Nirvana in the context of Nothing

Jain philosophy or Jaina philosophy refers to the ancient Indian philosophical system of the Jain religion. It comprises all the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among the early branches of Jainism in ancient India following the nirvana of Mahāvīra (c. 6th or 5th century BCE). One of the main features of Jain philosophy is its dualistic metaphysics, which holds that there are two distinct categories of existence: the living, conscious, or sentient entities (jīva) and the non-living or material entities (ajīva).

Jain texts discuss numerous philosophical topics such as cosmology, epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, ontology, the philosophy of time, and soteriology. Jain thought is primarily concerned with understanding the nature of living beings, how these beings are bound by the processes of karma (which are seen as fine material particles) and how living beings may be liberated (moksha) from the cycle of death and rebirth (saṃsāra). A peculiarity of Jainism is to essentially associate several renunciatory liberating practices with the imperative of non-violence (ahiṃsā). Jainism and its philosophical system are also notable for the belief in a beginning-less and cyclical universe, which posits a non-theistic understanding of the world and the complete rejection of a hypothetical creator deity. Jain philosophy is also noted for its "realist epistemology" of anekāntavāda ("many-sidedness"), a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality.

Saṃsāra (Devanagari: संसार) is a Sanskrit word that means "wandering" as well as "world," wherein the term connotes "cyclic change" or, less formally, "running around in circles." Saṃsāra is referred to with terms or phrases such as transmigration/reincarnation, karmic cycle, or Punarjanman, and "cycle of aimless drifting, wandering or mundane existence". When related to the theory of karma, it is the cycle of death and rebirth.

The "cyclicity of all life, matter, and existence" is a fundamental belief of most Indian religions. The concept of saṃsāra has roots in the post-Vedic literature; the theory is not discussed in the Vedas themselves. It appears in developed form, but without mechanistic details, in the early Upanishads. The full exposition of the saṃsāra doctrine is found in early Buddhism and Jainism, as well as in various schools of Hindu philosophy. The saṃsāra doctrine is tied to the karma theory of Hinduism, and the liberation from saṃsāra has been at the core of the spiritual quest of Indian traditions, as well as their internal disagreements. The liberation from saṃsāra is called Moksha, Nirvāṇa, Mukti, or Kaivalya.

Moksha (/ˈmoʊkʃə/, UK also /ˈmɒkʃə/; Sanskrit: मोक्ष, mokṣa), also called vimoksha, vimukti, and mukti, is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, nirvana, or release. In its soteriological and eschatological senses, it refers to freedom from saṃsāra, the cycle of death and rebirth. In its epistemological and psychological senses, moksha is freedom from ignorance: self-realization, self-actualization and self-knowledge.

In Hindu traditions, moksha is a central concept and the utmost aim of human life; the other three aims are dharma (virtuous, proper, moral life), artha (material prosperity, income security, means of life), and kama (pleasure, sensuality, emotional fulfillment). Together, these four concepts are called the Puruṣārtha in Hinduism.

Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā ("mental development") and jhāna/dhyāna (a state of meditative absorption resulting in a calm and luminous mind).

Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward liberation from defilements (kleshas) and clinging and craving (upādāna), also called awakening, which results in the attainment of nirvana. The Indian Buddhist schools relied on numerous meditation techniques to attain meditative absorption, some of which remain influential in certain modern schools of Buddhism. Classic Buddhist meditations include anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing), asubha bhavana ("reflections on repulsiveness"); reflection on pratityasamutpada (dependent origination); anussati (recollections, including anapanasati), the four foundations of mindfulness, and the divine abodes (including loving-kindness and compassion). These techniques aim to develop various qualities including equanimity, sati (mindfulness), samadhi (unification of mind) c.q. samatha (tranquility) and vipassanā (insight); and are also said to lead to abhijñā (supramundane powers). These meditation techniques are preceded by and combined with practices which aid this development, such as moral restraint and right effort to develop wholesome states of mind.

