Ver el código de «Usuario:Javierfv1212/Taller2»


[[File:Carving on a pillar at Sanchi.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Talla [[Aniconismo|anicónica]] que representa el nirvana final del Buda, en [[Sanchi]], [[India]].]] 
En el budismo, el '''nirvana''' ([[sánscrito]]: ''nirvāṇa''; [[pali]]: ''nibbāna'') es el "soplar" o "apagar" de las actividades de la mente mundana en la existencia cíclica.{{sfn|Collins|1998|p=191}} El nirvana es la meta del camino budista, y marca la liberación [[Soteriología|soteriológica]] del sufrimiento mundano y de los renacimientos en el [[Samsara|saṃsāra]].{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|pp=589-590}}{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|pp=589-590}}{{Sfn|Keown|2004|pp=194-195}} El nirvana forma parte de la tercera [[Cuatro nobles verdades|verdad noble]] (la cesación de [[Duḥkha|dukkha]]), y es el objetivo final del [[Noble camino óctuple|óctuple sendero budista]].{{Sfn|Keown|2004|pp=194-195}}{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|pp=589-590}}

En la tradición budista, el nirvana se ha interpretado comúnmente como la extinción de los "tres fuegos", o "tres venenos", la codicia (''raga''), la aversión (''dvesha'') y la ignorancia (''moha'').{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|loc=Kindle loc. 44535}} Cuando estos fuegos se extinguen, se alcanza la liberación del ciclo de renacimiento (saṃsāra).{{sfn|Gombrich|2006|p=66}}Con el tiempo, con el desarrollo de la doctrina budista, se desarrollaron otras interpretaciones del nirvana.

La tradición escolástica budista identifica dos tipos de nirvana: el sopadhishesa-nirvana (nirvana con remanente), y el [[Paranirvāṇa|parinirvana]] o anupadhishesa-nirvana (nirvana sin remanente, o nirvana final).{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|p=590}}Se cree que el fundador del budismo, Buda, alcanzó estos dos estados.{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|p=590}}Las diferentes tradiciones budistas han interpretado el concepto de diferentes maneras, y el término ha tenido una gama de significados a lo largo del tiempo.{{sfn|Buswell|2004|p=600}}

== Etimología y significado ==
La interpretación literal del término traduce nir√vā como "soplar", interpretando ''nir'' como un negativo, y ''va'' como "soplar", dando un significado de "soplar" o "apagar".{{sfn|Cousins|1998|p=9}}{{sfn|Swanson|1997|p=10}}Se considera que se refiere tanto al acto como al efecto de soplar (a algo) para apagarlo, pero también al proceso y al resultado de extinguirse.{{sfn|Buswell|2004|p=600}}{{refn|group=quote|Buswell: "The Sanskrit term nirvana is an action noun signifying the act and effect of blowing (at something) to put it out, to blow out, or to extinguish, but the noun also signifies the process and outcome of burning out, becoming extinguished, cooling down, and hence, allaying, calming down, and also taming, making docile. Technically, in the religious traditions of India, the term denotes the process of accomplishing and experiencing freedom from the unquenchable thirst of desire and the pains of repeated births, lives, and deaths.{{sfn|Buswell|2004|p=600}}}}El término nirvana en el sentido soteriológico de estado de liberación "apagado, extinguido" no aparece en los Vedas ni en los [[Upanishad|Upanishads]] prebudistas. Según Collins, "los budistas parecen haber sido los primeros en llamarlo nirvana".{{sfn|Collins|1998|pp=137–138}}

El término nirvana, "apagar", se explica también como la extinción de los "tres fuegos", o "tres venenos", a saber, de la pasión o sensualidad (raga), de la aversión u odio (dvesha) y del engaño o ignorancia (moha o avidyā).{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|loc=Kindle loc. 44535}}{{sfn|Gombrich|2006|p=65}} El término nirvana pasó entonces a formar parte de una extensa estructura metafórica que probablemente se estableció en una época muy temprana del budismo. Según Gombrich, el número de tres fuegos alude a los tres fuegos que un [[Brahmán (casta)|brahmán]] debía mantener encendidos, y simbolizan así la vida en el mundo cotidiano.{{sfn|Gombrich|2006|p=66}}{{sfn|Hwang|2006|p=12}}Los trabajos exegéticos posteriores desarrollaron toda una serie de nuevas definiciones etimológicas de la palabra nirvana, utilizando la raíz vana para referirse a "soplar", pero re-partiendo la palabra a raíces que significan (dejar de) "tejer, coser", "deseo" y (escapar de) "bosque o selva":{{sfn|Hwang|2006|pp=12-13}}{{sfn|Collins|2010|p=64}}

El término "soplar" no significa la aniquilación total, sino la extinción de un proceso específico que está sufriendo.{{sfn|Cousins|1998|p=9}}El término nirvana también puede utilizarse como verbo: "él se nirvāṇa", o "él se parinirvānṇa" (''parinibbāyati'').{{sfn|Gethin|1998|p=75}}

== Interpretaciones del concepto budista primitivo ==

=== Como evento de cesación y fin del renacimiento ===
[[File:Bhavachakra.jpg|thumb|El [[Bhavacakra|bhavachakra]], una ilustración del ciclo de renacimiento, con los tres venenos en el centro de la rueda.]]

La mayoría de los estudiosos modernos, como [[Rupert Gethin]], Richard Gombrich, Donald López y [[Paul Williams (filósofo)|Paul Williams]], sostienen que (en las [[Textos budistas#Textos tempranos del budismo|fuentes budistas más antiguas]]) nirvāṇa significa "soplar", "apagar", o "extinguir" (como en "la extinción de una llama") la codicia, la aversión y el engaño, y que esto significa la cesación permanente del samsara y del [[Renacimiento (budismo)|renacimiento]].{{sfn|Williams|2002|pp=47–48}}{{sfn|Gethin|1998|p=75}}{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=58}}<ref>[[Samyutta Nikaya]] IV 251 and SN IV 261.</ref> Paul Williams escribe que el nirvana es:<blockquote>el resultado de dejar ir, dejar ir las propias fuerzas del ansia que impulsan las experiencias continuas de placer e inevitablemente el sufrimiento a lo largo de esta vida, la muerte, el renacimiento y la muerte. Eso es, en pocas palabras, el nirvana. Es la cesación completa y permanente del samsara, y por lo tanto la cesación de todo tipo de sufrimiento, resultante de dejar ir las fuerzas que impulsan el samsara, debido a la superación de la ignorancia (y por lo tanto también del odio y la ilusión, los "tres venenos raíz") a través de ver las cosas como realmente son.{{sfn|Williams|2002|pp=47–48}}</blockquote>
Un sinónimo ampliamente utilizado para el nirvana en los primeros textos es "sin muerte" o "libre de muerte" (pali: ''amata'', sánscrito: ''[[Amrita|amrta]]'') y se refiere a una condición "en la que no hay muerte, porque tampoco hay nacimiento, ni venida a la existencia, ni nada hecho por condicionamiento, y por tanto no hay tiempo"."{{sfn|Collins|2010|p=38}} Lo que más se dice del nirvana en los textos budistas es que es el fin del sufrimiento (dukkha).{{sfn|Collins|2010|p=45}} Por tanto, el nirvana no es una cosa, sino un acontecimiento o experiencia que libera del renacimiento en el samsara. El nirvana también se denomina "incondicionado" (''asankhata''), lo que significa que es diferente a todos los demás fenómenos condicionados.

El ciclo de renacimiento y sufrimiento continúa hasta que el ser alcanza el nirvana. Uno de los requisitos para poner fin a este ciclo es extinguir los fuegos del apego (raga), la aversión (dvesha) y la ignorancia (moha o avidya). Como afirma [[Bhikkhu Bodhi]] "mientras uno esté enredado por el ansia, permanece atado en el saṃsāra, el ciclo del nacimiento y la muerte; pero cuando se ha extirpado todo el ansia, se alcanza el nibbāna, la liberación del ciclo del nacimiento y la muerte..."{{sfn|Bhikkhu Bodhi|2012|loc=Kindle Locations 5188-5193}}

Según Donald Swearer, el viaje al nirvana no es un viaje a una "realidad separada" (en contra de la [[Vedismo|religión védica]] o el [[jainismo]]), sino un movimiento hacia la calma, la ecuanimidad, el desapego y el no yo.<ref>Loy, David R. A New Buddhist Path: Enlightenment, Evolution, and Ethics in the Modern World, p. 16.</ref> En este sentido, el punto de vista soteriológico del budismo antiguo se considera una reacción a los puntos de vista metafísicos anteriores de los indios. Thomas Kasulis señala que en los primeros textos, el nirvana se describe a menudo en términos negativos, como "cesación" (''[[nirodha]]''), "ausencia de ansia" (''trsnaksaya''), "desapego", "ausencia de ilusión" y "lo incondicionado" (''asamskrta'').<ref name=":1">Jones, Lindsay, Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 10, p. 6628.</ref> También señala que en los primeros textos budistas se discute poco sobre la naturaleza metafísica del nirvana, ya que parecen sostener que la especulación metafísica es un obstáculo para el objetivo. Kasulis menciona el ''sutta de Malunkyaputta'' que niega cualquier punto de vista sobre la existencia del buda después de su muerte corporal final, se rechazan todas las posiciones (el buda existe después de la muerte, no existe, ambos o ninguno).<ref name=":1" /> Asimismo, en otro sutta (AN II 161), [[Shariputra|Sāriputta]] dice que preguntar si "¿hay algo más?" después de la muerte física de alguien que ha alcanzado el nirvana es conceptualizar o proliferar (''papañca'') sobre lo que no tiene proliferación (''appapañcaṃ'') y, por tanto, es una especie de pensamiento distorsionado ligado al yo.{{sfn|Brahmāli|2009}}

=== Como un lugar metafísico o una conciencia trascendente ===
Peter Harvey ha defendido la idea de que el nirvana en los suttas pali se refiere a una especie de conciencia o discernimiento transformado y trascendente (viññana) que se ha "detenido" (nirodhena). Según Harvey, se dice que esta conciencia nirvana es "sin objeto", "infinita" (anantam), "sin soporte" (appatiṭṭhita) y "sin manifestación" (anidassana), así como "más allá del tiempo y la ubicación espacial".{{sfn|Harvey|1989|p={{page needed|date=January 2021}}}}{{sfn|Harvey|1995b|pp=200-208}}Rune Johansson también argumentó que el nirvana podría ser visto como un estado mental transformado (citta).<ref>Johansson, Rune, ''The Psychology of Nirvana,'' 1969, p. 111.</ref>
[[File:Jain_universe.JPG|thumb|upright=1.35|En la cosmología del [[jainismo]], otra tradición [[sramana]] como el budismo, los seres liberados moran en un lugar real (''loka'') asociado al nirvana.{{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=90-92}} Algunos estudiosos han argumentado que, originalmente, los budistas sostenían una opinión similar.]]
Stanislaw Schayer, un erudito polaco, sostuvo en la década de 1930 que los [[Nikaya|Nikayas]] conservan elementos de una forma arcaica de budismo cercana a las creencias [[Brahmán (casta)|brahmánicas]], que sobrevivieron en la tradición mahayana.{{sfn|Reat|1998|p=xi}}{{sfn|Conze|1967|p=10}}{{sfn|Lindtner|1999}}{{sfn|Akizuki|1990|p=25-27}}{{sfn|Ray|1999}}El punto de vista de Schayer veía el nirvana como una esfera inmortal, sin muerte, una realidad o estado transmundano.{{sfn|Ray|1999|pp=374–377}}Edward Conze tenía ideas similares sobre el nirvana, citando fuentes que hablan de una "conciencia infinita e invisible, que brilla en todas partes" como punto de vista de que el nirvana es una especie de [[Absoluto (metafísica)|Absoluto]].{{sfn|Conze|1967|p=10}} Un punto de vista similar fue también defendido por M. Falk, quien sostuvo que el elemento nirvánico, como "esencia" o conciencia pura, es inmanente dentro del samsara.{{sfn|Ray|1999|p=375}} M. Falk sostiene que la visión budista primitiva del nirvana es que se trata de una "morada" o "lugar" de [[Prajñā|prajña]] ([[Gnosis (gnosticismo)|gnosis]]), al que acceden los iluminados.{{sfn|Ray|1999|p=375}} 

Un punto de vista similar defiende también Christian Lindtner, quien sostiene que en el budismo precanónico el nirvana es un lugar metafísico trascendente llamado ''nirvanadhatu'', que "no tiene signos" (''animitta'') y no puede ser "visto" (''anidarsana''), pero es estable y firme (''dhruva''). Es un lugar de dicha y felicidad opuesto a este mundo de sufrimiento.{{sfn|Lindtner|1997}}Según Lindtner, los conceptos originales y tempranos del budismo sobre el nirvana eran similares a los que se encuentran en las tradiciones [[Sramana|shramaṇa]] (ascéticas), como el [[jainismo]] y el vedismo [[Upanishad|upanishádico]]. No era una idea psicológica o puramente relacionada con el mundo interior de un ser, sino un concepto descrito en términos de cosmología.{{Sfn|Lindtner|1997|pp=112-113, 118-119}}Es posible que elementos de este budismo precanónico hayan sobrevivido a la canonización, y a su posterior filtración de ideas, y hayan reaparecido en el budismo [[Mahāyāna|mahayana]].{{sfn|Lindtner|1997}}{{sfn|Akizuki|1990|p=25-27}}

