myang 'das - Nirvana

The goal of removing all suffering is myang 'das, Nirvana.

myang is is to suffer or to be tormented, 'das is to pass, to transgress.

There's a longer Tibetan word that we will go through next, as well as look at various kinds of Nirvanas, there's more than just one definition or concept where this word is used, and as a translator you need to find the actual usage from the context.

Nirvana, by the way, is from a root word nir, where nir means to exhaust something, like blowing out a candle.

The whole concept and idea of Nirvana has, in my opinion, been mistranslated and misunderstood in the Western world, especially 30+ years back in time. When reading about Buddhism in High school books, the way myang 'das was presented sounded like the goal is to disappear into nihilism, and that didn't sound interesting for a teenager. And it didn't sound logically valid, as you can't get to nothing from something.

Even today, in the popular culture, the word Nirvana is used for all kinds of issues, mostly related to perfect happiness. And it is, but it's much, much more, too, and that's what we will go through, at it's good to learn the results that everyone will reach at some point.