Teachings and Discipline Will Be Your Teacher

Ānanda, it may be that you will think: ‘The Teacher’s instruction has ceased, now we have no Teacher!’ It should not be seen like this, Ānanda, for what I have taught and explained to you as Teachings and discipline will, at my passing, be your Teacher.

Now, Monks, I declare to you: all conditioned things are of a nature to decay strive on untiringly.

(These were The Tathāgata’s last words.)

(Reference: DN 16)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares his last words prior to death.

The Buddha was so Enlightened that he was able to provide his Students three (3) months advance notice of his death and he knew the exact moment of his death providing these last words as a final Teaching. People do not normally know of their pending death three (3) months in advance and they do not know the exact moment of their death but The Perfectly Enlightened Buddha did know, due to his deep awareness of mind and wisdom having attained Enlightenment.

After teaching for forty-five (45) years, he had shared The Teachings needed for Practitioners to attain Enlightenment. As all conditioned things are impermanent, it was time for the death of The Buddha. The Universal Truth of Impermanence applies to all conditioned things even a Buddha.

In his last spoken sentence, The Buddha shares the very first Teaching on The Path to Enlightenment that a Practitioner will need to deeply understand to attain Enlightenment.

“I declare to you: all conditioned things are of a nature to decay strive on untiringly” is explaining The Universal Truth of Impermanence while also encouraging one to be determined, dedicated, and diligent in their pursuit towards the attainment of Enlightenment. To attain Enlightenment a Practitioner will need to deeply understand The Universal Truth of Impermanence. The Buddha being a true Buddha teaches until his last breath.

He encourages his Students to not mourn his death that his guidance has not ceased. Instead, that he had shared all that was needed for the attainment of Enlightenment over his forty-five (45) years of teaching and these Teachings should be considered “your Teacher”.

He encourages his Students to “strive on untiringly” applying consistent energy and effort towards the ultimate goal of Enlightenment.

Final Nibbāna

Final Nibbāna, or Final Enlightenment, is when someone attains Enlightenment and dies. This is referred to as Final Enlightenment.

During one’s life, the mind can be trained to attain Enlightenment. The mind will reside peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy - permanently. The mind will no longer experience any mental pain associated with unwelcomed emotions, thoughts, ideas, or any sort of discontentedness of mind. All discontentedness such as sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc., will be completely eliminated from the mind.

However, a being is unable to completely transcend physical pain while in the human form. This is impossible. While the mind can be developed to not react with anger, sadness, hostility, aggression, or other discontent feelings upon experiencing physical pain, nonetheless, physical pain will still be experienced by the mind.

The mind can eliminate all cravings/desires/attachments while in the human form and during this life to experience Enlightenment. But while still alive, a being cannot eliminate the connection between the body and the mind. The mind is still connected to the physical body during life. Therefore, the mind will still experience physical pain but the mind will experience it differently in the Enlightened mental state versus in the unEnlightened mental state.

In the unEnlightened mental state, when the mind experiences physical pain, one can become angered, frustrated, irritated, annoyed, hostile, aggressive, resentful, fearful, and experience other discontent feelings. This is due to the mind craving permanent health, permanent comfort, and permanent pleasant feelings from the body. It is impossible for the body to experience permanent comfort due to The Universal Truth of Impermanence.

The pain associated with the physical body is an important aspect of the mind that needs to exist in order for a being to function in the world. If a being did not experience physical pain, they would be unable to remove the physical body from harm when too close to a heat source or if another problematic situation arose. The sensation of physical pain experienced by the mind helps a being understand, potential damage will occur or has occurred and therefore, seek a remedy to the physical pain. This is why we choose to step away from a heat source. The mind is alerted that the physical body is experiencing pain and the being takes action to resolve the situation. This is beneficial and needed during life.

In these situations, an unEnlightened mind will oftentimes experience discontentedness associated with the craving for permanent comfort of the physical body. When there is physical pain, the unEnlightened mind becomes discontent.