Refiriéndose a este punto de vista, Alexander Wynne sostiene que no hay pruebas en el [[Sutta-pitaka|Sutta Pitaka]] de que el Buda sostuviera este punto de vista, en el mejor de los casos sólo muestra que "algunos de los primeros budistas fueron influenciados por sus compañeros brahmánicos".{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=101}} Wynne concluye que Buda rechazó los puntos de vista de los Vedas y que sus enseñanzas presentan un alejamiento radical de estas creencias brahmánicas.{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=101}}

=== Sinónimos y metáforas ===
Una metáfora común del nirvana es la de una llama que se apaga por falta de combustible. Los sutras dicen:<blockquote>Al igual que una lámpara de aceite arde por el aceite y la mecha, pero cuando el aceite y la mecha se agotan, y no se suministran otros, se apaga por falta de combustible, así el monje iluminado ... sabe que después de la ruptura de su cuerpo, cuando la vida posterior se agota, todos los sentimientos que se regocijan aquí se enfriarán.{{sfn|Collins|2010|p=63}}</blockquote>Collins sostiene que la visión budista del despertar invierte la visión védica y sus metáforas. Mientras que en la religión védica, el fuego es visto como una metáfora del bien y de la vida, el pensamiento budista utiliza la metáfora del fuego para los tres venenos y para el sufrimiento.{{sfn|Collins|2010|p=82}} Esto puede verse en el ''Adittapariyayasutta'', comúnmente llamado "el sermón del fuego", así como en otros textos budistas tempranos similares. El sermón del fuego describe el fin de los "fuegos" con una frase que se utiliza a lo largo de los primeros textos para describir el nibbana:<blockquote>Desencantado, se vuelve desapasionado. A través del desapasionamiento, se libera completamente. Con la liberación total, tiene el conocimiento de que está "totalmente liberado". Discierne que "el nacimiento ha terminado, la vida sagrada se ha cumplido, la tarea ha terminado. No hay nada más para este mundo".<ref group="web">{{cite web|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.028.than.html|title=Adittapariyaya Sutta: The Fire Sermon|year=1993|translator=Thanissaro Bhikkhu|via=accesstoinsight.org}}</ref></blockquote>En el ''Dhammacakkapavattanasutta'', la tercera noble verdad de la cesación (asociada al nirvana) se define como: "el desvanecimiento sin resto y la cesación de ese mismo anhelo, renunciando a él, dejándolo ir, no aferrándose a él."{{sfn|Collins|2010|p=65}}

Steven Collins enumera algunos ejemplos de sinónimos utilizados en los textos pali para el Nirvana:<blockquote>el fin, (el lugar, el estado) sin corrupciones, la verdad, lo más lejano (la orilla), lo sutil, muy difícil de ver, sin decadencia, firme, no susceptible de disolución, incomparable, sin diferenciación, pacífico, sin muerte, excelente, auspicioso, descanso, la destrucción del ansia, maravilloso, sin aflicción, cuya naturaleza es estar libre de aflicción, nibbana, sin problemas, desapasionamiento, pureza, libertad, sin apego, la isla, la cueva, la protección, el refugio, el fin último, el sometimiento del orgullo (o "intoxicación"), la eliminación de la sed, la destrucción del apego, el corte de la ronda (de renacimiento), vacío, muy difícil de obtener, donde no hay devenir, sin desgracia, donde no hay nada hecho, sin pena, sin peligro, cuya naturaleza es estar sin peligro, profundo, difícil de ver, superior, inmejorable (sin superioridad), inigualable, incomparable, principal, mejor, sin lucha, limpio, impecable, inoxidable, felicidad, inconmensurable, (un punto firme) de pie, lo que no posee nada.{{sfn|Collins|2010|p=66}}</blockquote>

=== Nirvana con residuo y sin residuo ===
[[File:Loriya Tangai Nirvana of the Buddha.jpg|thumb|Escultura budista del nirvana final de Buda en estilo [[Grecobudismo|greco-budista]] [[Gandhara|gandhariano]].]]
Hay dos etapas del nirvana, el nirvana en vida y el nirvana final al morir.{{sfn|Collins|1990|pp=206-208}} El nirvana-en-vida marca la vida de un monje que ha alcanzado la liberación completa, pero que aún tiene un cuerpo. El nirvana-después-de-la-muerte, también llamado nirvana-sin-sustrato, es la completa cesación de todo, incluyendo la conciencia y el renacimiento.{{sfn|Collins|1990|pp=206-208}}{{sfn|Gombrich|2006|pp=68–69}}
* '''Saupādisesanibbāna''' (pali; sánscrito ''sopadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa''), "nirvana con remanente", "nirvana con residuo".{{sfn|Gombrich|2006|pp=68–69}} Este nirvana se alcanza durante la vida, cuando los fuegos se extinguen. Todavía queda el "residuo" de los cinco skandhas, y un "residuo de combustible", que sin embargo no está "ardiendo".{{sfn|Gombrich|2006|pp=68–69}} Se cree que el nirvana en esta vida da lugar a una mente transformada con cualidades como la felicidad, la liberación de estados mentales negativos, la tranquilidad y la no reactividad.
* '''Anupādisesanibbāna''' (pali; sánscrito ''nir-upadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa''), "nirvana sin remanente", "nirvana sin residuo". Es el nirvana final, o ''parinirvana'', el "soplar" en el momento de la muerte, cuando no queda combustible.{{sfn|Gombrich|2006|p=68}}

Las definiciones clásicas del los suttas pali para estos estados son las siguientes:<blockquote>¿Y qué, monjes, es el elemento Nibbana con residuo restante? Aquí, un monje es un arahant, uno cuyas manchas son destruidas, que ha vivido la vida santa, ha hecho lo que tenía que hacer, ha dejado la carga, ha alcanzado su propia meta, ha destruido completamente las cadenas de la existencia, uno completamente liberado a través del conocimiento final. Sin embargo, sus cinco facultades sensoriales permanecen intactas, por lo que todavía experimenta lo agradable y lo desagradable, todavía siente placer y dolor. La destrucción de la lujuria, el odio y el engaño en él es lo que se denomina el elemento Nibbana con residuo restante.</blockquote><blockquote>¿Y qué, monjes, es el elemento Nibbana sin residuo restante? Aquí, un monje es un arahant ... uno completamente liberado a través del conocimiento final. Para él, aquí en esta misma vida, todo lo que se siente, sin deleitarse, se enfriará aquí mismo. Eso, monjes, se llama el elemento Nibbana sin residuo restante.{{sfn|Brahmāli|2009}}</blockquote>Lo que ocurre con quien ha alcanzado el nirvana después de la muerte es una pregunta sin respuesta según el budismo primitivo.{{sfn|Rahula|2007|loc=Kindle Locations 1059-1073}}

===''Anatta'', ''Sunyata''===
Nirvana is also described in Buddhist texts as identical to ''[[anatta]]'' (''anatman'', non-self, lack of any self).{{sfn|Collins|1990|pp=82–84}}<ref name="Genjun Sasaki">{{cite book|author=Genjun Sasaki|title=Linguistic Approach to Buddhist Thought|year=1986|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0038-0|pages=124–125|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vUBPAzlxJPUC}}</ref>{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|pp=18–21}} ''Anatta'' means there is no abiding self or soul in any being or a permanent essence in any thing.{{sfn|Hamilton-Blyth|2013|pp=19–28}}<ref>[a] {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V3rYtmCZEIEC |title=Exploring Buddhism|author=Christmas Humphreys|publisher=Routledge|year=2012 |isbn=978-1-136-22877-3 |pages=42–43}}<br/>[b] {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PguGB_uEQh4C&pg=PA51 |title=Religion and Anthropology: A Critical Introduction|author=Brian Morris|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-521-85241-8|pages=51}}, '''Quote:''' "(...) anatta is the doctrine of non-self, and is an extreme empiricist doctrine that holds that the notion of an unchanging permanent self is a fiction and has no reality. According to Buddhist doctrine, the individual person consists of five skandhas or heaps - the body, feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness. The belief in a self or soul, over these five skandhas, is illusory and the cause of suffering."<br/>[c] {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZyJAgAAQBAJ|title=Theravada Buddhism|author=Richard Gombrich|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|isbn=978-1-134-90352-8|page=47}}, '''Quote:''' "(...) Buddha's teaching that beings have no soul, no abiding essence. This 'no-soul doctrine' (anatta-vada) he expounded in his second sermon."</ref> This interpretation asserts that all reality is of [[Pratītyasamutpāda|dependent origination]] and a worldly construction of each human mind, therefore ultimately a delusion or [[Avidya (Buddhism)|ignorance]].{{sfn|Hamilton-Blyth|2013|pp=19–28}}<ref name="Southwold1983p2092">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhisminlifean00sout|url-access=registration|title=Buddhism in Life: The Anthropological Study of Religion and the Sinhalese Practice of Buddhism|author=Martin Southwold |publisher=Manchester University Press|year=1983|isbn=978-0-7190-0971-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/buddhisminlifean00sout/page/209 209]–210}}</ref> In Buddhist thought, this must be overcome, states Martin Southwold, through "the realization of anatta, which is nirvana".<ref name="Southwold1983p2092" />

Nirvana in some Buddhist traditions is described as the realization of ''[[sunyata]]'' (emptiness or nothingness).<ref name="Choong1999p85">[a] {{cite book|author=Mun-Keat Choong|title=The Notion of Emptiness in Early Buddhism|year=1999|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1649-7|pages=1–4, 85–88|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJafx7uO0VsC}};<br />[b] {{cite book|author=Ray Billington|title=Understanding Eastern Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dACFAgAAQBAJ|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-79348-8|pages=58–60}};<br />[c] {{cite book|author=David Loy|title=Awareness Bound and Unbound: Buddhist Essays|year=2009|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-1-4384-2680-8|pages=35–39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R5KHnVVjwKQC}}</ref> Madhyamika Buddhist texts call this as the middle point of all dualities (Middle Way), where all subject-object discrimination and polarities disappear, there is no conventional reality, and the only ultimate reality of emptiness is all that remains.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A7UKjtA0QDwC |title=Buddhism: Beliefs and Practices |author=Merv Fowler|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|year=1999 |isbn=978-1-898723-66-0|pages=91–92}}</ref>

== En la escuela theravada ==
[[File:Gautama Buddha gains nirvana.jpg|thumb|Pintura mural tradicional [[Pueblo jemer|jemer]] que representa a [[Buda Gautama]] entrando en su final nirvana, [[Wat Botum]], [[Nom Pen]], [[Camboya]].]]

=== No condicionado ===

In the Theravada-tradition, ''nibbāna'' is regarded as an uncompounded or unconditioned (''asankhata'') [[Abhidharma|dhamma]] (phenomenon, event) which is "transmundane",{{sfn|Choong|1999|p=21}}{{refn|group=note|According to Peter Harvey, the Theravada-tradition tends to minimize mystical tendencies, but there is also a tendency to stress the complete otherness of ''nirvana'' from ''samsara''. The [[Pāli Canon]] provides good grounds for this minimalistic approach, bit it also contains material suggestive of a Vijnavada-type interpretation of ''nirvāṇa'', namely as a [[Eight Consciousnesses#Transformations of consciousness|radical transformation of consciousness]].{{sfn|Harvey|1989|p=82}}}} and which is beyond our normal dualistic conceptions.{{sfn|Rahula|2007|loc=Kindle Locations 1105-1113}}{{refn|group=quote|Walpola Rahula: "Nirvāṇa is beyond all terms of duality and relativity. It is therefore beyond our conceptions of good and evil, right and wrong, existence and non-existence. Even the word 'happiness' (sukha) which is used to describe Nirvāṇa has an entirely different sense here. Sāriputta once said: 'O friend, Nirvāṇa is happiness! Nirvāṇa is happiness!' Then Udāyi asked: 'But, friend Sāriputta, what happiness can it be if there is no sensation?' Sāriputta's reply was highly philosophical and beyond ordinary comprehension: "That there is no sensation itself is happiness'."{{sfn|Rahula|2007|loc=Kindle Locations 1105-1113}}}} In Theravada [[Abhidharma|Abhidhamma]] texts like the ''[[Vibhanga]],'' ''nibbana'' or the ''asankhata-dhatu'' (unconditioned element) is defined thus:<blockquote>‘What is the unconditioned element (''asankhata dhatu'')? It is the cessation of passion, the cessation of hatred and the cessation of delusion.’<ref group=note name=StagesFettersRebirths1/>
</blockquote>Furthermore, for the Theravada, nirvana is uniquely the only ''asankhata'' ''dhamma'' (unconditioned phenomenon) and unlike other schools, they do not recognize different unconditioned phenomena or different types of nirvana (such as the ''apratistha'' or non-abiding nirvana of [[Mahayana]]).{{sfn|Thích Thiện Châu|1984|pp=201-202}} As noted by Thiện Châu, the Theravadins and the Pudgalavadins "remained strictly faithful to the letter of the sutras" and thus held that nirvana is the only unconditioned [[Dhamma theory|dhamma]], while other schools also posited various ''asankhata dhammas'' (such as the [[Sarvastivada|Sarvastivadin]] view that space or ''[[Akasha|akasa]]'' was unconditioned).{{sfn|Thích Thiện Châu|1984|pp=201-202}}

