--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: NIRVANA- In the Buddhist religion, a…" description: "\"NIRVANA- In the Buddhist religion, a state of pleasurable annihilation awarded to the wise, particularly to those wise enough to understand it.\" — Ambr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ae/ambrose-bierce-140_annihilation_nirvana-in-the-buddhist-religion-a-state_1175963.jpg" --- # NIRVANA- In the Buddhist religion, a state of pleasurable… ![“NIRVANA- In the Buddhist religion, a state of pleasurable annihilation awarded to the wise, particularly to those wise enough to understand it.” quote by Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ae/ambrose-bierce-140_annihilation_nirvana-in-the-buddhist-religion-a-state_1175963.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ae/ambrose-bierce-140_annihilation_nirvana-in-the-buddhist-religion-a-state_1175963.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ae/ambrose-bierce-140_annihilation_nirvana-in-the-buddhist-religion-a-state_1175963.jpg) > “NIRVANA- In the Buddhist religion, a state of pleasurable annihilation awarded to the wise, particularly to those wise enough to understand it.” [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Buddhist enlightenment is a blissful release from self, achieved through deep insight and wisdom. **In simple terms:** Enlightenment is blissful release through wisdom. Key Takeaway Seek insight to transcend ordinary experience. Themes spirituality wisdom transcendence Mood contemplative mysterious Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - meditation retreats - philosophical study - psychological therapy - creative inspiration Key Concepts nihilism mindfulness philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does “pleasurable annihilation” mean to you? - How can insight be applied daily? A Different Perspective May be misinterpreted as escapism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Annihilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annihilation/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Buddhist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Nirvana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nirvana/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [(They) were responsible for spreading the Buddhist religion throughout India and East Asia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/they-were-responsible-for-spreading-the-buddhist-religion-throughout/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [I don't know how many serious Christians exist here in America, but the Japanese, the younger generation is leaving the Buddhist religion mentality behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroshi-sugimoto/i-don-t-know-how-many-serious-christians-exist-here-in-america-but/) [Hiroshi Sugimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroshi-sugimoto/) > [I'm not a New Age person, but I do believe in meditation, and for that reason I've always liked the Buddhist religion. When I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-m-not-a-new-age-person-but-i-do-believe-in-meditation-and-for-that/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [The gopis seek Krishna, another part of themselves that create ecstasy. The man seeks the woman, the woman seeks the man. The Tantric Buddhist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-gopis-seek-krishna-another-part-of-themselves-that-create-ecstasy/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I myself feel, and also tell other Buddhists that the question of Nirvana will come later. There is not much hurry. If in day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-myself-feel-and-also-tell-other-buddhists-that-the-question-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [We seek to unify ourselves with the endless light of truth, of God, of nirvana. We recognize the infinite playing through all beings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-seek-to-unify-ourselves-with-the-endless-light-of-truth-of-god-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I reached in experience the nirvana which is unborn, unrivalled, secure from attachment, undecaying and unstained. This condition is indeed reached by me which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/i-reached-in-experience-the-nirvana-which-is-unborn-unrivalled-secure/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Thus all things are subject to death, sorrow and suffering. I became aware that I too was of the same nature, the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/thus-all-things-are-subject-to-death-sorrow-and-suffering-i-became/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Samsara is the mind turned outwardly, lost in its projections. Nirvana is the mind turned inwardly, recognizing its true nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sogyal-rinpoche/samsara-is-the-mind-turned-outwardly-lost-in-its-projections-nirvana/) [Sogyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sogyal-rinpoche/) > [Inflowing thoughts come to an end in those who are ever alert of mind, training themselves night and day, and ever intent on nirvana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/inflowing-thoughts-come-to-an-end-in-those-who-are-ever-alert-of-mind/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“The breath had become as much a trick as breathing. Things were not dual merely, but multiple. I had become a cage of mirrors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-breath-had-become-as-much-a-trick-as-breathing-things-were-not/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [I'm not afraid of anything other than spiritual annihilation. Where your soul is sucked into the void.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispian-mills/i-m-not-afraid-of-anything-other-than-spiritual-annihilation-where/) Crispian Mills > [To fight is to face death once more, perhaps the total annihilation of their kind. But to run... is that not also a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/to-fight-is-to-face-death-once-more-perhaps-the-total-annihilation-of/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [The highest ideal of cure is the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health; that is, the lifting and annihilation of the disease in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-hahnemann/the-highest-ideal-of-cure-is-the-rapid-gentle-and-permanent/) [Samuel Hahnemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-hahnemann/) > [The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe... All is registered in the 'boundless heart' of the bodhisattva. Through our deepest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe-all-is/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) ## More by Ambrose Bierce > [OBSESSED, p.p. Vexed by an evil spirit, like the Gadarene swine and other critics. Obsession was once more common than it is now. Arasthus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/obsessed-p-p-vexed-by-an-evil-spirit-like-the-gadarene-swine-and/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/decide-v-i-to-succumb-to-the-preponderance-of-one-set-of-influences/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [IMMORAL, adj. Inexpedient. Whatever in the long run and with regard to the greater number of instances men find to be generally inexpedient comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/immoral-adj-inexpedient-whatever-in-the-long-run-and-with-regard-to/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [REVIEW, v.t. To set your wisdom (holding not a doubt of it./ Although in truth there's neither bone nor skin to it)/ At work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/review-v-t-to-set-your-wisdom-holding-not-a-doubt-of-it-although-in/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [CLOCK, n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern for the future by reminding him what a lot of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/clock-n-a-machine-of-great-moral-value-to-man-allaying-his-concern/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [RUBBISH, n. Worthless matter, such as the