nirvana
(often initial capital letter)Pali nibbana. Buddhism. freedom from the endless cycle of personal reincarnations, with their consequent suffering, as a result of the extinction of individual passion, hatred, and delusion: attained by the Arhat as his goal but postponed by the Bodhisattva.
(often initial capital letter)Hinduism. salvation through the union of Atman with Brahma; moksha.
a place or state characterized by freedom from or oblivion to pain, worry, and the external world.
Origin of nirvana
1Other words from nirvana
- nir·va·nic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use nirvana in a sentence
But there are two Nirvanas;—that of entire passionlessness attained in this life, and the consummate nirvana entered at death.
History of Religion | Allan Menzies
British Dictionary definitions for nirvana
/ (nɪəˈvɑːnə, nɜː-) /
Buddhism Hinduism final release from the cycle of reincarnation attained by extinction of all desires and individual existence, culminating (in Buddhism) in absolute blessedness, or (in Hinduism) in absorption into Brahman
Origin of nirvana
1Derived forms of nirvana
- nirvanic, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for nirvana
[ (neer-vah-nuh, nur-vah-nuh) ]
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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