=== En el Visuddhimagga ===

The [[Theravada]] exegete [[Buddhaghosa]] says, in his ''[[Visuddhimagga]]'':<blockquote>It is called nibbana (extinction) because it has gone away from (nikkhanta), has escaped from (nissata), is dissociated from, craving, which has acquired in common usage the name ‘fastening (vana)’ because, by ensuring successive becoming, craving serves as a joining together, a binding together, a lacing together, of the four kinds of generation, five destinies, seven stations of consciousness and nine abodes of being.<ref group=note name=StagesFettersRebirths3/></blockquote>According to [[Buddhaghosa]], ''nibbāna'' is achieved after a long process of committed application to the path of purification (Pali: ''Vissudhimagga''). The Buddha explained that the disciplined way of life he recommended to his students (''dhamma-vinaya'') is a [[gradual training]] extending often over a number of years. To be committed to this path already requires that a seed of wisdom is present in the individual. This wisdom becomes manifest in the experience of awakening (''[[bodhi]]''). Attaining ''nibbāna'', in either the current or some future birth, depends on effort, and is not pre-determined.{{sfn|Harvey|1995a|p=87}}

In the ''Visuddhimagga'', chapter I.v.6, [[Buddhaghosa]] identifies various options within the [[Pali canon]] for pursuing a path to nirvana.{{refn|group=note|A number of the suttas referenced below as well as Buddhaghosa himself refer not explicitly to nirvana but to "the path of purification" (Pali: ''Visuddhimagga''). In Visuddhimagga, Ch. I, v. 5, Buddhaghosa notes: "Herein, ''purification'' should be understood as nibbana, which being devoid of all stains, is utterly pure"{{sfn|Buddhaghosa|1999|p=6}}}}{{refn|group=note|These include:
# By insight (''[[vipassana]]'') alone {{refn|group=lower-alpha|See [[Dhammapada|Dh.]] 277, and {{cite web |url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.20.budd.html |translator=Acharya Buddharakkhita |year=1996 |title=Maggavagga: The Path |via=accesstoinsight.org}} In the Paramattha-mañjūsā (the Visuddhimagga commentary), vv. 9-10, it adds the following caveat regarding this option of "insight alone": "The words 'insight alone' are meant to exclude, not virtue, etc., but serenity (i.e., [[jhana]]), [...] [as typically reflected] in the pair, serenity and insight [...] The word 'alone' actually excludes only that concentration with distinction [of jhanic absorption]; for concentration is classed as both access [or momentary] and absorption [...] Taking this stanza as the teaching for one whose vehicle is insight does not imply that there is no concentration; for no insight comes about with momentary concentration.  And again, insight should be understood as the three contemplations of [[anicca|impermanence]], [[dukkha|pain]] and [[anatta|not-self]] [see ''[[Three marks of existence|tilakkhana]]'']; not contemplation of impermanence alone".{{sfn|Buddhaghosa|1999|p=750, n. 3}}}}
# By [[jhana]] and understanding (see Dh. 372)<ref group=web>{{cite web |title=Bhikkhuvagga: The Monk. "Verse 372" |url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.25.budd.html#dhp-372 |translator=Acharya Buddharakkhita |year=1996 |via=accesstoinsight.org}}</ref>
# by deeds, vision and righteousness (see [[Majjhima Nikaya|MN]] iii.262){{refn|group=lower-alpha|{{cite web |url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.143.than.html |translator=Acharya Buddharakkhita |year=2003 |title=Anathapindikovada Sutta: Instructions to Anathapindika |via=accesstoinsight.org}} Verse 262 of this sutta is translated as: "Action, clear-knowing, & mental qualities, virtue, the highest [way of] life: through this are mortals purified, not through clan or wealth.}}
# By virtue, consciousness and understanding (7SN i.13);{{refn|group=lower-alpha|The option expressed by SN i.13 is the basis for the entire rest of the Visuddhimagga's exposition. It is the very first paragraph of the Visuddhimagga and states: "When a wise man, established well in virtue, develops consciousness and understanding, then as a bhikku ardent and sagacious, he succeeds in disentangling this tangle.{{sfn|Buddhaghosa|1999|p=1}} In the Visuddhimagga, Ch. I, verse 2, Buddhaghosa comments that ''this tangle'' refers to "the network of craving."  In verse 7, Buddhaghosa states that ''develops consciousness and understanding'' means "develops both concentration and insight."{{sfn|Buddhaghosa|1999|pp=1, 7}}}}
# by virtue, understanding, concentration and effort;{{refn|group=lower-alpha|[[Samyutta Nikaya|SN]] i.53) translate SN i.53 as: "He who is possessed of constant virtue, who has understanding, and is concentrated, who is strenuous and diligent as well, will cross the flood so difficult to cross.{{sfn|Buddhaghosa|1999|p=7}}}}
# By the four foundations of mindfulness.<ref>[[Satipatthana Sutta]], [[Digha Nikaya|DN]] ii.290</ref>{{refn|group=lower-alpha|{{cite web |url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html |translator=Thanissaro Bhikkhu |year=2000 |title=Maha-satipatthana Sutta: The Great Frames of Reference |via=accesstoinsight.org}} Verse 290 of this sutta is translated as: "The Blessed One said this: "This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment of the right method, & for the realization of Unbinding—in other words, the four frames of reference.""}}}} According to Gombrich, this proliferation of possible paths to liberation reflects later doctrinal developments, and a growing emphasis on insight as the main liberative means, instead of the practice of ''dhyana''.{{sfn|Gombrich|2006|p={{page needed|date=January 2021}}}}

=== Puntos de vista theravada modernos ===

[[K. N. Jayatilleke|K.N. Jayatilleke]], a modern [[Sri Lanka]]n Buddhist philosopher, holds that nirvana must be understood by a careful study of the Pali texts. Jayatilleke argues that the Pali works show that nirvana means 'extinction' as well as 'the highest positive experience of happiness'.{{sfn|Jayatilleke|p=119}} Jayatilleke writes that despite the definition of nirvana as 'extinction', this does not mean that it is a kind of annihilation or a state of dormant nonentity, for this contradicts the statements of the Buddha that reject this interpretation.{{sfn|Jayatilleke|p=121}} Jayatilleke holds that the early texts clearly proclaim that nothing can be said about the state of the Buddha after ''[[Parinirvana|paranibbana]]'' (the end of his psycho-physical personality) because "we do not have the concepts or words to describe adequately the state of the emancipated person."{{sfn|Jayatilleke|p=122}} This transcendent reality which our normal minds cannot grasp is not located in time or space, it is not causally conditioned, and beyond existence and non-existence.{{sfn|Jayatilleke|p=124}} Because trying to explain ''nibbana'' by means of logic is impossible, the only thing to be done is to explain how to reach it, instead of dwelling on what it "is". Explaining what happens to the Buddha after nibbana is thus said to be an [[The unanswered questions|unanswerable]].{{sfn|Jayatilleke|p=125}}

A similarly [[Apophatic theology|apophatic]] position is also defended by [[Walpola Rahula Thero|Walpola Rahula]], who states that the question of what nirvana is "can never be answered completely and satisfactorily in words, because human language is too poor to express the real nature of the Absolute Truth or Ultimate Reality which is Nirvana."{{sfn|Rahula|p=35}} Rahula affirms that nibbana is most often described in negative terms because there is less danger in grasping at these terms, such as "the cessation of continuity and becoming (''bhavanirodha'')", "the abandoning and destruction of desire and craving for these five aggregates of attachment", and "the extinction of "thirst" (''tanhakkhayo'')."{{sfn|Rahula|pp=36-37}} Rahula also affirms however that nibbana is not a negative or an annihilation, because there is no self to be annihilated and because 'a negative word does not necessarily indicate a negative state'.{{sfn|Rahula|p=37}} Rahula also notes that more positive terms are used to describe nibbana such as "freedom" (''mutti'') and "truth" (''sacca'').{{sfn|Rahula|p=38}} Rahula also agrees that nirvana is unconditioned.{{sfn|Rahula|p=40}}

The American Theravada monk [[Bhikkhu Bodhi]] has defended the traditional Theravada view which sees nirvana as "a reality transcendent to the entire world of mundane experience, a reality transcendent to all the realms of phenomenal existence."<ref group=web>{{cite web |author=Bhikkhu Bodhi |title=NIBBANA |url=https://www.dhammatalks.net/Books16/Bhikkhu_Bodhi-Nibbana.pdf}}</ref>

The Sri Lankan philosopher [[David Kalupahana]] has taken a different position, he argues that the Buddha's "main philosophical insight" is the principle of causality ([[Pratītyasamutpāda|dependent origination]]) and that this "is operative in all spheres, including the highest state of spiritual development, namely, nirvana."{{sfn|Kalupahana|p=140}} According to Kalupahana "later scholars attempted to distinguish two spheres, one in which causation prevailed and the other which is uncaused. This latter view was, no doubt, the result of a confusion in the meanings of the two terms, ''sankhata'' ('compounded') and ''paticcasamuppanna'' ('causally conditioned')."{{sfn|Kalupahana|p=140}} Thus, even though nibbana is termed "''asankhata''" (un-compounded, not-put together) there is no statement in the early texts which say that nirvana is ''not'' dependently originated or is uncaused (the term would be ''appaticcasamuppana'').{{sfn|Kalupahana|p=140}} He thus argues that "nirvana is a state where there is 'natural or causal happening' (''paticcasamuppada''), but not 'organized,' or 'planned' conditioning (''sankha-rana'')", as well as "a state of perfect mental health (''aroga''), of perfect happiness (''parama sukha''), calmness or coolness (''sitibhuta''), and stability (''aneñja''), etc. attained in this life, or while one is alive."{{sfn|Kalupahana|pp=140, 180}}

[[Mahasi Sayadaw]], one of the most influential 20th century Theravada ''[[Vipassanā|vipassana]]'' teachers, states in his "''On the nature of Nibbana''" that "nibbana is perfect peace (''santi'')" and "the complete annihilation of the three cycles of defilement, action, and result of action, which all go to create mind and matter, volitional activities, etc."{{sfn|Mahāsi Sayādaw|pp=2, 4}} He further states that for [[Arhat|arahants]] "no new life is formed after his decease-consciousness."{{sfn|Mahāsi Sayādaw|p=3}} Mahasi Sayadaw further states that nibbana is the cessation of the five aggregates which is like "a flame being extinguished". However this doesn't mean that "an arahant as an individual has disappeared" because there is no such thing as an "individual" in an ultimate sense, even though we use this term conventionally. Ultimate however, "there is only a succession of mental and physical phenomena arising and dissolving." For this reason, Mahasi Sayadaw holds that although for an arahant "cessation means the extinction of the successive rise and fall of the aggregates" this is not the view of annihilation (''uccheda-diṭṭhi'') since there is ultimately no individual to be annihilated.{{sfn|Mahāsi Sayādaw|p=13}} Mahasi further notes that "feeling [<nowiki/>[[Vedanā|''vedana'']]] ceases with the parinibbāna of the Arahant" and also that "the cessation of [[Ayatana|senses]] is nibbāna" (citing the ''Pañcattaya Sutta'').{{sfn|Mahāsi Sayādaw|pp=41, 53}} Mahasi also affirms that even though nibbana is the "cessation of mind, matter, and mental formations" and even the cessation of "formless consciousness", it is not nothing, but it is an "absolute reality" and he also affirms that "the peace of nibbana is real."{{sfn|Mahāsi Sayādaw|pp=60, 94}}

=== Interpretaciones poco ortodoxas ===
In [[Buddhism in Thailand|Thai Theravada]], as well as among some modern Theravada scholars, there are alternative interpretations which differ from the traditional orthodox Theravada view. These interpretations see nibbana as equivalent in some way with either a special kind of mind ([[Luminous mind|''pabhassara citta'']]) or a special consciousness called ''anidassana viññāṇa,'' "non-manifest" consciousness which is said to be 'luminous'. In one interpretation, the "luminous consciousness" is identical with nibbana.{{sfn|Harvey|1995b|p={{page needed|date=January 2021}}}} Others disagree, finding it to be not nibbana itself, but instead to be a kind of consciousness accessible only to [[arahants]].<ref group=web>{{cite web |author=Ajahn Brahmali |title=Atta, Viññāṇa, Citta, and Nibbāna |website=The Buddhist Society |url=http://www.bswa.org/modules/icontent/index.php?page=107 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806044051/http://www.bswa.org/modules/icontent/index.php?page=107 |archive-date=August 6, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Gethin |first=Rupert |author-link=Rupert Gethin |title=A Review of The Selfless Mind: Personality, Consciousness and Nirvāṇa in Early Buddhism |journal=Journal of Buddhist Ethics |volume=4 |year=1997 |issn=1076-9005 |url=http://www.buddhistethics.org/4/gethin1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616002503/http://www.buddhistethics.org/4/gethin1.html |archive-date=June 16, 2010}}</ref>

