Sati–Jhana
“There is, monks, an unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned…”
“Then he achieves cessation…”
– Siddhartha Gautama, Udana 8.3; Buddhaghosa, The Path of Purification
While other forms of meditative practice exist in the Theravada tradition, the two most prominent are Sati (often translated as “Mindfulness”) and Jhana (also referred to as Samatha/“Concentration” or “Tranquility”) Meditation. Both forms of meditation are envisioned as working together, along with other elements of the Eightfold Path, to lead an aspirant toward Nibbana. Other forms of meditation/mental discipline in the tradition include Metta, discursive reflections on the body, and Right Effort among others. Portrayals of meditative practice in the Suttas are varied and there is an element of ambiguity which exists even after systematizations of techniques and understandings are attempted. Meditative techniques also appear to blur into one another in some texts. Texts appealed to to understand Theravada meditation come primarily from the Sutta Pitaka and the Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification, Buddhaghosa ca. 500 CE) – Theravada’s most authoritative meditation manual.
Sati and the Development of Vipassana/Insight
Right Sati – most often translated as Mindfulness – is the seventh element of the Theravada Noble Eightfold Path. When seeking to understand the meditative development of Sati, appeal is most typically made to the Satipatthana Sutta – “Discourse on The Establishment (or Foundation) of Mindfulness.”
The development of Sati is also often correlated with the arising of Vipassana (vi-”special,” or “right”, passana-seeing) – often translated as “Insight” – which, elsewhere in the Suttas is paired with Samatha as two separate qualities of mind to be developed.
The exact relationship between Sati/Mindfulness and Vipassana/Insight is complex and debated. One way of approaching their relationship is to see the development of Sati/Mindfulness as one way in which Vipassana/Insight/Right-Seeing may arise. The practice of discursively “questioning phenomena” may be another method by which one could foster the development of Vipassana in a specific sense. For Buddhaghosa, the most authoritative early systematizer of Theravada meditation, Insight (which he refers to as Panna) is most fundamentally characterized by seeing phenomena as Impermanent (Anicca), Painful (Dukkha), and Not-Self (Anatta). These characteristics are referred to in the tradition as the Three Marks of Existence. The Buddha is also recorded in multiple Suttas as examining various categories of experience and concluding all to be Anicca-Dukkha-Anatta:
“‘Bhikkhus, what do you think? Is material form permanent or impermanent? – ‘Impermanent, venerable sir.’ – ‘Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness?’ – ‘Suffering, venerable sir.’ – ‘Is what is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, fit to be regarded thus: ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self’?’ – ‘No, venerable sir.’
“‘Bhikkhus, what do you think? Is feeling… Is perception… Are formations… Is consciousness… permanent or impermanent? – ‘Impermanent, venerable sir.’ – ‘Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness?’ – ‘Suffering, venerable sir.’ – ‘Is what is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, fit to be regarded thus: ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self’?’ – ‘No, venerable sir.’”
The concept of Insight is broader than the Three Marks, can be seen from many angles, and involves other elements of the Path. But seeing phenomena as Anicca-Dukkha-Anatta remains central to the Theravadin concept of Insight.
Although the type of meditation found in the Satipatthana Sutta is sometimes referred to as “Vipassana Meditation,” here, the development of Sati will simply be referred to as Sati/Mindfulness, with attention on how the technique may naturally lead to the arising of Vipassana/Insight from a Theravada perspective.
In the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha is recorded as recommending four categories of phenomena from which to establish Sati/Mindfulness – the body, feelings, the mind, and dhammas (a distinctly Buddhist framework for certain categories of experience).
“Here, monks, in regard to the body a monk abides contemplating the body, diligent, clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in regard to the world. In regard to feelings he abides contemplating feelings, diligent, clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in regard to the world. In regard to the mind he abides contemplating the mind, diligent, clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in regard to the world. In regard to dhammas he abides contemplating dhammas, diligent, clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in regard to the world.”
