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Nirvana in Early Buddhism

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Encyclopedia of Mindfulness, Buddhism, and Other Contemplative Practices

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Synonyms

Nibbāna (Pāli); Nirvāṇa (Sanskrit)

Definition

Nirvana is a central term to refer to the final goal of early Buddhist soteriology.

Nirvana

The basic imagery conveyed by the term Nirvana is that of a fire going out. This can conveniently be related to the ethical implication of Nirvana as freedom of the mind from defilements (Bodhi, 2000, p. 1294), given that the three root defilements of sensual passion, anger or ill will, and delusion are considered three types of fire (Walshe, 1987, p. 484). Hence, when through the removal of these root defilements a fully awakened one no longer intentionally does anything harmful, then this is how Nirvana can be considered directly visible here and now (Bodhi, 2012, p. 253). Besides being in this way directly visible, Nirvana is also considered to be the supreme form of happiness (Ñāṇamoli, 1995, p. 613).

The attainment of Nirvana corresponds to a realization of the deathless. Whereas in its ancient Indian setting this term conveyed nuances...

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References

  • Anālayo, Bh. (2022). Situating mindfulness (2): Early Buddhist soteriology. Mindfulness, 13(4), 855–862.

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  • Bodhi, Bh. (2000). The connected discourses of the Buddha, a new translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Wisdom Publications.

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  • Bodhi, Bh. (2012). The numerical discourses of the Buddha, a translation of the Aṅguttara Nikāya. Wisdom Publications.

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  • Bodhi, Bh. (2017). The Suttanipāta, an ancient collection of Buddha’s discourses, together with its commentaries Paramatthajotikā II and excerpts from the Niddesa. Wisdom Publications.

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  • Horner, I. B. (1951). The book of the discipline (Vinaya-Piṭaka), volume IV (Mahāvagga). Pali Text Society.

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  • Ñāṇamoli, Bh. (1995). The middle length discourses of the Buddha, a translation of the Majjhima Nikāya. Wisdom Publications.

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  • Walshe, M. (1987). Thus have I heard, the long discourses of the Buddha. Wisdom Publications.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Numata Center for Buddhist Studies, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Bhikkhu Anālayo

Authors
  1. Bhikkhu Anālayo
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Nirbhay N. Singh

Section Editor information

  1. Centre for Positive Behaviour Support, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Yoon-Suk Hwang

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Lance Hawley

  3. West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Center for Contemplative Studies, West Chester, PA, USA

    Donald McCown

  4. NOUS-School of Specialization (PsyD) in Psychotherapy, Milano, Italy

    Fabio Giommi

  5. Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Antonino Raffone

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Anālayo, B. (2022). Nirvana in Early Buddhism. In: Singh, N.N. (eds) Encyclopedia of Mindfulness, Buddhism, and Other Contemplative Practices. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90465-4_49-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90465-4_49-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-90465-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-90465-4

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