Nibbna: The

Supreme Peace of
Humanity
Sanu Mahatthanadull, Ph.D.
International Buddhist Studies College,
MCU
13 January 2015

What is Nibbna?
In general, nibbna is:
The Final Goal
The Ultimate Goal

The Highest Good (Summum Bonum)

The Final Deliverance (Vimutti, Vimokkha)
The Supreme Happiness

As the Buddha says Just as the water of a river

plunges into the ocean the merges with the ocean,
so the spiritual path, the Noble Eightfold Path,
plunges into nibbna and merges with nibbna
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Defnitions of Nibbna

Nibbna (Sanskrit; Nirvana) literally means:

The extinction of Desires (Tanhakkhaya)
The extinguishing of the flame of craving
The extinguishing of the fires of greed,
hatred and delusion
The destruction of all deflements
The end of Samsara
The emancipation, liberation, or freedom
from the continuity of Dukkha (Suffering)
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Synonyms of nibbna

Vimutti, Mutti: Liberation, Freedom

Visuddhi: Purity
Amata: Immortality
rogaya: good health

Akata: not made; not built.

Akicana: nothing lingering in the

mind; free from anxiety.

Akuto-bhaya: fearless.
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Synonyms of nibbna (cont.)

Accuta: immovable; undeparting.
Acchariya: marvellous.

Ajara, Ajajjara: ageless; undecaying.

Ajta: not born.
Anata: not swayed; absence of

craving.
Ananta: limitless.
Andna: no grasping.
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Synonyms of nibbna (cont.)

Anpara: sublime; foremost.
Anlaya: without longing; absence of

clinging.
Ansava: without sava (efuents/taints).
Anidassana: not seen with the eye;
signless.
Antika: without calamity.
Anuttara: unsurpassed; supreme.
Apalokita (-na): not disintegrating; not dissolving.
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Synonyms of nibbna (cont.)

Abbhta: has not been before;

wonderful.
Abydhi: without disease.
Abypajjha: without oppression.
Abhta: not coming to be.
Amata: deathless.
Amosa-dhamma: imperishable.
Asakiliha: undefiled.
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Synonyms of nibbna (cont.)

Asakuppa: unshakeable.
Asakhata: not constructed.
Asahra: unshifting.
Asoka: sorrowless.

rogya: without sickness; perfect

health.
Issariya: freedom; mastership.
Khema: security; safety.
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Synonyms of nibbna (cont.)

Tahakkhaya: the end of craving.

Ta: defender; protection.
Dpa: island; refuge.
Dukkhakkhaya: the end of

suffering.
Duddasa: difficult to see.
Dhuva: enduring.
Nipua: subtle.
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Synonyms of nibbna (cont.)

Nippapaca: without obstructive

defilements; without papaca.

Nibbna: the cessation of defilements
and all suffering.
Nibbuti: cooling; the allayment of
afiction.
Nirodha: cessation of suffering.
Pata: excellent.
Paramattha: the supreme benefit.
Parama-sacca: the supreme truth.
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Synonyms of nibbna (cont.)

Visuddhi: purity; impeccable.
Sacca: truth.
Santa: peaceful; still.
Santi: peace.
Saraa: refuge.
Siva: highest bliss.

Suddhi: purity.
Sududdasa: exceedingly difficult to s

ee.

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Synonyms of nibbna (cont.)

Pra: the other shore; safe destination.

Mutti: release; emancipation.
Mokkha: salvation.
Yogakkhema: freedom from bondage.
Lea: sanctuary; shelter from danger.
Vimokkha: liberation.
Viraja: stainless.

Virga: the fading, cooling off, and

expiration of lust.

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The Buddhas Sayings on

the Four Noble Truths (1)

Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of

suffering:

birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is

suffering, death is suffering, union with what is disple
asing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is
suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in b
rief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffer
ing.

. . . the origin of suffering:

it is this craving which leads to renewed existence,
accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight her
e and there; that is, craving for sensual pleasures, cr
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aving for existence, craving for extermination.

The Buddhas Sayings on

the Four Noble Truths (2)
. . . the cessation of suffering:

it is the remainderless fading away and

cessation of that same craving, the giving
up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it,
nonreliance on it.
Idam kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhanirodho
ariyasaccam: Yo tass yeva tanhya asesa-virga-nir
odho, cgo, patinissaggo,
mutti, anlayo.

. . . the way leading to the cessation of

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suffering:
it is this Noble Eightfold Path

S.V.421

Nibbna and the Four Noble

Truths
Birth
aging
death

3 Craving
Sufferin
g

The
origin

The
way

The
cessati
on

Noble Eightfold
Path
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remainderless fading
away of craving

The Anguttaranikya -A.IV.379.

