Topic- Nirvana.

Answer-

Introduction-

Buddha’s teaching consists of two parts: negative and positive. In the negative part he has
explains that the world is full of suffering and there are causes of suffering. In the positive
aspect he has taught that there is cessation of suffering and there are paths which will lead to
the cessation of suffering. The Buddha has not only spoken of suffering in the world, he has also
shown the ways and means as to how to get rid of it. Buddhist texts have mentioned many
times that the cessation of suffering is the supreme happiness. This is the Third Noble truth of
Buddhism. The Third Noble Truth is inseparably related to Nirvana, which is the ultimate aim or
highest goal of man’s life according to the Buddha. According to the Buddha, suffering is
samsara, and the cessation of suffering is Nirvana. The Third Noble Truth of Buddhism is the
cessation of suffering. Everything or objects must have causes. So sufferings have causes. If we
destroy the causes of sufferings we can cease the suffering. Gautama Buddha called this
cessation of suffering as Nirvana. Our aim is to discuss Nirvana in a broad sense.

Meaning of Nirvana-

Nirvana is a Sanskrit term. Its Pali term is Nibbana. The word “Nirvana” means “blowing out” or
“extinguishing.”

Definition-

Buddha described Nirvana as “the perfect peace of the state of mind that is free from craving,
anger and other difficult states.” It is the freedom from emotional attachment and from
worldly desires.

Nirvana is only the destruction of the fires of lust, hatred and ignorance. The cause and source
of Nirvana is the extinction of elfish desire. It brings painless peace.

Nirvana is unthinkable and inconceivable. There is nothing in the world even remotely like it.
According to Buddhism it is the supreme goal of human life. Thus Nirvana is only the moral
condition which can be attained in this life.

So we can say that Nirvana is only the destruction of selfish desire.

Scholars Definition-

Buddha says, “There is no meditation without wisdom, and there is no wisdom without
meditation. When a man has both meditation and wisdom, he is indeed close to nirvana.”
Shinjo Ito says, “Nirvana means to extinguish the burning fires of the Three Poisons: greed,
anger, and ignorance. This can be accomplished by letting go of dissatisfaction.”

Nirvana in Theravada Buddhism-

In Theravada Buddhism, Nirvana (spelled "Nibbana" in Pali) is understood to be an "unbinding"

of the mind from defilements, in particular the Three Poisons, and the mental "effluents" of
sensuality, views, becoming, and ignorance. It is liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth
and freedom from the effects of karma.

Nirvana in Mahayana Buddhism-

In Mahayana Buddhism, Nirvana also is the extinguishing of dualities and a merging with
Nirvana and Samsara into an absolute existence.

Nature of Nirvana-

There are four opinions about Nirvana in Buddhism. They are-

1. Nirvana means total extinction or pure annihilation-

Nirvana ceases the desires of our life. Many scholars hold that Nirvana means total extinction of
existence According to Buddha human beings exists for desire. Nirvana ceases all kinds of
desire, therefore it extinct the existence of human being. By Nirvana we can free from the cycle
of rebirth.

2. Nirvana is a state of bliss-

Nirvana is a state of bliss. Nirvana creates a state of bliss in human mind because it removes all
our desires.

3. Nirvana is an inconceivable state-

Nirvana is a inconceivable state of mind which is not possible to describe by our eternal
experience.

4. Nirvana is a changeless state-

As there is no origin of Nirvana, therefore there is no destruction of it. That is why it is called a
changeless state.

Misconceptions about Nirvana-

There are some misconceptions about Nirvana. They are as follows-

 1. Nirvana does not mean inaction-

Nirvana is deliverance from the sense of individuality. It does not mean inaction. Nirvana is not
renunciation of actions, but the purging of all actions, attachment, aversion and delusion.

Nirvana does not mean inaction because the Buddha spent 45 years of his life in preaching the
way to get rid of from sufferings after the attainment of Nirvana.

2. Nirvana does not mean death-

Many critics of Buddhism have considered Nirvana to be a sophisticated version of suicide, a

goal of self extinctions, complete nihilism, and absolute zero. But by Nirvana the Buddha means
only the extinction of false desires and not of all existence.

According to Buddha Nirvana is not the extinction of existence. It is the extinction of greed,
hatred and delusion. That is why we can say Nirvana does not mean death.

3. Nirvana does not mean the elimination of all emotions and desires-

The primary meaning of Nirvana is the extinction of suffering. It does not mean the negation of
all feelings and emotions. Buddha’s heart is regarded as surging with deep compassionate love.
He has spoken about two types of desires in which noble desires and ignoble desires.

