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Nirvana

Specialty Definition: Nirvana

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Specialty Definition: Nirvana

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The following article is about the term Nirvana in the context of Buddhism. See Nirvana (leafhopper) for the genus of Leafhopper. Nirvana (band) for the grunge band and Nirvana (60s band) for the sixties band.

Nirvana (Sanskrit -- Pali: Nibbana -- "beyond all that can be described or defined") is the "goal" of Buddhism. In Chinese Buddhist scriptures, the word is transliterated as Nie4 Pan2 (涅槃). Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha described Buddhism as a raft which, after floating across a river, will reach nirvana.

As a term, it denotes the extinguishing or "blowing out" of a fire or candle flame and carries the connotations of stilling, cooling, and peace. This state is in opposition of suffering in which all greed, aversion, delusion, ignorance, craving and ego-centered consciousness are extinguished. Often considered ineffable, Nirvana may be denoted as a continuity of void processes.

According to the physics taught at the time of the Buddha, a burning fire seizes or adheres to its fuel; when extinguished, it is unbound

To Brahmin and Indian thought during the time of Gautama Buddha, when a fire was extinguished it went into a state of latency. Rather than ceasing to exist, it became dormant and in that state -- unbound from any particular fuel -- it became diffused throughout the cosmos. When the Buddha used the image to explain nibbana to the Indian Brahmans of his day, he bypassed the question of whether an extinguished fire continues to exist or not, and focused instead on the impossibility of defining a fire that doesn't burn: thus his statement that the person who has gone totally "out" can't be described.

However, when teaching his own disciples, the Buddha used nibbana more as an image of freedom. Apparently, all Indians at the time saw burning fire as agitated, dependent, and trapped, both clinging and being stuck to its fuel as it burned. To ignite a fire, one had to "seize" it. When fire let go of its fuel, it was "freed," released from its agitation, dependence, and entrapment -- calm and unconfined.

See also: paramita, moksha

Quotes

• Gautama:
  • "Where there is nothing; where naught is grasped, there is the Isle of No-Beyond. Nirvana do I call it -- the utter extinction of aging and dying." (Suttinapatti)
  • "There is, monks, an unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated. If there were not that unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated, there would not be the case that emancipation from the born -- become -- made -- fabricated would be discerned. But precisely because there is an unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated, emancipation from the born -- become -- made -- fabricated is discerned." [Udana VIII.3]

Based on the above usage, the name Nirvana has been used by:

• a psychedelic band formed in the 1960s,
• a popular grunge rock band formed in the 1980s around Kurt Cobain, and
• a 1997 Italian science fiction movie.

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Nirvana."

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Nirvana (60s band)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Nirvana were a British rock band of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in 1967 in the wake of psychedelia the band, composed of Alex Spyroulos and Patrick Campbell-Lyons, produced a number of singles (notably "Rainbow Chaser" and "Tiny Goddess") for the fledgling Island Records, following them with the concept album The Story of Simon Simopath. The records, like those of the early Pink Floyd, were a combination of West Coast rock sounds with a peculiarly British whimsy. The next year their follow up, All Of Us, repeated the success. By 1970 the band had all but split, with only Campbell-Lyons contributing to their 4 low selling later albums.

A brief renewal of interest in their work followed the rise of the 1990s grunge band Nirvana, whom Campbell-Lyons sued over their use of the name Nirvana.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Nirvana (60s band)."

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Nirvana (band)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Nirvana was a British psychedelic rock band of the 1960s, primarily known for the single "Rainbow Chaser". See Nirvana (60s band)

Frequently hailed as a flagship band of Generation X, Nirvana was a grunge band founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1994 upon the death of its leader, Kurt Cobain. Though formed in Aberdeen, Washington, Seattle was the band's home base during their heyday. Primary members included Cobain, (guitar and vocals), Krist Novoselic (bass and backing vocals), and Dave Grohl (drums and backing vocals). This are the band members who stayed in the band since 1990 till 1994. Aaron Burkhart (drums)- was the first drummer Nirvana ever had. Dale Crover (drums) was the drummer who drummed the first demo of the band. Some of the songs this demo contained finally came out on "Bleach", Nirvana's first album. Chad Channing (drums)took the place of Dale and Aaron on this album, Jason Everman (2nd guitar) paid the money for the first album. As a way to say thanks Nirvana putted Jason's name on the back of "Bleach". , Their first album, Bleach, was a garage rock record, made for the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop, this was Sub Pop's first album. After a tour they dropped Jason Everman, and secretely started looking for another drummer. Their second album, Nevermind, sweetened the sound of the earlier with a cleaner production (by Butch Vig) and occasional pop hooks. Recorded for the much larger Geffen Records label, it was a major breakthrough both for the band and the rock music scene. The highly infectious single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" received heavy airplay on MTV, inspiring a slew of imitators and bringing the grunge sound into the mainstream. During 1992 the band had troubles with Kurt Cobain's heroin addiction. They gave out a compilation of previously unreleased tracks: Incesticide. Their follow up, 1993's In Utero, was slightly less accessible to the mass market due to its more subdued and introspective sound, but still obtained critical and commercial success.