An Enlightened mind has been deeply trained to the point that it understands physical pain is impermanent, and that allowing the mind to become discontent due to physical pain, does not help to eliminate the physical pain.

Discontentedness at times of physical pain could actually make the situation worse.

For example, if one was bitten by a poisonous snake and became agitated, overactive, and uncalm, this would increase respirations of the lungs and heart functions creating conditions for the poison to more rapidly move through the body causing more significant injury and damage with an increased risk of potential death. Through training the mind to reside unagitated and calm, an individual can decrease the harm to the body and improve their ability to survive an injury such as a snake bite because the poison will not permeate in the body as rapidly when the mind is calm. Through the mind remaining calm during physical injuries, a being increases their ability to resolve the situation with a positive outcome.

When an Enlightened mind experiences physical pain, the mind can continue to reside peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy despite the physical injury, damage, or pain. This is an added benefit experienced by an Enlightened mind producing improved outcomes in situations where physical pain is experienced.

Nonetheless, there is still physical pain for an Enlightened being but it is just that the mind will not react to the pain and instead, respond to resolve the situation finding a solution. The physical pain associated with existence will continue for the remaining time of existence even for an Enlightened being. But, they will not experience mental anguish or any type of discontentedness associated with the physical pain. The Enlightened mind does not relate to the pain in the same way as the unEnlightened mind which will oftentimes become discontent due to physical pain.

It is not until the physical body dies, described by Gotama Buddha as “the breakup of the body”, that the body and mind completely separate. From that point, not only has one transcended discontentedness their entire life due to the attainment of Enlightenment, but the being will then experience the complete elimination of all pain including physical pain. This is referred to as Final Enlightenment or Final Nibbāna.

Enlightenment is experienced during life and the mind has transcended all emotional pain and suffering. But, the physical pain will remain, because it is needed to make wise decisions concerning the physical body during times of injury. The Enlightened mind will have physical pain but will have acquired an improved way of responding to the physical pain rather than reacting to it so there is no mental pain.

Once a being has attained Enlightenment and dies, there is no longer any physical pain because the separation of the body and mind has occurred, therefore one has attained Final Enlightenment. All pain both mental and physical has been completely eliminated - permanently.

It is possible for an unEnlightened being to experience Enlightenment and Final Enlightenment at the time of death. The being would have experienced discontentedness their entire life but at the time of death, they would immediately experience Enlightenment and Final Enlightenment no longer experiencing rebirth through The Cycle of Rebirth.

What happens once one attains Enlightenment and dies experiencing Final Enlightenment is an undeclared Teaching of Gotama Buddha. He did not teach what is next other than an Enlightened being will not experience any further existence in The Cycle of Rebirth.

There are other Teachings from Gotama Buddha in this book series related to how to ensure The Teachings of a Buddha are sustained in the world. Chapters 33 and 34 in the book “Foundation in The Teachings” (Volume 3) provides these Teachings and an explanation of these Teachings.

What Happens at Death?

After we die does the body become soil to the earth or after death what remains? Isn’t there spirit or energy which exist inside our body? Isn’t there some sort of energy?

No, at the time of death the body and mind separate and then there is "break up of the body".

The body was described by Gotama Buddha through The Four Elements of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water.

Essentially, the physical body is described and classified into these Four Elements.

Earth: The solids of the body. (hair, teeth, nails, bones, etc.)

Wind: The movement of bodily functions. (Circulation, movement of bile, etc.)

Fire: The temperature of the body.

Water: The liquids of the body. (urine, saliva, blood, pus, tears, etc.)

The physical body is nothing more than these four elements coming together with a mind or consciousness. The joining of the body and the mind creates a person.

Once the body and mind separate, the body will deteriorate remaining as these four elements but without a mind or consciousness.

What you are looking at when you see the body is a unique collection of these four elements that is always in a state of change and upon death, the body will continue that change and configuration but it will still be just these four elements.

The body will progressively deteriorate and depending whether there is burial or cremation, will determine how quickly the process of change occurs.