The Buddha then goes on to detail various aspects of the body, feelings, the mind, and dhammas of which one should become aware. The following is a non-exhaustive portion of the phenomena recommended for awareness:
“And how, monks, does he in regard to the body abide contemplating the body? Here, gone to the forest, or the root of a tree, or to an empty hut, he sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, set his body erect, and established mindfulness in front of him, mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. Breathing in long, he knows ‘I breathe in long,’ breathing out long, he knows ‘I breathe out long.’ Breathing in short, he knows ‘I breathe in short,’ breathing out short, he knows, ‘I breathe out short.’ He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in experiencing the whole body,’ he trains thus ‘I shall breathe out experiencing the whole body.’ … Just as a skilled turner or his apprentice, when making a long turn, knows ‘I make a long turn,’ or when making a short turn knows ‘I make a short turn,’ so too, breathing in long, he knows ‘I breathe in long,’ …
And how, monks, does he in regard to feeling abide contemplating feelings? Here, when feeling a pleasant feeling, he knows ‘I feel a pleasant feeling’; when feeling an unpleasant feeling, he knows ‘I feel an unpleasant feeling’; when feeling a neutral feeling, he knows ‘I feel a neutral feeling.’ When feeling a worldly pleasant feeling, he knows ‘I feel a worldly pleasant feeling’; when feeling an unworldly pleasant feeling, he knows ‘I feel an unworldly pleasant feeling’; when feeling a worldly unpleasant feeling, he knows ‘I feel a worldly unpleasant feeling’; when feeling an unworldly unpleasant feeling, he knows ‘I feel an unworldly unpleasant feeling’ …
And how, monks, does he in regard to the mind abide contemplating the mind? Here he knows a lustful mind to be ‘lustful,’ and a mind without lust to be ‘without lust’; he knows an angry mind to be ‘angry,’ and a mind without anger to be ‘without anger’ … he knows a concentrated mind to be ‘concentrated,’ and an unconcentrated mind to be ‘unconcentrated’ …
And how, monks, does he in regard to dhammas abide contemplating dhammas? Here in regard to dhammas he abides contemplating dhammas in terms of five hindrances … If sensual desire is present in him, he knows ‘There is sensual desire in me’ … If aversion is present in him, he knows ‘There is aversion in me’ … If sloth-and-torpor is present in him, he knows ‘There is sloth-and-torpor in me’ … If restlessness-and-worry is present in him, he knows ‘There is restlessness and worry in me’ … If doubt is present in him, he knows ‘There is doubt in me’ …”
Other elements of experience recommended as objects for awareness in the Satipatthana Sutta include: the body’s actions when in movement (walking, standing, lying down, looking ahead, extending limbs, carrying objects, eating, etc.), the existence of specific parts of the body (hair, nails, teeth, skin, bones, heart, lungs, etc.), and dhammas including the five aggregates of clinging, the six internal and external sense spheres (sights, sounds, smells, etc.), and the “seven awakening factors.” Finally, the Buddha recommends “contemplating dhammas in terms of the Four Noble Truths.” The Sutta also contains a short section in which the Buddha encourages an aspirant to compare one’s body to a corpse, knowing that their body is of the same nature and destined for the same fate.
Throughout the Sutta, a refrain is placed between the various categories of experience recommended for the development of Sati. The refrain appears a total of thirteen times in the discourse:
“In this way, in regard to (the body, feelings, the mind, dhammas) he abides contemplating (the body, feelings, the mind, dhammas) internally, or he abides contemplating (the body, feelings, the mind, dhammas) externally. Or, he abides contemplating the nature of arising in (the body, feelings, the mind, dhammas), or he abides contemplating the nature of passing away in (the body, feelings, the mind, dhammas), or he abides contemplating the nature of both arising and passing away in (the body, feeling, the mind, dhammas). Or mindfulness that ‘There is(/are) (a body, feelings, a mind, dhammas)’ is established in him to the extent necessary for bare knowledge and continuous mindfulness. And he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world.”
