The Death of the Buddha

Then the venerable Ananda entered the monastery, and, leaning against the bolt of the door, he wept, saying,—

“Behold, I am but a learner and not yet perfect, and my Teacher is on the point of passing into Nirvana, he who was so compassionate to me.”

Then The Blessed One addressed the priests:—

“Where, O priests, is Ananda?”

“Reverend Sir, the venerable Ananda has entered the monastery, and leaning against the bolt of the door, he weeps, saying, ‘Behold, I am but a learner, and not yet perfect, and my Teacher is on the point of passing into Nirvana, he who was so compassionate to me.’”

Then The Blessed One addressed a certain priest, saying,—

“Go, O priest, and say to the venerable Ananda from me, ‘The Teacher calleth thee, brother Ananda.’”

“Yes, Reverend Sir,” said the priest to The Blessed One in assent, and drew near to where the venerable Ananda was; and having drawn near, he spoke to the venerable Ananda as follows:—

“The Teacher calleth thee, brother Ananda.”

“Yes, brother,” said the venerable Ananda to the priest in assent, and drew near to where The Blessed One was; and having drawn near and greeted The Blessed One, he sat down respectfully at one side. And the venerable Ananda being seated respectfully at one side, The Blessed One spoke to him as follows:—

“Enough, Ananda, do not grieve, nor weep. Have I not already told you, Ananda, that it is in the very nature of all things near and deat unto us that we must divide ourselves from them, leave them, ever ourselves from them? How is it possible, Ananda, that whatever ever has been born, has come into being, is organized and perishable, should not perish? That condition is not possible. For a long time, Ananda, have you waited on The Tathgata with a kind, devoted, cheerful, single-hearted, unstinted service of body, with a kind, devoted, cheerful, single-hearted, unstinted service of voice, with a kind, devoted, cheerful, single-hearted, unstinted service of mind. You have acquired much merit, Ananda; exert yourself, and soon will you be free from all depravity.”

Then The Blessed One addressed the priests:—

“Priests, of all those Blessed Ones who aforetime were saints and Supreme Buddhas, all had their favorite body-servants, just as I have now my Ananda. And, priests, of all those Blessed Ones who in the future shall be saints and Supreme Buddhas, all will have their favorite body-servants, just as I have now my Ananda. Wise, O priests, is Ananda—he knows when it is a fit time to draw near to see The Tathgata, whether for the priests, for the priestesses, for the lay disciples, for the female lay disciples, for the king, for the king’s courtiers, for the leaders of heretical sects, or for their adherents.

“Ananda, O priests, has four wonderful and marvellous qualities. And what are the four? O priests, if an assembly of priests draw near to behold Ananda, it is delighted with beholding him; and if then Ananda hold a discourse on the Doctrine, it is also delighted with the discourse; and when Ananda, O priests, ceases to speak, the assembly of priests is still unsated. O priests, if an assembly of priestesses … an assembly of lay disciples … an assembly of female lay disciples draw near to behold Ananda, it is delighted with beholding him; and if then Ananda hold a discourse on the Doctrine, it is also delighted with the discourse; and when Ananda, O priests, ceases to speak, the assembly of female lay disciples is still unsated.

“A Universal Monarch, O priests, has four wonderful and marvellous qualities. And what are the four? O priests, if an assembly of men of the warrior caste … an assembly of men of the Brahman caste … an assembly of householders … an assembly of monks draw near to behold the Universal Monarch, it is delighted with beholding him; and if then the Universal Monarch hold a discourse, it is also delighted with the discourse; and when the Universal Monarch, O priests, ceases to speak, the assembly of monks is still unsated.

“In exactly the same way, O priests, Ananda has four wonderful and marvellous qualities. O priests, if an assembly of priests … an assembly of priestesses … an assembly of lay disciples … an assembly of female lay disciples draw near to behold Ananda, it is delighted with beholding him; and if then Ananda hold a discourse on the Doctrine, it is also delighted with the discourse; and when Ananda, O priests, ceases to speak, the assembly of female lay disciples is still unsated. These, O priests, are the four wonderful and marvellous qualities possessed by Ananda.”

When The Blessed One had thus spoken, the venerable Ananda spoke to him as follows:—

“Reverend Sir, let not The Blessed One pass into Nirvana in this wattel-and-daub town, this town of the jungle, this branch village. For there are other great cities, Reverend Sir, to wit, Camp, Rjagaha, Svatthi, Kosamb, and Benares. Let The Blessed One pass into Nirvana in one of them. In them are many wealthy men of the warrior caste, many wealthy men of the Brahman caste, and many wealthy householders who are firm believers in The Tathgata, and they will perform the funeral rites for The Tathgata.”