Some teachers of the [[Thai Forest Tradition|Thai forest tradition]], such as [[Ajahn Maha Bua]] taught an idea called "original mind" which when perfected is said to exist as a separate reality from the world and the [[Skandha|aggregates]]''.''{{sfn|Maha Boowa|2005|pp=101–103}} According to Maha Bua, the indestructible mind or ''[[citta]]'' is characterized by awareness or knowing, which is intrinsically bright ([[Luminous mind|''pabhassaram'']]) and radiant, and though it is tangled or "darkened" in samsara, it is not destroyed.<ref name="Ajahn Maha Boowa pp 139-40">Ajahn Maha Boowa, ‘Straight From the Heart’, pp 139-140, (Thanissaro Bhikkhu trans.)</ref> This mind is unconditioned, deathless and an independent reality.{{sfn|Maha Boowa|2005|p=99}} According to Bua, this mind is impure, but when it is purified of the [[Defilement (Buddhism)|defilements]], it remains abiding in its own foundation.{{sfn|Maha Boowa|2005|pp=101–103}}<ref name="Ajahn Maha Boowa pp 139-40"/> [[Ajahn Maha Bua|Maha Bua]] also publicly argued (in a newspaper in 1972) that one could meet with and discuss the teachings with arahants and Buddhas of the past (and that [[Mun Bhuridatta|Ajahn Mun]] had done so) therefore positing that nibbana is a kind of higher existence.<ref name=":11">Seeger, Martin, Phra Payutto and Debates ‘On the Very Idea of the Pali Canon’ in Thai Buddhism.</ref> [[Prayudh Payutto]], a modern scholar-monk who is widely seen as the most influential authority on Buddhist doctrine in Thailand, has played a prominent role in arguing against the views of Maha Bua, strictly basing his views on the [[Pāli Canon|Pali canon]] to refute such notions.<ref name=":11" />

[[Ajahn]]s [[Ajahn Pasanno|Pasanno]] and [[Ajahn Amaro|Amaro]], contemporary western monastics in the [[Thai Forest Tradition|Thai forest tradition]], note that these ideas are rooted in a passage in the [[Anguttara Nikaya]] (1.61-62) which mentions a certain "''[[Luminous mind|pabhassara citta]]''".{{sfn|Pasanno|Amaro|2009|p=212}} Citing another passage from the canon which mentions a "consciousness that is signless, boundless, all-luminous" (called ''anidassana viññāṇa'') they state that this "must mean a knowing of a primordial, transcendent nature."{{sfn|Pasanno|Amaro|2009|p=131}}{{refn|group=quote|Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro: "The Buddha avoided the nit-picking pedantry of many philosophers contemporary with him and opted for a more broad-brush, colloquial style, geared to particular listeners in a language which they could understand. Thus 'viññana' here can be assumed to mean 'knowing' but not the partial, fragmented, discriminative (vi-) knowing (-ñana) which the word usually implies. Instead it must mean a knowing of a primordial, transcendent nature, otherwise the passage which contains it would be self-contradictory." They then give further context for why this choice of words may have been made; the passages may represent an example of the Buddha using his "skill in means" to teach Brahmins in terms they were familiar with.{{sfn|Pasanno|Amaro|2009|p=131}}

A related view of nibbana has been defended by the American Thai forest monk [[Thanissaro Bhikkhu]]. According to [[Thanissaro Bhikkhu|Thanissaro]], "non-manifestive consciousness" (''anidassana viññāṇa'') differs from the kinds of consciousness associated to the six sense media, which have a "surface" that they fall upon and arise in response to.<ref group=web name="accesstoinsight.org">{{cite web |translator=Thanissaro Bhikkhu |year=1997 |title=Kevatta (Kevaddha) Sutta: To Kevatta |url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.11.0.than.html#t-1 |via=accesstoinsight.org}}</ref> In a liberated individual, this is directly experienced, in a way that is free from any dependence on conditions at all.<ref group="web" name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.049.than.html#n-9|title=Brahma-nimantanika Sutta: The Brahma Invitation, "Translator's Introduction"|year=2007|translator=Thanissaro Bhikkhu|via=accesstoinsight.org}}</ref><ref group=web name="accesstoinsight.org"/> In Thanissaro's view, the luminous, unsupported consciousness associated with nibbana is directly known by noble ones without the mediation of the mental consciousness factor in dependent co-arising, and is the transcending of all objects of mental consciousness.<ref group=web name="ReferenceA"/> The British academic [[Peter Harvey (Buddhism)|Peter Harvey]] has defended a similar view of nibbana as ''anidassana viññāṇa''.{{sfn|Harvey|1989|pp=87, 90}}

According to [[Paul Williams (philosopher)|Paul Williams]], there is also a trend in modern Thai Theravada that argues that "nirvana is indeed the true Self ([[Ātman (Hinduism)|''Atman'']]; Pali: [[Ātman (Buddhism)|''atta'']])".{{sfn|Williams|2008|pp=125–127}} This dispute began when the 12th [[Supreme Patriarch of Thailand]] published a book of essays in 1939 arguing that while the conditioned world is ''anatta'', nibbana is ''atta''. According to Williams, this interpretation echoes the Mahayana ''[[Tathagatagarbha|tathāgatagarbha]]'' sutras. This position was criticized by [[Buddhadasa|Buddhadhasa Bhikkhu]], who argued that the not-self (''[[anatta]]'') perspective is what makes Buddhism unique.{{sfn|Williams|2008|p=126}} Fifty years after this dispute, the [[Dhammakaya Movement]] also began to teach that nibbana is not [[anatta]], but the "true self" or ''[[Dharmakaya|dhammakaya]]''.{{sfn|Mackenzie|2007|pp=100–105, 110}} According to Williams, this ''dhammakaya'' (dharma body) is "a luminous, radiant and clear Buddha figure free of all defilements and situated within the body of the meditator."{{sfn|Williams|2008|p=126}} This view has been strongly criticized as "insulting the Buddha’s teaching" and "showing disrespect to the Pali canon" by [[Prayudh Payutto]] (In his ''The Dhammakaya case'') and this has led to fervent debates in Thai Buddhist circles.{{sfn|Mackenzie|2007|p=51}}<ref name=":11" />

Another western monastic in the [[Thai Forest Tradition|thai forest tradition]], Ajahn Brahmāli, has recently written against all of these views, drawing on a careful study of the [[Nikāya]]s. Brahmāli concludes that the "most reasonable interpretation" of final nibbāna is "no more than the cessation of the five khandhas."{{sfn|Brahmāli|2009}} Brahmāli also notes that there is a kind of [[Samadhi|samādhi]] that is attainable only by the awakened and is based on their knowledge of nibbana (but is ''not'' nibbana itself), this meditation is what is being referred to by terms such as non-manifest consciousness (''anidassana viññāṇa'') and unestablished consciousness (''appatiṭṭhita viññāṇa'').{{sfn|Brahmāli|2009}}

[[Bhante Sujato]] has written extensively to refute this idea as well.<ref group=web>{{cite web |url=https://sujato.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/vinna%E1%B9%87a-is-not-nibbana-really-it-just-isn%E2%80%99t/ |title=Nibbana is not viññāṇa. Really, it just isn’t |website=Sujato’s Blog}}</ref><ref group=web>{{cite web |url=https://sujato.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/nibbana-is-still-not-vinna%E1%B9%87a/ |title=Nibbana is still not Viññāṇa |website=Sujato’s Blog}}</ref><ref group=web>{{cite web |url=https://sujato.wordpress.com/2011/05/21/nibbana-remains-not-vinnana/ |title=Nibbana remains not Vinnana |website=Sujato’s Blog}}</ref>

== En otras escuelas budistas ==

=== Escuelas del sthavira nikaya ===


The later Buddhist [[Abhidharma]] schools gave different meaning and interpretations of the term, moving away from the original metaphor of the extinction of the "three fires". The [[Sarvastivada]] Abhidharma compendium, the ''[[Mahavibhasa]]sastra,'' says of nirvana: <blockquote>As it is the cessation of [[Defilement (Buddhism)|defilements]] (klesanirodha), it is called nirvana. As it is the extinction of the triple fires, it is called nirvana. As it is the tranquility of [[Three marks of existence|three characteristics]], it is called nirvana. As there is separation (viyoga) from bad odor (durgandha), it is called nirvana. As there is separation from destinies (gati), it is called nirvana. Vana means forest and nir means escape. As it is the escape from the forest of the [[Skandha|aggregates]], it is called nirvana. Vana means weaving and nir means negation. As there is no weaving, it is called nirvana. In a way that one with thread can easily be woven while one without that cannot be woven, in that way one with action ([[Karma in Buddhism|karma]]) and defilements (klesa) can easily be woven into life and death while an asaiksa who is without any action and defilements cannot be woven into life and death. That is why it is called nirvana. Vana means [[Rebirth (Buddhism)|new birth]] and nir means negation. As there is no more new birth, it is called nirvana. Vana means bondage and nir means separation. As it is separation from bondage, it is called nirvana. Vana means all discomforts of life and death and nir means passing beyond. As it passes beyond all discomforts of life and death, it is called nirvana.{{sfn|Hwang|2006|pp=11-12}}</blockquote>According to Soonil Hwang, the [[Sarvastivada]] school held that there were two kinds of nirodha (extinction), extinction without knowledge (''apratisamkhyanirodha'') and extinction through knowledge (''pratisamkhyanirodha''), which is the equivalent of nirvana.{{sfn|Hwang|2006|p=38}} In the Sarvastivada [[Abhidharma]], extinction through knowledge was equivalent to nirvana, and was defined by its intrinsic nature (''[[svabhava]]''), ‘all extinction which is disjunction (''visamyoga'')’.{{sfn|Hwang|2006|p=40}} This dharma is defined by the [[Abhidharmakośakārikā|''Abhidharmakosha'']] as "a special understanding, the penetration (''pratisamkhyana'') of suffering and the other noble truths."{{sfn|Hwang|2006|p=40}} Soonil explains the Sarvastivada view of nirvana as "the perpetual separation of an impure dharma from a series of aggregates through the antidote, ‘acquisition of disjunction’ (''visamyogaprapti'')."{{sfn|Hwang|2006|p=41}} Because the Sarvastivadins held that all dharmas exist in the three times, they saw the destruction of defilements as impossible and thus "the elimination of a defilement is referred to as a ‘separation’ from the series."{{sfn|Hwang|2006|p=41}} Soonil adds:<blockquote>That is to say, the acquisition of the defilement is negated, or technically ‘disjoined’ (''visamyoga''), through the power of knowledge that terminates the junction between that defilement and the series of aggregates. By reason of this separation, then, there arises ‘the acquisition of disjunction’ (''visamyogaprapti'') that serves as an antidote (''pratipaksa''), which henceforward prevents the junction between the defilement and this series.{{sfn|Hwang|2006|p=41}} </blockquote>The Sarvastivadins also held that nirvana was a real existent (''dravyasat'') which perpetually protects a series of dharmas from defilements in the past, present and future.{{sfn|Hwang|2006|pp=42, 96}} Their interpretation of nirvana became an issue of debate between them and the [[Sautrāntika|Sautrantika]] school. For the Sautrantikas, nirvana "was not a real existent but a mere designation (''prajñaptisat'') and was non-existence succeeding existence (''pascadabhava'')."{{sfn|Hwang|2006|p=77}} It is something merely spoken of conventionally, without an intrinsic nature (''[[svabhava]]'').{{sfn|Hwang|2006|p=91}} The ''Abhidharmakosha'', explaining the Sautrantika view of nirvana, states:<blockquote>The extinction through knowledge is, when latent defilements (''anusaya'') and life (''janman'') that have already been produced are extinguished, non-arising of further such by the power of knowledge (''pratisamkhya'').{{sfn|Hwang|2006|p=91}}</blockquote>Thus for the Sautrantikas, nirvana was simply the "non-arising of further latent defilement when all latent defilements that have been produced have already been extinguished."{{sfn|Hwang|2006|p=91}}

