Arahant
Nibbana [nibbaana] is the culmination of the Buddhist quest for perfection and happiness. In order to understand the meaning of this term it is useful to refer to the verse attributed to Kisa Gotami when she saw Prince Siddhattha returning to the palace from the park on the eve of his great renunciation. She declared:
Nibbutaa nuuna saa maataa, nibbuto nuuna so pitaa,
Nibbutaa nuuna saa naarii, yassaayam iidiso patii.1
“Happy/contented/peaceful indeed is the mother (who has such a son), happy indeed is the father (who has such a son), happy indeed is the woman who has such a one as her husband.”
Nibbuta (from nir + v.r) is often treated as the past participle of the verb nibbaayati, and nibbaana is the nominal form of that verb. It means happiness, contentment, and peace. Nibbaayati also means to extinguish, to blow out as in the blowing out of a lamp.2 Nibbana is so called because it is the blowing out of the fires of greed, hatred, and delusion (raagaggi, dosaggi, mohaggi) .3 When these fires are blown out peace is attained, and one becomes completely cooled β siitibhuuta .4 It is sometimes conjectured that Nibbana is called cool because the Buddha preached in a warm country, where the cool was appreciated as comfortable. Had he taught in a cold climate, he might have described Nibbana in terms of warmth. But it is certain that the term “cool” was chosen to convey a literal psychological reality.5 Anger makes us hot and restless. We use expressions such as “boiling with anger,” and they clearly express the intensity of the aggressive emotion. When such negative emotions are completely eradicated, never to arise again, the temperament has to be described as cool.
Nibbana is a state to be attained here and now in this very life6 and not a state to be attained only after death. In terms of living experience Nibbana can be characterized by four special attributes: happiness, moral perfection, realization, and freedom. We shall take these up for discussion one by one.