Based primarily on the Satipatthana Sutta, the quality of Sati has been defined in various ways, including: “the quality of bare attention,” “non-judgmental observation,” “non-conceptual awareness,” “impartial watchfulness,” “present-moment awareness,” and “the observing power of the mind, free of filters.” In some other texts in the Pali Canon, Sati also has a wider connotation of remembering other elements of one’s spiritual commitment including commitment to ethical conduct, etc.
One way of synthesizing various definitions of Sati/Mindfulness is to view Sati as simple, bare awareness of what is present in one’s moment to moment experience.
Modern teaching of Mindfulness often begins with leading one’s attention to the sensations surrounding the breath (mindfulness of breathing, on its own, is referred to as Anapanasati), slowly opens to other elements of present moment experience sometimes including “body scans” or “sensation scans,” and finally culminates in bare attention to all that arises and passes away in one’s present moment experience including thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. An analogy which is sometimes used to understand the technique of Mindfulness is that of Standing Behind a Waterfall. In our normal experience, we tend to identify with the constant stream of sensations, thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. which we experience. During Mindfulness meditation, one removes themselves from the stream, stands underneath and behind the waterfall, and then looks back on the constantly flowing stream from a detached viewpoint.
It is the resulting direct realization that present moment experience is ever-changing and Impermanent which links the practice of Sati/Mindfulness meditation to Vipassana or Right-Seeing. From a Theravada perspective, seeing phenomena as Dukkha and Anatta naturally follow.
Buddhaghosa believes that one who has developed Insight, even if they have not fully developed Concentration, can attain direct, although perhaps not fully complete, experiences of Nibbana – sometimes referred to as “Change-of-Lineage Knowledge” or as “Fruition Attainment.” These experiences of Nibbanic awareness are also associated with the four degrees of Theravada sainthood – Stream-Enterer, Once-Returner, Non-Returner, and Arahant (Full-Attainer). It is the experience of phenomena as Anicca-Dukkha-Anatta which leads the Insight worker to directly seek, and attain a measure of, Nibbana.
Jhana
During Jhana meditation, one advances through a series of meditative absorptions – Jhanas – by picking an object and intensely fixing the mind upon it. Due to similarities in method, and the Buddha’s recorded interactions with other meditative teachers of his time, it is sometimes speculated that Jhana meditation was inherited from the Yogic tradition, but later repurposed under a Buddhist worldview and salvific schema. The texts in which Jhana meditation is described in the Sutta Pitaka are not uniform. In some texts the Jhanic progression is through four Jhanas (called the “material Jhanas”), in some texts the progression is through eight Jhanas (including the “immaterial Jhanas”), in some texts the progression is through eight Jhanas culminating in a final state of cessation, and in some texts aspirants emerge from each level of Jhanic attainment and directly seek Nibbana/cessation. An example of a progression involving all eight Jhanas culminating in the state of cessation is found in the Culasaropama Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya, 30):
“Here, brahmin, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. This is a state higher and more sublime than knowledge and vision. Again, with the stilling of applied and sustained thought, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the second jhana, which has self-confidence and singleness of mind without applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of concentration… with the fading away as well of rapture, a bhikkhu abides in equanimity, and mindful and fully aware, still feeling pleasure with the body, he enters and abides in the third jhana, on account of which noble ones announce: ‘He has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and is mindful.’… with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, a bhikkhu enters and abides in the fourth jhana, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity… with the complete surmounting of perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of sensory impact, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of infinite space… by completely surmounting the base of infinite space, aware that ‘consciousness is infinite,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of infinite consciousness… by completely surmounting the base of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of nothingness… by completely surmounting the base of nothingness, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception… by completely surmounting the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the cessation of perception and feeling. And his taints are destroyed by seeing with wisdom.”
