What Is Buddhist Nirvana?

What does nirvana mean in Buddhism? We'll look at some descriptions of it before turning to different views on its ontological status. Then we'll consider some later developments in ideas about nirvana. ** Note: the Pāli term "appatiṭṭha" in Ud. 8.1 likely parallels the Sanskrit "apratiṣṭha" rather than "apratiṣṭhita". Does this make any difference? Research leaves me unsure, though doubtful. If you have answers feel free to post them! 🧡 If you find this material useful, check out my Patreon page and get fun benefits like exclusive videos, audio-only versions, and extensive show notes: https://www.patreon.com/dougsseculardharma 🧡 You can also make donations through: https://paypal.me/dougsdharma 📙 Check out my book, A Handbook of Early Buddhist Wisdom, with a Foreword by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi: https://books2read.com/buddhisthandbook ☸️ Free mini-course at the Online Dharma Institute: onlinedharma.org. 🎙Check out my podcast with Jon Aaron, Diggin' the Dharma: https://digginthedharma.com/ ✅ Videos mentioned: Bhikkhu Bodhi's surprising and profound description of Nibbana! — https://youtu.be/C14mPtYQres (Discussion with Daniel Aitken). Nirvana and Enlightenment: What's the Difference? — https://youtu.be/VWCkhjS1mwU What is Buddhist Enlightenment? — https://youtu.be/39lf1XBISJA What is "The Unconditioned" in Buddhism? — https://youtu.be/-Wz3N5IAGDM The Hierarchy of Pleasures in Early Buddhism — https://youtu.be/8QrvYUIEMV8 Why Won't the Buddha Answer You? (The Unanswered Questions) — https://youtu.be/59FXAW3AS2I The Strange Early Buddhist Sutta on the Impermanence of Elements — https://youtu.be/pJ4ekG0F8HM ✅ Suttas mentioned: https://suttacentral.net/an3.55/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/ud8.1/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/iti44/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/sn45.7/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/mn72/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/sn38.1/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/sn39.1/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/sn35.28/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/sn43.12/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/sn43.14-43/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/dhp197-208/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/an9.34/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/dn1/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/mn64/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/sn12.51/en/sujato ✅ Other resources: https://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/50.6-Tika-Nibbana-S-a3.55-piya.pdf https://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/50.1-Nibbana-Patisamyutta-S-1-u8.1-piya.pdf https://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/50.13-Nibbanadhatu-S-it2.2.7-piya.pdf Lamotte, History of Indian Buddhism, pp. 609-611 (Cited in Tan 50.1, p. 22n103). KR Norman, “Mistaken Ideas About Nibbāna,” in Collected Papers Vol. VI, pp. 9-30. https://www2.buddhistdoor.net/dictionary/details/pratisthita-nirvana Webpage: https://www.dougsdharma.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlinedharmainstitute/ Mastodon: https://mindly.social/@dougsdharma Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dougsdharma/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@dougsdharma Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dougsdharma.bsky.social Thumbnail photo by Bastian Riccardi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/extinguished-thick-wax-candle-with-smoke-6104673/ ❤️ Thanks to Patreon Patrons: Anonymous (3) John Oborne DunJing Jimmy Maa Debbie Mattison Steve H. Ron Peat Michael S. Kearns Anne Matthew Smith Shantha Wengappuli Karma_CAC Jorge Seguel Christopher Apostolof GailJM David Bell T Pham VCR Upayadhi Andi and Erik ATGuerrero686 Michael Scherrer khobe schofield Alex Perdomo Benji Forsyth Blaze Way Sonny Flink Steve Marlor Joy L Lee Andrew Tom Anthony Tucker Karlee R Ethan M Billy in Singapore Olivia Otter Carl Lennartson xiao mao Jeff Harvey Andrew Ingrouille Kenneth Grandchamp Rene Gariepy Russell Needham Smoggyrob Mac Roja Bernardo Clémence Ortega Douville Kwan Alex Scott Johnston Richard J Beninger Nathanael O. Arnquist SaturnianMandala Trin P Letesa Isler Dorien Izel Robert Paterson Jake Tobiason Louvenia Ortega Steve S. Richard Rappuhn Sarah Kress John Aaron Paul Niklewski Kong Ing Kai Dave Gorman rhys reed Osanda Wijeratne Scarlett Farrow BJ - RetreaTours™ Michael Lefsky Matthieu Tregnier Roland Harris 00:00 Intro 00:47 Early descriptions of nirvana 04:34 Controversy over nirvana’s ontological status 05:30 The “inflationary” view of nirvana 08:58 The “deflationary” view of nirvana 14:29 The “apophatic” view of nirvana 16:39 Later developments in understanding nirvana 19:02 Upshot of our discussion