The [[Pudgalavada]] school interpreted nirvana as the single Absolute truth which constitutes "the negation, absence, cessation of all that constitutes the world in which we live, act and suffer".{{sfn|Thích Thiện Châu|1984|pp=201-202}} According to Thiện Châu, for the Pudgalavadins, nirvana is seen as totally different than the compounded realm, since it the uncompounded (''asamskrta'') realm where no compounded things exist, and it is also beyond reasoning and expression.{{sfn|Thích Thiện Châu|1984|pp=201-202}} One of the few surviving Pudgalavada texts defines nirvana as:<blockquote>Absolute truth is the definitive cessation of all activities of speech (vac) and of all thoughts (citta). Activity is bodily action (kayakarman): speech (vac) is that of the voice (vakkarman); thought is that of the mind (manaskarman). If these three (actions) cease definitively, that is absolute truth which is Nirvana.{{sfn|Thích Thiện Châu|1984|pp=201-202}}</blockquote>

=== Comparación de las principales posiciones de las escuelas sthavira {{sfn|Hwang|2006|p=105}} ===
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+
!
!width=20% |El budismo temprano
![[Theravada|'''Theravāda''']] Clásico
!width=20% |[[Sarvastivada|'''Sarvāstivāda''']]-Vaibhāṣika
!'''[[Sautrāntika]]'''
!width=23% |[[Pudgalavada|'''Pudgalavāda''']]
|-
|'''Concepción básica del nirvana'''
|La cesación de los triples fuegos de la pasión, el odio y la ilusión. 
|El nirvana es una realidad que no es una mera destrucción.
|Un existente real (''dravya'') con una naturaleza intrínseca
|La inexistencia, una mera designación (''prajñapti'')
|Una existencia real diferente al samsara  {{sfn|Thích Thiện Châu|1984|pp=201-202}} 
|-
|'''El "combustible" o "resto" (upādi)'''
|[[Cinco agregados|Los cinco agregados]]
|[[Cinco agregados|Los cinco agregados]]
|Facultad vital (''jivitendriya'') y carácter homogéneo del grupo (''nikayasabhaga'')
|El impulso (''avedha'') de la serie de agregados
|[[Cinco agregados|Los cinco agregados]]
|-
|'''Nirvana con una base remanente'''
|El cese de los triples fuegos 
|La cesación de las impurezas (''[[Klesa|kilesa]]'')
|La disyunción (''visamyoga'') de todos los dharmas impuros (''sasrava'')
|La no aparición de más contaminaciones latentes (''anusaya'')
|La cesación de las impurezas (''kleshas'') {{sfn|Thích Thiện Châu|1984|p=127}}
|-
|'''Nirvana sin una base remanente'''
|La cesación de los cinco agregados. Su estado [[Ontología|ontológico]] no puede ser explicado (''avyākata'').
|La cesación de los cinco agregados. El nirvana es una existencia real.
|La desintegración de la serie de los cinco agregados
|El no surgimiento de más vida (''janman'')
|La cesación de los agregados. El pudgala (persona) no puede decirse que exista ni que no exista y no es ni lo mismo ni diferente que el nirvana.<ref group=web>{{cite web |last=Priestley |first=Leonard |title=Pudgalavada Buddhist Philosophy |work=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |url=https://www.iep.utm.edu/pudgalav/}}</ref>
|}

=== Tradición mahāsāṃghika ===
According to [[André Bareau|Andre Bareau]], the [[Mahāsāṃghika]] school held that the nirvana reached by [[arhat]]s was fundamentally inferior to that of the Buddhas.{{sfn|Bareau|1955|pp=55-74}} Regarding the nirvana reached by the Buddha, they held that his longevity (''ayu''), his body (''rupa, sarira'') and divine power (''tejas'') were infinite, unlimited and supramundane (''lokuttara'').{{sfn|Bareau|1955|p=59}}{{sfn|Dutt|pp=72-74}} Therefore, they held to a kind of [[docetism]] which posited that Buddhas only ''appear'' to be born into the world and thus when they die and enter nirvana, this is only a fiction. In reality, the Buddha remains in the form of a body of enjoyment (''sambhogakaya'') and continues to create many forms (''nirmana'') adapted to the different needs of beings in order to teach them through clever means (''[[upaya]]'').{{sfn|Bareau|1955|p=59}}{{sfn|Dutt|pp=72-74}}

According to Guang Xing, [[Mahāsāṃghika]]s held that there were two aspects of a Buddha's attainment: the true Buddha who is omniscient and omnipotent, and the manifested forms through which he liberates sentient beings through his skillful means.<ref>Guang Xing. ''The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory.'' 2004. p. 53</ref> For the Mahāsāṃghikas, the historical [[Gautama Buddha]] was merely one of these transformation bodies (Skt. ''[[Nirmanakaya|nirmāṇakāya]]'').<ref name="Sree Padma 2008. pp. 59-60">Sree Padma. Barber, Anthony W. ''Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra.'' 2008. pp. 59-60</ref>

Bareau also writes that for the [[Mahāsāṃghika]] school, only wisdom ([[Prajñā (Buddhism)|prajña]]) can reach nirvana, not samadhi. Bareau notes that this might be the source of the [[Prajnaparamita|''prajñaparamita'']] sutras.{{sfn|Bareau|1955|pp=65-66}}

Regarding the [[Ekavyāvahārika]] branch of the [[Mahāsāṃghika]]s, Bareau states that both samsara and nirvana were nominal designations (''prajñapti'') and devoid of any real substance.{{sfn|Bareau|1955|p=78}} According to Nalinaksha Dutt, for the [[Ekavyāvahārika]], all dharmas are conventional and thus unreal (even the absolute was held to be contingent or dependent) while for the [[Lokottaravāda|Lokottaravada]] branch, worldly dharmas are unreal but supramundane dharmas like nirvana are real.{{sfn|Dutt|p=69}}

== En budismo mahāyāna ==
The [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna]] (Great Vehicle) tradition, which promotes the [[bodhisattva]] path as the highest spiritual ideal over the goal of [[arhat]]ship, envisions different views of nirvāṇa than the [[Nikāya|Nikaya]] Buddhist schools.<!---START OF NOTES--->{{refn|group=quote|Rupert Gethin: The Mahāyāna sūtras express two basic attitudes towards [the nirvana of the Lesser Vehicle]. The first [attitude] is that the path of the disciple [sravaka] and the path of the pratyeka-buddha do lead to a kind of awakening, a release from suffering, nirvāna, and as such are real goals. These goals are, however, inferior and should be renounced for the superior attainment of buddhahood. The second attitude, classically articulated by the Lotus Sūtra, sees the goal of the disciple and the pratyeka-buddha as not true goals at all.{{refn|group=lower-roman|Gethin footnote: Also Śrīmālādevī 78–94; and Lankāvatāra Sūtra 63; cf. Herbert V. Guenther (trans.), The Jewel Ornament of Liberation (London, 1970), 4–6.}} The fact that the Buddha taught them is an example of his 'skill in means' (upaya-kauśalya) as a teacher.{{refn|group=lower-roman|Gethin footnote: On the notion of 'skill in means' see Michael Pye, Skilful Means (London, 1978); {{harvp|Williams|2008|pp=143–150}}.}} These goals are thus merely clever devices (upāya) employed by the Buddha in order to get beings to at least begin the practice of the path; eventually their practice must lead on to the one and only vehicle (eka-yāna) that is the mahāyāna, the vehicle ending in perfect buddhahood.{{sfn|Gethin|1998|pp=228-229}}}}{{refn|group=note|The Tibetan teacher Pabongka Rinpoche presents the path in three levels (or scopes. The first stage indicates a level of understanding or ethical conduct for non-Buddhists, and the second two stages are ''nirvana'' and ''Buddhahood''. Pabongka Rinpoche: "The subject matter of these teachings can be included in the various paths of the three scopes. The small scope covers the causes to achieve the high rebirth states of the gods and humans: the ethics of abandoning the ten nonvirtues, etc. The medium scope includes the practices that will cause one to gain the definite excellence of liberation— such practices as abandoning [the first two of the] four truths, engaging in [the last two of these truths], and the practice of the three high trainings. The great scope contains the practices that bring about the definite excellence of omniscience— such practices as the development of bodhichitta, the six perfections, etc. Hence, all this subject matter forms a harmonious practice that will take a person to enlightenment and should be understood as being completely without contradiction."{{sfn|Pabongka Rinpoche|2006|loc=Kindle loc. 1790-1796}}}}<!---END OF NOTES---> Mahāyāna Buddhism is a diverse group of various Buddhist traditions and therefore there is no single unified Mahāyāna view on nirvāṇa. However, it is generally believed that remaining in [[saṃsāra]] in order to help other beings is a noble goal for a Mahāyānist.{{sfn|Williams|2008|pp=59–60}} According to Paul Williams, there are at least two conflicting models on the bodhisattva's attitude to nirvāṇa.

The first model seems to be promoted in the ''Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'' and it states that a bodhisattva postpones their nirvāṇa until they have saved numerous sentient beings, then, after reaching [[Buddhahood]], a bodhisattva passes on to cessation just like an arhat (and thus ceases to help others). In this model, their only difference to an arhat is that they have spent aeons helping other beings and have become a Buddha to teach the Dharma.{{sfn|Williams|2008|pp=59–60}} This model seems to have been influential in the early period of [[Indian Buddhism]]. [[Étienne Lamotte|Etienne Lamotte]], in his analysis of the ''[[Da zhidu lun|Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa]],'' notes that this text also supports the idea that after entering complete nirvāṇa (''[[Parinirvana|parinirvāṇa]]''), a bodhisattva is "able to do nothing more for gods or for men" and therefore he seeks to obtain "wisdom similar to but slightly inferior to that of the Buddhas, which allows him to remain for a long time in [[Saṃsāra (Buddhism)|saṃsāra]] in order to dedicate himself to salvific activity by many and varied skillful means."<ref>Etienne Lamotte (French trans.); Karma Migme Chodron (English trans.) (2001) ''The Treatise on the Great Virtue of Wisdom of Nagarjuna - Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra'', VOL. IV CHAPTERS XLII (continuation) – XLVIII, p. 1412.</ref>

The second model is one which does not teach that one must postpone nirvāṇa. This model eventually developed a comprehensive theory of nirvāṇa taught by the [[Yogachara|Yogacara]] school and later Indian [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna]], which states there are at least two kinds of nirvāṇa, the nirvāṇa of an arhat and a superior type of nirvāṇa called ''apratiṣṭhita (''non-abiding).{{sfn|Williams|2008|pp=59–60}}

=== El nirvāna no fijo ===

[[File:La vie de Bouddha (montagne de marbre, Danang) (4414171866).jpg|thumb|right|The Buddha's quest for nirvana, a relief in [[Vietnam]]]]

[[Image:『妙法蓮華経』「観世音菩薩普門品」-“Universal Gateway,” Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra MET DP232567.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Illustrated [[Lotus Sutra|Lotus Sūtra]] scroll,  “Universal Gateway,” Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra.]]

{{See also|Bodhisattva|Buddhahood||}}

The classic Mahāyāna [[Yogachara|Yogacara]] view posits that there are at least two types of nirvana, holding that what is called ''<nowiki>''</nowiki>apratiṣṭhita-nirvana<nowiki>''</nowiki>'' ("non-abiding", non-localized", "non-fixed") to be the highest nirvana, and more profound than ''<nowiki>''</nowiki>pratiṣṭhita-nirvāṇa<nowiki>''</nowiki>'', the ‘localized’, lesser nirvana. According to the classic Indian theory, this lesser, abiding nirvana is achieved by followers of the "inferior" vehicle (''[[hinayana]]'') schools which are said to only work towards their own personal liberation.{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|loc="apratiṣṭhitanirvāṇa}} From this perspective, the hinayana path only leads to one's own liberation, either as [[Śrāvaka|sravaka]] (listener, hearer, or disciple) or as [[pratyekabuddha]] (solitary realizer).<!---START OF NOTE--->{{refn|group=note|name=rahula1|The Hinayana path is sometimes equated with the modern day Theravada tradition, a classification which the Theravada-tradition rejects. Walpola Rahula: "We must not confuse Hinayana with Theravada because the terms are not synonymous. Theravada Buddhism went to Sri Lanka during the 3rd Century B.C. when there was no Mahayana at all. Hinayana sects developed in India and had an existence independent from the form of Buddhism existing in Sri Lanka. Today there is no Hinayana sect in existence anywhere in the world. Therefore, in 1950 the World Fellowship of Buddhists inaugurated in Colombo unanimously decided that the term Hinayana should be dropped when referring to Buddhism existing today in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, etc. This is the brief history of Theravada, Mahayana and Hinayana."<ref group=web name=nalanda1>Walpola Rahula, [http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma3/theramaya.html ''Theravada - Mahayana Buddhism'']</ref>}}<!---END OF NOTE--->

