Nibbāna

Introduction

“Awakening”, “Liberation”, or the attainment of nibbāna is regarded as the soteriological goal of Buddhism.

The Buddha’s description of awakening in the Mahākhandhaka

3V/1 Mahākhandhaka contains a biography of the Buddha post awakening, so it is a good place to start in order to understand how the Buddha described the awakening process as well as the soteriological outcome. Also, the Mahākhandhaka is common across at least six Vinaya versions, so presumably the content reflects an early, presectarian view.

In the Buddha’s awakening process, described in 3V/1.1 Bodhikathā, the Buddha’s liberation is simply described as simply being free from doubts due to the elimination of the conditions leading to suffering:

6. “When indeed dhammā (phenomena) become manifest
To the ardent, contemplating brāhmaṇa;
Then all his doubts disappear,
Since he understands the dependent nature of phenomena.”

…

9. “When indeed phenomena become manifest
To the ardent, contemplating brāhmaṇa;
Then all his doubts disappear,
Since he has understood the destruction of conditions.”

…

12. “When indeed phenomena become manifest
To the ardent, contemplating brāhmaṇa;
He stands dispelling Māra’s army,
Like the sun illuminating the sky.”

Later on in 3V/1.2 Ajapālakathā, in response to an arrogant brahmin’s question: “To what extent is one a brāhmaṇa and what are the qualities that make a brāhmaṇa?”, the Buddha replied:

15.“The brāhmaṇa who has discarded evil qualities,
Free from disgruntlement, free from non-optimal flows, self-controlled;
Perfected in knowledge, who has lived the optimal life,
He might rightly speak ‘I am a brāhmaṇa’;
For whom there are no excess anywhere in the world.”

To Mucalinda the nāga (serpent) king in 3V/1.3 Mucalindakathā, the Buddha added that awakening is the “supreme happiness” for him:

18. “Happy is solitude for one who is content,
who has heard the Dhamma and sees;
Happy is non-affliction in the world,
restraint towards living beings.

19. Happy is dispassion in the world,
the overcoming of sensual pleasures;
The dispelling of the conceit ‘I am’,
this indeed is the supreme happiness.”

In the above inspired verses (udāna), it seems awakening is mainly described as understanding the nature of phenomena, dispassion, the overcoming of sensual pleasures, the dispelling of the conceited ego, the living of an optimal life, resulting in the removal of doubts, the elimination of the origination and conditions for suffering, and finally “supreme happiness.”

However, by the time the Buddha decided to teach and set forth towards Bārāṇasī, he encountered Upaka the Ājīvaka in 3V/1.6 Pañcavaggiyakathā. Upaka was so impressed by the Buddha that he asked:

“Your faculties, āvuso, are very clear, your skin-complexion is pure and bright. For whose sake, āvuso, have you gone forth? Or who is your teacher? Or whose dhamma do you profess?”

The Buddha replied:

57. “All-conquering, all-knowing am I,
In all dhammas (phenomena) undefiled;
All-abandoning, liberated in the destruction of taṇhā (craving),
Having known for myself, whom should I point to?

58. No teacher have I,
One like me is not found;
In the world with its devas,
There is no one to rival me.

59. For I am an arahant (worthy one) in the world,
I am the teacher unexcelled;
Alone I am a sammāsambuddha (perfectly self-awakened one),
Cooled am I, nibbuto (extinguished).

60. To set the Dhammacakka (Wheel of Dhamma) in motion,
I go to the city of Kāsī;
In a world become blind,
I shall beat the drum of the amata (deathless).”

This is the first time in the 3V/1 Mahākhandhaka that the Buddha has used the word sammāsambuddha (perfectly self-awakened one), nibbuto (extinguished), amata (deathless).

These words have caused generations of Buddhists to speculate whether there was something more to awakening than just understanding and cessation. sammāsambuddha may suggest an exalted, sublime state surpassing mundane existence, and amata literally means immortality.

The Buddha then continued to explain to the first five disciples:

80. “When, bhikkhave, these three phases and twelve aspects of the four realisations became in reality total understanding and purification, then bhikkhave, I declared to the world with its devas, Māra, Brahmā, with its ascetics and brahmins, with its devas and humans, that I had woken up to perfect understanding unsurpassed by anything. And from my knowledge, the insight arose: “Unshakeable is my liberation, this is the final birth, there is now no more future existences.” This the Bhagavā said, and the group of five bhikkhū, delighted, rejoiced in the Bhagavā’s words.

With these words, the Buddha is saying abhisambuddha anuttara sammāsambodhi (perfect understanding unsurpassed by anything) will “lead to no more future existences.” This, together with amata certainly seems to imply some sort of eternal state of grace beyond mere mundane existence.

Or so it would seem. A rational explanation is that the Buddha simply was being metaphorical, what he truly meant was that with the elimination of non-optimal mental processes and the cessation of suffering, an awakened person need no longer be concerned about death or future existences. But perhaps some disciples hoped for something more.

Where does the word `nibbāna` come from?

As we can see, the word nibbāna is never used in 3V/1 Mahākhandhaka, and indeed is seldom used in the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka, appearing less than 20 times. So clearly it is a word introduced by later generations of Buddhists and potentially not used by the Buddha himself.

According to 13S4/4.1.1 Nibbānapañhāsutta, nibbāna is merely an epithet for the (mundane) outcome of awakening:

1326. “‘Nibbāna, nibbāna’ it is said, āvuso Sāriputta. What, āvuso, is nibbāna?”

“The destruction of greed, the destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion — this, āvuso, is called nibbāna.”

“Is there, āvuso, a path, a practice for the realisation of this nibbāna?”

“There is, āvuso, a path, a practice for the realisation of this nibbāna.”

“What, āvuso, is that path, what is that practice for the realisation of this nibbāna?”

“It is, āvuso, this Eightfold Path for the realisation of this nibbāna, namely — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right way of living, right effort, right awareness, right focus. This, āvuso, is the path, this is the practice for the realisation of this nibbāna.”

“Excellent, āvuso, is the path, excellent is the practice for the realisation of this nibbāna. And it is enough, āvuso Sāriputta, for diligence.”

17A9/1.4.3 Nibbānasukhasutta explains that nibbāna is the “supreme happiness” that the Buddha referred to.

259. Once, the āyasmā Sāriputta was staying at Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, at the Squirrels’ Feeding Place. There, the venerable Sāriputta addressed the bhikkhus:

“This, āvuso, is happiness, nibbāna. This, āvuso, is happiness, nibbāna.”

When this was said, the āyasmā Udāyī said to the āyasmā Sāriputta:

“What, āvuso Sāriputta, is the happiness here, when there is no feeling?”

“This, āvuso, is indeed the happiness here, that there is no feeling. ”

Dictionary definitions

According to the The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary (PED) by T. W. Rhys Davids and William Stede, nibbāna (p. 365) is defined as:

Nibbāna Nibbāna (nt.). — I. Etymology. Although nir+ vā “to blow”. (cp. BSk. nirvāṇa) is already in use in the Vedic period (see nibbāpeti), we do not find its distinctive application till later and more commonly in popular use, where vā is fused with vṛ in this sense, viz. in application to the extinguishing of fire, which is the prevailing Buddhist conception of the term. Only in the older texts do we find references to a simile of the wind and the flame; but by far the most common metaphor and that which governs the whole idea of nibbāna finds expression in the putting out of fire by other means of extinction than by blowing, which latter process rather tends to incite the fire than to extinguish it. The going out of the fire may be due to covering it up, or to depriving it of further fuel, by not feeding it, or by withdrawing the cause of its production. Thus to the Pali etymologist the main reference is to the root vṛ (to cover), and not to vā (to blow). This is still more clearly evident in the case of nibbuta (q. v. for further discussion). In verbal compn. nis+ vā (see vāyati) refers only to the (non-) emittance of an odour, which could never be used for a meaning of “being exhausted”; moreover, one has to bear in mind that native commentators themselves never thought of explaining nibbāna by anything like blowing (vāta), but always by nis+vana (see nibbana). For Bdhgh’s def n of nibbāna see e. g. Vism 293. — The meanings of n. are: 1. the going out of a lamp or fire (popular meaning). — 2. health, the sense of bodily well-being (probably, at first, the passing away of feverishness, restlessness). — 3. The dying out in the heart of the threefold fire of rāga, dosa & moha: lust, ill-will & stupidity (Buddhistic meaning). — 4. the sense of spiritual well-being, of security, emancipation, victory and peace, salvation, bliss.
II. Import and Range of the Term. A. Nibbāna is purely and solely an ethical state, to be reached in this birth by ethical practices, contemplation and insight. It is therefore not transcendental. The first and most important way to reach N. is by means of the eightfold Path, and all expressions which deal with the realisation of emancipation from lust, hatred and illusion apply to practical habits and not to speculative thought. N. is realised in one’s heart; to measure it with a speculative measure is to apply a wrong standard. — A very apt and comprehensive discussion of nibbāna is found in F. Heiler, “Die buddhistische Versenkung” (München 2 1922), pp. 36-42, where also the main literature on the subject is given. — N. is the untranslatable expression of the Unspeakable, of that for which in the Buddha’s own saying there is no word, which cannot be grasped in terms of reasoning and cool logic, the Nameless, Undefinable (cp. the simile of extinction of the flame which may be said to pass from a visible state into a state which cannot be defined. Thus the Saint (Arahant) passes into that same state, for which there is “no measure” (i. e. no dimension): “atthangatassa na pamāṇam atthi… yena naŋ vajju: taŋ tassa n’ atthi” Sn 1076. The simile in v. 1074: “accī yathā vāta-vegena khitto atthaŋ paleti, na upeti sankhaŋ: evaŋ munī nāmakāyā vimutto atthaŋ paleti, na upeti sankhaŋ”). Yet, it is a reality, and its characteristic features may be described, may be grasped in terms of earthly language, in terms of space (as this is the only means at our disposal to describe abstract notions of time and mentality); e. g. accutaŋ ṭhānaŋ, pāraŋ, amataŋ padaŋ, amata (& nibbāna-) dhātu. — It is the speculative, scholastic view and the dogmatising trend of later times, beginning with the Abhidhamma period, which has more and more developed the simple, spontaneous idea into an exaggerated form either to the positive (i. e. seeing in N. a definite state or sphere of existence) or the negative side (i. e. seeing in it a condition of utter annihilation). Yet its sentimental value to the (exuberant optimism of the) early Buddhists (Rh. Davids, Early Buddhism, p. 73) is one of peace and rest, perfect passionlessness, and thus supreme happiness. As Heiler in the words of R. Otto (Das Heilige etc. 1917; quoted l. c. p. 41) describes it, “only by its concept Nirvāna is something negative, by its sentiment, however, a positive item in most pronounced form.” — We may also quote Rh. Davids’ words: “One might fill columns with the praises, many of them among the most beautiful passages in Pāli poetry and prose, lavished on this condition of mind, the state of the man made perfect according to the B. faith. Many are the pet names, the poetic epithets, bestowed upon it, each of them — for they are not synonyms — emphasising one or other phase of this many-sided conception — the harbour of refuge, the cool cave, the island amidst the floods, the place of bliss, emancipation, liberation, safety, the supreme, the transcendental, the uncreated, the tranquil, the home of ease, the calm, the end of suffering, the medicine for all evil, the unshaken, the ambrosia, the immaterial, the imperishable, the abiding, the further shore, the unending, the bliss of effort, the supreme joy, the ineffable, the detachment, the holy city, and many others. Perhaps the most frequent in the B. texts is Arahantship, ʻ the state of him who is worthy ʼ; and the one exclusively used in Europe is Nirvana, the ʻ dying out, ʼ that is, the dying out in the heart of the fell fire of the three cardinal sins — sensuality, ill-will, and stupidity (Saŋyutta iv.251, 261),” (Early Buddhism pp. 72, 73.) And Heiler says (p. 42 l. c.): “Nirvāna is, although it might sound a paradox, in spite of all conceptional negativity nothing but ʻ eternal salvation, ʼ after which the heart of the religious yearns on the whole earth.”
The current simile is that of fire, the consuming fire of passion (rāg-aggi), of craving for rebirth, which has to be extinguished, if a man is to attain a condition of indifference towards everything worldly, and which in the end, in its own good time, may lead to freedom from rebirth altogether, to certain and final extinction (parinibbāna). — Fire may be put out by water, or may go out of itself from lack of fuel. The ethical state called Nibbāna can only rise from within. It is therefore in the older texts compared to the fire going out, rather than to the fire being put out. The latter point of view, though the word nibbāna is not used, occurs in one or two passages in later books. See J i.212; Miln 346, 410; SnA 28; Sdhp 584. For the older view see M i.487 (aggi anāhāro nibbuto, a fire gone out through lack of fuel); Sn 1094 (akiñcanaŋ anādānaŋ etaŋ dīpaŋ anāparaŋ Nibbānaŋ iti); S i.236 (attadaṇḍesu nibbuto sādānesu anādāno); S ii.85 (aggikkhandho purimassa upādānassa pariyādānā aññassa ca anupāhārā anāhāro nibbāyeyya, as a fire would go out, bereft of food, because the former supply being finished no additional supply is forthcoming); sa-upādāno devānaŋ indo na parinibbāyati, the king of the gods does not escape rebirth so long as he has within him any grasping S iv.102; pāragū sabbadhammānaŋ anupādāya nibbuto A i.162; pāragato jhāyī anup˚ nibbuto, a philosopher, freed, without any cause, source, of rebirth A iv.290 (etc., see nibbuta). dāvaggi-nibbānaŋ the going out of the jungle fire J i.212; aggi nibbāyeyya, should the fire go out M i.487; aggikkhandho nibbuto hoti the great fire has died out Miln 304; nibbuto ginī my fire is out Sn 19. The result of quenching the fire (going out) is coolness (sīta); and one who has attained the state of coolness is sītibhūta. sītibhūto ‘smi nibbuto Vin i.8; Pv i.8 7; sītibhūto nirūpadhi, cooled, with no more fuel (to produce heat) Vin ii.156; A i.138; nicchāto nibbuto sītibhūto (cp. nicchāta) A ii.208; v.65. anupādānā dīpacci viya nibbutā gone out like the flame of a lamp without supply of fuel ThA 154 (Ap. 153). — nibbanti dhīrā yath’ âyaŋ padīpo the Wise go out like the flame of this lamp Sn 235. This refers to the pulling out of the wick or to lack of oil, not to a blowing out; cp. vaṭṭiŋ paṭicca telapadīpo jāleyya S ii.86; Th 2, 116 (padīpass’ eva nibbānaŋ vimokkho ahu cetaso). The pulling out of the wick is expressed by vaṭṭiŋ okassayāmi (=dīpavaṭṭiŋ ākaḍḍhemi ThA 117) cp. on this passage Pischel, Leben & Lehre des Buddha 71; Mrs. Rh. Davids, Buddhism 176; Neumann, Lieder 298). pajjotass’ eva nibbānaŋ like the going out of a lamp S i.159≈.