“O Ananda, say not so! O Ananda, say not so, that this is a wattel-and-daub town, a town of the jungle, a branch village. There was once, Ananda, a king called Sudassana the Great, who was a Universal Monarch, a virtuous king of justice, a victorious ruler of the four quarters of the earth, possessing a secure dominion over his territory, and owning the seven precious gems. This city Kusinr, Ananda, was the capital of king Sudassana the Great, and had then the name of Kusvat, the capital, Ananda, was prosperous vided with food. As Alakamand, the capital of the gods, Ananda, is prosperous and flourishing, populous and thronging with gods, and is well provided with food, in exactly the same way, Ananda, Kusvat, the capital, was prosperous and flourishing, populous and thronging with people, and well provided with food. Kusvat, the capital, Ananda, was neither by day nor night without the ten noises,—to wit, the noise of elephants, the noise of horses, the noise of chariots, the noise of drums, the noise of tabors, the noise of lutes, the noise of song, the noise of cymbals, the noise of gongs, and the tenth noise of people crying, ‘Eat ye, and drink!’

“Go thou, Ananda, and enter the city Kusinr, and announce to the Kusinr-Mallas:—

“‘To-night, O ye Vsetthas, in the last watch, The Tathgata will pass into Nirvana. Be favorable, be favorable, O ye Vsetthas, and suffer not that afterwards ye feel remorse, saying, “The Tathgata passed into Nirvana while in our borders, but we did not avail ourselves of the opportunity of being present at the last moments of The Tathgata.’”

“Yes, Reverend Sir,” said the venerable Ananda to The Blessed One in assent; and putting on his tunic, and taking his bowl and his robes, he went to Kusinr with another member of the Order.

Now at that time the Kusinr-Mallas were assembled together in the town-hall on some matter of business. And the venerable Ananda drew near to the town-hall of the Kusinr-Mallas; and having drawn near, he made announcement to the Kusinr-Mallas, as follows:—

“To-night, O ye Vasetthas, in the last watch, The Tathgata will pass into Nirvana. Be favorable, be favorable, O ye Vasetthas, and suffer not that afterwards ye feel remorse, saying, ‘The Tathgata passed into Nirvana while in our borders, but we did not avail ourselves of the opportunity of being present at the last moments of The Tathgata.’”

The Mallas, on hearing this speech of the venerable Ananda, and their children and their daughters-in-law and their wives were grieved and sorrowful and overwhelmed with anguish of mind, and some let fly their hair and cried aloud, and stretched out their arms and cried aloud, and fell headlong to the ground and rolled to and fro, saying, “All too soon will The Blessed One pass into Nirvana; all too soon will The Happy One pass into Nirvana; all too soon will The Light of the World vanish from sight.” Then the Mallas and their children and their daughters-in-law and their wives, being grieved and sorrowful and overwhelmed with anguish of mind, drew near to the sal-tree grove Upavattana of the Mallas, and to where the venerable Ananda was.

Then it occurred to the venerable Ananda as follows:—

“If I shall cause the Kusinr-Mallas one by one to do reverence to The Blessed One, the day will dawn ere they have finished. What if now I marshal the Mallas by families, and cause them by families to do reverence to The Blessed One, and say, ‘Reverend Sir, a Malla named so-and-so, with his children, his wife, his following, and his friends, bows low in reverence at the feet of The Blessed One.’”

And the venerable Ananda marshalled the Mallas by families, and caused them by families to do reverence to The Blessed One, saying, “Reverend Sir, a Malla named so-and-so, with his children, his wife, his following, and his friends, bows low in reverence at the feet of The Blessed One.” And the venerable Ananda by this device succeeded in causing all the Kusinr-Mallas to do reverence to The Blessed One before the end of the first watch of the night.

Now at that time Subhadda, a wandering ascetic, was dwelling at Kusinr. And Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, heard the report:—

“To-night, in the last watch, the monk Gotama will pass into Nirvana.”

Then it occurred to Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, as follows:—

“I have heard wandering ascetics, that were old men, advanced in years, teachers, and teachers’ teachers, declare, ‘But seldom, and on rare occasions, does a Tathgata, a saint, and Supreme Buddha arise in the world.’ And to-night in the last watch, the monk Gotama will pass into Nirvana. And a certain question has arisen in my mind, and I am persuaded of the monk Gotama that he can so teach me the Doctrine that I shall be relieved of this my doubt.”

