NIRVĀNA Skt., lit. “extinction.”
[H] A state of liberation or illumination, characterized by the merging of the individual, transitory I in brahman. Nirvāna frees one from suffering, death and rebirth, and all other worldly bonds. It is the highest, transcendent consciousness, referred to in the Bhagavad-Gītā as brahman-nirvāna, in the Upanishads as turīya, in yoga as nirbīja-samādhi, and in Vedanta as nirvikalpa-samādhi.
[B] [Z] (Pali, nibbāna; Jap., nehan); the goal of spiritual practice in all branches of Buddhism. In the understanding of early Buddhism, it is departure from the cycle of rebirths (samsāra) and entry into an entirely different mode of existence. It requires complete overcoming of the three unwholesome roots-desire, hatred, and delusion (akushala)-and the coming to rest of active volition (samskāra). It means freedom from the determining effect of karma. Nirvāna is unconditioned (asamskrita); its characteristic marks are absence of arising, subsisting, changing, and passing away.
In Mahāyāna, the notion of nirvāna undergoes a change that may be attributed to the introduction of the bodhisattva ideal and to emphasis on the unified nature of the world. Nirvāna is conceived as oneness with the absolute, the unity of samsara and transcendence. It is also described as dwelling in the experience of the absolute, bliss in cognizing one’s identity with the absolute, and as freedom from attachment to illusions, affects, and desires (Also parinirvāna).
In the West nirvāna has often been misunderstood as mere annihilation; even in early Buddhism it was not so conceived. In many texts,. to explain what is described as nirvāna, the simile of extinguishing a flame is used. The fire that goes out does not pass away, but merely becomes invisible by passing into space (ākāsha); thus the term nirvāna does not indicate annihilation but rather entry into another mode of existence. The fire comes forth from space and returns back into it; thus nirvana is a spiritual event that takes place in time but is also, in an unmanifest and imperishable sphere, always already there. This is the “abode of immortality,” which is not spatially localizable, but is rather transcendent, supramundane (lokottara), and only accessible to mystical experience. Thus in early Buddhism, nirvāna is not seen in a positive relation to the world but is only a place of salvation.
In some places in the sūtras an expression is used for nirvana that means “bliss,” but far more often nirvāna is characterized merely as a process or state of cessation of suffering (duhkha). This should not, however, be regarded as proof of a nihilistic attitude; it is rather an indication of the inadequacy of words to represent the nature of nirvāna, which is beyond speech and thought, in a positive manner. As a positive statement concerning nirvāna, only an indication concerning its not being nothing is possible. For Buddhism, which sees all of existence as ridden with suffering, nirvāna interpreted as the cessation of suffering suffices as a goal for the spiritual effort; for spiritual practice it is irrelevant whether nirvāna is a positive state or mere annihilation. For this reason the Buddha declined to make any statement concerning the nature of nirvāna.
In Hīnayāna two types of nirvāna are distinguished: nirvāna with a remainder of conditionality, which can be attained before death; and nirvāna without conditionality, which is attained at death (sopadhishesha-nirvāna, nirupadhishesha-nirvāna).
The view of nirvāna of the individual Hīnayāna schools differs considerably in some aspects. The Sarvāstivāda sees in nirvāna something positive that is unmanifest and imperishable. It is reached through successively overcoming the passions. For the overcoming of each passion a specific “realm” is posited; thus many many different types of nirvāna exist, which tends to give it a hypostatic quality. In addition, it is only one among many unconditioned dharmas. For the Sautrāntikas nirvāna is just the disappearance of the passions, not however an unmanifest and imperishable metaphysical factor.
In the Vātsīputrīya school, which posits a “person” (pudgala, anātman) that is not impermanent, nirvāna is a positive state in which the person continues to exist.
For the Mahāsānghikas, who can be seen as precursors of the Mahāyāna, the nirvāna of remainderless extinction becomes less important than nirvāna with a remainder of conditionality. From this view later schools developed the conception of “indeterminate extinction” (apratishthita-nirvāna), in which a buddha renounces remainderless extinction and yet is free of attachment to the world.
In Mahāyāna, because of emphasis on the bodhisattva ideal, attainment of nirvāna slips somewhat into the background. It loses, however none of its importance, since in no school of the Mahāyāna is bodhisattvahood considered the ultimate goal. Extinction in nirvāna is only postponed by the bodhisattva until all beings are liberated from suffering. Here nirvāna takes on a positive character, since it becomes essentially a state of awareness of one’s identity with the absolute. The experience of unity with the absolute is not limited to the person of the experience· rather it is a limitless experience that encompasses all appearances, including one’s own body. In this view, there is no essential distinction between samsara and nirvāna.
Here two types of nirvāna are distinguished: indeterminate (apratishthita-nirvāna) and complete (pratishthita-nirvāna). Views of nirvāna differ also among the Mahāyāna schools. The Mādhyamikas see nirvāna as emptiness (shūnyatā), which they define as “coming to rest of the manifold,” since this coming to rest of the manifold means also the cessation or absence of everything relating to a confused projection of the world. Nirvāna is oneness with the inexpressible reality that always exists, only is not recognized. Nirvāna and samsāra are not different if one perceives the world in its true nature, which is emptiness. It is our discriminating mind that prevents us from recognizing this true nature.
The Yogāchāra posits the non distinctness of samsāra and nirvāna as well as the unreality of all appearances. Nirvāna for this “mind-only” teaching is the cessation of discrimination, as well as the consciousness that only mind exists and the faith that the objective existence of the phenomenal world represents nothing but a confusion of the mind. This school recognizes two types of nirvāna: that of the arhat, with whom, after death, only absolute being remains. It is a coming to rest but not a consciously experienced bliss; it is seen as inferior in comparison with the ‘second type of nirvāna, that of the Buddha, since the latter entails conscious extinction and conscious exercise of compassion. In this form of nirvāna, which exhibits a positive character and represents conscious unity with all beings, the individual as empirical personality continues in force.
In Zen Buddhism nirvāna is also seen as not separate from this world; it is rather the realization of the true nature of the mind (the mind’s essence), which is identical with the true nature of human beings—the buddha-nature (busshō). This realization is only possible through wisdom, thus nirvāna is often equated with prajñā. In the Zen sense, prajñā and nirvāna are two aspects of the same state. Nirvāna is the state in which a person lives who has attained prajñā and thus also insight into his own mind or true nature; and prajñā is the wisdom of a person who has attained nirvāna.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
External link: Nirvana