B. Since rebirth is the result of wrong desire (kāma, kilesa, āsava, rāga etc.), the dying out of that desire leads to freedom & salvation from rebirth and its cause or substratum. Here references should be given to: (1) the fuel in ethical sense (cp. A 1: aggi); (2) the aims to be accomplished (for instance, coolness= peace); (3) the seat of its realisation (the heart); (4) the means of achievement (the Path); (5) the obstacles to be removed. — 1. Fuel =cause of rebirth & suffering: āsāva (intoxications). khīṇāsavā jutimanto to loke parinibbutā the wise who are rid of all intoxications are in this world the thoroughly free S v.29; sāvakā āsavānaŋ khayā viharanti A iv.83; kodhaŋ pahatvāna parinibbiŋsu anāsavā (are completely cooled) A iv.98; āsavakhīṇo danto parinibbuto Sn 370; saggaŋ sugatino yanti parinibbanti anāsavā those of happy fate go to heaven, but those not intoxicated die out Dh 126; nibbānaŋ adhimuttānaŋ atthangacchanti āsavā Dh 226; āsavānaŋ khayā bhikkhu nicchāto parinibbuto It 49; vimutti-kusuma-sañchanno parinibbissati anāsavo Th 1, 100. — kāmā (cravings) nikkāmo nibbano Nāgo Sn 1131. — kilesa-(nibbāna) vice (only in certain commentaries). kilesa-nibbānass’ âpi anupādā parinibbānass’ âpi santike DhA i.286; upādānaŋ abhāvena anupādiyitvā kilesa-nibbānena nibbutā DhA iv.194. — nibbidā (disenchantment). Nibbānaŋ ekanta-nibbidāya virāgāya etc. saŋvattati S ii.223; nibbijjha sabbaso kāme sikkhe nibbānaŋ attano Sn 940. — rāga virāgo nirodho nibbānaŋ S i.136≈; desento virajaŋ dhammaŋ nibbānaŋ akutobhayan S i.192; yo rāgakkhayo (dosa˚****… moha˚…): idaŋ vuccati nibbānaŋ S iv.251, & same of Amata S v.8; chandarāga-vinodanaŋ nibbānapadaŋ accutaŋ Sn 1086; kusalo ca jahati pāpakaŋ rāgadosamoha-kkhayā parinibbuto Ud 85; ye ‘dha pajahanti kāmarāgaŋ bhavarāgânusayañ ca pahāya parinibbānagatā Vv 53 24. — vana sabba-saŋyojan’ atītaŋ vanā nibbānaŋ āgataŋ A iii.346; nikkhantaŋ vānato ti nibbānaŋ KhA 151; taṇhā-sankhāta-vānâbhāvato nibbānaŋ SnA 253.
2. *Aims:*khema (tranquillity). ātāpī bhikkhu nibbānāya bhabbo anuttarassa yogakkhemassa adhigamāya It 27; ajaraŋ amaraŋ khemaŋ pariyessāmi nibbutiŋ J i.3; acala (immovable, not to be disturbed). patto acalaṭṭhānaŋ Vv 51 4; accuta (stable) patthayaŋ accutaŋ padaŋ S iii.143; chandarāga-vinodanaŋ nibbānapadaŋ accutaŋ Sn 1086. nekkhamma (renunciation, dispassionateness). vanā nibbānaŋ āgataŋ kāmehi nekkhammarataŋ A iii.346. — pāragū (victor). pāragū sabbadhammānaŋ anupādāya nibbuto A i.162 (cp. A iv.290 with tiṇṇo pāragato). — santipada (calm, composure). santī ti nibbutiŋ ñatvā Sn 933; santimaggaŋ eva brūhaya nibbānaŋ sugatena desitaŋ Dh 285; s.=acala VvA 219. — samatha (allayment, quietude). sabbasankhārasamatho nibbānaŋ S i.136≈. — sotthi (welfare). saccena suvatthi hotu nibbānaŋ Sn 235.
3. The Heart: (a) attā (heart, self). abhinibbut-atto Sn 456; thiṭatto frequent, e. g. parinibbuto ṭh˚ Sn 359; danto parinib˚ ṭh˚ Sn 370. — (b) citta (heart). apariḍayhamāna-citto SnA 347 (for abhinibbutatto Sn 343). — (c) hadaya (heart) nibbānaŋ hadayasmiŋ opiya S i.199; mātuhadayaŋ nibbāyate J i.61; nibbāpehi me hadaya-pariḷāhaŋ (quench the fever of my heart) Miln 318. — (d) mano (mind). mano nibbāyi tāvade J i.27; disvā mano me pasīdi Vv 50 14.
4. *The Path:*dhīra. lokapariyāyaŋ aññāya nibbutā dhīrā tiṇṇā etc. S i.24; nibbanti dhīrā… Sn 235 sabbâbhibhū dhīro sabbagantha-ppamocano It 122 — Recognition of anicca (transitoriness, see nicca). aniccasaññī… bhikkhu pāpuṇāti diṭṭh’ eva dhamme nibbānaŋ A iv.353. — paññā. nibbānaŋ ev’ ajjhagamuŋ sapaññā S i.22; n’ abhirato paññā S i.38. — paṇḍita & nipaka. anupubbena n˚ŋ adhigacchanti paṇḍitā A i.162; nipakā asesaŋ parinibbanti It 93. — vijjā. bhikkhu paṇihitena cittena avijjaŋ bhecchati vijjaŋ uppādessati n˚ŋ sacchikarissati the bhikkhu with devout heart will destroy ignorance, gain right cognition & realise Nibbāna A i.8; idh’ aññāya parinibbāti anāsavo A iii.41; sabb’ āsave pariññāya parinibbanti anāsavā Vbh 426.
5. *The Obstacles:*gantha (fetter). nibbānaŋ adhigantabbaŋ sabba-g˚-pamocanaŋ S i.210; It 104; similarly It 122 (see above). gabbhaseyyā (rebirth). na te punam upenti gabbhaseyyaŋ, parinibbānagatā hi sītibhūtā Vv 53 24 — nīvaraṇa (obstacles). pañca n˚. anibbāna-saŋvattanikā S v.97. — punabbhava (rebirth). nibbāpehi mahārāgaŋ mā ḍayhittho punappunaŋ S i.188; vibhavañ ca bhavañ ca vippahāya vusitavā khīṇapunabbhavo sa bhikkhu Sn 514; bhava-nirodha nibbānaŋ S ii.117. — sankhārā (elements of life). sabbasankhāra-samatho nibbānaŋ S i.136; N.=sabbasankhārā khayissanti A iii.443. — saŋyojanāni (fetters). sabbas-âtītaŋ vanā Nibbānaŋ āgataŋ A iii.346; s. pahāya n˚ŋ sacchikarissati A iii.423; saŋyojanānaŋ parikkhayā antarā-parinibbāyī hoti S v.69.
III. Nibbāna: its ethical importance and general characterisation. 1. Assurance of N. (nibbānass’ eva santike, near N., sure of N.): S i.33 (yassa etādisaŋ yānaŋ… sa etena yānena n. e. s.: with the chariot of the Dhamma sure of reaching N.); iv.75; A ii.39 (abhabbo parihānāya n. e. s. impossible to fail in the assurance of final release, of one “catuhi dhammehi samannāgato, viz. sīla, indriyaguttadvāratā, bhojanamattaññutā. jāgariyā”); iii.331 (id. with appamādagaru: ever active & keen); ii.40=It 40 (id. with appamāda-rato); Sn 822. — 2. *Steps and Means to N.:*nibbāna-sacchikiriyā, attainment of N., is mangalaŋ uttamaŋ & to be achieved by means of tapo, brahmacariyā and ariyasaccāna-dassanaŋ Sn 267. — brahmacariya (a saintly life) is n.-parāyanā (leading to N.) S iii.189, cp. v.218; also called n.-ogadhā (with similar states of mind, as nibbidā, virāgo, vimutti) ibid.; A ii.26=It 28, cp. It 29 (nibbān’-ogadha-gāminaŋ b˚ŋ). The stages of sanctification are also discussed under the formula ” nibbidā virāgo vimutti… vimuttasmiŋ vimuttaŋ iti ñāṇaŋ hoti: khīṇā jāti etc.” (i. e. no more possibility of birth) S ii.124= iv.86. — dhamma: Buddha’s teaching as the way to N.: “dhammavaraŋ adesayi n.-gāmiŋ paramaŋ hitāya” Sn 233; ahaŋ sāvakānaŋ dhammaŋ desemi sattānaŋ visuddhiyā… n˚assa sacchikiriyāya A v.194, cp. 141; pubbe dh.-ṭhiti-ñāṇaŋ pacchā nibbāne ñāṇan ti S ii.124. — magga: Those practices of a moral & good life embraced in the 8 fold Noble Path (ariyamagga). Sace atthi akammena koci kvaci na jīyati nibbānassa hi so maggo S i.217; ekāyano ayaŋ maggo sattānaŋ visuddhiyā… N˚assa sacchikiriyāya D ii.290; S v.167, 185; bhāvayitvā sucimaggaŋ n˚-ogadha-gāminaŋ… Vbh 426; ādimhi sīlaŋ dasseyya, majjhe maggaŋ vibhāvaye, pariyosānamhi nibbānaŋ… DA i.176. — N.