As concentration deepens, one is thought to be led naturally through the jhanic progression. The first four Jhanas are said to be accompanied by various jhanic factors including rapture, pleasure, equanimity, etc. – each Jhana with its own unique mix of felt experience. In the last four (“immaterial”) Jhanas – the base of infinite space, the base of infinite consciousness, the base of nothingness, and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception – no jhana factors are present and the base itself becomes the “object” of meditation. Throughout the progression, the object of concentration becomes more and more abstract – becoming more and more no thing – until the final experience of cessation. Although not explicit in the above text, the tradition would go on to state that the most complete experience of Nibbana/cessation can only be experienced by meditators who have previously developed both Concentration and Insight. From the Theravada perspective, this seems to be the case because any formations which appear in consciousness – even the Jhanic states themselves – must be ultimately seen as an obstacle (Anicca-Dukkha-Anatta) and transcended. This is made explicit in texts such as the Mahamalunkya Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya, 64):
“Again, by completely surmounting the base of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of nothingness. Whatever exists therein of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, he sees those states as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, as a tumour, as a barb, as a calamity, as an affliction, as alien, as disintegrating, as void, as not self. He turns his mind away from those states and directs it towards the deathless element thus: ‘This is the peaceful, this is the sublime, that is, the stilling of all formations, the relinquishing of all attachments, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nibbana.’”
There are 40 objects of meditation recommended in Buddhaghosa’s Path of Purification, only some of which are thought to be suitable for leading through all Jhana states (other objects may help an aspirant in a unique way, perhaps only as initial preparation for full Jhana attainment – this is sometimes referred to as access concentration). Common objects of concentration for Jhana meditation include the breath and kasinas – single color, uniform-textured shapes. When using a kasina as the object of meditation, one, with eyes open, fixes their mind upon the object until a mental image is formed. The mental image of the kasina is then the object of concentration through the first four Jhanas, after which the object of concentration changes to the base of infinite space, the base of infinite consciousness, the base of nothingness, and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.
In simplest terms, Jhana meditation is a concentration practice in which “states of absorption” are systematically defined in a uniquely Theravada framework. As concentration on a chosen object deepens, one is thought to be led naturally to deeper and deeper states, until – if preliminary conditions are met – the state of cessation may be achieved. In the culmination of Buddhaghosa’s Path of Purification, Buddhaghosa describes an aspirant who has developed both Concentration and Insight, climbs through the Jhanic progression even while understanding all formations in Jhanic states to be Anicca-Dukkha-Anatta, and finally attains Nibbana/cessation in its fullness. Jhana Meditation is associated with Right Samadhi (within Theravada, a more generic term for Meditation/Concentration) – the eighth element of the Noble Eightfold Path.
Interpretations
The attainment of Nibbana is the goal of all Theravada moral, intellectual, and meditative practice. In the Theravada tradition, Nibbana is most often conceptualized as “Wholly Other” – the antithesis of the samsaric world. This is expressed in language such as Nibbana as the Other Shore, Nibbana as the Unborn, Unbecome, Unmade, Unconditioned, and other contrasts with the samsaric world such as Nibbana as Deathless, Sorrowless, Unageing, Undefiled, etc. When spoken of in terms of meditative practice, the direct experience of Nibbana is most often referred to as “Nirodha”/Cessation or as Nirodha-Samapatti – the Cessation of Perception and Feeling. “This-World” conceptions of Nibbana also exist in the tradition including Nibbana as the direct realization of the Four Noble Truths and Nibbana as the absence of greed, hatred, and delusion.