I. Saupdisesa-puggala / the learner (Sekha)
1. Antar-parinibby

one who attains Parinibbna within the first half life-span

2. Upahacca- parinibby

one who attains Parinibbna after the first half life-span

3. Asakhra- parinibby

one who attains Parinibbna without exertion

4. Sasakhra- parinibby

one who attains Parinibbna with exertion

5. Uddhasotoakanit t hagm

one who goes upstream bound for the highest realm; upstreamer bound for the Not-Junior Gods

6. Sakadgm

one who reduced of lust, hatred and delusion

7. Ekabj

the Single-Seed

8. Kolakola

the Clan-to-Clan

9. Sattakkhattuparama

the Seven-Times-at-Most

II. Anupdisesa-puggala / the adept (Asekha)

10. The Worthy One:
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the one established in the Fruition of Arahantship

The Itivuttaka It.38.

I. Nibbna with life remaining (saupdisesa-nibbna-dhtu)
The monk in this Dhamma-vinaya who is an Arahant, a
passionless one who has completed his holy life, done what is to
be done, abandoned the burden, attained benefit for himself,
extinguished the Fetters of existence, and attained release by
right knowledge still experiences pleasant and unpleasant
objects, still feels happiness and suffering because all his five
indriyas, such as eye, still remain and are not destroyed.
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The Itivuttaka (cont.) It.38.

II. Nibbna without life remaining (Anupdisesa-nibbna-dhtu)
The monk in this Dhamma-vinaya who is an Arahant, a
passionless one who has completed the holy life, done what is to
be done, abandoned the burden, attained benefit for himself,
extinguished the Fetters of existence, and attained release by right
knowledge. All feelings [defilements such as craving] in the body
of that monk can no longer be enjoyed. They have been
extinguished.
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Nibbna and Human Language (1)

Language is created and used by human

beings to express things and their ideas in t

he world
Words are symbols representing things
and ideas known to us.
These symbols do not and cannot convey
the true nature of even ordinary things.

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Language is considered
deceptive and misleading
in the matter of understand

Nibbna and Human Language

(2)
Nibbna is beyond the capability of

human language to express it.

Human language (and other symbols)
cannot be used to express nibbna comple
tely and satisfactorily.
Human language cannot convey the real
nature of nibbna.
We

cannot find out nibbna

contained in Human language

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Nibbna and Negative terms

Because nibbna is beyond the capability of

human language, so it is often referred to by s

uch negative terms as:
Negative terms

Tanhakkhay
a
Asamkhata
Viraga
Nirodha
21 nibbna

Meaning

Extinction of Thirst
Uncompound, Unconditioned
Absence of desire
Cessation
Blowing out of or Extinction

Nibbna and Positive Terms

Nibbna

The

Final

Goal

Ultimate

Good

Highest

Deliverance

Supreme Peace
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nibbna: Negative or Positive?

It is incorrect to say that nibb na is

negative or positive.
These terms cannot be applied to nibb na
which is beyond duality and relativity.
A wrong negative notion expresses
annihilationism (Sassatadihi).
A wrong positive notion expresses
eternalism. (Ucchedadihi).

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Nibbna is not the Result of

Anything

Nirvana is not the natural

result of the extinction of

craving.
If nibbna is an effect
produced by a cause, it would
be samkhata 'produced' and '
conditioned'.
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25

What is there after

nibbna?
This question cannot arise,
because nibbna is the Ultim
ate Truth.
If it is Ultimate, there can
be nothing after it.
If there is anything after
nibbna, then that will be
the Ultimate Truth and not n

The Popular Expression

about Nibbna
Some popular inaccurately phrased

expressions like 'The Buddha entered into

nibbna or Parinibbna after his death' ha
ve given rise to many imaginary speculations
about Nirvana.
We often take nibbna to be a state, or a
realm, or a position in which there is some s
ort of existence, and try to imagine it in terms
of the senses of the word 'existence' as it is kn
own to us.
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Entering into nibbna?

This popular expression 'entered into nibb na'

has no equivalent in the original texts.

There is no such thing as 'entering into nibb na
after death'.
There is a word parinibbuto used to denote the
death of the Buddha or an Arahant who has reali
zed nibbna, but it does not mean 'entering into
nibbna'.
Parinibbuto simply means 'fully passed away',
'fully blown out' or 'fully extinct', because the Bu
ddha or Arahant has no re-existence after his de
ath.
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What happens to Buddha or

an Arahant after his death, P
arinibbna?
This comes under the category of

unanswered questions (avyakata).

Even when the Buddha spoke about this, he
indicated that no words in our vocabulary coul
d express what happens to an Arahant after hi
s death.

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Self, no Atman,
then who
realizes Nirvan
a?
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