-gamanaŋ maggaŋ: tattha me nirato mano “my heart rejoices in the path to Nibbāna” S i.186; N.-gāminī paṭipadā A iv.83 (the path to salvation). Cp. §§ 4 & 7. — 3. The Search for N. or the goal of earnest endeavour. ārogya-paramā lābhā nibbānaŋ paramaŋ sukhaŋ, aṭṭhangiko ca maggānaŋ khemaŋ amata-gāminaŋ “N. is a higher bliss than acquisition of perfect health, the eightfold Path (alone) of all leads to perfect peace, to ambrosia” M i.508, cp. Dh 204 (“the fullest gain is for health etc.; N. is the highest happiness” DhA iii.267). Similarly: khantī paramaŋ tapo titikkhā, n˚ŋ paramaŋ vadanti buddhā D ii.49=Dh 184; n˚ŋ paramaŋ sukhaŋ: Dh 204=Sn 257=J iii.195; id.: Dh 203; jhānaŋ upasampajja… okkamanāya n.˚assa A iv.111 sq.; cp. 230 sq.; kaṭuviyakato bhikkhu… ārakā hoti N˚ā A i.281; n˚ŋ ajjhagamuŋ sapaññā S i.22; devalokañ ca te yanti… anupubbena n˚ŋ adhigacchanti paṇḍitā A i.162; n˚ŋ abhikankhati S i.198; abhipassati A i.147; tiṇṇakathankatho visallo n.-âbhirato Sn 86; bhikkhu bhabbo anuttaraŋ sītibhāvaŋ sacchikātuŋ… paṇītâdhimutto hoti ṇ-âbhirato ca A iii.435; n.-âbhirato… sabbadukkhā pamuccati S i.38; n.-ogadhaŋ brahmacariyaŋ vussati n.-parāyaṇaŋ n.-pariyosānaŋ S iii.189= v.218; n˚ŋ gavesanto carāmi (Bodhisat, J i.61). All means of conduct & all ideals of reason & intellect lead to one end only: Nibbāna. This is frequently expressed by var. similes in the phrase n.-ninna, ˚poṇa, ˚pabbhāra, e. g. S v.75=134=137=190; v.244; A v.75, 134, 190, 244= 291; Vv 84 42. Saddahāno arahataŋ dhammaŋ n.-pattiyā sussūsā labhate paññaŋ appamatto S i.214= Sn 186, cp. S i.48; Gotamo n.-paṭisaŋyuttāya dhammiyā kathāya bhikkhū sandasseti S i.214=192=210; Ud 80; n˚ŋ pariyesati A ii.247; n.-pariyosānā sabbe dhammā A v.107; n.-poṇaŋ me mānasaŋ bhavissati, saŋyojanā pahāṇaŋ gacchanti A iii.443; odhunitvā malaŋ sabbaŋ patvā n.-sampadaŋ muccati sabba-dukkhehi: sā hoti sabbasampadā A iv.239; nibbijjha sabbaso kāme sikkhe n˚ŋ attano Sn 940, cp. 1061. — 4. Some Epithets of Nibbāna: akutobhayaŋ A ii.24=It 122; accutaŋ padaŋ (careyya āditta-sīso va patthayaŋ a. p.) S iii.143; Sn 1086; pattā te acalaṭṭhānaŋ yattha gantvā na socare Vv 51 4; amataŋ A ii.247; M iii.224 (Bhagavā atthassa ninnetā a ˚assa dātā); Miln 319; Vv 64 27 (apāpuranto a ˚assa dvāraŋ); VvA 85 (a-rasa); Vv 50 20 (amatogadha magga=nibb˚-gāminī paṭipadā); amosadhammaŋ Sn 758; khemaŋ appaṭibhayaŋ S iv.175; S i.189=Sn 454; Th 2, 350 (˚ṭṭhāne vimuttā te patta te acalaŋ sukhaŋ); M i.508 (+amatagāminaŋ); A ii.247 (yogakkhemaŋ anuttaraŋ); same at A iii.294; It 27; Dh 23. — taṇhakkhaya Vv 73 5; ṭhānaŋ dud- dasaŋ S i.136 (=sabba-sankhāra-samatho); dhuvaŋ (q. v.); niccaŋ Kvu 121; nekkhammaŋ A i.147 (˚ŋ daṭṭhu khemato… nibbānaŋ abhipassanto); Vv 84 42. sabba-gantha-pamocanaŋ (deliverance from all ties) S i.210; ii.278 (sabbadukkha˚); It 222=A ii.24; yathābhūtaŋ vacanaŋ S iv.195; yathāsukhaŋ (the Auspicious) A iv.415 sq.; (chanda-) rāga vinodanaŋ Sn 1086; rāgakkhayo (dosa˚, moha˚) S v.8; rāgavinayo (dosa˚, moha˚) ibid., santi (calm, peace) Vv 50 21 =Sn 204 (chandarāga-viratto bhikkhu paññāṇavā ajjhagā amataŋ santiŋ nibbānapadaŋ accutaŋ); VvA 219 (=acala); santimaggaŋ eva brūhaya n˚ŋ Sugatena desitaŋ Dh 285=Nett 36; sandiṭṭhikaŋ akālikaŋ etc.; A i.158; samo bhūmibhāgo ramaṇīyo S iii.109; sassataŋ Kvu 34; suvatthi Sn 235. — 5. N. is realisable in this world, i. e. in this life if it is mature (diṭṭhe va dhamme): S ii.18=115= iii.163= iv.141 (diṭṭha-dh-npatta); M ii.228; A iv.353=358, cp. 454. — 6. Definitions with regard to the destruction of the causes or substrata of life (cp. above I.): taṇhāya vippahānena n˚ŋ iti vuccati S i.39=Sn 1109; as sabba- sankhārasamatho (calming down of all vital elements) Vin i.5; S i.136; A ii.118= iii.164; iv.423; v.8, 110, 320, 354; akiñcanaŋ anādānaŋ etaŋ dīpaŋ anāparaŋ n˚ŋ iti nam brūmi jarāmaccu-parikkhayaŋ Sn 1094; bhavanirodho n˚ŋ ti S ii.117; A v.9; rāga-kkhayo (dosa˚, moha˚) S iv.251=261; virāgo nirodho n˚ŋ in typical & very freq. exposition at Nd 2 =S i.136≈. See also vana & cp. the foll.: taṇhā-sankhāta-vānâbhāvato n˚ŋ SnA 253; nikkhantaŋ vānato ti n˚ŋ KhA 151; kilesa-n˚ ass’ âpi anupādā parinibbānass’ âpi santike yeva DhA i.286 (on Dh 32). — 7. N. as perfect wisdom and what is conducive to such a state (saŋvattati). The foll. phrase is one of the oldest stereotype phrases in the Canon & very freq.; it is used of all the highest means & attainments of conduct & meditation & may be said to mark the goal of perfect understanding & a perfect philosophy of life. It is given in 2 variations, viz. in a simple form as “upasamāya abhiññāya sambodhāya nibbānāya saŋvattati,” with ref. to majjhimā paṭipadā at Vin i.10=S iv.331= v.421; of satta bojjhangā at S v.80; and in a fuller form as ” ekanta-nibbidāya virāgāya nirodhāya upasamāya etc. as above” at D i.189 (negative); ii.251 (of brahmacariyaŋ), 285; iii.130 (sukhallikânuyogā, neg.) 136 (avyākataŋ, neg.); S ii.223 (brahmacariya); v.82 (satta bojjhangā), 179 (satipaṭṭhānā), 255 (iddhipādā), 361 (ariyamagga), 438 A iii.83, 326 sq.; etc. — Cp. n- saŋvattanika S v.97 (upekhāsambojjhanga); Nd 2 281 (neg. of tamo). — 8. N. as the opposite of rāga (passion, lust). Freq. is the comb n of virāga nirodha nibbāna, almost used as three synonyms, thus at S ii.18; Vin iii.20=111; A ii.118= iii.164= iv.423= v.8=Nd 2 under Nibbāna; A ii.34=It 88 (dhammānaŋ aggaŋ akkhāyati, madanimmadano pipāsa-vinayo ālaya-samugghāto vaṭṭûpacchedo taṇhakkhayo virāgo nirodha nibbānaŋ), cp. Vin iii.20≈. Similarly S i.192 (Sugataŋ payirupāsati desentaŋ virajaŋ dhammaŋ nibbānaŋ akutobhayaŋ). — 9. Various Characterisations & Similes (cp. above II. A 4 & 5). sukkâbhijātiko samāno akaṇhaŋ asukkaŋ n˚ŋ abhijayati D iii.251; A iii.384 sq.; aniccā sabbe sankhārā dukkhā ‘nattā ca sankhātā: nibbānañ c’ eva paññatti anattā iti nicchayā Vin v.86. On anicca & anattā in rel. to N. see also S iv.133 sq.; A iv.353; dukkhato & sukhato n˚ŋ samanupassati A iii.442. On comparison with a lamp see e. g. S i.159=D ii.157= Th 1, 906 (pajjotass’ eva nibbānaŋ vimokkho cetaso ahū), A iv.3 (pajjotass’ eva n. vimokkho hoti cetaso); Sn 235 (… te khīṇabījā avirūḷhichandā nibbanti dhīrā yathâyaŋ padīpo).
-abhirata fond of N. (cp. III. 3) S i.38; A iii.435; Sn 86 (visalla+); -ogadha merging into N. (of brahmacariya) S iii.189; v.218; A ii.26=It 28; Vbh 426, cp. amatogadha A v.107; -gamana (magga; cp. III. 2) leading to N. D ii.223; S i.186, 217; A iv.83; (dhamma:) S v.11; Sn 233; -dhātu the sphere or realm of N. always in phrase anupādisesāsaya n.-dhātuyā parinibbāyate Vin ii.239; D iii.135; It 38, 121; Ps i.101; cp. rāgavinayo n.-dhātuyā adhivacanaŋ S v.8. See parinibbāyin; -ninna (+˚poṇa, ˚pabbhāra; cp. III. 3) converging into N. A iii.443; Vv 84 42 & passim; -paṭisaññuta (dhammikathā; cp. III. 2) relating or referring to N. S i.114=192=210; Ud 80; -patta having attained N. (diṭṭha-dhamma˚, see above III. 5) S ii.18=114= iii.163; -patti attainment of N. S i.48, 214=Sn 186; -pada =Nibbāna (see pada 3) Sn 204. -pariyosāna ending in N. having its final goal in N. S iii.189; v.218; A v.107; -saŋvattanika conducive to N.; contributing toward the attainment of N. S v.97; Nd 2 281 (a˚); cp. above III. 7; -sacchikiriyā realisation of N. (identical with ñāṇa and constituting the highest ideal; cp. above III. 2) Sn 267. Cp. also D ii.290; S v.167; A iii.423; v.141; -saññā perception of N. A iii.443; -sampatti successful attainment of N. Kh viii.13; -sampadā the blessing of the attainment of N. A iv.239.