Through burial, the process is much slower. Cremation accelerates the process of change of these four elements.

What happens to the mind upon death?

If the mind is not yet Enlightened, (i.e. the mind has not yet attained Enlightenment), then there is rebirth into one of The Five Realms.

Heavenly Realm

Human Realm

Afflicted Spirits Realm

Animal Realm

Hell Realm

Heavenly, Afflicted Spirits, and Hell realms are formless realms. (i.e. there is no physical form).

Human and Animal realms are form realms, (i.e. there is physical form).

Rebirth is not instantaneous and upon rebirth there is a completely new existence with a new form or formless existence and a new consciousness, (i.e. a new mind).

The new mind will have residual memories of past lives and unextinguished craving/ desire/attachment from past lives. The residual memories of past lives may potentially be recalled as the mind awakens towards Enlightenment more and more.

If someone attains Enlightenment what happens to the mind? Does it disappear?

If the mind has experienced Enlightenment during the human or heavenly existence or at death, (i.e. Enlightenment can be attained during an existence in the human or heavenly realm or at death in those realms but not in the lower realms), the body and mind separate and what happens next is an "undeclared" Teaching.

To attain Enlightenment, the mind needs to get to the point where there is no craving/ desire/attachment (i.e. mental longing with a strong eagerness) to know what is next.

An Enlightened mind is experiencing so much peace, calm, serenity, and contentedness with joy that is permanent, the mind is not going to care what is next.

An Enlightened mind has already extinguished all fears including the fear of death, therefore, the mind is so peaceful and does not fear death so what happens next, the Enlightened mind does not care.

Having attained Enlightenment, you will know that you are already experiencing complete and utter peacefulness so if there is something next after death for an Enlightened being, it is either as good as you are currently experiencing or better.

And, if there is nothing next, then, ok, you are "done".

Either way, the mind needs to "let go" of wanting to know what is next and just focus on learning and practicing The Teachings with guidance on The Path to Enlightenment to experience Enlightenment in this life now that you are human.

Is the mind or soul/spirit the same thing?

No they are not.

There is no Teaching from The Buddha that there is or is not a soul/spirit. This is not a Teaching he shared. He left The Teaching on a soul/spirit as “undeclared".

How Did The Buddha Die?

Author: Venerable Dr Mettanando Bhikkhu

Published: 15 May 2001 - Bangkok Post

(This article was partially edited by the author of this book series to improve the formatting and readability, however, the primary content of the article was not edited. Dr Mettanando Bhikkhu was a physician before becoming an Ordained Practitioner. He was based at Wat Ratchaorasaram Ratchaworawihan, Thailand at the time that this article was published.)

During Vesak Day, we are informed that it is also the day The Buddha attained Final Enlightenment. But not many know how The Buddha died. Ancient texts weave two stories about The Buddha's death. Was it planned and willed by The Buddha, or was it food poisoning, or something else altogether?

Here’s an account [to help you better understand how The Buddha died].

The Mahaparinibbana Sutta, (Reference: DN 16) from the Long Discourse of The Pāli Canon, is without doubt the most reliable source for details on the death of Siddhattha Gotama (BCE 563-483), The Buddha. It is composed in a narrative style that allows readers to follow the story of the last days of The Buddha, beginning a few months before he died.

To understand what really happened to The Buddha is not a simple matter, though. The sutta, or discourse, paints two conflicting personalities of The Buddha, one overriding the other.

The first personality was that of a miracle worker who beamed himself and his entourage of Monks across the Ganges River (D II, 89), who had a divine vision of the settlement of gods on earth (D II, 87), who could live until the end of the world on condition that someone invite him to do so (D II, 103), who determined the time of his own death (D II, 105), and whose death was glorified by the shower of heavenly flowers and sandal powder and divine music (D II, 138).

The other personality was that of an aged being who was failing in health (D II, 120), who almost lost his life because of a severe pain during his last retreat at Vesali (D II, 100), and who was forced to come to terms with his unexpected illness and death after consuming a special cuisine offered by his generous host.

