View source for Philosophy:Nibbāna: The Mind Stilled

{{Infobox book
| name             = Nibbāna: The Mind Stilled
| image            =
| caption    = Cover for the study edition of Theravada Tipitaka Press
| author           = Most Ven. Katukurunde Nanananda Thera 
| title_orig       = නිවනේ නිවීම (''Nivanē nivīma'')
| translator       = 
| illustrator      = 
| cover_artist     = 
| country          = Sri Lanka
| language         = [[Social:English language|English]]
| series           = 
| subject          = Dhamma sermons
| genre            = Religious 
| publisher        = Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya
| pub_date         = 
| english_pub_date = 2003
| media_type       = 
| pages            = 
| isbn             = 
| oclc             = 
| dewey            = 
| congress         = 
| preceded_by      = 
| followed_by      = 
}}

'''''Nibbāna: The Mind Stilled''''' ([[Social:Sinhalese language|Sinhalese]]: නිවනේ නිවීම, ''Nivanē nivīma'') is the translation of a series of 33 sermons delivered in Sinhala by [[Philosophy:The Venerable|Venerable]] [[Philosophy:Bhikkhu|Bhikkhu]] Katukurunde Ñāṇananda during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The focus of the sermons was on the term ''nibbāna'' and its deeper philosophical implications. The first volume of the seven-volume series was published in 2003.<ref name=NMS1>{{cite book
 |last        = Nanananda
 |title       = Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.1)
 |year        = 2003
 |publisher   = Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya
 |isbn        = 955-8832-02-2
 |pages       = IX
 |url         = http://seeingthroughthenet.net/files/eng/books/ms/nibbana_the_mind_stilled_I.pdf
 |url-status     = dead
 |archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724060138/http://seeingthroughthenet.net/files/eng/books/ms/nibbana_the_mind_stilled_I.pdf
 |archivedate = 2011-07-24
}}
</ref>

== History ==
It was inspired by an invitation that came from his revered teacher, the late venerable Matara Sri Ñāṇārāma Mahathera, the chief incumbent of the [[Religion:Nissarana Vanaya|Nissarana Vanaya Hermitage in Meetirigala]] and an illustrious exponent of Insight Meditation in Sri Lanka. The sermons were delivered once every fortnight before the group of resident monks from August 1988 to January 1991. Thirty three sermons have been published in seven volumes.<ref name="NMS1"/>

Venerable Ñāṇananda had already written four books during the early phase of his monk’s life at Island Hermitage, Dodanduwa. They were Concept and Reality in Early Buddhist Thought,<ref name=CnR>{{cite book
|last=Nanananda
|title=Concept and Reality in Early Buddhist Thought
|year=2012
|orig-year=1971
|publisher=Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya
|isbn=978-955-24-0136-7
|url=http://www.seeingthroughthenet.net/files/eng/books/other/concept_and_reality.pdf
}}
</ref> Samyutta Nikaya – An Anthology (Part 2),<ref name=SNA>{{cite book
 |last        = Nanananda
 |title       = Samyutta Nikaya – An Anthology(Part 2)
 |year        = 2009
 |orig-year    = 1972
 |publisher   = Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya
 |isbn        = 978-955-1255-26-8
 |url         = http://www.seeingthroughthenet.net/files/eng/books/other/samyutta_nikaya.pdf
 |url-status     = dead
 |archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724061340/http://www.seeingthroughthenet.net/files/eng/books/other/samyutta_nikaya.pdf
 |archivedate = 2011-07-24
}}
</ref> Ideal Solitude<ref name=IS>{{cite book
|last=Nanananda
|title=Ideal Solitude
|year=2010
|orig-year=1973
|publisher=Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya
|isbn=978-955-1255-31-2
|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nanananda/wheel188.html}}
</ref> and The Magic of the Mind.<ref name=TMM>{{cite book
 |last        = Nanananda
 |title       = The Magic of the Mind
 |year        = 2007
 |orig-year    = 1974
 |publisher   = Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya
 |isbn        = 978-955-1255-09-1
 |url         = http://www.seeingthroughthenet.net/files/eng/books/other/the_magic_of_the_mind.pdf
 |url-status     = dead
 |archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724061400/http://www.seeingthroughthenet.net/files/eng/books/other/the_magic_of_the_mind.pdf
 |archivedate = 2011-07-24
}}</ref>
He came under the tutelage of the late venerable Matara Sri Ñāṇārama Mahathera when he shifted to Nissarana Vanaya Hermitage in 1972.<ref name=NMSintro>{{cite book
|last=Nanananda
|title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.1)
|year=2003
|pages=VII-VIII}}
</ref>

