The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary

Nibbahati [nis+bahati] to stretch out J iii.185 (asi'); to pull out J v.269 (jivha'=jivha' balisena n. 275). See
also nibb!heti & nibb!h!peti.
Nibb!ti
Nibb!ti [see nibbuta etym.; influenced in meaning by Sk. nirv!ti, nis+v!ti to blow, i. e. to make cool, see
v!yati & nibb!peti] (instr.) to cool off (lit. & fig.), to get cold, to become passionless Sn 235 (nibbanti dh"r!
yathâya' pad"po=vijjh!yanti; yathâya' pad"po nibbuto eva' nibbanti KhA 194, 195), 915 (katha' disv!
nibb!ti bhikkhu=r!ga' etc. nibb!peti Nd1 344); J iv.391 (p!y!sa'). See also parinibb!ti (e. g. Vbh 426).
Nibb!na
Nibb!na (nt.). -- I. Etymology. Although nir+v! "to blow". (cp. BSk. nirv!*a) is already in use in the Vedic
period (see nibb!peti), we do not find its distinctive application till later and more commonly in popular
use, where v! is fused with v% in this sense, viz. in application to the extinguishing of fire, which is the
prevailing Buddhist conception of the term. Only in the older texts do we find references to a simile of the
wind and the flame; but by far the most common metaphor and that which governs the whole idea of
nibb!na finds expression in the putting out of fire by other means of extinction than by blowing, which
latter process rather tends to incite the fire than to extinguish it. The going out of the fire may be due to
covering it up, or to depriving it of further fuel, by not feeding it, or by withdrawing the cause of its
production. Thus to the Pali etymologist the main reference is to the root v% (to cover), and not to v! (to
blow). This is still more clearly evident in the case of nibbuta (q. v. for further discussion). In verbal
compn. nis+v! (see v!yati) refers only to the (non -- ) emittance of an odour, which could never be used for
a meaning of "being exhausted"; moreover, one has to bear in mind that native commentators themselves
never thought of explaining nibb!na by anything like blowing (v!ta), but always by nis+vana (see nibbana).
For Bdhgh's defn of nibb!na see e. g. Vism 293. -- The meanings of n. are: 1. the going out of a lamp or
fire (popular meaning). -- 2. health, the sense of bodily well -- being (probably, at first, the passing away of
feverishness, restlessness). -- 3. The dying out in the heart of the threefold fire of r!ga, dosa & moha: lust,
ill -- will & stupidity (Buddhistic meaning). 4. the sense of spiritual well -- being, of security,
emancipation, victory and peace, salvation, bliss. II. Import and Range of the Term. A. Nibb!na is purely
and solely an ethical state, to be reached in this birth by ethical practices, contemplation and insight. It is
therefore not transcendental. The first and most important way to reach N. is by means of the eightfold
Path, and all expressions which deal with the realisation of emancipation from lust, hatred and illusion
apply to practical habits and not to speculative thought. N. is realised in one's heart; to measure it with a
speculative measure is to apply a wrong standard. -- A very apt and comprehensive discussion of nibb!na is
found in F. Heiler, "Die buddhistische Versenkung" (München2 1922), pp. 36 -- 42, where also the main
literature on the subject is given. -- N. is the untranslatable expression of the Unspeakable, of that for which
in the Buddha's own saying there is no word, which cannot be grasped in terms of reasoning and cool logic,
the Nameless, Undefinable (cp. the simile of extinction of the flame which may be said to pass from a
visible state into a state which cannot be defined. Thus the Saint (Arahant) passes into that same state, for
which there is "no measure" (i. e. no dimension): "atthangatassa na pam!*am atthi . . . yena na' vajju: ta'
tassa n' atthi" Sn 1076. The simile in v. 1074: "acc" yath! v!ta -- vegena khitto attha' paleti, na upeti
sankha': eva' mun" n!mak!y! vimutto attha' paleti, na upeti sankha'"). Yet, it is a reality, and its
characteristic features may be described, may be grasped in terms of earthly language, in terms of space (as
this is the only means at our disposal to describe abstract notions of time and mentality); e. g. accuta'
&h!na', p!ra', amata' pada', amata (& nibb!na -- ) dh!tu. -- It is the speculative, scholastic view and the
dogmatising trend of later times, beginning with the Abhidhamma period, which has more and more
developed the simple, spontaneous idea into an exaggerated form either to the positive (i. e. seeing in N. a
definite state or sphere of existence) or the negative side (i. e. seeing in it a condition of utter annihilation).
Yet its sentimental value to the (exuberant optimism of the) early Buddhists (Rh. Davids, Early Buddhism,
p. 73) is one of peace and rest, perfect passionlessness, and thus supreme happiness. As Heiler in the words
of R. Otto (Das Heilige etc. 1917; quoted l. c. p. 41) describes it, "only by its concept Nirv!na is something
negative, by its sentiment, however, a positive item in most pronounced form." -- We may also quote Rh.
Davids' words: "One might fill columns with the praises, many of them among the most beautiful passages
in P!li poetry and prose, lavished on this condition of mind, the state of the man made perfect according to