Singer Kurt Cobain was known to be troubled, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He wrote a song, "Lithium", about the medication lithium carbonate, which is used to treat bipolar disorder. Kurt always said it was about religion, but nobody knows the real story behind the song. During their last tour they took Pat Smear as touring guitarist. In February of 1992 Cobain married musician and actress Courtney Love, of the band Hole. Plagued by an unexplained stomach illness and increasingly dissatisfied with the crass commercialism of the music industry, Cobain became depressed, reclusive, and a heroin addict. Cobain committed suicide on April 5, 1994 at his Seattle home, but the remaining band members did state that the group was in the process of splitting up at the time of Kurt's death.

Several albums have been released since Cobain's death, including a live set, and a subdued and eerily morbid perfomance on MTV's Unplugged in New York. In the years following Kurt Cobain's death, there has been much controversy over the ownership of Nirvana's music. The two surviving members, Grohl and Novoselic, and wife Courney Love, have argued the issue of releasing a new album containing rare or unreleased tracks. On October 29, 2002, following a grueling legal battle, the album Nirvana was released containing several greatest hits and one unreleased track, "You Know You're Right". (A live version of this song can be found on Outcesticide V(5) Disintegration. This was released prior to the album Nirvana.)

According to some, notably public access host Richard Lee of Seattle, Kurt Cobain was murdered. His ongoing documentary has been running since the week after Cobain's demise. In addition, a documentary film called "Kurt & Courtney" was made by filmmaker Nick Broomfield which suggests that Love had Cobain killed. However, these are generally considered to be conspiracy theories and the official verdict of death by self-inflicted gunshot wound is widely accepted.

Discography

Bleach (1989)

Nevermind (1991)

Hormoaning (1992 – Australia and Japan only)

Incesticide (1992)

In Utero (1993)

MTV Unplugged in New York (1994)

From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah (1995)

Nirvana (2002) (also called Best Of 1988-1994)

Nirvana (2003)

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Nirvana (band)."

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Nirvana (leafhopper)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Nirvana is a genus of leafhoppers of the subfamily Nirvaninae and the Tribe Nirvanini. Distinguishable from other leafhopper subfamilies by their uniquely shaped head and the presence of two preapical cells alone on the tegemen, they comprise some of the most beautiful and iridescent of the leafhoppers.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Nirvana (leafhopper)."

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Nirvana 2003 (album)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Nirvana is a "Best Of" album by the defunct rock band Nirvana. It was released on October 29, 2002 by Geffen Records.

The remaining members of the band had intended on releasing a box set, containing all of the unreleased Nirvana material, but there were legal difficulties, when Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love tried to get out of the partnership with Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, claiming she was under the influence of drugs at the time she signed the contract.

The CD contains the long-anticipated track "You Know You're Right", the last song Nirvana recorded before Cobain's 1994 suicide.

Track listing

1. "You Know You're Right" (Cobain) - 3:38
2. "About a Girl" (Cobain) - 2:49
3. "Been a Son" (Cobain) - 2:23
4. "Sliver" (Cobain) - 2:14
5. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Cobain/Grohl/Novoselic) - 5:01
6. "Come as You Are" (Cobain) - 3:39
7. "Lithium" (Cobain) - 4:17
8. "In Bloom" (Cobain) - 4:15
9. "Heart-Shaped Box" (Cobain) - 4:41
10. "Pennyroyal Tea" (Cobain) - 3:38
11. "Rape Me" (Cobain) - 2:51
12. "Dumb" (Cobain) - 2:34
13. "All Apologies [live]" (Cobain) - 3:47

Charting singles

Album positions:

2002  Nirvana                   The Billboard 200              No. 3
2002  Nirvana                   Top Canadian Albums            No. 2
2002  Nirvana                   Top Internet Albums            No. 3

Singles positions:

2002  You Know You're Right     Mainstream Rock Tracks         No. 1
2002  You Know You're Right     Modern Rock Tracks             No. 1
2002  You Know You're Right     The Billboard Hot 100          No. 45

Personnel

• Steve Albini - Engineer, Mixing
• James Barber - Project Director
• Corbis Bettman - Photography
• Chad Channing - Drums
• Kurt Cobain - Guitar, Vocals
• Jack Endino - Engineer, Mixing
• Robert Fisher - Art Direction
• Steve Fisk - Engineer, Mixing
• David Fricke - Liner Notes
• Lori Goldston - Cello
• Dave Grohl - Drums, Vocals
• Adam Kasper - Engineer, Mixing
• Scott Litt - Producer, Mixing
• Bob Ludwig - Mastering
• Michael Meisel - Project Director
• Frank Micelotta - Photography
• Nirvana - Producer
• Krist Novoselic - Bass
• Frank Ockenfels - Photography
• Dan Peters - Drums
• Charles Peterson - Photography
• Redferns - Photography
• John Silva - Project Director
• Pat Smear - Guitar
• Andy Wallace - Mixing

• Butch Vig - Producer, Engineer

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Nirvana 2003 (album)."

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Synonyms within Context: Nirvana

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Modern Usage: Nirvana

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Commercial Usage: Nirvana

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Image Slideshow: Nirvana

Photos: Nirvana More pictures...

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Photo Album: Nirvana

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Nirvana, July 11, 1891. Credit: Library of Congress.		Nirvana. Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Digital Photo Gallery: Nirvana
 

"Kurt Cobain" by Feike Kloostra Commentary: "A photo screenshot of the Nirvana videoclip Heart shaped box."

Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.

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Usage Frequency: Nirvana

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expression: Nirvana

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Nirvana

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Modern Translation: Nirvana

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Derivations & Misspellings: Nirvana

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Rhyming with "Nirvana"

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