Then Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, drew near to the sal-tree grove Upavattana of the Mallas, and to where the venerable Ananda was, and having drawn near, he spoke to the venerable Ananda as follows:—

“Ananda, I have heard wandering ascetics, that were old men, advanced in years, teachers, and teachers’ teachers, declare, ‘But seldom, and on rare occasions, does a Tathgata, a saint, and Supreme Buddha arise in the world.’ And to-night, in the last watch, the monk Gotama will pass into Nirvana. And a certain doubt has arisen in my mind, and I am persuaded of the monk Gotama that he can so teach me the Doctrine that I shall be relieved of this my doubt. Let me, then, Ananda, have an opportunity of seeing the monk Gotama.”

When Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, had so spoken, the venerable Ananda spoke to him as follows:—

“Enough of that, brother Subhadda; trouble not The Tathgata. The Blessed One is weary.”

And a second time Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, …

And a third time Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, spoke to the venerable Ananda as follows:—

“Ananda, I have heard wandering ascetics, old men, advanced in years, teachers, and teachers’ teachers, when they said, ‘But seldom, and on rare occasions, does a Tathgata, a saint, and Supreme Buddha arise in the world.’ And to-night, in the last watch, the monk Gotama will pass into Nirvana. And a certain doubt has arisen in my mind, and I am persuaded of the monk Gotama that he can so teach me the Doctrine that I shall be relieved of this my doubt. Let me, then, Ananda, have an opportunity of seeing the monk Gotama.”

And a third time the venerable Ananda spoke to Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, as follows:—

“Enough of that, brother Subhadda; trouble not The Tathgata. The Blessed One is weary.”

Now The Blessed One chanced to hear the conversation between the venerable Ananda and the wandering ascetic Subhadda. And The Blessed One called to the venerable Ananda:—

“Enough, Ananda; hinder not Subhadda. Let Subhadda, Ananda, have an opportunity of beholding The Tathgata. Whatever Subhadda shall ask of me, he will ask for the sake of information, and not for the sake of troubling me, and he will quickly understand my answers to his questions.”

Then the venerable Ananda spoke to Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, as follows:—

“You may come, brother Subhadda; The Blessed One grants you an audience.”

Then Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, drew near to where The Blessed One was; and having drawn near, he exchanged greetings with The Blessed One; and having passed with him the greetings of friendship and civility, he sat down respectfully at one side. And seated respectfully at one side, Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, spoke to The Blessed One as follows:—

“Gotama, all those monks and Brahmans who possess a large following and crowds of hearers and disciples, and who are distinguished, renowned leaders of sects, and highly esteemed by the multitudes,—to wit, Pũrana Kassapa, Makkhali Gosla, Ajita Kesakambali, Pakudha Kaccyana, Sañjaya Belatthiputta, Nigantha Nthaputta,—have they all done as they maintain, discovered the truth, or have they not? or have some of them done so, and others not?”

“Enough, O Subhadda, let us leave the question, ‘Have they all done as they maintain, discovered the truth, or have they not? or have some of them done so, and others not?’ The Doctrine will I teach you, Subhadda. Listen to me, and pay strict attention, and I will speak.”

“Yes, Reverend Sir,” said Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, to The Blessed One in assent. And The Blessed One spoke as follows:—

“Subhadda, in whatever doctrine and discipline the noble eightfold path is not found, therein also is not found the monk of the first degree, nor the monk of the second degree, nor the monk of the third degree, nor the monk of the fourth degree; and in whatever doctrine and discipline, O Subhadda, the noble eightfold path is found, therein also are found the monk of the first degree, and the monk of the second degree, and the monk of the third degree, and the monk of the fourth degree. Now in this Doctrine and Discipline, O Subhadda, the noble eightfold path is found: and therein alone, O Subhadda, are found the monk of the first degree, and the monk of the second degree, and the monk of the third degree, and the monk of the fourth degree. Destitute of true monks are all other creeds. But let these my priests, O Subhadda, live rightly, and the world will not be destitute of saints.

