Nibbāna
Nibbāna is often left untranslated and/or is unclear.
Translations for nibbāna can sometimes be found in glossaries yet they may not be used in the texts. And extinction, extinguishing, unbinding don't make it clear enough. When translating nibbāna there are a few points to take into account:
- It is a word which would be ordinarily used by ordinarily people. People do have a perception of what nibbāna is even when they don't directly know it for themselves.
- It is seen as positive.
- It has to do with stilling, stopping, specifically regarding greed, hate and delusion.
- It is the highest goal; it comes after freedom, emancipation!
I use peace for nibbāna. Let's check it against the points above:
- People know what peace is, even though they might not have experienced it directly or fully by themselves.
- Peace is seen as positive.
- It can be understood that with greed, hate and delusion there is no real peace.
- Freedom, but for what purpose? For doing what you like? Then you are not really free; a slave of desires. But for the ultimate peace? That surely is the highest!
Many questions about nibbāna are not that careful, because nibbāna has become an abstract. If instead of 'Is nibbāna not boring?', 'Is peace not boring?' was asked, it is easier to see that then peace would be lacking. So this translation clarifies and takes the points above into account as well.
Pāḷi-English
Nibbāna (nt.) peace.