The Noble Eightfold Path (Sanskrit: आर्याष्टाङ्गमार्ग, romanized: āryāṣṭāṅgamārga) or Eight Right Paths (Sanskrit: अष्टसम्यङ्मार्ग, romanized: aṣṭasamyaṅmārga) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.

The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right samadhi ('meditative absorption or union'; alternatively, equanimous meditative awareness).

In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, bodhi ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or bodhi in order to compassionately help other individuals reach Buddhahood.

In the Early Buddhist schools, as well as modern Theravāda Buddhism, bodhisattva (or bodhisatta) refers to someone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will come to pass. In Theravāda Buddhism, the bodhisattva is mainly seen as an exceptional and rare individual. Only a few select individuals are ultimately able to become bodhisattvas, such as Maitreya.

In Buddhism, a mental fetter, chain or bond (Pāli: samyojana, Sanskrit: संयोजना, romanized: saṃyojana) shackles a sentient being to saṃsāra, the cycle of lives with dukkha. By cutting through all fetters, one attains nibbāna (Pali; Skt.: निर्वाण, nirvāṇa).

Jainism is an ancient Indian religion belonging to the Śramaṇa tradition. Jains trace their history through a lineage of twenty-four tirthankaras (ford-makers), revering Rishabhanatha as the first in the present time-cycle. While tradition considers the dharma eternal, scholarly consensus places its verifiable historical roots in the 9th–8th century BCE, with the last two tirthankaras, Parshvanatha (c. 9th-8th c. BCE) and Mahavira (c. 6th c. BCE), widely accepted as historical figures. Mahavira is viewed by scholars not as a founder, but as a reformer of the pre-existing community established by Parshvanatha.

Following Mahavira's nirvana (c. 527 BCE, the start of the Vira Nirvana Samvat era), Jainism spread across India. Early epigraphic evidence, like the Hathigumpha inscription, attests to royal patronage under figures like King Kharavela of Kalinga (c. 2nd-1st c. BCE). Traditional accounts, primarily from the 12th-century Parishishtaparvan, describe Chandragupta Maurya embracing Jainism , while Mauryan emperors like Ashoka and Samprati are mentioned in edicts and Jain texts respectively. Archaeological finds at Kankali Tila (Mathura) confirm a thriving community with temples, stupas, and a sophisticated artistic tradition under the Kushanas (c. 1st-3rd c. CE), while inscriptions and temples at Udayagiri Caves (Madhya Pradesh) and Deogarh (Uttar Pradesh) show continued prosperity under the Guptas (c. 4th-6th c. CE).

Samādhi (Pali and Sanskrit: समाधि), in the Indian religions, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many such traditions, the cultivation of samādhi through various meditation methods is essential for the attainment of spiritual liberation (known variously as nirvana, moksha).

In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In Jain meditation, samadhi is considered one of the last stages of the practice just prior to liberation.

The bhavachakra (Sanskrit: भवचक्र; Pāli: bhavacakka; Tibetan: སྲིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ, Wylie: srid pa'i 'khor lo) or wheel of life is a visual teaching aid and meditation tool symbolically representing saṃsāra (or cyclic existence). It is found on the walls of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries in the Indo-Tibetan region, to help both Buddhists and non Buddhists understand the core Buddhist teachings. The image consists of four concentric circles, held by Yama, the lord of Death, with an image of the Buddha pointing to the moon metaphorically representing the possibility for liberation from the suffering of reincarnation.

Rebirth in Buddhism refers to the teaching that the actions of a sentient being lead to a new existence after death, in an endless cycle called saṃsāra. This cycle is considered to be dukkha, unsatisfactory and painful. The cycle stops only if Nirvana (liberation) is achieved by insight and the extinguishing of craving. Rebirth is one of the foundational doctrines of Buddhism, along with karma and Nirvana. Rebirth was a key teaching of early Buddhism along with the doctrine of karma (which it shared with early Indian religions like Jainism). In Early Buddhist Sources, the Buddha claims to have knowledge of his many past lives. Rebirth and other concepts of the afterlife have been interpreted in different ways by different Buddhist traditions.

