<P> Nirvana has also been deemed in Buddhism to be identical with anatta (non-self) and sunyata (emptiness) states . In time, with the development of Buddhist doctrine, other interpretations were given, such as the absence of the weaving (vana) of activity of the mind, the elimination of desire, and escape from the woods, cq . the five skandhas or aggregates . </P> <P> Buddhist scholastic tradition identifies two types of nirvana: sopadhishesa - nirvana (nirvana with a remainder), and parinirvana or anupadhishesa - nirvana (nirvana without remainder, or final nirvana). The founder of Buddhism, the Buddha, is believed to have reached both these states . </P> <P> Nirvana, or the liberation from cycles of rebirth, is the highest aim of the Theravada tradition . In the Mahayana tradition, the highest goal is Buddhahood, in which there is no abiding in Nirvana, but a Buddha continues to take rebirths in the world to help liberate beings from saṃsāra by teaching the Buddhist path . </P> <P> The term nirvana describes a state of freedom from suffering and rebirth, but different Buddhist traditions have interpreted the concept in different ways . The origin is probably pre-Buddhist, and its etymology may not be conclusive for its meaning . The term was a more or less central concept among the Jains, the Ajivikas, the Buddhists, and certain Hindu traditions, and it may have been imported into Buddhism with much of its semantic range from other sramanic movements . </P>

Parinirvana refers to the blowing out or extinguishing of desire