According to Robert Buswell and Donald Lopez, ''<nowiki>''</nowiki>apratiṣṭhita-nirvana<nowiki>''</nowiki>'' is the standard Mahāyāna view of the attainment of a [[Buddhahood|Buddha]], which enables them to freely return to [[Saṃsāra|''samsara'']] in order to help sentient beings, while still being in a kind of nirvana.{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|loc="apratiṣṭhitanirvāṇa}} The Mahāyāna path is thus said to aim at a further realization, namely an active Buddhahood that does not dwell in a static ''nirvana'', but out of [[Karuṇā|compassion]] (''[[karuṇā]]'') engages in enlightened activity to liberate beings for as long as ''samsara'' remains.{{sfn|Duckworth|2011|loc=Kindle loc. 430-436}}<!---START OF NOTE--->{{refn|group=quote|name=nonabiding1|From the Mahayana point of view, the ''nonabiding (apratiṣṭhita) nirvana'' is superior to the nirvana of the Lesser Vehicle:
* Thubten Thardo (Gareth Sparham) states: "The term "non-abiding nirvāṇa" indicates that a fully awakened buddha is utterly free from saṃsāra, yet due to compassion has not entered into a more restricted form of nirvāṇa that precludes continued activity within the world."{{sfn|Khunu Rinpoche|2012|loc=Kindle loc. 1480-1482}}
* Erik Pema Kunsang states (based on teachings by Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche and Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche): "The lesser nirvana refers to the liberation from cyclic existence attained by a hinayana practitioner. When referring to a buddha, ''nirvana'' is the great nondwelling state of enlightenment which falls neither into the extreme of samsaric existence nor into the passive state of cessation attained by an arhant."{{sfn|Tsele Natsok Rangdrol|1987|p=114}}
* Thrangu Rinpoche states: "The samadhi with the union of samatha and vipasyana fully developed will free one from the bondage of samsara so one attains a state of nonabiding nirvana, which is Buddhahood.{{sfn|Thrangu Rinpoche|1993|p=125}}
* The Padmakara Translation Group states: "It is important to realize that the term [nirvana] is understood differently by the different vehicles: the nirvana of the Basic Vehicle, the peace of cessation that an Arhat attains, is very different from a Buddha's "nondwelling" nirvana, the state of perfect enlightenment that transcends both samsara and nirvana."{{sfn|Dudjom Rinpoche|2011|loc=Kindle loc. 8211-8215}}
* Peter Harvey states: "An advanced Bodhisattva who has experienced Nirvana does not rest content with this. He turns again to samsara in the service of others, which the ''Mahayana-samgraha'' calls his 'non-abiding' (apratiṣṭhita) Nirvana, not clinging either to samsara or to Nirvana as something supposedly separate from this (Nagao, 1991)."{{sfn|Harvey|2012|p=137}}
* Rupert Gethin states: "For the Mahayana becoming a Buddha generally involves attaining what is characterized as the 'unestablished' or 'non-abiding' (apratiṣṭhita) nirvāṇa: on the one hand the knowledge of a buddha that sees emptiness, is not 'established' in saṃsāra (by seizing on birth as an individual being, for example), on the other hand the great compassion of a buddha prevents the complete turning away from saṃsāra. So ultimately he abides neither in saṃsāra nor in nirvāṇa."{{sfn|Gethin|1998|p=232}}
* Duckworth: The Lesser Vehicle does not result in the practitioner becoming a complete buddha; rather, the aim is to achieve a personal nirvana that is the total extinction of existence. The Great Vehicle, however, does result in becoming a complete buddha. A buddha remains actively engaged in enlightened activity to liberate beings for as long as samsara remains. Thus, those who accomplish the Great Vehicle do not abide in samsara due to their wisdom that sees its empty, illusory nature. Further, unlike those who attain the nirvana of the Lesser Vehicle to escape samsara, they do not abide in an isolated nirvana due to their compassion. For these reasons, in the Great Vehicle, nirvana is said to be "unlocated" or "nonabiding" (''apratiṣṭhita''), staying in neither samsara nor nirvana.{{sfn|Duckworth|2011|loc=Kindle loc. 430-436}}<!---END OF NOTE--->}} ''Apratiṣṭhita-nirvana'' is said to be reached when bodhisattvas eradicate both the afflictive obstructions (''klesavarana'') and the obstructions to omniscience (''jñeyavarana''), and is therefore different than the nirvana of arhats, who have eradicated only the former.{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|loc="apratiṣṭhitanirvāṇa}}

According to Alan Sponberg, ''apratiṣṭhita-nirvana'' is "a nirvana that is not permanently established in, or bound to, any one realm or sphere of activity".<ref name=":7">Sponberg, Alan, Dynamic liberation in Yogacara Buddhism, The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies.</ref> This is contrasted with a kind of nirvana which is "permanently established or fixed (''pratiṣṭhita'') in the transcendent state of nirvana-without-remainder (''nirupadhisesa-nirvana'')." According to Sponberg this doctrine developed among [[Yogachara|Yogacara]] Buddhists who rejected earlier views which were based on an individual liberation aimed at a transcendent state, separated from the mundane sphere of human existence. Mahayana Buddhists rejected this view as inconsistent with the universalist Mahayana ideal of the salvation of all beings and with the absolutist non-dual Mahayana perspective that did not see an ultimate distinction between samsara and nirvana.<ref name=":7" /> Sponberg also notes that the [[Madhyamaka|Madhyamika]] school also had a hand in developing this idea, due to their rejection of dualistic concepts which separated samsara and nirvana and their promotion of a form of liberation which was totally without duality.<ref name=":7" />

Though the idea that Buddhas remain active in the world can be traced back to the [[Mahāsāṃghika|Mahasamghika]] school, the term ''apratiṣṭhita-nirvana'' seems to be a Yogacara innovation. According to Gadjin Nagao, the term is likely to be an innovation of the Yogacaras, and possibly of the scholar [[Asanga]] (fl. 4th century CE).<ref>Nagao, Gadjin, M. Madhyamika and Yogacara: A Study of Mahayana Philosophies, p. 223.</ref> Sponberg states that this doctrine presents a "Soteriological Innovation in [[Yogachara|Yogacara]] Buddhism" which can be found mainly in works of the Yogacara school such as the ''[[Sandhinirmocana Sutra|Sandhinirmocana-sutra]],'' the ''[[Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra|Lankavatarasutra]]'', the [[Mahayana-sutra-alamkara-karika|''Mahayanasutralamkara'']], and is most fully worked out in the [[Mahāyānasaṃgraha|''Mahayana-samgraha'']] of [[Asanga]].<ref name=":7" /> In Chapter IX of the ''samgraha'', Asanga presents the classic definition of ''apratiṣṭhita-nirvana'' in the context of discussing the severing of mental obstacles (''avarana''):<blockquote>This severing is the ''apratiṣṭhita-nirvana'' of the bodhisattva. It has as its characteristic (''laksana'') the revolution (''paravrtti'') of the dual base (''asraya'') in which one relinquishes all defilements (''[[Kleshas (Buddhism)|klesa]]''), but does not abandon the world of death and rebirth (''samsara'').<ref name=":7" /> </blockquote>In his commentary on this passage, Asvabhava (6th century), states that the wisdom which leads to this state is termed non-discriminating cognition (''nirvikalpaka-jñana)'' and he also notes that this state is a union of wisdom (''[[Prajñā (Buddhism)|prajña]]'') and compassion (''karuna''): <blockquote>The bodhisattva dwells in this revolution of the base as if in an immaterial realm (''arupyadhatu''). On the one hand—with respect to his own personal interests (''svakartham'')—he is fully endowed with superior wisdom (''adhiprajña'') and is thus not subject to the afflictions (''klesa'') while on the other hand—with respect to the interests of other beings (''parartham'')—he is fully endowed with great compassion (''mahakaruna'') and thus never ceases to dwell in the world of death and re-birth (''samsara'').<ref name=":7" />  </blockquote>According to Sponberg, in Yogacara, the Buddha's special wisdom that allows participation in both nirvana and samsara, termed non-discriminating cognition (''nirvikalpaka-jñana)'' has various aspects: a negative aspect which is free from discrimination that binds one to samsara and positive and dynamic aspects which intuitively cognize the Absolute and give a Buddha "access to the Absolute without yielding efficacy in the relative."<ref name=":7" />

=== Caminos hacia la budeidad ===
Most sutras of the Mahāyāna tradition, states Jan Nattier, present three alternate goals of the path: [[Arhat]]ship, [[Pratyekabuddha]]hood, and [[Buddhahood]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M5mWcbAXqb0C|title=The Bodhisattva Path: Based on the Ugraparipṛcchā, a Mahāyāna Sūtra|author=Jan Nattier|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=2007|isbn=978-81-208-2048-7|pages=7–8}}</ref> However, according an influential Mahāyāna text called the [[Lotus Sutra]], while the lesser attainment of individual ''nirvana'' is taught as a skillful means by the Buddha in order to help beings of lesser capacities; ultimately, the highest and ''only'' goal is the attainment of [[Buddhahood]].{{sfn|Clarke|2004|p=540}}{{sfn|Baroni|2002|p=36}}{{sfn|Kornberg Greenberg|2008|p=88}} The Lotus sutra further states that, although these three paths are ''seemingly'' taught by Buddhas as separate vehicles (''yana''), they are really all just [[Upaya|skillful ways]] (''upaya'') of teaching a single path (''ekayana''), which is the bodhisattva path to full Buddhahood.<ref>Suguro, Shinjo; Nichiren Buddhist International Center, trans. (1998), Introduction to the Lotus Sutra, Jain Publishing Company, {{ISBN|0875730787}}, pp. 34-35.</ref> Thus, these three separate goals are not really different at all, the 'lesser' paths are actually just clever teaching devices used by Buddhas to get people to practice, eventually though, they will be led to the one and only path of Mahāyāna and full Buddhahood.{{sfn|Gethin|1998|pp=228-229}}

The Mahāyāna commentary the ''[[Abhisamayalamkara]]'' presents the path of the bodhisattva as a progressive formula of [[Five Paths|''Five Paths'' (''pañcamārga'').]] A practitioner on the ''Five Paths'' advances through a progression of ten stages, referred to as the bodhisattva ''[[Bhūmi (Buddhism)|bhūmis]]'' (grounds or levels).

=== Omnisciencia ===
The end stage practice of the Mahāyāna removes the imprints of [[Kleshas (Buddhism)|delusions]], the obstructions to [[omniscience]] (''sarvākārajñatā''), which prevent simultaneous and direct knowledge of all phenomena. Only Buddhas have overcome these obstructions and, therefore, only Buddhas have omniscience knowledge, which refers to the power of a being in some way to have "simultaneous knowledge of all things whatsoever".<ref>McClintock, Sara L. Omniscience and the Rhetoric of Reason: Santaraksita and Kamalasila on Rationality, Argumentation, and Religious Authority, 2010, p. 37.

</ref> From the Mahāyāna point of view, an arhat who has achieved the nirvana of the [[Hinayana|Lesser Vehicle]] will still have certain subtle obscurations that prevent the arhat from realizing complete omniscience. When these final obscurations are removed, the practitioner will attain ''apratiṣṭhita-nirvana'' and achieve full omniscience.{{refn|group=quote|Translator Jeffrey Hopkins provides the following analogy:"If you put garlic in a vessel, it deposits some of its odor in the vessel itself; Thus when you seek to clean the vessel, it is necessary to first remove the garlic.<br>Similarly, a [[Avidyā (Buddhism)#Uprooting avidya|consciousness conceiving inherent existence]], like garlic, deposits predispositions in the mind that produce the ''appearance'' of inherent existence; Thus, there is no way to cleanse the mind of those predispositions, which are like the flavor of garlic left in the vessel of the mind, until one removes all consciousnesses conceiving of inherent existence from the mind. First, the garlic must be removed; then, its odor can be removed.<br>For this reason, according to the [[prasangika|Consequence School]], until one has utterly removed all the [[Kleshas (Buddhism)|afflictive obstructions]], one cannot begin to remove the obstructions to omniscience. Since this is the case, a practitioner cannot begin overcoming the obstructions to omniscience on any of the seven first [[Bhumi (Buddhism)|bodhisattva grounds]], which are called "impure" because one still has afflictive obstructions to be abandoned.<br>Rather, one begins abandoning the obstructions to omniscience on the eighth bodhisattva ground, and continues to do so on the ninth and tenth, these three being called the 'three pure grounds" because the afflictive obstructions have been abandoned."<ref>Jeffery Hopkins (author). "The Dalai Lama at Harvard: Lectures on the Buddhist Path to Peace." Snow Lion Publications.</ref>}}

=== Los cuerpos de buda ===
{{See also|Trikaya}}
[[File:Taizokai.jpg|thumb|right|The ''[[Garbhadhatu]]'' [[mandala]] of the [[Mahavairocana Tantra]] representing multiple manifestations of the [[Dharmakaya]], the Buddha [[Vairocana]].]]
Some Mahāyāna traditions see the Buddha in [[Docetism|docetic]] terms, viewing his visible manifestations as projections from its nirvanic state. According to Etienne Lamotte, Buddhas are always and at all times in nirvana, and their corporeal displays of themselves and their Buddhic careers are ultimately illusory. Lamotte writes of the Buddhas:{{quote|They are born, reach enlightenment, set turning the Wheel of Dharma, and enter nirvana. However, all this is only illusion: the appearance of a Buddha is the absence of arising, duration and destruction; their nirvana is the fact that they are always and at all times in nirvana.'<ref>{{cite book |author=Etienne Lamotte |translator=Sara Boin-Webb |title=Suramgamasamadhisutra |publisher=Curzon |location=London |year=1998 |page=4}}</ref>|sign=|source=}}

