Glossary of Buddhist Terms : หน้า 162/200

158 GLOSSARY Mundane merit: merit gained through performance of good deeds, such as sweeping the temple, helping the poor, making charitable contributions. Nibbana (Skt. Nirvana): the state of ultimate happiness, the happy condition of enlightenment, the highest spiritual attainment. This is not the sense-based happiness of everyday life; nor is it the concept of happiness as interpreted by Western culture. It is an enduring, transcendental happiness integral to the calmness attained through enlightenment. Once a person has attained Nibbana, he has reached the end of the cycle of rebirths—the final and total release from cyclic existence—never again to be subject to rebirth. Nibbana is a supramundane state that cannot be expressed by words and is beyond space and time. This is the state of perfect enlightenment realized by Buddhas and Arahants. Those who have gained this realization no longer accumulate karmic consequences and will no longer be reborn into samsara, the cycle of existence, when they die. Noble Eightfold Path: the Path to end suffering, consisting of Right View, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. Paceka Buddha: a Buddha who has attained Enlightenment by himself but does not teach others or lead others to Enlightenment; a private Buddha.