The rebirth doctrine, sometimes referred to as reincarnation or transmigration, asserts that rebirth takes place in one of the six realms of samsara, the realms of gods, demi-gods, humans, the animal realm, the ghost realm and hell realms. Rebirth, as stated by various Buddhist traditions, is determined by karma, with good realms favored by kusala karma (good or skillful karma), while a rebirth in evil realms is a consequence of akusala karma (bad or unskillful karma). While nirvana is the ultimate goal of Buddhist teaching, much of traditional Buddhist practice has been centered on gaining merit and merit transfer, whereby one gains rebirth in the good realms and avoids rebirth in the evil realms.

Punarjanman (Sanskrit: पुनर्जन्मन्) in Hinduism refers to "repeated birth", "transmigration", "re-birth" or "a principle of diachronic ontogeny". The ultimate goal of Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and that of the Upanishads, has been the attainment of moksha or nirvana, and consequently the termination of punarjanman or 'rebirth'.

Saṃsāra (Devanagari: संसार) is a Sanskrit word that means "wandering" as well as "world," wherein the term connotes "cyclic change" or, less formally, "running around in circles." In the context of Indian religions and philosophies, saṃsāra is the concept of all beings experiencing an ongoing cycle of life, death, and rebirth. As a result, it can also be equated broadly with transmigration/reincarnation, the karmic cycle, the lesser-used term Punarjanman, or a "cycle of aimless drifting, wandering or mundane existence".

The "cyclicity of all life, matter, and existence" is a fundamental belief of most Indian religions. The concept of saṃsāra has roots in the post-Vedic literature; the theory is not discussed in the Vedas themselves. It appears in developed form, but without mechanistic details, in the early Upanishads. The full exposition of the saṃsāra doctrine is found in early Buddhism and Jainism, as well as in various schools of Hindu philosophy. The saṃsāra doctrine is tied to the karma theory of Hinduism, and the liberation from saṃsāra has been at the core of the spiritual quest of Indian traditions, as well as their internal disagreements. The liberation from saṃsāra is called Moksha, Nirvāṇa, Mukti, or Kaivalya.

Hinduism and Buddhism have common origins in Ancient India, which later spread and became dominant religions in Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia and Indonesia around the 4th century CE. Buddhism arose in the Gangetic plains of Eastern India in the 5th century BCE during the Second Urbanisation (600–200 BC). Hinduism developed as a fusion or synthesis of practices and ideas from the ancient Vedic religion and elements and deities from other local Indian traditions.

Both religions share many beliefs and practices but also exhibit pronounced differences that have led to significant debate. Both religions share a belief in karma and rebirth (or reincarnation). They both accept the idea of spiritual liberation (moksha or nirvana) from the cycle of reincarnation and promote similar religious practices, such as dhyana, samadhi, mantra, and devotion. Both religions also share many deities (though their nature is understood differently), including Saraswati, Vishnu (Upulvan), Mahakala, Indra, Ganesha, and Brahma.

In philosophy, desire has been identified as a recurring philosophical problem. It has been variously interpreted as what compels someone towards the highest state of human nature or consciousness, as well as being posited as either something to be eliminated or a powerful source of potential.

In Plato's The Republic, Socrates argued that individual desires must be postponed in the name of a higher ideal. Similarly, within the teachings of Buddhism, craving, identified as the most potent form of desire, is thought to be the cause of all suffering, which can be eliminated to attain greater happiness (Nirvana). While on the path to liberation, a practitioner is advised to "generate desire" for skillful ends.

The Vira Nirvana Samvat (era) is a calendar era beginning on 7 October 527 BCE. It commemorates the nirvana of Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankara. This is the oldest system of chronological reckoning which is still used in India.