== Content ==
[[Philosophy:Nirvana|Nibbāna]] – the Bliss Supreme ([[Religion:Dhammapada|Dhammapada]] 203) is the determined goal of the "spiritual endeavour" in Buddhism. Bhikkhu Ñāṇananda has followed a line of interpretation that highlights the psychological import of the term ''nibbāna'', drawing out at the same time the deeper philosophical implications. The term ''nibbāna'' has been examined in the discourses of the Pali canon. In his analysis, he reinterprets the discourses dealing with the law of Dependent arising (''[[Philosophy:Pratītyasamutpāda|paṭiccasmuppāda]]'') and the [[Philosophy:Middle Way|Middle Path]]. He expounds on the topics he has briefly dealt with in 'Concept and Reality' and 'Magic of the Mind'.<ref name="vatta">{{cite book
|last=Nanananda|year=2003
|title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.1)
|pages=33ff}}</ref><ref name="vatta2">{{cite book
|last=Nanananda|year=2007
|title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.5)
|pages=445ff}}</ref> Via media, he has suggested the ‘Relative validity and Pragmatic value of concepts’.<ref name="Rv">{{cite book
|last=Nanananda
|year=1997
|orig-year=1971
|title=Concept and Reality in Early Buddhist Thought
|pages=38ff}}</ref>

The sermons are currently being studied in a three-year e-learning program (2017–2018) offered by Bhikkhu Anālayo of the Numata Center for Buddhist Studies at the [[Organization:University of Hamburg|University of Hamburg]] in cooperation with the [https://analayo2018.buddhistinquiry.org/ Barre Center for Buddhist Studies].

=== Topics covered ===
:*''vaṭṭa'' – The hidden vortex or whirlpool: Interdependence between Consciousness and Name-and-Form in the formula of Dependent Arising (''[[Philosophy:Pratītyasamutpāda|paṭiccasmuppāda]]'').<ref name="vatta" />

:* ''[[Philosophy:Namarupa|nāma-rūpa]]'' – Name-and-Form: The elusive self-image with its ’Formal-Name’ and ’Nominal-Form’.<ref name="nr1">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.2) |year=2004 |pages=132ff}}</ref><ref name="nr2">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.5) |year=2007 |pages=533ff}}</ref>

:* ''anidassana-[[Philosophy:Vijñāna|viññāṇa]]'' – Non-Manifestative-Consciousness.<ref name="av">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.2) |year=2004 |pages=134ff}}</ref>

:* The cinema simile: An illustration of Dependent Arising (''[[Philosophy:Pratītyasamutpāda|paṭiccasmuppāda]]'').<ref name="cine">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.1) |year=2003 |pages=108ff}}</ref>

:* ''[[Philosophy:Satipatthana|satipaṭṭhāna]]'' – A scaffolding for the systematic up-building of mindfulness and knowledge.<ref name="sat">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.1) |year=2003 |pages=93}}</ref>

:* ''[[Philosophy:Conceptual proliferation|papañca]]'' and ''papañca-saṅkhā'' – conceptual proliferation and prolific concepts.<ref name="ppn">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.3) |year=2005 |pages=241ff}}</ref>

:* ''[[Philosophy:Sparśa|phassa]]'' – Contact: A hybrid between ‘Verbal Impression’(''adhivacana-samphassa'') and ‘Resistance Impression’(''paṭigha''''-samphassa'').<ref name="phs">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.2) |year=2004 |pages=218ff}}</ref>

:* ''dvayatā'' – Duality: The antinomian conflict.<ref name="dv">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.5) |year=2007 |pages=451}}</ref>

:* The Chess-Game simile: An illustration of duality.<ref name="du">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.6) |year=2010 |pages=582ff}}</ref>

:* ''antojaṭā- bahijaṭā'' – The Tangle-Within and the Tangle-without ?<ref name="aj">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.1) |year=2003 |pages=8ff}}</ref>

:* ''[[Philosophy:Dukkha|dukkha]]'' – Conflict: An alternation between ’This-ness’ (''itthabhāva'') and ‘Otherwise-ness’(''aññathābhāva'').<ref name="dk">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.1) |year=2003 |pages=65ff}}</ref>

:* ''[[Philosophy:Tathātā|tathatā]]'' – Thusness or Suchness.<ref name="tht">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.5) |year=2007 |pages=450ff}}</ref>

:* ''[[Philosophy:Nirvana|nibbāna]]'': Extinction more dreaded than fire.<ref name="NMSext">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.1) |year=2003 |pages=13}}
</ref>

:* The world arises in the six-sense spheres.<ref name="six">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.1) |year=2003 |pages=83}}</ref>

:* The dilemma and the tetra-lemma: The ‘Undetermined Points’ (''avyākatavatthūni'').<ref name="avy">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.5) |year=2007 |pages=490ff}}</ref>

:* Relative validity and pragmatic value of concepts.<ref name="val">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.4) |year=2006 |pages=392ff}}</ref><ref name="val2">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.7) |year=2011 |pages=653ff}}</ref>

