Understanding Nibbana and Key Buddhist Concepts : หน้า 126/135

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 the everyday livid; nor is it the concept of happiness as an interpreted by Western culture. It is an enduring, transcendentall 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 remembered by Buddhas and Anants. 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. Perfections (parami): perfected virtues; transcendental virtues. In Buddhism, Perfections are transcendental virtues cultivated as a way of purification, purifying kamma and helping the aspirant to live an unobstructed life, while reaching the goal of enlightenment. Precepts (sila): moral principles that form the framework of Buddhist ethical conduct and the baseline of one's virtue. Samma-Arahant (samma araham): a Pali word which means "the Buddha who has properly attained enlightenment". This mantra is used during meditation to help focus the mind. "Stop": stop in this sense means stopping the mind from wandering, or stop doing bad deeds. The key to success is meditation is to stop the mind from wandering. The Tipitaka (Skt. Tripitika): Buddhist scripture; Tipitaka means the Three Baskets. They consist of the Basket of Discipline (Vinaya Pitaka) - rules and regulations on the Order of monks and nuns; the Basket of Discourses (Sutta Pitaka) - discourses concerning social, moral, philosophical and spiritual significance; and the Basket of Ultimate Things (Abhidhamma Pitaka) - deal with psychological and philosophical aspects of the Doctrine, the four ultimate things, i.e., mind (citta), mental properties (cetasika), matter (rupa) and Nirvana. Transcendental merit: merit acquired through mental cultivation and the practice of meditation. Wai: gesture of respect to someone more senior or superior, expressed through joining both palms together in a gesture of prayer. Wats: Thai word for a Buddhist temple.