The above shows how nibbāna has acquired rather complex nuances (some of which reflect later thinking rather than the Buddha’s original conception of awakening). I disagree with the PTS characterisation of nibbāna as an “ethical state” but suggest it is more a “mental disposition” as there is nothing in the Buddha’s early teachings in the Mahākhandhaka that implies the soteriology represents an ethical framework. However, I do agree that it is a practical outcome rather than transcendental.

More modern dictionaries, such as Margaret Cone’s Dictionary of Pali, reverts to the original mundane, “rational” connotation:

n. [cf S. nirvāṇa], 1. the ceasing to burn, going out; D II 157,15* (pajjotass’ eva ~aṃ vimokkho cetaso ahū) = Th 906; — ifc see aggi-, dīpa- (sv dīpa 1), padīpa-; — 2. freedom from care or passion, a sense of bodily well-being; ease, happiness; M I 509,12 (idaṃ taṃ bho Gotama ārogyaṃ idaṃ taṃ ~aṃ, ahaṃ hi … etarahi arogo sukhī na maṃ kiñci ābādhatī ti); Ja VI 98,31´ (tena brahmaloke upapajjati taṃ bāhirakā ~an ti kathenti); — 3. the ceasing to burn, going out (of the fires of passion etc); the ceasing, coming to an end, of all that furnishes fuel for rebirth; the end of the possibility of rebirth; freedom from all concerns and passions; the sense of well-being, ease, happiness, experienced through the knowledge of this freedom in oneself; Abh 6 (mokkho nirodho ~aṃ); Vin I 5,3 (idaṃ pi kho ṭhānaṃ sududdasaṃ yadidaṃ sabbasaṅkhārasamatho sabbūpadhipaṭinissaggo taṇhakkhayo virāgo nirodho ~aṃ); 10,17 (majjhimā paṭipadā tathāgatena abhisambuddhā … sambodhāya ~āya saṃvattati); V 149,23* (vibhavo gati dhammānaṃ ~aṃ arahato gati); D II 42,10 (Vipassī bhagavā … saṅkhārānaṃ ādīnavaṃ okāraṃ saṅkilesaṃ ~e ānisaṃsaṃ pakāsesi); 251,14 (taṃ … brahmacariyaṃ na nibbidāya … na ~āya saṃvattati yāvad eva brahmalokūpapattiyā); 290,10 (ekāyano ayaṃ … maggo sattānaṃ visuddhiyā … ~assa sacchikiriyāya yadidaṃ cattāro satipaṭṭhānā); III 251,4 (ekacco kaṇhābhijātiko samāno akaṇhaṃ asukkaṃ ~aṃ abhijāyati; Sv 1038,13: ~aṃ ca nāma imasmiṃ atthe arahattaṃ adhippetaṃ, Be, Ce, Se so; Ee omits arahattaṃ); M I 73,36 (~aṃ cāhaṃ … pajānāmi °-gāmiṃ ca maggaṃ °-gāminiṃ ca paṭipadaṃ yathāpaṭipanno ca āsavānaṃ khayā anāsavaṃ cetovimuttiṃ paññāvimuttiṃ diṭṭhe va dhamme sayaṃ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharati taṃ ca pajānāmi); 163,1 (ekacco attanā jātidhammo samāno … ajātaṃ anuttaraṃ yogakkhemaṃ ~aṃ pariyesati); 493,26 foll. (ayaṃ bhoto Gotamassa parisā … °-ninnā °-poṇā °-pabbhārā ~aṃ āhacca tiṭṭhati); S I 39,21* (taṇhāya vippahānena ~am iti vuccati); 199,34* (~aṃ hadayasmiṃ opiya); II 117,14 (ahaṃ etaṃ jānāmi ahaṃ etaṃ passāmi bhavanirodho ~an ti; Spk II 123,1 foll.: pañcakkhandhanirodho ~aṃ); IV 251,20 (yo kho āvuso rāgakkhayo dosakkhayo mohakkhayo idaṃ vuccati ~an ti; Spk III 88,7 foll.: ~aṃ āgamma rāgo khīyati tasmā ~aṃ rāgakkhayo ti vuccati); 252,4 (ayam eva … aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo etassa ~assa sacchikiriyāya); V 80,5 (satt’ ime … bojjhaṅgā … bhāvitā bahulīkatā abhiññāya sambodhāya ~āya saṃvattanti); A I 8,9 (avijjaṃ bhecchati vijjaṃ uppādessati ~aṃ sacchikarissatī ti); 159,7 (ratto … rāgena abhibhūto … attavyābādhāya pi ceteti … rāge pahīne n’ eva attavyābādhāya pi ceteti … na cetasikaṃ dukkhaṃ domanassaṃ paṭisaṃvedeti, evaṃ … sandiṭṭhikaṃ ~aṃ hoti akālikaṃ ehipassikaṃ opanayikaṃ paccattaṃ veditabbaṃ viññūhi); Dhp 23 (phusanti dhīrā ~aṃ yogakkhemaṃ anuttaraṃ); 204 (~aṃ paramaṃ sukhaṃ; cf Dhp-a III 261,14 foll.: ~ato uttariṃ aññaṃ sukhaṃ pi natthi, aññaṃ hi sukhaṃ sukham eva ~aṃ paramaṃ sukhan ti); 369 (chetvā rāgaṃ ca dosaṃ ca tato ~am ehisi; Dhp-a IV 108,20: arahattaṃ patto tato aparabhāge anupādisesaṃ ~aṃ ehisī ti); Ud 15,14 (susukhaṃ vata ~aṃ yadidaṃ evarūpaṃ dukkhaṃ na saṃvijjatī ti); Sn 940 (nibbijjha sabbaso kāme sikkhe ~am attano; Nidd I 421,9 foll.: attano rāgassa ~āya dosassa ~āya … sabbākusalābhi-saṅkhārānaṃ samāya upasamāya vūpasamāya ~āya …); 1094 (akiñcanaṃ anādānaṃ etaṃ dīpaṃ anāparaṃ ~aṃ iti naṃ brūmi jarāmaccuparikkhayaṃ); Vv 50,21 (ajjhagā amataṃ santiṃ ~aṃ padam accutaṃ); Th 138 (gacchāma dāni ~aṃ yattha gantvā na socati); 389 (ārakā hoti ~ā dhammarājassa sāsane; Th-a II 166,32: ~ā ti kilesānaṃ nibbāpanato, kilesakkhayā ti attho); Thī 517 (acchariyam abbhutaṃ taṃ ~aṃ āsi rājakaññāya); Ja I 4,6 (rāgādīnaṃ aggīnaṃ vūpasamena ~enāpi bhavitabbaṃ); II 130,15´ (buddhānaṃ ovādakarā saṃsārapāraṃ ~aṃ gacchantī ti); III 358,22 (ito aññaṃ loke nissaraṇaṃ ~aṃ nāma natthī ti evaṃ diṭṭhi uppajji); IV 301,9´ (danto hadayasantikaraṃ ~aṃ pāpuṇāti); V 176,13´ (kammaṃ ca phalaṃ ca ~aṃ ca saddahitvā); Nidd I 292,10 (ekaṃ saccaṃ vuccati dukkhanirodho ~aṃ); Paṭis I 15,4 foll. (uppādo saṅkhārā anuppādo ~an ti abhiññeyyaṃ pavattaṃ saṅkhārā appavattaṃ ~an ti … paṭisandhi saṅkhārā appaṭisandhi ~an ti … gati saṅkhārā agati ~an ti …); II 238,17 foll. (pañcakkhandhe aniccato passanto … pañcannaṃ khandhānaṃ nirodho niccaṃ ~an ti passanto …); Ap 41,10 (ajarāmaraṃ sītibhāvaṃ ~aṃ phassayiṃ ahaṃ, Be, Ce so; Ee, Se passayiṃ); 337,18 (~aṃ kathayi buddho sabbadukkhappamocanaṃ); Bv 2:11 (evaṃ tividhaggi vijjante ~aṃ icchitabbakaṃ; Bv-a 70,18: tassa tividhassa rāgādi-aggissa nibbāpanaṃ upasamaṃ ~aṃ ca icchitabbaṃ); Dhs 1367 (dve vimuttiyo cittassa ca adhimutti ~aṃ ca; see Ps I 43,29: arahā … ~aṃ adhimuttattā ~e pi vimutto); 1416 (~aṃ na vattabbaṃ atītan ti pi anāgatan ti pi paccuppannan ti pi); Mil 68,31 foll. (bhante Nāgasena nirodho ~an ti … evaṃ etassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hoti, evaṃ kho mahārāja nirodho ~an ti); 69,25 (yo na labhati ~aṃ jānāti so sukhaṃ ~an ti); 269,28 foll. (sakkā ~assa sacchikiriyāya maggo akkhātuṃ na sakkā ~assa uppādāya hetu dassetuṃ); 270,16 foll. (tena hi Nāgasena tumhe natthidhammaṃ ~aṃ apadisatha natthi ~an ti); 271,12 (ākāso ca ~aṃ ca ime dve akammajā ahetujā anutujā); 313,3 (ekantasukhaṃ mahārāja ~aṃ dukkhena amissan ti); Vism 2,26 (visuddhī ti sabbamalavirahitaṃ accantaparisuddhaṃ ~aṃ veditabbaṃ); 293,11 (sabba-dukkhūpasamasaṅkhātassa ~assa guṇā anussaritabbā); 507,22 (paramatthato hi dukkhanirodhaṃ ariyasaccan ti ~aṃ vuccati); 508,1 (asati hi ~e … sammāpaṭipattiyā vañjhabhāvo āpajjati); 666,8 (yathā ca uṇhasamphuṭṭho puriso sītaṃ pattheti, evam evāyaṃ saṃsāravaṭṭe ekādasaggisantāpasantatto