Weapon: Nirvana

An Ultimate Staff

Appearances: FFIV, FFX, FFXI, FFXIII, FFXIV



In all the games this staff weapon appears in it is always the best, the pinnacle of staves.

Nirvana is Sanskrit word litterally meaning 'blown out'  or 'extinguished'. Through Bhuddism and Hinduism the term has taken on a meaning closer to 'liberation' or 'salvation'. Broadly speaking both religions regard Nirvana as a final, ultimate state of being  where the soul is freed from the constraints of the mortal world. It is a timeless state rather than an immortal one. The adoption of the 'salvation' connotation for Nirvana probably appeared sometime after the 6th or 5th century BCE. Concepts similar to Nirvana appear in the earlier, per-Bhuddist texts around the first millennium BCE. The term Nirvana became adopted as people sought to 'blow out' the fires of greed, hatred and delusion.

Nirvana appears slightly later in Hinduism than in Bhudism. The term certainly appears in the Nirvana Upanishad dating from the sometime before 300 CE. Though the texts origins could date from as early as 300 BCE (nice date range there...).

Recomended reading:

Nirvana and Other Buddist Felicities, Steven Collins