These two personalities take turns emerging in different parts of the narrative. Moreover, there also appear to be two explanations of The Buddha's cause of death: One is that the

The Buddha died because his attendant, Ānanda, failed to invite him to live to an aeon or even longer (D II, 117). The other possibility is that he died because of the food that Cunda, a metal worker, served him, which was called "Sukaramaddava" (D II, 127-157).

The former story, probably a legend, reflects a historical error, whereas the latter sounds more realistic and accurate in describing a real life situation that happened in The Buddha’s last days.

A number of hypotheses have been put forth regarding the nature of the special dish that The Buddha ate during his last meal, which was prepared by his generous host, Cunda the metalworker.

The controversy over the nature of Sukaramaddava began in the commentary to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, compiled by Buddhaghosa in the fifth century CE. The second possibility is that Sukaramaddava was a "special meal" for pigs. The third possibility suggests that it was some kind of mushrooms. The last suggestion is based on the fact that Cunda was a metalworker, not a butcher or meat trader; therefore, it is unlikely that he had pork for preparing the meal for The Buddha.

What We Know

In the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, we are told that The Buddha became ill immediately after eating the Sukaramaddava. Since we do not know anything about the nature of Sukaramaddava, it is difficult to name it as the direct cause of The Buddha's illness. But the sutta itself provides details about the signs and symptoms of his illness that are important from a medical perspective.

The sutta begins its narrative months before The Buddha passed away. We are told that King Ajatasattu wanted to wage a war against a rival state, the Vijjans. He sent his Prime Minister, Vassakara, to ask The Buddha for his opinion about his plan. The Buddha did not answer the question, but pointed to seven criteria for the prosperity of the Vijjans, which he had taught them at Mount Vulture.

The Buddha advised the Monks to practice these seven criteria for the prosperity of The Community. From then on, The Buddha traveled through villages, cities and towns on his way to Kusinara, the town where he would later die.

It was during his last retreat, or Rainy Season, at the village of Beluva that he fell ill. The symptoms of the illness were sudden, severe pain. However, the sutta provides no description of the location and character of his pain. It mentions his illness briefly, and says that the pain was intense, and almost killed him.

Subsequently, The Buddha was visited by Mara, who invited him to pass away. The Buddha did not accept the invitation right away. It was only after Ānanda, his attendant, failed to recognize his hint for an invitation to remain that he chose to accept the invitation of Mara and announced that he would pass away in three months.

The Buddha then journeyed to Kusinara. The journey was long and difficult because of his poor health. The sutta says that he "had to stop and rest thirty-two times" while traveling from Pava to Kusinara, a distance of about 15 kilometers. It is unusual for an Enlightened being to have to stop so frequently while walking a short distance. This indicated that The Buddha was exhausted and perhaps dehydrated.

The Buddha arrived at the mango grove of Cunda the metalworker. It was here that Cunda offered him the controversial meal of Sukaramaddava. The Buddha instructed Cunda to serve the Sukaramaddava to him alone and the other food to the accompanying Monks. He also instructed Cunda to bury the remaining Sukaramaddava in a pit, saying that he saw no one in the world who could digest it, other than a Tathāgata.

Soon after consuming the Sukaramaddava, The Buddha was afflicted with a severe illness, with the passing of blood, and sharp, deadly pains. Nevertheless, he continued his journey to Kusinara.

The Timing

This is the information we find in the sutta. We need to make a careful analysis of it in order to determine what was actually happening to The Buddha, and what caused his death.

The first significant point is the timing of the symptoms of his illness. We are told that the illness came on immediately after he ate the Sukaramaddava. Did the meal cause The Buddha’s illness?

The sutta tells us that The Buddha had suffered a serious illness months earlier, during his last retreat. The illness was severe enough to almost kill him. He was left with residual pain after the retreat, as he told Ānanda that his body was like an old cart, held together with straps.

