Facts about Nirvana

Nirvana, or "Great Nirv?na," is indicated to be the sphere or domain (vishaya) of the True Self.

The concept of nirvana remains an important ideal and aspiration for millions of Buddhists around the world.

Metaphysically, it should be noted that nirvana is not considered to be the same as the Hindu concept of moksha.

Nirvana, then, is not a place nor a state; it is an absolute truth to be realized.

Only in Mahaparinirvana is this True Self of the Buddha said to be fully discernible.

In Buddhism, parinirvana (meaning "complete extinction") is the final nirvana, usually understood to be within reach only upon the death of the body of someone who has attained complete awakening (bodhi).

The nature of the Cult of the Deified Emperor changed from honoring the spirits around the Emperor to direct worship of Caligula himself.

The Buddha described nirvana as the unconditioned mode of being that is free from mind-contaminants (kilesa) such as lust, anger, or craving.

According to early Mah?y?na Buddhism, nirvana and samsara can be considered to be two aspects of the same perceived reality.

Positively speaking, nirvana carries connotations of stilling, cooling, and peace.

One can understand the relationship between nirvana and samsara in terms of the Buddha while on earth.

Buddha was both in samsara while having attained to nirvana so that he was seen by all, and simultaneously free from samsara.

Traditionally, definitions of nirvana have been provided by saying what it is not, thus pointing to nirvana's ineffable nature.

When a person who has realized nirvana dies, his or her death is referred as parinirvana (fully passing away) and it is said that the person will not be reborn again.

Nirvana is also never conceived of as a place, but the antinomy of sams?ra, which itself is synonymous with ignorance (avidy?; P?li: avijj?).

Nirvana is the complete realization of the middle way that denies the extremist view of nihilism (Pali: Ucchedavaada), nor eternalism (Pali: Sassatavaada), nor the monism of "oneness with Brahman" (as taught in Hinduism).

Approaching nirvana from the angle of the via negativa, the Buddha calls nirv?na "the unconditioned element" (i.e., not subject to causation).