According to Buddha Nirvana is the freedom from ignoble desires.

Nirvana as Supreme Happiness:

The Buddha describes Nirvana as the highest of all things. Nirvana is the supreme, perfect and
eternal happiness, it is the blissful end, the highest good of man’s life Buddha says, “Health is
the greatest of gifts, contentment is the greatest wealth; truth is the best of all relationships.
Nirvana is the highest happiness.”

Nirvana and Rebirth-

Nirvana is a guarantee that re-birth will not take place. It is the extinction of becoming or
rebirth. It implies the stoppage of the wheel of rebirth. The Sutta Niapata says, “Nirvana brings
the end of the wheel of birth and rebirth.”

Positive and Negative Implications of Nirvana-

Sometimes Nirvana is regarded as the positive fulfillment and sometimes as negative extinction.
Nirvana positively means that one who has attained it enjoys the perfect peace. The peace is
above all worldly pleasures and pains.
The negative implication of Nirvana can be considered as three levels- the first level is the
extinction of suffering. The second level is the extinction of empirical phenomena. On the third
level there is the extinction of both empirical and transcendental.

Ways that Lead to Nirvana-

The Fourth Noble Truth of the Buddha shows the way of deliverance for all man which will help
them to reach the final state of release and salvation. The Buddha recommended a path which
consists of 8 steps which is called the Noble Eightfold Path (astangikamarga). This Noble
Eightfold Path is the golden rule of the Buddha for attaining Nirvana. It is against both the
extremes of self-indulgence (Dhammacakka-Pavattana Sutta) and self-mortification
(attakilamathamuyoga). The Buddha shows a middle path avoiding these two extremes. Buddha
says, Buddha says, “What is the path that leads to the cessation of suffering? It is the Noble
Eightfold Path, which consists of right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right
livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right contemplation.”

The Noble Eightfold Path-

The Noble Eightfold Path consists of-
1.Right View - Sammā ditthi

2.Right Intention - Sammā san̄ kappa

3.Right Speech - Sammā vācā

4.Right Action - Sammā kammanta

5.Right Livelihood - Sammā ājīva

6.Right Effort - Sammā vāyāma

7.Right Mindfulness - Sammā sati

8.Right Concentration - Sammā samādhi

They are described as follows-(প্রতিটার short বিবরণ)

Right Action- Samma Kammanta- Right determination should not end merely with right
speech, it should end in right action or good conduct which generally consists in observing the
five precepts or the Panchasila. This can be shown in both positive and negative ways-
Negative- 1. Do not kill, 2. Do not take that which is not given, 3. Do not commit sexual
misconduct, 4. Do not indulge in false speech, 5. Do not take drugs.
Positive- 1. Practice love and harmlessness at all, 2. Practice charity and generosity, 3. Practice
purity and self-control, 4. Practice sincerity and honesty, 5. Practice restrain and mindfulness.
These Eightfold paths have been classified into-
Wisdom- 1. Right view,2. Right intention
Ethical conduct-3. Right speech, 4. Right action, 5. Right livelihood
Concentration-6. Right effort, 7. Right mindfulness, 8. Right concentration
Importance of Nirvana-
Nirvana is very much important in Buddhist philosophy. Nirvana is a state where a person
became free from all kind of sufferings. It is the only way to get rid from rebirth. The
importances of Nirvana are as follows-
1. Purification of Body, Mind and Soul:
2. Liberation from Rebirth
3. Liberation from Worldly desires
4. Freedom from suffering
5. Attaining Supreme Happiness
(প্রতিটার short বিবরণ)
Conclusion-
The goal of Buddhism is to become enlightened and reach Nirvana. Nirvana is believed to be
attainable only by following the Noble Eightfold Path. Nirvana signifies the end of the cycle of
death and rebirth. According to the Four Noble Truths, “life is suffering” so ending the cycle of
rebirth is something to be desired. With Its nature has been much debated in Western
scholarship, some scholars maintaining that it involves total annihilation and others interpreting
it as eternal bliss. Some Buddhists think of Nirvana as a type of heaven where there is no
suffering; other Buddhists view Nirvana as a state of mind free from suffering. It is very
important for the Buddhists to attain Nirvana. They believe that Nirvana takes them to the
supreme happiness, eternal bliss. From this point of view one can easily understand the nature
of Nirvana and its importance.