan atthi <br/> sabbesu dhammesu samūhatesu <br/> samūhatā vādapathāpi sabbe}}
**Like a flame that has been blown out by a strong wind goes to rest and cannot be defined, just so the sage who is freed from name and body goes to rest and cannot be defined. <br/> For him who has gone to rest there is no measure by means of which one could describe him; that is not for him. When all ([[Dharma#Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology|dharmas]]) have gone, all signs of recognition have also gone.<ref>The Buddha's use of the metaphor of the extinguished flame should not be taken either in the sense of the Vedas, where fire is immortal, or the modern sense, where an extinguished fire ceases to exist. Instead he discusses a situation beyond questions of existence or non-existence. See [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/likefire/1.html]</ref>
* Venerable Sariputta:
**The destruction of greed, hatred and delusion is nirvana.

==Nirvana in Jainism==
{{Main|Nirvana (Jainism)}}

In [[Jainism]], it means final release from the [[Karma_in_Jainism#Causes_of_karmic_bondage|karmic bondage]]. When an enlightened human, such as, an Arhat or a [[Tirthankara]] extinguishes his remaining [[Karma_in_Jainism#Aghatiya_karmas|aghatiya karmas]] and thus ends his worldly existence, it is called [[parinirvana]]. Technically, the death of an Arhat is called nirvana of Arhat, as he has ended his wordly existence and attained liberation. [[Moksha (Jainism)|Moksha]], that is to say, liberation follows nirvana. An Arhat becomes a siddha, the liberated one, after attaining nirvana.

Nirvana in Jainism means :-
#Death of an Arhat, who becomes liberated thereafter, and
#[[Moksa (Jainism)]]

===Description of nirvana of a Tirthankara in Jain Texts===
Jains celebrate Diwali as the day of Nirvana of Mahavira. [[Kalpasutra]] gives an elaborate account of [[Mahavira|Mahavira’s]] nirvana. <ref>{{cite book | last =Jacobi | first =Hermann | coauthors =Ed. F. Max Müller | title =Kalpa Sutra, Jain Sutras Part I, Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 22 | publisher =The Clarendon Press | date =1884 | location =Oxford | url =http://www.sacred-texts.com/jai/sbe22/index.htm }} </ref>

{{cquote|<cite> The aghatiya Karma’s of venerable Ascetic Mahavira got exhausted, when in this Avasarpini era the greater part of the Duhshamasushama period had elapsed and only three years and eight and a half months were left. Mahavira had recited the fifty-five lectures which detail the results of Karma, and the thirty-six unasked questions (the Uttaradhyana Sutra). The moon was in conjunction with the asterism Svati, at the time of early morning, in the town of Papa, and in king Hastipala's office of the writers, (Mahivira) single and alone, sitting in the Samparyahka posture, left his body and attained nirvana, freed from all pains.” (147)

In the fourth month of that rainy season, in the seventh fortnight, in the dark (fortnight) of Karttika, on its fifteenth day, in the last night, in the town of Papa, in king Hastipala's office of the writers, the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira died, went off, cut asunder the ties of birth, old age, and death; became a Siddha, a Buddha, a Mukta, a maker of the end (to all misery), finally liberated, freed from all pains. (123)

That night in which the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira died, freed from all pains, was lighted up by many descending and ascending gods. (125)

In that night in which the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira, died, freed from all pains, the eighteen confederate kings of Kasi and Kosala, the nine Mallakis and nine Licchavis, on the day of new moon, instituted an illuminations on the Poshadha, which was a fasting day; for they said: 'Since the light of intelligence is gone, let us make an illumination of material matter!'(128)</cite>}}

===Nirvana as Moksa===
Uttaradhyana Sutra provides an account of Gautama explaining the meaning of nirvana to Kesi a disciple of Parsva. <ref>{{cite book | last =Jacobi | first =Hermann | coauthors =Ed. F. Max Müller | title =Uttaradhyayana Sutra, Jain Sutras Part II, Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 45 | publisher =The Clarendon Press | date =1895 | location =Oxford | url =http://www.sacred-texts.com/jai/sbe45/index.htm }} </ref>

{{cquote|<cite> There is a safe place in view of all, but difficult of approach, where there is no old age nor death, no pain nor disease. It is what is called Nirvâna, or freedom from pain, or perfection, which is in view of all; it is the safe, happy, and quiet place which the great sages reach. That is the eternal place, in view of all, but difficult of approach. Those sages who reach it are free from sorrows, they have put an end to the stream of existence. (81-4)</cite>}}

==See also==
* [[Ataraxia]]
* [[Baqaa]]
* [[Bodhi]]
* [[Bhagavad Gita]]
* [[Dzogchen]]
* [[Hinduism]]
* [[Jainism]]
* [[Moksha]]
* [[Parinirvana]]
* [[Satori]]
* [[Void (Buddhism)]]
* [[Shunyata|Voidness]]
* [[Zen]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|1}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{wiktionary}}
* [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/nibbana.html Nibbana] - more excerpts from the [[Pāli|Pali]] [[Tripitaka]] defining Nibbana
* [http://www.nirvanasutra.org.uk "Nirvana Sutra": full English translation of the "Nirvana Sutra" and appreciation of its teachings.]
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9055914/nirvana Encyclopaedia Britannica, Nirvana]
* [http://www.vwsp.eu/nirvana/mmngs.htm A modern interpretation of Nirvana (with graphics)]
* [http://encyclopedia-of-religion.org/nirvana.html Nirvana] - from Encyclopedia of Spiritual Knowledge.

{{Buddhism topics}}

[[Category:Buddhist philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Buddhist terms]]
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Pali words and phrases]]
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]
[[Category:Jain philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Jainism]]
[[Category:Happiness]]

[[bg:Нирвана]]
[[ca:Nirvana]]
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[[fr:Nirvāna]]
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[[id:Nirwana]]
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[[he:נירוואנה]]
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[[ps:نېروانا]]
[[pl:Nirwana]]
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[[ru:Нирвана]]
[[si:නිර්වාණය]]
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[[sl:Nirvana]]
[[sr:Нирвана]]
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[[th:นิพพาน]]
[[vi:Niết-bàn]]
[[tr:Nirvana]]
[[uk:Нірвана]]
[[bat-smg:Nirvana]]
[[zh:涅槃]]

Revision as of 07:56, 13 October 2008

Lockdown (2008)

Nominator(s): --WillC 07:56, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
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I'm nominating this article for featured article because, as most do, I feel it meets FA criteria. It has went under three different GA reviews under one nomination, two different peer reviews (one before GA and one after GA), and under multiple copyedits and smaller reviews.WillC 07:56, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

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