The illness reoccurred immediately after the meal, and with even more severe symptoms. The Buddha passed blood, had sharp pain, and was severely weakened. The similarity of the symptoms suggests that this was a recurrence of his previous illness rather than a new disease caused by food poisoning.

Diagnosis

From the description, The Buddha suffered from severe abdominal pain and intestinal bleeding. These symptoms are consistent with mesenteric infarction, a condition in which the blood supply to the intestines is blocked, causing part of the bowel to die.

Mesenteric infarction commonly occurs in elderly people with atherosclerosis or other vascular disease. The sudden onset of severe abdominal pain is characteristic, and later bleeding can occur as the bowel tissue becomes damaged.

Mesenteric Infarction

Mesenteric infarction is caused by blockage of a major artery supplying the intestines. In elderly patients, the blockage may be due to a blood clot or narrowing of the artery. The condition produces severe abdominal pain that is often out of proportion to the findings on physical examination.

If blood supply is not restored, the affected intestine becomes necrotic and bleeding occurs. Without modern surgery and intensive medical treatment, the condition is usually fatal.

Progression of the Disease

The Buddha’s earlier illness at Beluva may have been the first episode of mesenteric ischemia, in which the blood supply was temporarily reduced but then restored. This would explain why he recovered sufficiently to continue traveling but remained weak and in pain.

The final attack after the meal at Cunda’s home may have represented complete blockage of the artery, resulting in infarction of the intestine and gastrointestinal bleeding. The timing after the meal may have been coincidental, or eating may have increased the demand for blood flow to the intestines and triggered the final episode.

Retrospective Analysis

If this diagnosis is correct, Cunda’s meal did not poison The Buddha. The illness was a recurrence of an underlying vascular problem that had already manifested months earlier.

This interpretation also explains why The Buddha told Ānanda that Cunda should not feel remorse. He instructed Ānanda to tell Cunda that offering the final meal was an act of great merit, comparable to the meal offered before The Buddha’s Enlightenment.

Conclusion

The available evidence suggests that The Buddha most likely died from mesenteric infarction rather than food poisoning. His symptoms, age, previous episode of severe abdominal illness, and the progression to intestinal bleeding are medically consistent with this diagnosis.

The exact cause cannot be proven after more than two thousand years, but a careful reading of the Mahaparinibbana Sutta together with medical knowledge provides a plausible explanation for his final illness and death.

Author’s Thoughts

Due to their importance, The Words of The Buddha book series have the last words of The Buddha in multiple places throughout the book series.

You can investigate these chapters, which some of them are the same. There are basically two different chapters being repeated throughout the book series in all of these books and chapters.

Volume 2 - Chapter 45

Volume 3 - Chapter 97

Volume 9 - Chapter 47

Volume 10 - Chapter 46

Volume 12 - Chapter 48

In all of these locations within the books series, I have inserted the last words of The Buddha and shared what one encounters upon death. This will help you to understand and gain the wisdom of, what transpires for a being as part of the process of dying and death itself.

A Student who reads this article titled “How Did The Buddha Die?” and is unEnlightened can learn from it but should not be overly attached to any one explanation regarding the physical cause of The Buddha’s death. The important Teaching is not the exact medical diagnosis but to understand The Universal Truth of Impermanence and to continue progressing on The Path to Enlightenment.

The Buddha taught that all conditioned things are impermanent. Birth leads to aging, illness, and death. This is true for every human being, including a Buddha. Understanding this helps a Practitioner to abandon craving/desire/attachment to the physical body and to develop wisdom regarding the natural process of life and death.

At death, a Practitioner should continue to train the mind and apply The Teachings rather than become overwhelmed by fear or attachment. A calm, wholesome, and well-trained mind is beneficial during the process of dying or at death.

Detailed explanation of Training a Mind Filled with Loving-Kindness, without Hostility or Ill Will is available in this same book series found in Chapter 84 of the book “Foundations in The Teachings” (Volume 3).