This doctrine, developed among the [[Mahāsāṃghika|Mahāsaṃghikas]], where the historical person, Gautama Buddha, was one of these transformation bodies (Skt. ''nirmāṇakāya''), while the essential Buddha is equated with the transcendental Buddha called ''[[dharmakāya]]''.<ref name="Sree Padma 2008. pp. 59-60"/> In Mahāyāna, this eventually developed into the doctrine of the "Three Bodies" of the Buddha (''[[Trikaya]]''). This doctrine is interpreted in different ways by the different Mahāyāna traditions. According to Reginald Ray, it is "the body of reality itself, without specific, delimited form, wherein the Buddha is identified with the spiritually charged nature of everything that is."<ref name="Reginald Ray 2001, p. 13">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQMLAAAAYAAJ|title=Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet|last=Ray|first=Reginald|publisher=Shambhala|year=2001|isbn=978-1-57062-772-9|page=13|author-link=Reginald Ray}}</ref>

=== Naturaleza de buda ===
{{See also|Buddha-nature}}

An alternative idea of Mahāyāna nirvana is found in the ''[[Tathāgatagarbha sūtras]]''. The title itself means a ''garbha'' (womb, matrix, seed) containing ''Tathagata'' (Buddha). These [[Sutra]]s suggest, states Paul Williams, that 'all sentient beings contain a Tathagata' as their 'essence, core or essential inner nature'.{{sfn|Williams|2008|p=104}} The ''[[Buddha-nature|tathāgatagarbha]]'' doctrine ''(''also called ''buddhadhatu, buddha-nature)'', at its earliest probably appeared about the later part of the 3rd century CE, and is verifiable in Chinese translations of 1st millennium CE.{{sfn|Williams|2008|p=104}} Most scholars consider the ''tathāgatagarbha'' doctrine of an 'essential nature' in every living being is equivalent to 'Self',{{refn|group=note|Wayman and Wayman have disagreed with this view, and they state that the ''Tathagatagarbha'' is neither self nor sentient being, nor soul, nor personality.{{sfn|Williams|2008|p=107}}}} and it contradicts the "no self" (or no soul, no atman, anatta) doctrines in a vast majority of Buddhist texts, leading scholars to posit that the ''Tathagatagarbha Sutras'' were written to promote Buddhism to non-Buddhists.{{sfn|Williams|2008|pp=104–105, 108}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A7UKjtA0QDwC |title=Buddhism: Beliefs and Practices|author=Merv Fowler|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|year=1999 |isbn=978-1-898723-66-0|pages=101–102}}, '''Quote:''' "Some texts of the ''tathagatagarbha'' literature, such as the ''Mahaparinirvana Sutra'' actually refer to an ''atman'', though other texts are careful to avoid the term. This would be in direct opposition to the general teachings of Buddhism on ''anatta''. Indeed, the distinctions between the general Indian concept of ''atman'' and the popular Buddhist concept of Buddha-nature are often blurred to the point that writers consider them to be synonymous."</ref> The Mahāyāna tradition thus often discusses nirvana with its concept of the ''tathāgatagarbha'', the innate presence of Buddhahood.{{sfn|Wayman|1990}} According to Alex Wayman, Buddha nature has its roots in the idea of an innately pure [[luminous mind]] (''prabhasvara citta'',{{sfn|Gregory|1991|pp=288–289}}) "which is only adventitiously covered over by defilements ([[Kleshas (Buddhism)|''agantukaklesa'']])"{{sfn|Gregory|1991|p=288-289}} lead to the development of the concept of [[Buddha-nature]], the idea that Buddha-hood is already innate, but not recognised.{{sfn|Wayman|1990|p=42}}

The ''[[Buddha-nature|tathāgatagarbha]]'' has numerous interpretations in the various schools of [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna]] and [[Vajrayana]] Buddhism. Indian [[Madhyamaka]] philosophers generally interpreted the theory as a description of [[Śūnyatā|emptiness]] and as a non implicative negation (a negation which leaves nothing un-negated).{{sfn|Brunnholzl|2014|p=55}} According to Karl Brunnholzl, early Indian [[Yogachara|Yogacaras]] like [[Asanga]] and [[Vasubandhu]] referred to the term as "nothing but [[Tathātā|suchness]] in the sense of twofold [[Śūnyatā|identitylessness]]".{{sfn|Brunnholzl|2014|p=56}} However some later Yogacarins like [[Ratnākaraśānti|Ratnakarasanti]] considered it "equivalent to naturally luminous mind, nondual self-awareness."{{sfn|Brunnholzl|2014|p=58}}

The debate as to whether ''tathāgatagarbha'' was just a way to refer to emptiness or whether it referred to some kind of mind or consciousness also resumed in [[Chinese Buddhism]], with some Chinese Yogacarins, like [[Fazang]] and Ratnamati supporting the idea that it was an eternal non-dual mind, while Chinese Madhyamikas like [[Jizang]] rejecting this view and seeing ''tathāgatagarbha'' as [[emptiness]] and "the middle way."<ref name=":112">Hurley, Scott, The doctrinal transformation of twentieth-century Chinese Buddhism: Master Yinshun’s interpretation of the tathagatagarbha doctrine, Contemporary Buddhism, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2004.</ref><ref name=":62">Liu, Ming-Wood. The Yogaacaaraa and Maadhyamika Interpretation of the Buddha-nature Concept in Chinese Buddhism, Philosophy East and West, Volume 35, no. 2, April 1985 P.171-192 © by University of Hawaii Press.</ref>

In some [[Vajrayana|Tantric]] Buddhist texts such as the ''Samputa Tantra,'' nirvana is described as purified, non-dualistic 'superior mind'.<ref>Takpo Tashi Namgyal, ''Mahamudra'' Shambhala, Boston and London, 1986, p.219</ref>

In [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhist]] philosophy, the debate continues to this day. There are those like the [[Gelug]] school, who argue that ''tathāgatagarbha'' is just emptiness (described either as ''[[dharmadhatu]]'', the nature of phenomena, or a nonimplicative negation).{{sfn|Williams|1994|p=108}} Then there are those who see it as the non-dual union of the mind's unconditioned emptiness and conditioned lucidity (the view of [[Gorampa]] of the [[Sakya]] school).{{sfn|Brunnholzl|2014|p=76}} Others such as the [[Jonang]] school and some [[Kagyu]] figures, see ''tathāgatagarbha'' as a kind of Absolute which "is empty of adventitious defilements which are intrinsically other than it, but is not empty of its own inherent existence".{{sfn|Williams|1994|p=108}}

==See also==
* [[Ataraxia]]
* [[Bodhi]]
* [[Enlightenment (religious)]]
* [[Moksha]]
* ''[[Nibbana-The Mind Stilled]]''
* [[Nirvana]]
* [[Parinirvana]]
* [[Satori]]
* [[Shunyata]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

''Further notes on "different paths"''
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==Quotes==
{{reflist|group=quote|2}}

''Further notes on quotes''
{{reflist|group=lower-roman}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==