The Other Shore
In various Suttas, the Buddha is recorded as using the language of crossing a body of water or attaining the Other or Far Shore as a metaphor for Liberation. In the Orimatira Sutta (Anguttara Nikaya, 10.118), the entire Path – and finally Liberation – is depicted as “the Farthest Shore”:
“What, monks, is the nearest shore; what is the farthest shore? Wrong view is the nearest shore; right view is the farthest shore; wrong intention is the nearest shore; right intention is the farthest shore; wrong speech is the nearest shore; right speech is the farthest shore; wrong conduct is the nearest shore; right conduct is the farthest shore; wrong livelihood is the nearest shore; right livelihood is the farthest shore; wrong effort is the nearest shore; right effort is the farthest shore; wrong mindfulness is the nearest shore; right mindfulness is the farthest shore; wrong concentration is the nearest shore; right concentration is the farthest shore; wrong knowledge is the nearest shore; right knowledge is the farthest shore; wrong liberation is the nearest shore; right liberation is the farthest shore.
This, monks, is the nearest shore; this is the farthest shore.
Amongst humans, very few are they, those mortals going to the farthest shore; rather the rest of humankind just runs along this shore. Those who, indeed, practice the Dhamma, in the well-taught Dhamma, they are mortals who go beyond the sway of death…”
Other texts in which the Buddha is portrayed as using similar concepts include the Alagaddupama Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya, 22), Dutiyasamudda Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya, 35.229), Mettagu-manava-puccha (Khuddaka Nikaya, Sutta Nipata 5.4), etc.
Buddhaghosa, when speaking specifically of the meditative attainment of Nibbana, also uses several metaphors related to “crossing over,” the most well-known of which involves the simile of a man attempting to swing across a river to the Opposite Shore:
“Suppose a man wanted to leap across a broad stream and establish himself on the opposite shore, he would run fast, and seizing a rope fastened to the branch of a tree on the stream’s near shore and hanging down, or a pole, he would leap with his body tending, inclining, and leaning towards the opposite shore, and when he had arrived at the opposite shore, he would let go, fall on to the opposite shore, staggering first and then steady himself there; so too this meditator, who wants to establish himself on Nibbana, the shore opposite to the kinds of becoming, generation, destiny, station, and abode, runs fast by means of the contemplation of rise and fall, etc., and seizing with conformity’s averting to impermanence, pain, or not-self the rope of materiality fastened to the branch of his selfhood and hanging down… he leaps with the first conformity consciousness without letting go and with the second he tends, inclines, and leans towards Nibbana, like the body that was tending, inclining, and leaning towards the opposite shore; then being with the third next to Nibbana, which is now attainable, like the other’s arriving at the opposite shore, he lets go that information as object with the ceasing of that consciousness, and with the change-of-lineage consciousness he falls on to the unformed Nibbana, the opposite shore.”
Buddhaghosa also uses the similes of a man wading through a ravine and a man attempting to cross a hot rock in a similar way – “the Other Side” representing Nibbana.
Unborn, Unbecome, Unmade, Unconditioned
One of the most commonly cited passages from the Pali Canon regarding the Buddha’s conception of Nibbana comes from the Udana Collection (short “exclamations”) within the Khuddaka Nikaya. In the Nibbana Patisamyutta Sutta 3 (Udana 8:3), the Buddha explicitly contrasts Nibbana with the samsaric world as follows:
“There is, monks, an unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned. If, monks, there were no unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned, no escape would be possible from what is born, become, made, conditioned. But since there is an unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned, therefore an escape is possible from the born, become, made, conditioned.”
The antithesis of samsara – Nibbana is Unborn, Unbecome, Unmade, Unconditioned.
Deathless, Sorrowless, …
In one canonical account of the Buddha’s own Enlightenment, additional contrasts to samara include Nibbana as Deathless, Sorrowless, Unageing, Unailing, and Undefiled.
“Then, bhikkhus, being myself subject to birth, having understood the danger in what is subject to birth, seeking the unborn supreme security from bondage, Nibbana, I attained the unborn supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being myself subject to ageing, having understood the danger in what is subject to ageing, seeking the unageing supreme security from bondage, Nibbana, I attained the unageing supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being myself subject to sickness, having understood the danger in what is subject to sickness, seeking the unailing supreme security from bondage, Nibbana, I attained the unailing supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being myself subject to death … I attained the deathless … myself subject to sorrow … I attained the sorrowless … myself subject to defilement … I attained the undefiled supreme security from bondage, Nibbana. The knowledge and vision arose in me: ‘My deliverance is unshakeable, this is my last birth; now there is no renewal of being.’”
