According to science, what is Nirvana or the state of liberation, oneness? And does it exist?

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Call me Z Profile
Call me Z answered

This is more in the realm of philosophy and spirituality than of science. 

Buddhism counts Nirvana as the ultimate spiritual goal, the cessation (or "blowing out") of temptation (or passion), aversion and suffering. The state of "oneness", or more accurately "mindfulness", is an individual journey, marked by intangible mileposts, science is neutral on such concepts. With respect to those who observe such inward spiritual philosophies, it would be difficult to argue that such a state does not exist. The Buddha himself is said to have reached the pinnacle of "Enlightenment". It is from the teachings of the Buddha that the path(s) to the states of Nirvana are set forth. 

That said, there may be much to be found in the study of brain activity of those achieving such states of "being". 

There is much more to this than can be fully articulated here, but perhaps this brief overview addresses your question. 

4 People thanked the writer.
Ray Dart
Ray Dart commented
Yep, is was the "according to science" bit of the question that made it fundamentally unanswerable (although you did pretty well).
Perry Nuttal
Perry Nuttal commented
Thank you
Call me Z
Call me Z commented
I had some trepidation in responding here, because you seemed interested in a scientific perspective of a concept that is distinctly unscientific, as Ray wisely pointed out. I hope you found some measure of resolution to your question. I encourage you to further explore the philosophies inherent in Buddhist teachings.

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