===Printed sources===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Citation| last =Ajahn Sucitto | year =2010 | title =Turning the Wheel of Truth: Commentary on the Buddha's First Teaching | publisher =Shambhala }}
* {{Citation | last =Akizuki | first =Ryōmin | year =1990 | title =New Mahāyāna: Buddhism for a Post-modern World | publisher =Jain Publishing Company}}
* {{Citation| last = Anam Thubten | year =2009 | title =No Self No Problem  | publisher =Snow Lion |edition= Kindle }}
* {{cite book |last=Bareau |first=Andre |year=1955 |chapter=Chapitre I 'Les Mahasanghika' |title=Les sectes bouddhiques du Petit Vehicule |publisher=Ecole Fransaise d'Extreme-Orient}}
* {{Citation | last =Baroni | first =Helen Josephine | year =2002 | title =The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism | publisher =The Rosen Publishing Group}}
* {{Citation| last = Bhikkhu Bodhi (translator) | year =2000 | title =The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya | publisher =Wisdom Publications | place =Boston | isbn=0-86171-331-1}}
* {{Citation| last = Bhikkhu Bodhi | year =2007 | title =Nibbana  | publisher =Hong Kong Insight Meditation Society |url = http://hkims.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Nibbana-by-Bhikkhu-Bodhi.pdf}}
* {{Citation| last = Bhikkhu Bodhi | year =2011 | title =The Noble Eightfold Path: Way to the End of Suffering  | publisher =Independent Publishers Group |edition= Kindle }}
* {{Citation| last = Bhikkhu Bodhi | year =2012 | title =A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The Abhidhammattha Sangaha | publisher =Independent Publishers Group |edition= Kindle }}
* {{cite journal |last=Brahmāli |first=Bhikkhu |date=2009 |title=What the Nikāyas Say and Do not Say about Nibbāna |journal=Buddhist Studies Review |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=33–66}}
* {{Citation |last=Bronkhorst |first=Johannes |year=1993 |author-link=Johannes Bronkhorst |title=The Two Traditions of Meditation In Ancient India |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass}}
* {{citation |last=Brunnholzl |first=Karl |year=2014 |title=When the Clouds Part, The 'Uttaratantra' and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sutra and Tantra |publisher=Snow Lion |location=Boston & London}}
* {{Citation |author=Buddhaghosa |translator=Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu |translator-link=Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu |year=1999 |title=Visuddhimagga: The Path of Purification |publisher=Buddhist Publication Society |isbn=1-928706-01-0}}
* {{Citation | last =Buswell | first =Robert E. | year =2004 | title =Encyclopedia of Buddhism | publisher =MacMillan| isbn= 978-0028657202}}
* {{Citation |ref={{sfnref|Buswell|Lopez|2013}} | last1 =Buswell Jr. | first1 =Robert E. | last2 =Lopez Jr. | first2 =Donald S. | year =2013 | title = The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism | publisher = Princeton University | isbn=978-1-4008-4805-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXN2AAAAQBAJ}}
* {{Citation | last =Clarke | first =Peter | year =2004 | title =Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements | publisher =Routledge}}
* {{Citation | last =Choong | first =Mun-Keat | year =1999 | title =The Notion of Emptiness in Early Buddhism | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass Publishers}}
* {{cite book|last=Collins|first=Steven|year=1990|title=Selfless Persons: Imagery and Thought in Theravada Buddhism|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-39726-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8sLMkNn26-gC&pg=PA5}}
* {{cite book|last=Collins|first=Steven|year=1998|title=Nirvana and Other Buddhist Felicities |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-57054-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2go_y5KYyoC}}
* {{Citation |first=Steven |last= Collins |title=Nirvana: Concept, Imagery, Narrative |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5pshUYiUVwC |year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-88198-2 }}
* {{Citation | last =Conze | first =Edward | year =1967 | title =Thirty years of Buddhis Studies. Selected essays by Edward Conze | publisher =Bruno Cassirer | url =http://lirs.ru/lib/conze/Thirty_Years_of_Buddhist_studies,Conze,1967,incomplete,300dpi.pdf}}
* {{Citation |last=Cousins |first=L.S. |year=1998 |chapter=Nirvana |editor-last=Craig |editor-first=Edward |title=Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Volume 7: Nihilism to Quantum Mechanics |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}
* {{cite book |last=Dutt |first=Nalinaksha |title=Buddhist Sects in India}}
* {{cite book | last1 =Duiker | first1 =William J. | last2 =Spielvogel | first2 =Jackson J. | year =2008 | title =World History: To 1800 | isbn =9780495050537 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=bj8HX6sWhYAC&q=NIRVANA++HINDU}}
* {{Citation| last =Duckworth | first = Douglas | year =2011 | title =Jamgon Mipam: His Life and Teachings |edition= Kindle | publisher =Shambhala}}
* {{Citation| last =Dudjom Rinpoche | year =2011 | title =A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom: Complete Instructions on the Preliminary Practices |others=Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group | publisher =Shambhala |edition= Kindle }}
* {{cite book | last1 =Duiker | first1 =William J. | last2 =Spielvogel | first2 =Jackson J. | year =2008 | title =World History: To 1800 | isbn =9780495050537 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=bj8HX6sWhYAC&q=NIRVANA++HINDU}}
* {{cite book |last=Dundas |first=Paul |year=2002 |title=The Jains |location=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0415266062 |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Jains.html?id=jt6-YXE2aUwC}}
* {{Citation | last1 =Fischer-Schreiber | first1 =Ingrid | last2 =Ehrhard | first2 =Franz-Karl | last3 =Diener | first3 =Michael S. | year =2008 | title =Lexicon Boeddhisme. Wijsbegeerte, religie, psychologie, mystiek, cultuur en literatuur | publisher =Asoka}}
* {{Citation| last =Gethin | first = Rupert | year =1998 | title =Foundations of Buddhism | publisher =Oxford University Press}}
* {{Citation| last =Goldstein | first = Joseph | year =2011 | title =One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism | publisher =HarperCollins |edition= Kindle }}
* {{Citation| last =Goleman | first = Daniel | year =2008 | title =Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama | publisher=Bantam |edition= Kindle }}
* {{Citation |last=Gombrich |first=Richard F. |year=1992 |contribution=Dating the Buddha: a red herring revealed |editor-first=Heinz |editor-last=Bechert |trans-title=The Dating of the Historical Buddha |title=Die Datierung des historischen Buddha |series=Symposien zur Buddhismusforschung |volume=IV |number=2 |location=Gottingen |publisher=Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht |pages=237–259 |language=de}}
* {{Citation | last =Gombrich | first =Richard F. | year =1996 | title =Theravada Buddhism. A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo | place =London and New York | publisher =Routledge }}
* {{Citation | last =Gombrich | first =Richard F. | year =2006 | title =How Buddhism Began. The conditioned genesis of the early teachings. Second edition | publisher =Routledge}}
* {{Citation | last =Gombrich | first =Richard | year =2009 | title =What The Buddha Thought | publisher =Equinox}}
* {{Citation | last= Gregory | first =Peter N. | year =1991 | chapter=Sudden Enlightenment Followed by Gradual Cultivation: Tsung-mi's Analysis of Mind |editor=Peter N. Gregory |title=Sudden and Gradual. Approaches to Enlightenment in Chinese Thought | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass Publishers}}
* {{cite book|last=Hamilton |first=Sue |year=2000 |title=Early Buddhism: A New Approach: The I of the Beholder |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7007-1280-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pE9lwuScpWwC}}
* {{cite book|last=Hamilton-Blyth |first=Sue |year=2013 |title=Early Buddhism: A New Approach: The I of the Beholder |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-84293-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cR2PAQAAQBAJ}}
* {{Citation | last =Harvey | first =Peter |contribution=Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha |title=The Yogi and the Mystic |publisher=Curzon Press | year=1989 |editor-last=Werner|editor-first=Karel}}
* {{Citation| last =Harvey | first =Peter | year =1990 |title =Introduction to Buddhism | publisher =Cambridge University Press}}
* {{Citation | last =Harvey | first =Peter | year =1995a | title =An introduction to Buddhism. Teachings, history and practices | publisher =Cambridge University Press}}
* {{Citation| last =Harvey | first = Peter | year =1995b |title =The Selfless Mind: Personality, Consciousness and Nirvāṇa in Early Buddhism | publisher =Routledge|isbn= 0-7007-0338-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Harvey |first=Peter|year=2012|title=An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-85942-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u0sg9LV_rEgC}}
* {{cite book | last =Hindson | first =Ed | year=2008 | title=The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics | isbn =9780736936354 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yipXIHcteRsC&q=NIRVANA+A+HINDU+CONCEPT&pg=PA264}}
* {{Citation | last =Hwang | first =Soonil | year =2006 | title =Metaphor and Literalism in Buddhism: The Doctrinal History of Nirvana | publisher =Routledge}}
* {{citation |last=Jayatilleke |first=K.N. |title=The message of the Buddha |publisher=The Free Press}}
* {{citation |last=Kalupahana |first=David J. |title=Causality: The Central Philosophy of Buddhism}}
* {{Citation| last =Keown | first =Damien | year=2000| title= Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction | publisher=Oxford University Press|edition= Kindle }}
* {{cite book|first=Damien |last= Keown |title=A Dictionary of Buddhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=985a1M7L1NcC  |year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-157917-2}}
* {{Citation| last =Khunu Rinpoche | year=2012| title= Vast as the Heavens, Deep as the Sea: Verses in Praise of Bodhicitta  | others=Translated by Thubten Thardo (Gareth Sparham)| publisher=Wisdom |edition= Kindle }}
* {{Citation | last =Kornberg Greenberg | first =Yudit | year =2008 | title =Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions, Volume 2 | publisher =ABC-CLIO}}
* {{Citation| last =Lama Surya Das | year =1997 | title =Awakening the Buddha Within | publisher =Broadway Books|edition= Kindle }}
* {{Citation |last=Lindtner |first=Christian |year=1997 |title=The Problem of Precanonical Buddhism |journal=Buddhist Studies Review |volume=14 |issue=2 |url=https://archive.org/details/BackCopiesOfBuddhistStudiesReview}}
* {{Citation | last =Lindtner | first =Christian | year =1999 | title =From Brahmanism to Buddhism | journal =Asian Philosophy |volume=9 |issue=1| pages =5–37 | doi= 10.1080/09552369908575487 }}
* {{Citation| last =Lopez | first =Donald S.| year =2001 | title =The Story of Buddhism | publisher =HarperCollins }}
* {{Citation |last=Mackenzie|first=Rory|year=2007|title=New Buddhist Movements in Thailand: Towards an Understanding of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Santi Asoke|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-134-13262-1 |url=http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/New%20Buddhist%20Movements%20In%20Thailand_Mackenzie.pdf}}
* {{cite book |author=Maha Boowa |year=2005 |title=Arahattamagga, Arahattaphala: the Path to Arahantship – A Compilation of Venerable Acariya Maha Boowa’s Dhamma Talks about His Path of Practice |translator=Bhikkhu Silaratano |isbn=974-93100-1-2 |location=Thailand |publisher=Silpa Siam Packaging & Printing Co. |url=http://www.forestdhammabooks.com/book/3/Arahattamagga.pdf |access-date=16 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327073822/http://www.forestdhammabooks.com/book/3/Arahattamagga.pdf |archive-date=2009-03-27 |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book |author=Mahāsi Sayādaw |translator=U Htin Fatt |editor=Bhikkhu Pesala |title=On the Nature of Nibbāna |publisher=Buddha Sāsanānuggaha Organisation Mahāsi Translation Committee |location=Rangoon}}
* {{Citation| last =Moffitt | first =Philip| year =2008 | title =Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering | publisher =Rodale|edition= Kindle }}
* {{Citation |contributor=Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu |contribution=Introduction|title=Visuddhimagga: The Path of Purification|publisher=Buddhist Publication Society |isbn=1-928706-01-0|year=1999 |author=Buddhaghosa |translator=Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu |translator-link=Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu}}
* {{Citation| last =Pabongka Rinpoche | year =2006 | title =Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand: A Concise Discourse on the Path to Enlightenment | publisher =Wisdom | edition= Kindle }}
* {{cite book |last1=Pasanno |last2=Amaro |name-list-style=amp |year=2009 |title=The Island: An Anthology of the Buddha's Teachings on Nibbāna |publisher=Abhayagiri Monastic Foundation |url=http://www.abhayagiri.org/main/book/1788/ |via=abhayagiri.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523193221/http://www.abhayagiri.org/main/book/1788/ |archive-date=2010-05-23 |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book | last =Pruthi | first =R.K. | year =2004 | title =Sikhism And Indian Civilization | isbn =9788171418794 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=KxndvJs3wUkC&q=NIRVANA}}
* {{Citation| first=Walpola| last=Rahula | year=2007| title=What the Buddha Taught| publisher=Grove Press |edition=Kindle}}
* {{Citation |last=Rahula |first=Walpola |year= |title=What the Buddha Taught |edition=Revised}}
* {{Citation | last =Ray | first =Reginald | year =1999 | title =Buddhist Saints in India: A Study in Buddhist Values and Orientations | publisher =Oxford University Press}}
* {{Citation | last =Reat | first =N. Ross | year =1998 | title =The Salistamba Sutra | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass}}
* {{Citation| last= Ringu Tulku | year =2005 | title =Daring Steps Toward Fearlessness: The Three Vehicles of Tibetan Buddhism| publisher = Snow Lion}}
* {{Citation | last =Sharf | first =Robert H. | title =Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | journal =NUMEN | volume =42 | year =1995 | issue =3 | pages = 228–283| doi =10.1163/1568527952598549 | hdl =2027.42/43810 | url =http://buddhiststudies.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/sharf/documents/Sharf1995,%20Buddhist%20Modernism.pdf | access-date =2014-12-18 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190412103407/http://buddhiststudies.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/sharf/documents/Sharf1995,%20Buddhist%20Modernism.pdf | archive-date =2019-04-12 | url-status =dead | hdl-access =free }}
* {{Citation | last =Sharf | first =Robert H. | year =2000 | title =The Rhetoric of Experience and the Study of Religion. | journal =Journal of Consciousness Studies | volume =7 | issue =11–12 | pages =267–87 | url =http://buddhiststudies.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/sharf/documents/Sharf1998,%20Religious%20Experience.pdf | access-date =2014-12-18 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130513104227/http://buddhiststudies.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/sharf/documents/Sharf1998,%20Religious%20Experience.pdf | archive-date =2013-05-13 | url-status =dead }}
* {{Citation| last1 =Smith| first1=Huston|last2=Novak|first2=Philip| year=2009| title= Buddhism: A Concise Introduction | publisher=HarperOne|edition= Kindle }}
* {{Citation | last =Snelling | first=John | year= 1987 |title =The Buddhist handbook. A Complete Guide to Buddhist Teaching and Practice | place =London | publisher =Century Paperbacks}}
* {{Citation | last =Swanson | first =Paul L. | year =1997 | title = Zen is not Buddhism, Recent Japanese Critiques of Buddha-Nature | journal =Numen | volume=40| issue=2| pages =115–149 | publisher =Brill Academic |doi= 10.1163/156852793X00112}}
* {{Citation| last= Thích Thiện Châu |year=1984 |title=The Literature of the Personalists}}
* {{Citation| last= Thich Nhat Hanh | year =1991 | title =Old Path White Clouds| publisher = Parallax Press}}
* {{Citation| last= Thich Nhat Hanh | year =1999 | title =The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching | publisher = Three River Press}}
* {{Citation| last= Thrangu Rinpoche | year =1993 | title =The Practice of Tranquillity & Insight: A Guide to Tibetan Buddhist Mediation | publisher = Snow Lion}}
* {{cite book | last =Trainor | first =Kevin | year =2004 | title =Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide | isbn =9780195173987 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=_PrloTKuAjwC&q=nirvana+buddhism&pg=PA68}}
* {{Citation| last= Traleg Kyabgon| year =2001 | title =The Essence of Buddhism | publisher = Shambhala}}
* {{Citation| last= Tsele Natsok Rangdrol| year =1987 | title =The Mirror of Mindfulness | translator= Erik Pema Kunsang | publisher = Rangjung Yeshe}}
* {{Citation |first=Tilmann|last= Vetter |year=1988 |title=The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwwVAAAAIAAJ |publisher=Brill Academic|isbn=90-04-08959-4}}
* {{Citation | last =Walshe | first = Maurice | year = 1995 | title =The Long Discourses of the Buddha. A Translation of the Digha Nikaya | publisher =Wisdom Publications}}
* {{Citation | last =Wayman | first= Alex and Hideko | year =1990 | title =The Lion's roar of Queen Srimala | place =Delhi | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass Publishers}}
* {{Citation |last=Williams |first=Paul |year=1994 |title=Mahayana Buddhism. The Doctrinal Foundations |publisher=Routledge}}
* {{Citation| last= Williams | first=Paul | year =2002 | title =Buddhist Thought | publisher = Taylor & Francis|edition= Kindle }}
* {{Citation|last=Williams|first=Paul|year=2008|title=Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations |edition=2nd |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-25056-1 |url=http://www.khamkoo.com/uploads/9/0/0/4/9004485/mahayana_buddhism_-_the_doctrinal_foundations_second_edition.pdf |access-date=2016-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329084457/http://www.khamkoo.com/uploads/9/0/0/4/9004485/mahayana_buddhism_-_the_doctrinal_foundations_second_edition.pdf |archive-date=2017-03-29|url-status=dead}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=GMN-AgAAQBAJ Via Google Books.]
* {{Citation | last =Wynne | first =Alexander | year =2007 | title =The Origin of Buddhist Meditation | publisher = Routledge}}
* {{Citation| last=Yamamoto Kosho  | year =1975| title =Mahayanism: A Critical Exposition of the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāna Sutra| publisher = Ube City: Karinbunko}}
{{refend}}

===Web-sources===
{{reflist|group=web}}

==Further reading==
* [[Ajahn Brahm]], "Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond: A Meditator's Handbook" (Wisdom Publications 2006) Part II.
* [[Katukurunde Nanananda Thera|Katukurunde Nanananda]], "Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol. I-VII)" (Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya, 2012).
* Kawamura, Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhism, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1981, pp.&nbsp;11.
* {{cite journal|ref=none |last=Lindtner |first=Christian |title=Problems of Pre-Canonical Buddhism |journal=Buddhist Studies Review |year=1997 |volume=14 |issue=2 |url=https://archive.org/details/BackCopiesOfBuddhistStudiesReview}}
* Yogi Kanna, "Nirvana: Absolute Freedom" (Kamath Publishing; 2011) 198 pages.
* Steven Collins. ''Nirvana: Concept, Imagery, Narrative''  (Cambridge University Press; 2010) 204 pages.