The Buddha’s own recorded experience of Nibbana also becomes a model for an aspirant’s “Noble Search”:
“And what is the noble search? Here someone being himself subject to birth, having understood the danger in what is subject to birth, seeks the unborn supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being himself subject to ageing, having understood the danger in what is subject to ageing, he seeks the unageing supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being himself subject to sickness, having understood the danger in what is subject to sickness, he seeks the unailing supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being himself subject to death, having understood the danger in what is subject to death, he seeks the deathless supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being himself subject to sorrow, having understood the danger in what is subject to sorrow, he seeks the sorrowless supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being himself subject to defilement, having understood the danger in what is subject to defilement, he seeks the undefiled supreme security from bondage, Nibbana. This is the noble search.”
Cessation
When spoken of in terms of meditative practice, the direct experience of Nibbana is most often referred to as “Nirodha”/Cessation or as Nirodha-Samapatti – the Cessation of Perception and Feeling. This language is used both in various Suttas and in Buddhaghosa’s Path of Purification as the culminating achievement of the spiritual/meditative quest:
“… It is hard for such a generation to see this truth, namely, specific conditionality, dependent origination. And it is hard to see this truth, namely, the stilling of all formations, the relinquishing of all acquisitions, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nibbana.”
“Again, by completely surmounting the base of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of nothingness. Whatever exists therein of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, he sees those states as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, as a tumour, as a barb, as a calamity, as an affliction, as alien, as disintegrating, as void, as not self. He turns his mind away from those states and directs it towards the deathless element thus: ‘This is the peaceful, this is the sublime, that is, the stilling of all formations, the relinquishing of all attachments, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nibbana.’”
“Why do they attain it? Being wearied by the occurrence and dissolution of formations, they attain it thinking, ‘Let us dwell in bliss by being without consciousness here and now and reaching the cessation that is Nibbana.’”
“...so too, when the bhikkhu does the preparatory task and then attains the base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception, then he achieves cessation, which is the other side…”
“Towards what does the mind of one who has emerged tend? It tends towards Nibbana. For this is said: ‘When a bhikkhu has emerged from the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling, friend Visakha, his consciousness inclines to seclusion, leans to seclusion, tends to seclusion.’”
Nirodha/Cessation is not only thought of as achievable in this life, but also represents the final state of the fully formed aspirant upon death.
Direct Realization of the Four Noble Truths
While the Theravada tradition tends toward conceptualizations of Nibbana as “Wholly Other,” “This-World” understandings of Nibbana also exist in the tradition including Nibbana as the direct Realization of the Four Noble Truths and Nibbana as the Absence of Greed, Hatred, and Delusion.
In the account of the Buddha’s Enlightenment found in the Mahasaccaka Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya, 36), the culminating event is seemingly not meditative cessation, but directly knowing the Four Noble Truths:
“I directly knew as it actually is: ‘This is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering’… I directly knew, ‘Birth is destroyed, the spiritual life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no coming back to any state of being.’”
Experientially understanding the Theravada worldview in this life by personally following the Path is one aspect of the Theravadin concept of Enlightenment/Nibbana.
Absence of Greed, Hatred, and Delusion
Several Suttas also define Nibbana or Cessation/Extinguishment briefly as the absence of greed, hatred, and delusion (sometimes referred to as the three poisons, three defilements, or three unwholesome roots):
“A greedy person, overcome by greed, intends to hurt themselves, hurt others, and hurt both. They experience mental pain and sadness. When greed has been given up, they don’t intend to hurt themselves, hurt others, and hurt both. They don’t experience mental pain and sadness. This is how extinguishment (Nibbana/Cessation) is apparent in the present life.