yogāvacaro ekādasaggi-vūpasamaṃ ~aṃ pattheti); Sp 139,6 (bodhī ti rukkho pi maggo pi sabbaññutañāṇaṃ pi ~aṃ pi); 955,13 (paccayānaṃ khayasaṅkhātaṃ ~aṃ avedi); Sv 121,3 (diṭṭhadhamme ~aṃ … imasmiṃ yeva attabhāve dukkhavūpasamanan ti attho); 595,9 (tesaṃ saṅkhārānaṃ vūpasamo asaṅkhataṃ ~am eva sukhan ti); 801,2 (ekam eva hi ~aṃ nāmāni pan’ assa sabbasaṅkhatānaṃ nāmapaṭipakkhavasena anekāni honti seyyathīdaṃ asesavirāgo asesanirodho cāgo … amataṃ asokaṃ aparidevaṃ anupāyāsaṃ asaṅkiliṭṭhan ti); Ps I 229,26 (ayanti vā etenā ti ayano, saṃsārato ~aṃ gacchantī ti attho); Spk I 37,25 (vaṭṭadukkhassa koṭiṃ antabhūtaṃ ~aṃ pāpuṇitvā); II 369,22 (āyatiṃ apunabbhavo nāma ~aṃ); Mp III 153,4 (tebhūmakavaṭṭasaṅkhātassa sakkāyassa nirodhaṃ, ~an ti attho); Dhp-a II 275,18 (ime sattā dīpajālā viya uppajjanti c’ eva nirujjhanti ca ~aṃ patvā evaṃ na paññāyanti, Se so; Be, Ce, Ee nibbānappattā eva); It-a I 164,33 (vānaṃ vuccati taṇhā nikkhantaṃ vānato natthi vā ettha vānaṃ imasmiṃ vā adhigate vānassa abhāvo ti ~aṃ); Pj I 152,22 foll. (nibbānasacchikiriyā nāma, idha arahattaphalaṃ ~an ti adhippetaṃ, taṃ pi … vānasaññitāya taṇhāya nikkhantattā ~an ti vuccati … itarassa pana ~assa ariyasaccānaṃ dassanen’ eva sacchikiriyā siddhā tena taṃ idha anadhippetaṃ); II 43,29 (jātimaraṇassa pāraṃ nāma ~aṃ taṃ arahattamaggena gacchāma); 305,17 (apunabbhavāyā ti ~āya); 507,10 (paṇḍitā upādānakkhayā jātikkhayaṃ ~aṃ abhiññāya); Th-a I 249,9 (~assa adhigatattā yeva ayaṃ mama samussayo attabhāvo antimo sabbapacchimako, natthi dāni punabbhavo ti attho); Nidd-a I 304,25 (ajjhattasantisaṅkhātaṃ ~am eva); Paṭis-a 67,32 (kehici paccayehi akataṃ ~aṃ asaṅkhatā dhātu); 93,32 (saṅkhārā hi ādittā ~aṃ santan ti); Vibh-a 51,21 foll. (asaṅkhatadhātū ti asaṅkhatasabhāvaṃ ~aṃ, yasmā pan’ etaṃ āgamma rāgādayo khīyanti tasmā rāgakkhayo dosakkhayo mohakkhayo ti vuttaṃ, ayaṃ ettha ācariyānaṃ samānatthakathā, vitaṇḍavādī pan’ āha pāṭiyekkaṃ ~aṃ nāma natthi kilesakkhayo va ~an ti; ad Vibh 73,1); — 4. death (without the possibility of rebirth); Ap 531,3 (~aṃ Gotamī yāti satehi saha pañcahi); 533,8; — nibbānaṃ in Ee, Se at A III 346,16* and Ap 140,3 is prob. wr for nibbanaṃ (Be, Ce so); — °’- ogadaṃ in Ee at S V 218,20 is wr for °’-ogadhaṃ (Be, Ce, Se so); — °’- ogadha, mfn. and m. [nibbāna + ogadha 1 or ogadha 2], 1. (mfn.) having a firm footing in nibbāna ; nibbāna; M I 304,21 (~aṃ … brahmacariyaṃ °-parāyanaṃ °-pariyosānaṃ; Ps II 370,28: °’-abbhantaraṃ, nibbānaṃ anuppaviṭṭhaṃ) = S III 189,29 (Spk II 336,1 foll.: nibbāne patiṭṭhitaṃ, idaṃ maggabrahmacariyaṃ nāma °’-abbhantare vussati na nibbānaṃ atikkamitvā ti attho); Mp III 351,24 ([maraṇasati] amatogadhā ti ~ā °-patiṭṭhā ti attho); — 2. (m.) the firm footing that is nibbāna ; nibbāna; It-a I 112,19 (~o ti vā ariyamaggo vuccati); — ~-gāmi(n), mfn. [gāmi(n) 1], leading to that; A II 26,11* (brahmacariyaṃ … adesayī so bhagavā ~-gāminaṃ; Mp III 42,11 foll.: maggabrahmacariyaṃ hi nibbānaṃ ārammaṇaṃ karitvā nibbānassa anto yeva vattati) = It 28,16* (It-a I 112,11 foll.: °-saṅkhātaṃ ogadhaṃ patiṭṭhaṃ pāraṃ gacchatī ti ~-gāmī … atha vā ~-gāminan ti nibbānassa anto gāminaṃ); Vibh 426,13* (bhāvayitvā sucimaggaṃ ~-gāminaṃ); — °- gama, mfn., going, leading to nibbāna; S V 11,23 (kati … dhammā bhāvitā bahulīkatā ~ā honti °-parāyanā °-pariyosānā ti); Th 86 (ito bahiddhā puthu-aññavādinaṃ maggo na ~o); — °- gamana, n. and mfn., 1. (n.) the going to nibbāna; Mp III 182,12; Nidd-a I 124,26 (~āya); — 2. (mfn.) going, leading to nibbāna; S I 186,2* (~aṃ maggaṃ; Spk I 269,13: vipassanaṃ sandhāy’ āha); Dhp 289 (~aṃ maggaṃ khippam eva visodhaye); Th 1023 (~e magge); — °- garuka, mfn., prizing nibbāna; Vism 117,1; Nidd-a II 49,29; — °- gāmi(n), mfn. [nibbāna + gāmi(n) 1], going to nibbāna ; leading to nibbāna; Khp 6:12 (dhammavaraṃ adesayi ~iṃ); M I 73,37 (nibbānaṃ cāhaṃ … pajānāmi °-iṃ ca maggaṃ ~iniṃ ca paṭipadaṃ); Ja I 3,25 (avassaṃ bhavato muñcitvā ~inā ekena maggena bhavitabban ti); 4,23 (vijjamāne yeva ~imhi sive magge); Vibh 339,16 (paṭipadā ~inī ti); Mp III 170,21 (visesagāmī hotī ti ~ī hotī ti attho); 361,13 (amatagāminan ti ~inaṃ, ariyamaggaṃ bhāventī ti attho, eds so, gen. pl. or wr? ad A III 329,13*: bhāvayanti anussatiṃ vivekapaṭisaṃyuttaṃ khemaṃ amata-gāminiṃ); Dhp-a III 429,1 (~iṃ aṭṭhaṅgikaṃ maggaṃ); It-a I 172,11 (jātiyā maraṇassa ca pāragāmino ~ino bhavathā ti); — °- dassāvi(n), mfn., who has seen nibbāna; Vv-a 85,22 (amatadasā ~inī amhi, Be, Ce, Se so; Ee wr °-rasāvinī); — °- dhātu, f., the domain of nibbāna ; nibbāna; Vin II 239,27 foll. (bahū ce pi bhikkhū anupādisesāya ~uyā parinibbāyanti na tena ~uyā ūnattaṃ vā pūrattaṃ vā paññāyati); D II 109,1 (yadā tathāgato anupādisesāya ~uyā parinibbāyati); S V 8,11 (~uyā … adhivacanaṃ rāgavinayo dosavinayo mohavinayo, āsavānaṃ khayo tena vuccatī ti); It 38,5 foll. (dve ’mā bhikkhave ~uyo … sa-upādisesā ca ~u anupādisesā ca ~u; It-a I 164,35: vānassa abhāvo ti nibbānaṃ tad eva nissattanijjīvaṭṭhena sabhāvadhāraṇaṭṭhena ca dhātū ti ~u); 38,24* (duve imā cakkhumatā pakāsitā ~ū … ekā hi dhātu idha diṭṭhadhammikā sa-upādisesā … anupādisesā pana samparāyikā); Nett 38,5 foll. (yā nittaṇhatā ayaṃ sa-upādisesā ~u bhedā kāyassa ayaṃ anupādisesā ~u); 69,30 (sā yeva sa-upādisesā ~u vijjā, vijjuppādā avijjā-nirodho avijjānirodho saṅkhāranirodho …); Mil 323,12 (api ca mahārāja atth’ esā ~u yaṃ so sammā paṭipanno sacchikarotī ti); Ud-a 396,7 (~uyā paramatthato sambhavo … sammāsambuddhena desito); Pj II 410,11 (saṃyojanakkhayantena c’ ettha sa-upādisesā ~u jātikkhayantena anupādisesā vuttā); — °- ninna, mfn., tending towards nibbāna; M I 493,27 (bhoto Gotamassa parisā … ~ā °-poṇā °-pabbhārā nibbānaṃ āhacca tiṭṭhati); S IV 180,2 (~ā … sammādiṭṭhi); — °- paṭisaṃyutta, mfn., connected with, concerned with, nibbāna; S I 114,28 (~āya dhammiyā kathāya) = Ud 80,4 (Ud-a 388,5: ~āyā ti amatadhātusannissitāya asaṅkhatāya dhātuyā pavedanavasena pavattāya); — °- pabbhāra, mfn., bending, heading, towards nibbāna; M I 493,27; S IV 180,3 (sammādiṭṭhi … ā); Vism 117,1; — °- pāpaka, mfn. [nibbāna + pāpaka 2], who leads or brings to nibbāna, Ap-a 438,32 (taṃ ~aṃ satthāraṃ … nimantesiṃ); — °- poṇa, mfn. [nibbāna + poṇa 2], inclining, moving, towards nibbāna; M I 493,27; S IV 180,3 (sammādiṭṭhi ~ā); — anibbāna, n., what is not nibbāna; Kv 225,3; Ps I 38,34; — see also parinibbāna.

