<p>Sleep is not really Nibbana because Nibbana is defined as the "uprooting" &amp; "destruction" of the mental defilments, as follows:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>To whatever extent there are phenomena conditioned or unconditioned, dispassion is declared the foremost among them, that is, the crushing
  of pride, the removal of thirst, the <strong>uprooting</strong> of attachment, the
  termination of the round, the <strong>destruction</strong> of craving, dispassion,
  cessation, nibbāna.</em></p>
  
  <p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/en/an4.34" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>AN 4.34</em></a></p>
</blockquote>

<p>In sleep, the mental defilements of an non-fully-enlightened mind remain dormant as "underlying tendencies". Therefore, sleep cannot be Nibbana. </p>

<p>However, the teacher Bhikkhu Buddhadasa make some comments about how the 'Nibbana element' operates in everyday life, here: <a href="http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebdha013.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Nibbana for Everyone</em></a>. which includes 'sleep'. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>Nibbāna is one of the dhātus (natural elements). It is the coolness that remains when the defilements – greed, anger, fear, delusion –
  have ended.</em></p>
  
  <p><em>Any reactive emotion that arises ceases when its causes and conditions cease. Although it may be a temporary quenching,
  merely a temporary coolness, it is still Nibbāna, even if only
  temporarily. Thus, there’s a temporary Nibbāna for those who can’t yet
  avoid some defilements. It is this temporary Nibbāna that sustains the
  lives of beings who continue hanging onto defilement. Anyone can see
  that if the egoistic emotions existed night and day without any pause
  or rest, no life could endure it. If such life didn’t die, it would go
  crazy and then die in the end. You ought to consider carefully the
  fact that life can survive only because there are periods when the
  defilements don’t roast it. These periods outnumber the times when the
  defilements blaze.</em></p>
  
  <p><em>These periodic Nibbānas sustain life for all of us, without excepting even animals, which have their levels of Nibbāna, too. We are able to
  survive because this kind of Nibbāna nurtures us, until it becomes the
  most ordinary habit of life and of mind. Whenever there is freedom
  from defilement, then there is the value and meaning of Nibbāna. This
  must occur fairly often for living things to survive. That we have
  some time to relax both bodily and mentally provides us with the
  freshness and vitality needed to live.</em></p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-28T05:58:03.127Z
2017-04-28T06:03:28.690Z
2017-04-28T06:03:28.690Z
Dhamma Dhatu
<p>I've heard Jack Kornfield make this reference in one or more audiobooks. Might have been in "A Wise Heart" or "The Roots of Buddhist Psychology". Not sure exactly where though. He speaks of hard working busy middle aged business people coming to a retreat center for the first time, and realizing how tired and worn out they are. He goes on to say that if students are sleepy the first couple of days at retreat, it doesn't bother him. He knows people need to rest up in order to get the most out of the retreat. And he jokes that sleep is the lazy man's nirvana. He might have even attributed this joke to HIS teacher Ajahn Chah.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-30T05:10:56.020Z
2018-10-30T11:31:41.003Z
2018-10-30T11:31:41.003Z
Zach Perlman
<p>Sleep is mentioned as an impotent state of life, by Buddha. </p>

<p>Nirvana requires the growth of <strong>Saptha Bojjang</strong> which will not take place while asleep. </p>

<p>More details on Bojjanga is available here: <a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/index.html#sn46" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bojjanga Samyuttaya</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-28T11:19:52.357Z
2017-04-28T11:19:52.357Z
Ravindranath Akila
<p>There are some Zen <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dan" rel="nofollow noreferrer">koans</a> that allegorically refer to this. The most famous one is:</p>

<p>Blue Cliff Record, Case 89</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Yunyan asked Daowu, “How does the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion use
  so many hands and eyes?”</p>
  
  <p>Daowu said, “It’s just like a person in the middle of the night
  reaching in search of a pillow.”</p>
  
  <p>Yunyan said, “I understand.”</p>
  
  <p>Daowu said, “How do you understand it?</p>
  
  <p>Yunyan said, “All over the body are hands and eyes.”</p>
  
  <p>Daowu said, “What you said is all right, but it’s only eighty percent
  of it.”</p>
  
  <p>Yunyan said, “I’m like this, elder brother. How do you understand it?”</p>
  
  <p>Daowu said, “Throughout the body are hands and eyes.”</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-31T19:21:31.383Z
2018-10-31T19:21:31.383Z
Codosaur
<p>The other night at a group meditation meeting, I mentioned to another practitioner that sleep is a 'lazy form of Nirvana'. </p>

<p>My memory tells me that Tara Brach or another teacher jokingly referred to sleep in that way, but after looking on Google, I can't find the reference :\ </p>

<p>I would feel a little guilty if my reference was false, but I know that Nirvana is in a lot of ways the opposite of sleep and I'm sure she did too.</p>

<p>I ask this as a joke, but has anyone heard of sleep referred as a 'lazy form of Nirvana?' If so, which teacher made that reference?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-30T19:37:27.663Z
I thank everyone for their clear and concise definitions of Nirvana and its obvious difference from the state of sleep. But the intent of my question was simply to ask if someone had heard of a monk or nun mentioning the phrase, 'lazy Nirvana' in a Dharma talk. If you have, please leave a note below.
halfmut
<reference-request><nirvana><sleep>
Has a teacher referred to sleep as a form of 'lazy nirvana'?
# Has a teacher referred to sleep as a form of 'lazy nirvana'?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-04-28)

The other night at a group meditation meeting, I mentioned to another practitioner that sleep is a 'lazy form of Nirvana'.