A hateful person, overcome by hate, intends to hurt themselves, hurt others, and hurt both. They experience mental pain and sadness. When hate has been given up, they don’t intend to hurt themselves, hurt others, and hurt both. They don’t experience mental pain and sadness. This is how extinguishment (Nibbana/Cessation) is apparent in the present life.
A deluded person, overcome by delusion, intends to hurt themselves, hurt others, and hurt both. They experience mental pain and sadness. When delusion has been given up, they don’t intend to hurt themselves, hurt others, and hurt both. They don’t experience mental pain and sadness. This is how extinguishment (Nibbana/Cessation) is apparent in the present life.
When you experience the ending of greed, hatred, and delusion without anything left over, that’s how extinguishment (Nibbana/Cessation) is apparent in the present life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves.”
“Reverend, the ending of greed, hatred, and delusion is indeed called extinguishment (Nibbana/Cessation).”
At least in part, from a Theravada perspective, Nibbana/Enlightenment involves the practical cessation of suffering in daily life by changing one’s way of being and experience of the world.
Interplay between thisworldy and otherworldly conceptions of Nibbana continue to exist in both Theravada and Mahayana expressions of Buddhism.
The Pali Canon, Vimuttimagga, Visuddhimagga
The following are excerpts from the Pali Canon, Vimuttimagga (Path of Freedom), and Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification).
The Noble Search
“And what is the noble search? Here someone being himself subject to birth, having understood the danger in what is subject to birth, seeks the unborn supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being himself subject to ageing, having understood the danger in what is subject to ageing, he seeks the unageing supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being himself subject to sickness, having understood the danger in what is subject to sickness, he seeks the unailing supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being himself subject to death, having understood the danger in what is subject to death, he seeks the deathless supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being himself subject to sorrow, having understood the danger in what is subject to sorrow, he seeks the sorrowless supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being himself subject to defilement, having understood the danger in what is subject to defilement, he seeks the undefiled supreme security from bondage, Nibbana. This is the noble search.”
– Ariyapariyesana Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 26
The Stilling of All Formations, The Destruction of Craving, Cessation, Nibbana
“Again, by completely surmounting the base of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of nothingness. Whatever exists therein of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, he sees those states as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, as a tumour, as a barb, as a calamity, as an affliction, as alien, as disintegrating, as void, as not self. He turns his mind away from those states and directs it towards the deathless element thus: ‘This is the peaceful, this is the sublime, that is, the stilling of all formations, the relinquishing of all attachments, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nibbana.’”
– Mahamalunkya Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 64
Unborn, Unbecome, Unmade, Unconditioned
“There is, monks, an unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned. If, monks, there were no unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned, no escape would be possible from what is born, become, made, conditioned. But since there is an unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned, therefore an escape is possible from the born, become, made, conditioned.”
Entering the Unmanifest
“Then emerging therefrom peacefully, he sees the impermanence, ill, and not-self of Right Concentration immediately, and being possessed of the knowledge and equanimity towards the formations, he enters into the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception immediately. Then passing beyond two or three turns of consciousness, he causes the perishing of mind and enters into the Unborn and Unmanifest.”
– Arahant Upatissa, The Path of Freedom
Then He Achieves Cessation
“...so too, when the bhikkhu does the preparatory task and then attains the base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception, then he achieves cessation, which is the other side…”
– Buddhaghosa, The Path of Purification
A Poisoned Arrow, Declared and Undeclared
"Suppose, Malunkyaputtta, a man were wounded by an arrow thickly smeared with poison, and his friends and companions, his kinsmen and relatives, brought a surgeon to treat him. The man would say: 'I will not let the surgeon pull out this arrow until I know whether the man who wounded me was a khattiya, a brahmin, a merchant, or a worker.' And he would say: 'I will not let the surgeon pull out this arrow until I know the name and clan of the man who wounded me;... until I know whether the man who wounded me was dark brown, or golden-skinned;... until I know whether the man who wounded me was tall, short, or of middle height...until I know whether the man who wounded me lives in a village, town, or city' ...
