What is “Nibbana”?

The Buddha had been very sick when in Vesali. After Rainy Season Retreat in Vesali he went with his disciples towards the northwest. On the way he had food offered by the blacksmith Cunda and became seriously ill. Finally he reached the bank of a river in Kusinara. After taking a bath he lay on his right side with his head resting on his right hand, on a hammock placed among four pairs of sala trees. Subsequently, all the recumbent (Sleeping) Buddha statues or the statues of the Buddha’s Nibbana have been modeled in his posture. The Buddha informed his disciples of the approach of his Nibbana, and all his disciples watched over him. At night, a Brahmin scholar named Subhadda came to see the Buddha. When Ananda tried to stop him, the Buddha called Subhadda to his beside and preached a discourse for him, so Subhadda became the last disciple of the Buddha’s lifetime. From the time he left Vesali on the journey, the Buddha preached to his disciples many times and at midnight when he was about to die, he told them for the last time, “You should not think that you no longer have a teacher. Rather you should regard the teachings (Dharma) as your teacher. Be diligent in striving for salvation. Never be indolent.”