What are the steps to nirvana in Buddhism?

Answer 1

Siddhartha's mom, Queen Maya, had a dream (sorry, I don't know what the dream was about) while she was pregnant with Siddhartha. She thought she should know what the dream meant, so she asked the holy men. They told her it meant that her if Siddhartha stayed in the royal life, he would be the ruler of the universe, but if he left the royal life, he would become the Buddha. Siddhartha's father, of course, wanted Siddhartha to become the ruler of the universe, so he provided the best of everything for his son. Then when Siddhartha was sixteen he got married. Then when he was twenty-nine he had a son. Siddhartha's father finally decided that Siddhartha could leave the palace walls since he had a son and a wife to keep him home. Siddhartha took three trips outside of the palace, and he saw suffering for the first time. The first trip he saw an old man. The second trip he saw a sick man. On the third trip he saw a dead man. And on the fourth trip he saw an ascetic. An ascetic is an extremely peaceful person. Siddhartha saw the ascetic and was so impressed by how peaceful he was despite the suffering around him, that he decided to become an ascetic too. Siddhartha then took the life of an ascetic. He gave up all his fancy things, shaved his head and meditated a lot. But Siddhartha did not feel like this was the way to reach Enlightenment, and then Nirvana. So he gave up the life of an ascetic, and decided to take the middle path, which is a cross between wealthy and poor like an ascetic. (Kind of like the middle class today.) Siddhartha then went to meditate under the Bodhi tree for forty days. There he discovered the four noble truths, the eightfold path, and nirvana and enlightenment. That's how he became the Buddha.

Answer 2

According to the Buddha, there are four steps to nibbana(nirvana):

1) Stream Winner - one practices the Five Precepts, has attained unwavering confidence in the Triple Gem, is thereby assured of no further rebirth in the lower realms, and is assured of nibbana within seven lifetimes.

2) Once returner: One is assured of nibbana with no more than one rebirth.

3) Non-returner: One will be reborn in the heavenly Pure Abodes, and from there will attain nibbana without ever being reborn in a body.

4) arahat - One has attained nibbana, and will never be reborn again.