“As a flame overthrown by the force of the wind, Upasīva,” said the Gracious One,
“goes to rest and can no longer be discerned,
just so the Sage free from the mental body
goes to rest and can no longer be discerned.”
Snp 5.7 - Upasīvamāṇavapucchā Sutta
Dīpo yathā nirvṛtiṁ abhyupeto
naivāvaniṁ gacchati nāntarīkṣaṁ
diśāṁ na kāncit vidiśāṁ na kāñcit
snehakṣayāt kevelameti śāntiṁ
Evaṁ kṛtī nirvṛtiṁ abhyupeto
naivāvaniṁ gacchati nāntarīkṣaṁ
diśāṁ na kāncit vidiśāṁ na kāñcit
kleṣakṣayāt kevalameti śāntiṁ
Even as the flame of a lamp when it goes out
Goes not to the earth nor to the firmament
Not to any direction nor to a sub-direction
By exhaustion of oil only reaches appeasement
So too the accomplished one when gone to extinction
Goes not to the earth nor to the firmament
Not to any direction nor to a sub-direction
By extinction of taints only reaches appeasement
This is how the philosopher Asvagosa put it (quoted from Page 131, Chapter 5, Paticca Samuppada Sermon Series by Ven K. Knananada)
Bhavarāgaparetehi
bhavasotānusārihi
māradheyyānupannehi
nāyaṁ dhammo susambudho
Ko nu aññatramariyehi
padaṁ sambuddhumarahati
yaṁ padaṁ sammadaññāya
parinibbanti anāsavā
By those who are given to lust for becoming
By those who are swept by the current of becoming
By those who have slipped in to Māra’s realm
Not easily comprehended is this Norm
Who else but the Noble Ones deserve
To waken fully unto that state
By knowing which being influx-free
Tranquil Nibbāna they attain.
Snp 3.12 – Dvayatānupassanā Sutta
viññāṇaṁ anidassanaṁ
anantaṁ sabbatopabhaṁ
ettha āpo ca paṭhavī
tejo vāyo na gādhati
ettha dīghañca rassañca
aṇuṁ thūlaṁ subhāsubhaṁ
ettha nāmañca rūpañca
asesaṁ uparujjhati
viññāṇassa nirodhena
etthetaṁ uparujjhati
Consciousness which is non-manifestative
Endless lustrous on all sides
Here it is that water and earth
Fire and air no footing find
Here again is long and short
Subtle and gross, comely and ugly
Here is name as well as form
Are held in check with no trace left
Wherein consciousness comes to cease
All these are held in check therein
DN.11 Kevatta Sutta
What do you think, Vaccha: If a fire were burning in front of you, would you know that, ‘This fire is burning in front of me’?”
“…yes…”
“And suppose someone were to ask you, Vaccha, ‘This fire burning in front of you, dependent on what is it burning?’ Thus asked, how would you reply?”
“…I would reply, ‘This fire burning in front of me is burning dependent on grass & timber as its sustenance.’”
“If the fire burning in front of you were to go out, would you know that, ‘This fire burning in front of me has gone out’?”
“…yes…”
“And suppose someone were to ask you, ‘This fire that has gone out in front of you, in which direction from here has it gone? East? West? North? Or south?’ Thus asked, how would you reply?”
“That doesn’t apply, Master Gotama. Any fire burning dependent on a sustenance of grass and timber, being unnourished—from having consumed that sustenance and not being offered any other—is classified simply as ‘out’.”
“Even so, Vaccha, any physical form by which one describing the Tathagata would describe him: That the Tathagata has abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. Freed from the classification of form, Vaccha, the Tathagata is deep, boundless, hard to fathom, like the sea. ‘Reappears’ doesn’t apply. ‘Does not reappear’ doesn’t apply. ‘Both does & does not reappear’ doesn’t apply. ‘Neither reappears nor does not reappear’ doesn’t apply.
“Any feeling… Any perception… Any fabrication…
“Any consciousness by which one describing the Tathagata would describe him: That the Tathagata has abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. Freed from the classification of consciousness, Vaccha, the Tathagata is deep, boundless, hard to fathom, like the sea. ‘Reappears’ doesn’t apply. ‘Does not reappear’ doesn’t apply. ‘Both does & does not reappear’ doesn’t apply. ‘Neither reappears nor does not reappear’ doesn’t apply.”
MN.72 - Aggivaccagotta Sutta
The parable of the tortoise explains succinctly the difficulty in understanding what Nibbana is. It goes as follows.
A tortoise, after having spent a few days on dry land, goes back into the water and the fishes ask him
where he came from. The tortoise replies that he came from land. In order
to determine what sort of a thing land is, the fishes go on asking the
tortoise a number of questions based on various qualities of water such as a. Is there water there, b. Can you swim there, c. Are there ripples d. Can you dive in there etc.
To each question the tortoise has to reply in the negative, since land has none of the
qualities of water.
Hope this will help
With Metta
It irks a little though that the end goal is so mysterious in the EBTs.