nirvana
/nɪrˈvɑːn(ɑː)/
Etymology
Borrowed from Sanskrit निर्वाण (nirvāṇa, “blown or put out, extinguished”), from निस् (nis, “out”) + वा (vā, “to blow”), the second part cognate with Russian ве́тер (véter, “wind”), weather, vent and wind.
nirvana means complete cessation of dukkha; a blissful state attained through realization of sunyata; enlightened experience. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 70 out of 100.
nirvana is pronounced /nɪrˈvɑːn(ɑː)/.
Why “nirvana” is a great word
NIRVANA — [Noun] In Buddhism, the ultimate state of enlightenment and liberation from suffering and the cycle of rebirth, characterized by the extinction of desire and individual consciousness. From Sanskrit निर्वाण (nirvāṇa, "extinguished, blown out"), from निस् (nis, "out") + वा (vā, "to blow"). Unlike "bliss," which denotes a transient, personal joy, or "samsara," the ceaseless wheel of suffering existence, nirvana is not an experience but a cessation: the profound, permanent quenching of the very conditions that make suffering possible. It is the silence after a cacophony has ceased, the absolute stillness of a becalmed sea at dusk, the perfect, unresisted exhalation from which no inhalation follows—the peace defined not by attainment, but by dissolution.
noun
- Complete cessation of dukkha; a blissful state attained through realization of sunyata; enlightened experience.
- State of paradise; heightened or great pleasure or peace; a state of universal perfection and bliss.“Welcome to this celebration of legal abortion. I wish January 22 meant more than that. The truth is that we are not winging our way to a state of nirvana for reproductive rights.”