Nibbana

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Nibbana (Pali), nirvana (Sanskrit), is the highest spiritual state and the ultimate goal of Buddhism.

The word nibbana comes from nir meaning ‘stop’ and và meaning ‘to blow.’ Thus Nibbana is the extinguishing or blowing out of the fires of greed, hatred and ignorance. Alternatively, it may come from nir plus vana meaning ‘desire’ and thus mean the ‘stopping of desire.’ When, as a result of practicing The Noble Eightfold Middle Path, ignorance and craving give way to knowledge and fulfilment, one attains Nibbana and at death is no longer subject to rebirth and all the suffering that entails.

33 synonyms for Nibbana

  1. The Unconditioned
  2. The destruction of lust, hate, delusion
  3. The Uninclined
  4. The taintless
  5. The truth
  6. The other shore
  7. The subtle
  8. The very difficult to see
  9. The unaging
  10. The stable
  11. The undisintegrating
  12. The unmanifest
  13. The unproliferated
  14. The peaceful
  15. The deathless
  16. The sublime
  17. The auspicious
  18. The secure
  19. The destruction of craving
  20. The wonderful
  21. The amazing
  22. The unailing
  23. The unailing state
  24. The unafflicted
  25. Dispassion
  26. Purity
  27. Freedom
  28. Non-attachment
  29. The island
  30. The shelter
  31. The asylum
  32. The refuge
  33. The destination and the path leading to the destination

(from Samyutta Nikaya 43)

The nature of Nibbana

Is Nibbana (Nirvana) a physical place? Is it existence? Is it non-existence? These are questions that have been asked by Dhamma / Dharma practitioners and answered in varying ways by Dhamma / Dharma teachers from the time of Buddha through today. The Buddha said:

Everything exists: That is one extreme. Everything doesn't exist: That is a second extreme. Avoiding these two extremes, the Tathagata teaches the Dhamma via the middle: From ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications . . . (continues with Dependent Orgination formula). (Samyutta Nikaya 12.15)

The Buddha answers no to the following 4 questions / possibilities (Majjhima Nikaya 72):

  • After death a Tathagata (Buddha) exists: only this is true (The Buddha answers "No")
  • After death a Tathagata does not exist: only this is true (The Buddha answers "No")
  • After death a Tathagata both exists & does not exist: only this is true (The Buddha answers "No")
  • After death a Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist: only this is true (The Buddha answers "No")

The Buddha is apparently deliberately being vague since no terms in conventional language can do it justice to describe Nibbana. In other Suttas the Buddha argues against nihilism which suggests that Nibbana is not nihilistic. A number of potential explanations have been provided by Buddhist teachers.

The non-existence view

A number of teachers have argued that the person does not exist, the being, no matter how great, including the Buddha, cannot be contacted. They argue that there is no soul, no permanent self and that Nibbana is the extinguishment of all defilements, all craving, all suffering, all becoming. They argue that it is not annihilation since there was no being, no soul to begin with.

In the discourse on the 62 kinds of wrong view (Digha Nikaya 1), the Buddha called the following one of the wrong views:

Herein, bhikkhus, recluse or a certain brahmin is a rationalist, an investigator. He declares his view hammered out by reason, deduced from his investigations, following his own flight of thought thus: 'That which is called "the eye," "the ear," "the nose," "the tongue," and "the body" that self is impermanent, unstable, non-eternal, subject to change. But that which is called "mind" (citta) or "mentality" (mano) or "consciousness" (viññāṇa) that self is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, and it will remain the same just like eternity itself.

The pantheistic view

Other teachers have argued, including Thanissaro Bhikkhu that the being or Mind (Pali: Citta) entering the state of Nibbana is like a "fire unbound." In the Sutta quoted above, the Buddha talks about a fire that goes out and asks "where did it go" and then refers to the idea that the fire did not disappear, just that it is no longer held by its fuel. Thanissaro Bhikkhu argues that it is like a fire no longer dependent upon the fuel (of a body or the 5 aggregates). These teachers do not refer to this as pantheism, but it does have similarities to notions of pantheism found in other Dharmic paths including Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

Pantheists sometimes describe the union with the divine as a drop (the mind) entering the divine ocean, no longer existing in an individual sense but still existing in some way. Those holding this view in Buddhism have the following additional quote to support that view: "Just as the river Ganges inclines toward the sea, flows towards the sea, and merges with the sea, so too Master Gotama's assembly with its homeless ones and its householders inclines toward Nibbana, and merges with Nibbana." (Majjhima Nikaya 73.14)

The polytheistic, existence view

Others still take it even further, for example the famous Ajahn Mun, who stated that the Buddha even talked to him during his deep meditation experiences, suggesting that the Buddha is at some place in a Buddha-land or Buddha-field. A sizable number of Thai Theravada Buddhists believe that Ajahn Mun and his Dhamma successor, Ajahn Boowa, were fully enlightened arahants. This view is also similar to notions found in other Dharmic paths and also in Mahayana Buddhism.

In the discourse on the 62 kinds of wrong view (Digha Nikaya 1), the Buddha called the following one of the wrong views:

Herein, bhikkhus, a certain recluse or a brahmin asserts the following doctrine and view: 'The self, good sir, has material form; it is composed of the four primary elements and originates from father and mother. Since this self, good sir, is annihilated and destroyed with the breakup of the body and does not exist after death, at this point the self is completely annihilated.' In this way some proclaim the annihilation, destruction, and extermination of an existent being.

Mahayana

Nan Huaijin, a major figure in modern Chinese Buddhism and Chán, has criticized what he views as modern nihilistic interpretations of the doctrine of anatta. He has stated that these interpretations are "totally wrong", and likens them to philosophical materialism. When discussing the Ten Forms of Mindfulness in the Āgamas, he mentions these interpretations of anatta:

"When the Hīnayāna speaks of no self, it is in reference to the manifest forms of presently existing life; the intent is to alert people to transcend this level, and attain Nirvāṇa. But when this flowed into the world of learning, especially when it was disseminated in the West, some people thought that the Buddhist idea of no self was nihilism and that it denied the soul, and they maintained that Buddhism is atheistic. This is really a joke." [sic]

Over the past several decades (dating back to at least 1939), a controversial movement of monks and meditation masters within Theravada, later called the Dhammakaya Movement, has developed in Thailand. The Dhammakaya Movement teaches that it is incorrect to label Nirvana as anatta (non-Self); instead, Nirvana is claimed to be the ‘True Self’. This teaching is strikingly similar to that of the tathagatagarbha sutras of the Mahayana.

The correct view?

The correct view will be found in the practice when one reaches full enlightenment and experiences Nibbana first hand. Until then Buddhists can continue on with their practice, continuing to follow the teachings and practice as outlined in the Pali Canon and see on their own which one is right or mostly right.

References

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