:* The Seamstress simile: The ‘two ends and the middle’.<ref name="ind">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.7) |year=2011 |pages=704ff}}</ref>

:* The Toolkit: The 37 Participative-Factors of [[Philosophy:Enlightenment in Buddhism|Enlightenment]].<ref name="boj">{{cite book |last=Nanananda |title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol.7) |year=2011 |pages=661ff}}</ref>
== Distribution ==
Drawing inspiration from the dictum "The Gift of Dhamma excels all other gifts" (Dhammapada 354), he has specified that all publications should be distributed free as ‘gifts of Dhamma’. The Free Distribution of Dhamma (''dhammadāna''-ideal) has been upheld by the Buddha in the following exhortation to the monks:<blockquote>Monks, there are these two kinds of gifts: the gift of material things and the gift of Dhamma. Of these two gifts, monks, this is supreme (namely): the gift of Dhamma.
{{Blockquote|text=Monks, there are these two kinds of distribution: the distribution of material things and the distribution of Dhamma. Of these two kinds of distribution, monks, this is supreme (namely): the distribution of Dhamma.|source=Itivuttaka 3.5.9}}</blockquote>A group of lay enthusiasts initiated the [[Religion:Buddhism|Dhamma]] Publications Trust (Sinhala: ''Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bhaaraya'' – D.G.M.B.) to bring out the sermons in book form.<ref name="NMSintro" /> A few years later, an affiliated trust (Sinhala: ''Dharma Shravana Maadhya Bhaaraya'' – D.S.M.B.) was set up to make the sermons available in audio form.<ref name="dsmb">{{cite web
 |last        = DSMB
 |title       = About DSMB – Seeingthroughthenet.net
 |url         = http://www.seeingthroughthenet.net/eng/asf.php
 |accessdate  = 28 June 2011
 |url-status     = dead
 |archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111004080601/http://www.seeingthroughthenet.net/eng/asf.php
 |archivedate = 4 October 2011
}}
</ref>

== English translation ==
* {{Citation | title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol. I) | publisher=Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya | year=2003 | isbn=978-955-8832-02-8 | url=http://seeingthroughthenet.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Nibbana_Vol_1-1.pdf }}
* {{Citation | title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol. II) | publisher=Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya | year=2004 | isbn=978-955-9886-42-6 | url=http://seeingthroughthenet.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Nibbana_Vol_2.pdf}}
* {{Citation | title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol. III) | publisher=Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya | year=2005 | isbn=978-955-1255-05-3 | url=http://seeingthroughthenet.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Nibbana_Vol_3.pdf}}
* {{Citation | title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol. IV) | publisher=Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya | year=2006 | isbn=978-955-1255-07-7 | url=http://seeingthroughthenet.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Nibbana_Vol_4.pdf }}
* {{Citation | title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol. V) | publisher=Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya | year=2007 | isbn=978-955-1255-13-8 | url=http://seeingthroughthenet.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Nibbana_Vol_5.pdf }}
* {{Citation | title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol. VI) | publisher=Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya | year=2010 | isbn=978-955-1255-33-6 | url=http://seeingthroughthenet.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Nibbana_Vol_6.pdf}}
* {{Citation | title=Nibbana - The Mind Stilled (Vol. VII) | publisher=Dharma Grantha Mudrana Bharaya | year=2011 | isbn=978-955-1255-34-3 |
url=http://seeingthroughthenet.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Nibbana_Vol_7.pdf}}

== See also ==
* [[Philosophy:Conceptual proliferation|Conceptual proliferation]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== External links ==
* [https://seeingthroughthenet.net/ Dhamma Sermons and Books by Venerable Bhikkhu Katukurunde Nananada]
* [http://220.247.247.85:8083/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=147377&query_desc=kw%2Cwrdl%3A%20Nanananda%20nibbana Entry in National Library of Sri Lanka site]
* [http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?tabs=moreTab&ct=display&fn=search&doc=BLL01015374845&indx=5&recIds=BLL01015374845&recIdxs=4&elementId=4&renderMode=poppedOut&displayMode=full&frbrVersion=&frbg=&&vl(488279563UI0)=any&dscnt=0&scp.scps=scope%3A%28BLCONTENT%29&tb=t&vid=BLVU1&mode=Basic&srt=rank&tab=local_tab&dum=true&vl(freeText0)=nanananda&dstmp=1523479582441 Entry in the British Library]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110228033719/http://seeingthroughthenet.net/eng/home.php Books and talks by Ven. Nanananda Thera]
* [http://nidahas.com/featured/#heretic Interviews with Ven. Nanananda Thera]

[[Category:Buddhist philosophy]]
[[Category:Buddhist meditation]]

{{Sourceattribution|Nibbāna: The Mind Stilled}}