Other usages of `nibbāna` in the Tipiṭaka

I searched for the term in the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka, and I found the following suttas either directly or indirectly describing nibbāna. Many of these suttas continue and clarify the association between nibbāna and “happiness”. It is quite likely most of these are late creations, intended to emphasise the positive rather than nihilistic aspects of nibbāna.

Note that I have not analysed 13S4/1.3.5.5 Nibbānasappāyapaṭipadāsutta as it does not describe nibbāna per se, but rather the practice leading to it.

15A4/4.3.9 Nibbānasutta

This sutta emphasises that “complete extinguishment” (parinibbāyanti) is based on being able to understand and differentiate between different types of perception.

1083. “What, āvuso Sāriputta, is the reason, what is the condition, by which some beings here attain complete extinguishment of their characteristics?”

“Here, āvuso Ānanda, some beings truly understand the perceptions that lead to decline, that lead to stability, that lead to distinction, that lead to penetrating insight. This, āvuso Ānanda, is the reason, this is the condition, by which some beings here attain complete extinguishment of their characteristics.”

16A6/2.5.6 Nibbānasutta

This sutta emphasises that nibbāna is not associated with negative emotional states but with positive ones.

725. Bhikkhave, it is not possible that a bhikkhu who perceives nibbāna as suffering will be endowed with suitable patience. It is not possible that one not endowed with suitable patience will enter the right path. It is not possible that one not entering the right path will realise the fruit of stream-entry, or the fruit of once-returning, or the fruit of non-returning, or arahantship.

726. Bhikkhave, it is possible that a bhikkhu who perceives nibbāna as happiness will be endowed with suitable patience. It is possible that one endowed with suitable patience will enter the right path. It is possible that one entering the right path will realise the fruit of stream-entry, or the fruit of once-returning, or the fruit of non-returning, or arahantship.”

16A7/1.2.9 Nibbānasutta

This sutta clarifies that the “happiness” experienced with nibbāna is that of someone who perceives and experiences comfort continuously and lives the optimal life.

86. “He lives following the comfort in nibbāna (extinguishment), perceiving comfort, experiencing comfort continuously, calmly and without interruption, with purpose, settling his mind, endowed with knowledge, immersing himself. Through the destruction of the taints … having realised for himself, he lives as a fully ordained renunciant. This, bhikkhave, is the first person worthy of offerings… a field of merit for the world.

Note that in here “happiness” (sukhaṁ) is not necessarily an emotion, but whatever the Buddha has experienced whenever experienced, including the cessation of all perceptions and feelings, according to 10M/1.9 Bahuvedanīyasutta

251. “It is indeed possible, Ananda, that other wandering seekers might say this:

‘The samaṇa Gotama speaks of the cessation of perception and feeling; and he designates it as happiness. What is this? How is this so?’

Ananda, if other wandering seekers speak thus, they should be told this—

Āvuso, the Bhagavā does not designate happiness only with reference to pleasant feeling; but, āvuso, wherever and however happiness is experienced, that the Tathāgata designates as happiness.’”

17A9/1.5.6 Sandiṭṭhikanibbānasutta

This sutta clarifies that nibbāna can be achieved in the current life (and therefore is not something that is beyond death).

Even to this extent, āvuso, nibbāna is evident and perceivable in this life as literally stated by the Bhagavā.

18Ud/8.1 Paṭhamanibbānapaṭisaṃyuttasutta

This sutta clarifies that nibbāna not a state, or a process, but an outcome.

663. “There is, bhikkhus, that dimension where there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor wind; nor the dimension of infinite space, nor the dimension of infinite consciousness, nor the dimension of nothingness, nor the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception; nor this world, nor the other world, nor both moon and sun. There, bhikkhave, I say there is no coming, no going, no standing still, no dying, no reappearing. It is unestablished, unmoving, without object. This, indeed, is the end of suffering.”

18Ud/8.2 Dutiyanibbānapaṭisaṃyuttasutta

This sutta explains nibbāna in terms of another word: anataṃ (uninclined, or unbent), referring to someone who is uninclined towards craving.

667. “Hard to understand is that called anataṃ (uninclined, or unbent),
For the truth is not easily perceived;
Craving is comprehended for one who is aware,
For anyone who sees, there is nothing.”

18Ud/8.3 Tatiyanibbānapaṭisaṃyuttasutta

This sutta clarifies nibbāna as “unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconceived”, and hence explains the real meaning of amata (deathless) not as immortality but “something that is not born cannot die”.

671. “There is, bhikkhave, that which is unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconceived. If there were not, bhikkhave, that which is unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconceived, then there would be no escape here from that which is born, become, made, conceived. But because there is, bhikkhave, that which is unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconceived, therefore there is an escape from that which is born, become, made, conceived.”

18Ud/8.4 Catutthanibbānapaṭisaṃyuttasutta

This sutta clarifies nibbāna as someone who is not dependent, not agitated, tranquil, no inclination, no coming and going, not dying and reappearing, neither here nor beyond nor in between the two.

675. “For one who is dependent, there is agitation; for one who is not dependent, there is no agitation. When there is no agitation, there is tranquility. When there is tranquility, there is no inclination. When there is no inclination, there is no coming and going. When there is no coming and going, there is no dying and reappearing. When there is no dying and reappearing, there is neither here nor beyond nor in between the two. This, indeed, is the end of suffering.”

18It/2.2.7 Nibbānadhātusutta

This sutta explains two different “types” of nibbāna - with remainder (where one is still able to experience the six senses and still feels pleasure and pain), and without remainder (where one no longer experiences feelings). This has been popularly interpreted as the nibbāna when one is still alive, vs the nibbāna after one passes away. However, I see no evidence supporting this interpretation in this sutta, so it is conceivable both types of nibbāna can be experienced whilst alive.