My memory tells me that Tara Brach or another teacher jokingly referred to sleep in that way, but after looking on Google, I can't find the reference :\

I would feel a little guilty if my reference was false, but I know that Nirvana is in a lot of ways the opposite of sleep and I'm sure she did too.

I ask this as a joke, but has anyone heard of sleep referred as a 'lazy form of Nirvana?' If so, which teacher made that reference?

**Tags:** reference-request, nirvana, sleep

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I thank everyone for their clear and concise definitions of Nirvana and its obvious difference from the state of sleep. But the intent of my question was simply to ask if someone had heard of a monk or nun mentioning the phrase, 'lazy Nirvana' in a Dharma talk. If you have, please leave a note below.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-04-28. Score: 2

Sleep is not really Nibbana because Nibbana is defined as the "uprooting" & "destruction" of the mental defilments, as follows:

> *To whatever extent there are phenomena conditioned or unconditioned, dispassion is declared the foremost among them, that is, the crushing
> of pride, the removal of thirst, the **uprooting** of attachment, the
> termination of the round, the **destruction** of craving, dispassion,
> cessation, nibbāna.*
>
> [*AN 4.34*](https://suttacentral.net/en/an4.34)

In sleep, the mental defilements of an non-fully-enlightened mind remain dormant as "underlying tendencies". Therefore, sleep cannot be Nibbana.

However, the teacher Bhikkhu Buddhadasa make some comments about how the 'Nibbana element' operates in everyday life, here: [*Nibbana for Everyone*](http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebdha013.htm). which includes 'sleep'.

> *Nibbāna is one of the dhātus (natural elements). It is the coolness that remains when the defilements – greed, anger, fear, delusion –
> have ended.*
>
> *Any reactive emotion that arises ceases when its causes and conditions cease. Although it may be a temporary quenching,
> merely a temporary coolness, it is still Nibbāna, even if only
> temporarily. Thus, there’s a temporary Nibbāna for those who can’t yet
> avoid some defilements. It is this temporary Nibbāna that sustains the
> lives of beings who continue hanging onto defilement. Anyone can see
> that if the egoistic emotions existed night and day without any pause
> or rest, no life could endure it. If such life didn’t die, it would go
> crazy and then die in the end. You ought to consider carefully the
> fact that life can survive only because there are periods when the
> defilements don’t roast it. These periods outnumber the times when the
> defilements blaze.*
>
> *These periodic Nibbānas sustain life for all of us, without excepting even animals, which have their levels of Nibbāna, too. We are able to
> survive because this kind of Nibbāna nurtures us, until it becomes the
> most ordinary habit of life and of mind. Whenever there is freedom
> from defilement, then there is the value and meaning of Nibbāna. This
> must occur fairly often for living things to survive. That we have
> some time to relax both bodily and mentally provides us with the
> freshness and vitality needed to live.*


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-10-30. Score: 2

I've heard Jack Kornfield make this reference in one or more audiobooks. Might have been in "A Wise Heart" or "The Roots of Buddhist Psychology". Not sure exactly where though. He speaks of hard working busy middle aged business people coming to a retreat center for the first time, and realizing how tired and worn out they are. He goes on to say that if students are sleepy the first couple of days at retreat, it doesn't bother him. He knows people need to rest up in order to get the most out of the retreat. And he jokes that sleep is the lazy man's nirvana. He might have even attributed this joke to HIS teacher Ajahn Chah.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-04-28. Score: 1

Sleep is mentioned as an impotent state of life, by Buddha.

Nirvana requires the growth of **Saptha Bojjang** which will not take place while asleep.

More details on Bojjanga is available here: [Bojjanga Samyuttaya](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/index.html#sn46)


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-10-31. Score: 0

There are some Zen [koans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dan) that allegorically refer to this. The most famous one is:

Blue Cliff Record, Case 89

> Yunyan asked Daowu, “How does the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion use
> so many hands and eyes?”
>
> Daowu said, “It’s just like a person in the middle of the night
> reaching in search of a pillow.”
>
> Yunyan said, “I understand.”
>
> Daowu said, “How do you understand it?
>
> Yunyan said, “All over the body are hands and eyes.”
>
> Daowu said, “What you said is all right, but it’s only eighty percent
> of it.”
>
> Yunyan said, “I’m like this, elder brother. How do you understand it?”
>
> Daowu said, “Throughout the body are hands and eyes.”


---