religions, philosophies, literatures, arts and sciences of the tribes infesting the regions lying due south from Boreaplas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/rubbish-n-worthless-matter-such-as-the-religions-philosophies/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [There was never a genius who was not thought a fool until he disclosed himself; whereas he is a fool then only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/there-was-never-a-genius-who-was-not-thought-a-fool-until-he/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/telephone-n-an-invention-of-the-devil-which-abrogates-some-of-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Jealous, adj. Unduly concerned about the preservation of that which can be lost only if not worth keeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/jealous-adj-unduly-concerned-about-the-preservation-of-that-which-can/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [RIDICULE, n. Words designed to show that the person of whom they are uttered is devoid of the dignity of character distinguishing him who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/ridicule-n-words-designed-to-show-that-the-person-of-whom-they-are/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Think twice before you speak to a friend in need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/think-twice-before-you-speak-to-a-friend-in-need/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [HERMIT, n. A person whose vices and follies are not sociable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/hermit-n-a-person-whose-vices-and-follies-are-not-sociable/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [TARIFF, n. A scale of taxes on imports, designed to protect the domestic producer against the greed of his consumer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/tariff-n-a-scale-of-taxes-on-imports-designed-to-protect-the-domestic/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [A bad marriage is like an electrical thrilling machine: it makes you dance, but you can't let go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/a-bad-marriage-is-like-an-electrical-thrilling-machine-it-makes-you/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) [Explore all 1,157 Ambrose Bierce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) ## More Annihilation quotes > [The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe... All is registered in the 'boundless heart' of the bodhisattva. Through our deepest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe-all-is/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [The highest ideal of cure is the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health; that is, the lifting and annihilation of the disease in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-hahnemann/the-highest-ideal-of-cure-is-the-rapid-gentle-and-permanent/) [Samuel Hahnemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-hahnemann/) > [To fight is to face death once more, perhaps the total annihilation of their kind. But to run... is that not also a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/to-fight-is-to-face-death-once-more-perhaps-the-total-annihilation-of/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [I'm not afraid of anything other than spiritual annihilation. Where your soul is sucked into the void.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispian-mills/i-m-not-afraid-of-anything-other-than-spiritual-annihilation-where/) Crispian Mills > [“The breath had become as much a trick as breathing. Things were not dual merely, but multiple. I had become a cage of mirrors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-breath-had-become-as-much-a-trick-as-breathing-things-were-not/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [There were days when she was unhappy, she did not know why,--when it did not seem worthwhile to be glad or sorry, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-chopin/there-were-days-when-she-was-unhappy-she-did-not-know-why-when-it-did/) [Kate Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-chopin/) > [I've crossed some kind of invisible line. I feel as if I've come to a place I never thought I'd have to come to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/i-ve-crossed-some-kind-of-invisible-line-i-feel-as-if-i-ve-come-to-a/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [We travel together, passengers on a little spaceship, dependent on it's vulnerable reserves of air and soil, all committed, for our safety, to it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson/we-travel-together-passengers-on-a-little-spaceship-dependent-on-it-s/) [Adlai E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson/) > [Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be a less folly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/liberty-is-to-faction-what-air-is-to-fire-an-aliment-without-which-it/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Today I will once more be a prophet. If the international Jewish financiers, inside and outside Europe, succeed in plunging the nations once more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/today-i-will-once-more-be-a-prophet-if-the-international-jewish/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [“The edge of total annihilation wasn't the worst place to hide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-rocha/the-edge-of-total-annihilation-wasn-t-the-worst-place-to-hide/) [Kit Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-rocha/) > [To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/to-hope-is-to-give-yourself-to-the-future-and-that-commitment-to-the/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Annihilation is an absurdity in terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-palissy/annihilation-is-an-absurdity-in-terms/) Bernard Palissy > [Love is scary because it pulls you in with an intense force, a supermassive black hole which looks like nothing from the outside but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/love-is-scary-because-it-pulls-you-in-with-an-intense-force-a/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [I have issued the command, and I'll have anybody who utters but one word of criticism executed by a firing squad, that our war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-have-issued-the-command-and-i-ll-have-anybody-who-utters-but-one/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) [Browse all 244 Annihilation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annihilation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "NIRVANA- In the Buddhist religion, a state of pleasurable annihilation awarded to the wise, particularly to those wise enough to understand it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ambrose Bierce" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/nirvana-in-the-buddhist-religion-a-state-of-pleasurable-annihilation/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Annihilation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/nirvana-in-the-buddhist-religion-a-state-of-pleasurable-annihilation/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ae/ambrose-bierce-140_annihilation_nirvana-in-the-buddhist-religion-a-state_1175963.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ae/ambrose-bierce-140_annihilation_nirvana-in-the-buddhist-religion-a-state_1175963.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ae/ambrose-bierce-140_annihilation_nirvana-in-the-buddhist-religion-a-state_1175963.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“NIRVANA- In the Buddhist religion, a state of pleasurable annihilation awarded to the wise, particularly to…” — Ambrose Bierce", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ambrose Bierce", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "NIRVANA- In the Buddhist religion, a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/nirvana-in-the-buddhist-religion-a-state-of-pleasurable-annihilation/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/nirvana-in-the-buddhist-religion-a-state-of-pleasurable-annihilation/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```