'fading away', detachment; absence of lust, dispassionateness. Appears frequently together with nirodha, 'cessation'

• (1) as a name for Nibbāna,

• (2) in the contemplations

  • (a) forming the 4th tetrad in the exercises in mindfulness of breathing (s. Ānāpānasati 14),

  • (b) of the 18 principal insights (No. 5); s. vipassanā.

According to Com., it may mean

• (1) the momentary destruction of phenomena, or

• (2) the ultimate 'fading away', i.e. Nibbāna.

In the aforementioned two contemplations, it means the understanding of both, and the path attained by such understanding.