280. Bhikkhave, there are these two elements of nibbāna. Which two? The element of nibbāna with a remainder, and the element of nibbāna without a remainder.

281. And what, bhikkhave, is the element of nibbāna with a remainder? Here, bhikkhave, a bhikkhu is an arahant, with taints destroyed, who has lived the optimal life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, attained the true goal, utterly destroyed the fetters of existence, and is liberated by right knowledge. His five sense faculties remain, and because they are not impaired, he experiences agreeable and disagreeable things, and feels pleasure and pain. The destruction of his greed, the destruction of his hatred, the destruction of his delusion — this, bhikkhave, is called the element of nibbāna with a remainder.

282. And what, bhikkhave, is the element of nibbāna without a remainder? Here, bhikkhave, a bhikkhu is an arahant, with taints destroyed, who has lived the optimal life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, attained the true goal, utterly destroyed the fetters of existence, and is liberated by right knowledge. For him, bhikkhave, all feelings, not being delighted in, will become cool here. This, bhikkhave, is called the element of nibbāna without a remainder. These, bhikkhave, are the two elements of nibbāna.” The Bhagavā explained the significance of this matter.

9M/1.1 Mūlapariyāyasutta

This sutta clarifies nibbāna as one of the concepts often misunderstood, as it is conceived literally rather than understanding the true meaning of the concept.

26. He perceives nibbāna as nibbāna; having perceived nibbāna as nibbāna, he conceives of nibbāna, he conceives in nibbāna, he conceives from nibbāna, he conceives ‘nibbāna is mine’, he delights in nibbāna. For what reason? ‘It is not fully understood by him,’ I say.

Kenneth R. Norman in “Mistaken Ideas about Nibbāna” in The Buddhist Forum Volume III, The Institute of Buddhist Studies (2012) pp. 211-226 explains that the “uninstructed average person (assutavā puthujjano)” conceives of nibbāna as some sort of “highest goal or ultimate good” and therefore does not really understand the concept.

Mistaken ideas about `nibbāna`

The following is a summary of Norman’s paper above:

Mistaken Idea	Correction/Clarification
Nibbāna is a perceivable object of happiness in the “here and now”.	Nibbāna is not in the realm of perception (saññā). The “here and now” (saṃsāra) is fundamentally characterized by suffering (dukkha), so any sensory pleasure or meditative state (jhāna) experienced within it is not the ultimate Nibbāna. True Nibbāna requires “knowledge” (vijjā) to break the chain of dependent origination.
Nibbāna and Parinibbāna are different.	The distinction is grammatical, not conceptual. Nibbāna is the state of release, while Parinibbāna refers to the act of attaining that state. An individual “attains nibbāna” both at enlightenment and at death.
Nibbāna is an immortal or timeless place where beings live forever.	Epithets like amata (“deathless”) and ajāta (“unborn”) do not mean Nibbāna is an eternal entity. They describe a state where the conditions of saṃsāra are absent. Amata means “where there is no death,” and ajāta means “where there is no birth.” Similarly, akālika (“timeless”) means “not connected with time,” in direct opposition to the time-bound nature of saṃsāra.
Nibbāna is a physical place or a city one can travel to.	Metaphors like “the city of Nibbāna” or “the path to Nibbāna” are not literal. Phrases such as “gone to beautiful Nibbāna” are often grammarians’ explanations of words (like the Buddha’s epithet Sugato) and should not be taken as proof of a physical location. Nibbāna is a non-place and a non-state, defined by what it is not — it is the cessation of suffering.
Nibbāna means the “blowing out” or annihilation of the individual.	The “blowing out” (nibbāna) refers to the extinction of the three fires of greed (rāga), hatred (dosa), and delusion (moha), not the self. The Buddha explicitly rejected the charge of being an annihilationist.
Nibbuta (tranquil, happy) is simply the past participle of the verb for Nibbāna.	The words have different origins. Nibbuta derives from a root meaning “happy, tranquil, at ease,” describing a person’s state. Nibbāna comes from the root for “to blow out,” referring to the extinction of defilements. The two terms became intertwined through puns and evolving usage, but their original meanings are distinct.

Final Nibbāna is no more than the cessation of the five khandhas

In Bhikkhu Brahmāli, What the Nikāyas Say and Do not Say about Nibbāna, Buddhist Studies Review, 26.1 (2009) 33–66 https//doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v26i1.33, Brahmali provided an overview of the usage of the term Nibbāna in the Nikāyas and argued that:

Nibbāna cannot be regarded as a self.
Nikāyas do not see Nibbāna as a form of consciousness, including such exceptional kinds of consciousness as anidassana viññāṇa and appatitṭhita viññāṇa.
Nor can Nibbāna be regarded as equivalent to mind, or any particular state of mind.

And therefore the most reasonable interpretation of the Nikāyas is that final Nibbāna is no more than the cessation of the five khandhas. This seems consistent with my analysis above. He concludes:

In the final analysis, the Buddha’s teachings concern only the ending of suffering. Although it seems clear that ‘mere’ cessation is the correct interpretation of final Nibbāna and although there are obvious dangers in regarding final Nibbāna as ‘something’, ultimately it is irrelevant whether the state that supervenes when the arahant dies is ‘something’ or ‘nothing’. All that matters is that the five khandhas - that is, suffering - cease without remainder. Consider how the Buddha sometimes would summarize his teachings: ‘Good, good, Anurādha. Formerly, Anurādha, and also now, I make known just suffering and the cessation of suffering’ (SN III 119). [^128] And since suffering is coterminous with saṃsāra, it follows that ‘Nibbāna is the greatest bliss’. (MN I 510 and Dhp 204). What more can you ask for?

Conclusion

The earliest teachings of the Buddha, as documented in the Mahākhandhaka, described the Buddha’s awakening process as understanding the phenomenal nature of our experience of the world, which ultimately results in a linked chain of causes that lead to our experience of dukkha (suffering). Once this is understood, all doubts disappear, the causes leading to dukkha can be destroyed or eliminated.

Therefore the Buddha regarded himself as a true brāhmaṇa - a person that:

[has] discarded evil qualities,
free from disgruntlement,
free from non-optimal flows,
self-controlled,
perfected in knowledge,
who has lived the optimal life.

This is then described as the “supreme happiness”:

contented in solitude,
understood the dhamma,
has non-affliction in the world,
restraint towards living beings,
dispassion in the world,
overcame sensual pleasures,
dispelled the conceit ‘I am’.

This was the original and earliest concept of awakening, which was then subsequently expanded to include such terms as sammāsambuddha (perfectly self-awakened one), nibbuto (extinguished), amata (deathless), which then led later generations of Buddhists to coin the term nibbāna to describe the outcome of this process.

nibbāna ([S]nirvāṇa) is defined in Margaret Cone’s Dictionary of Pali as:

the ceasing to burn, going out;
freedom from care or passion, a sense of bodily well-being; ease, happiness;
the ceasing to burn, going out (of the fires of passion etc); the ceasing, coming to an end, of all that furnishes fuel for rebirth; the end of the possibility of rebirth; freedom from all concerns and passions; the sense of well-being, ease, happiness, experienced through the knowledge of this freedom in oneself;
death (without the possibility of rebirth);

In later suttas, the term was progressively expanded to include:

being able to understand and differentiate between different types of perception
association with positive rather than negative emotional states
the “happiness” experienced with nibbāna is that of someone who perceives and experiences comfort continuously and lives the optimal life
not a state, or a process, but an outcome
someone who is uninclined towards craving
“unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconceived”
someone who is not dependent, not agitated, tranquil, no inclination, no coming and going, not dying and reappearing, neither here nor beyond nor in between the two
two different “types” of nibbāna - with remainder (where one is still able to experience the six senses and still feels pleasure and pain), and without remainder (where one no longer experiences feelings)

nibbāna has also been misunderstood by some Buddhists as referring to:

Nibbāna is a perceivable object of happiness in the “here and now” (it’s not a perception)
Nibbāna and Parinibbāna are different (the difference is grammatical not conceptual)
Nibbāna is an immortal or timeless place where beings live forever (epithets like amata (“deathless”) and ajāta (“unborn”) do not mean Nibbāna is an eternal entity)
Nibbāna is a physical place or a city one can travel to (metaphors like “the city of Nibbāna” or “the path to Nibbāna” are not literal)
Nibbāna means the “blowing out” or annihilation of the individual (the “blowing out” refers to mental constructs not annihilation of the individual)
Nibbuta (tranquil, happy) is simply the past participle of the verb for Nibbāna. (these words have different origins)

Finally, rather than regarding nibbāna as a form of “self”, “connsciousness” or “mind” it is best to regard it as simply the cessation of the five khandhas and the ending of suffering.