All this would still not be known to that man, and meanwhile he would die. So too, Malunkyaputta, if anyone should say thus: 'I will not lead the spiritual life under the Blessed One until the Blessed One declares to me: 'the world is eternal' and 'the world is not eternal;' 'the world is finite' and 'the world is infinite;' 'the soul is the same as the body' and 'the soul is one thing and the body is another;' and 'after death a Tathagata exists' and 'after death a Tathagata does not exist' and 'after death a Tathagata both exists and does not exist' and 'after death a Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist;' that would still remain undeclared by the Tathagata and meanwhile that person would die...
Therefore, Malunkyaputta, remember what I have left undeclared as undeclared, and remember what I have declared as declared. And what have I left undeclared? ‘The world is eternal’ – I have left undeclared. ‘The world is not eternal’ – I have left undeclared. ‘The world is finite’ – I have left undeclared. ‘The world is infinite’ – I have left undeclared. ‘The soul is the same as the body’ – I have left undeclared. ‘The soul is one thing and the body is another’ – I have left undeclared. ‘After death a Tathagata exists’ – I have left undeclared. ‘After death a Tathagata does not exist’ – I have left undeclared. ‘After death a Tathagata both exists and does not exist’ – I have left undeclared. ‘After death a Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist’ – I have left undeclared. Why have I left that undeclared? Because it is unbeneficial, it does not belong to the fundamentals of the spiritual life, it does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. That is why I have left it undeclared.
And what have I declared? ‘This is suffering’ – I have declared. ‘This is the origin of suffering’ – I have declared. ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ – I have declared. ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering’ – I have declared. Why have I declared that? Because it is beneficial, it belongs to the fundamentals of the spiritual life, it leads to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. That is why I have declared it.”
– Culamalunkya Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 63
Rejection of Asceticism
“So I took very little food, a handful each time, whether of bean soup or lentil soup or vetch soup or pea soup. While I did so, my body reached a state of extreme emancipation. Because of eating so little my limbs became like jointed segments of vine stems or bamboo stems. Because of eating so little my backside became like a camel’s hoof. Because of eating so little the projections of my spine stood forth like corded beads… Because of eating so little the gleam of my eyes sank far down in their sockets…
When people saw me, some said: ‘The recluse Gotama is black.’ Other people said: ‘The recluse Gotama is not black, he is brown.’ Other people said: ‘The recluse Gotama is neither black nor brown, he is golden-skinned.’ So much had the clear, bright colour of my skin deteriorated through eating so little.
I considered… ‘Suppose I ate some solid food – some boiled rice and porridge.’ And I ate some solid food…”
– Mahasaccaka Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 36
“First Sermon,” Discourse at Deer Park
“Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Baranasi in the Deer Park at Isipatana. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus of the group of five thus:
‘Bhikkhus, these two extremes should not be followed by one who has gone forth into homelessness. What two? The pursuit of sensual happiness in sensual pleasures, which is low, vulgar, the way of worldlings, ignoble, unbeneficial; and the pursuit of self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble, unbeneficial. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathagata has awakened to the middle way, which gives rise to vision, which gives rise to knowledge, which leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana.
And what, bhikkhus, is that middle way awakened by the Tathagata, which gives rise to vision, which gives rise to knowledge, which leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana? It is this noble eightfold path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This, bhikkhus, is that middle way awakened to by the Tathagata…
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is this craving which leads to re-becoming, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there; that is craving for sensual pleasures, craving for becoming, craving for disbecoming.
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, non-reliance on it.
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is this noble eightfold path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration…
…the noble truth of suffering is to be fully understood…the noble truth of the origin of suffering is to be abandoned…the noble truth of the cessation of suffering is to be realized…the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering is to be developed…’”
– Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya 56.11
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