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The term nirvana is part of an extensive metaphorical structure that was probably established at a very early age in Buddhism. It is "the most common term used by Buddhists to describe a state of freedom from suffering and rebirth," [13] but its etymology may not be conclusive for its meaning. [14]
However the Buddhist meaning of nirvana also has other interpretations. L. S. Cousins said that in popular usage nirvana was "the goal of Buddhist discipline,... the final removal of the disturbing mental elements which obstruct a peaceful and clear state of mind, together with a state of awakening from the mental sleep which they induce." [21]
The Buddhist texts contrast samma with its opposite, miccha. [21] The Noble Eightfold Path, in the Buddhist traditions, is the direct means to nirvana and brings a release from the cycle of life and death in the realms of samsara. [24] [25]
— Buddha "Nirvana, or lasting enlightenment or true spiritual growth, can be achieved only through persistent exercise of real love." — M. Scott Peck in The Road Less Traveled
In Theravada Buddhism, bodhi and nirvana carry the same meaning: that of being freed from greed, hate and delusion. Bodhi, specifically, refers to the realisation of the four stages of enlightenment and becoming an Arahant. [19] It is equal to supreme insight, the realisation of the four noble truths, which leads to deliverance. [19]
[8] [9] Nirvana refers to the moment of attainment itself, and the resulting peace of mind and happiness (khlesa-nirvana), but also to the final dissolution of the five skandhas at the time of death (skandha-nirvana or parinirvana); in the Theravada-tradition, it also refers to a transcendental reality which is "known at the moment of awakening".
The Nirvana Sutra does not give details of the historical event of the day of the parinirvāṇa itself, except the Buddha's illness and Cunda's meal offering, nor any of the other preceding or subsequent incidents, instead using the event as merely a convenient springboard for the expression of standard Mahayana ideals such as the tathagata ...
In Buddhism, Buddha (/ ˈ b uː d ə, ˈ b ʊ d ə /, which in classic Indic languages means "awakened one") [1] is a title for those who are spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the supreme goal of Buddhism, variously described as nirvana ("blowing out"), bodhi (awakening, enlightenment), and liberation (vimutti, vimoksa).