When The Blessed One had thus spoken, Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, spoke to him as follows:—

“O wonderful is it, Reverend Sir! O wonderful is it, Reverend Sir! It is as if, Reverend Sir, one were to set up that which was overturned, or were to disclose that which was hidden, or were to point out the way to a lost traveller, or were to carry a lamp into a dark place that they who had eyes might see forms. Even so has The Blessed One expounded the Doctrine in many different ways. Reverend Sir, I betake myself to The Blessed One for refuge, to the Doctrine, and to the Congregation of the priests. Suffer me to retire from the world under The Blessed One; suffer me to receive ordination.”

“Subhadda, any one who aforetime has been an adherent of another sect and afterwards desires to retire from the world and receive ordination under this Doctrine and Discipline, must first spend four months on probation, and after the lapse of four months, strenuous-minded priests receive him into the Order and confer on him the priestly ordination. Nevertheless, in this matter of probation I recognize a difference in persons.”

“Reverend Sir, if all they who aforetime have been adherents of other sects and afterwards desire to retire from the world and receive ordination under this Doctrine and Discipline, must first spend four months on probation, and after the lapse of four months strenuousminded priests receive them into the Order, and confer on them the priestly ordination, then am I ready to spend four years on probation, and after the lapse of four years, let strenuous-minded priests receive me into the Order and confer on me the priestly ordination.”

Then The Blessed One said to the venerable Ananda,

“Well, then, Ananda, receive Subhadda into the Order.”

“Yes, Reverend Sir,” said the venerable Ananda to The Blessed One in assent.

Then Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, spoke to the venerable Ananda as follows:—

“How fortunate you priests are, brother Ananda! How supremely fortunate, brother Ananda, that you all have been sprinkled with the sprinkling of discipleship at the hands of The Teacher himself.”

And Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, retired from the world under The Blessed One, and received ordination. And without delay, after he had received ordination, the venerable Subhadda began to live solitary and retired, vigilant, strenuous, and zealous; and in no long time, and while yet alive, he came to learn for himself, and to realize, and to live in the possession of that highest good to which the holy life conducts, and for the sake of which youths of good family so nobly retire from the household life to the houseless one. And he knew that for him rebirth was exhausted, that he had lived the holy life, that he had done what it behooved him to do, and that he was no more for this world. So the venerable Subhadda became of the number of the saints, and he was the last disciple made by The Blessed One himself.

End of the Hiran˜n˜avat Recitation, which is the Fifth.

Then The Blessed One addressed the venerable Ananda:—

“It may be, Ananda, that some of you will think, ‘The word of The Teacher is a thing of the past; we have now no Teacher.’ But that, Ananda, is not the correct view. The Doctrine and Discipline, Ananda, which I have taught and enjoined upon you is to be your teacher when I am gone. But whereas now, Ananda, all the priests address each other with the title of ‘brother,’ not so must they address each other after I am gone. A senior priest, Ananda, is to address a junior priest either by his given name, or by his family name, or by the title of ‘brother;’ a junior priest is to address a senior priest with the title ‘reverend sir,’ or ‘venerable.’ If the Order, Ananda, wish to do so, after I am gone they may abrogate all the lesser and minor precepts. On Channa, Ananda, after I am gone, the higher penalty is to be inflicted.”

“Reverend Sir, what is this higher penalty?”

“Let Channa, Ananda, say what he likes, he is not to be spoken to nor admonished nor instructed by the priests.”

Then The Blessed One addressed the priests:—

“It may be, O priests, that some priest has a doubt or perplexity respecting either The Buddha or the Doctrine or the Order or the Path or the course of conduct. Ask any questions, O priests, and suffer not that afterwards ye feel remorse, saying, ‘Our Teacher was present with us, but we failed to ask him all our questions.’”

When he had so spoken, the priests remained silent.

And a second time The Blessed One, and a third time The Blessed One addressed the priests:—

“It may be, O priests, that some priest has a doubt or perplexity respecting either The Buddha or the Doctrine or the Order or the Path or the course of conduct. Ask any questions, O priests, and suffer not that afterwards ye feel remorse, saying, ‘Our Teacher was present with us, but we failed to ask him all our questions.’”

And a third time the priests remained silent.

Then The Blessed One addressed the priests:—

“It may be, O priests, that it is out of respect to The Teacher that ye ask no questions. Then let each one speak to his friend.”

And when he had thus spoken, the priests remained silent.

Then the venerable Ananda spoke to The Blessed One as follows:—

“It is wonderful, Reverend Sir! It is marvellous, Reverend Sir! Reverend Sir, I have faith to believe that in this congregation of priests not a single priest has a doubt or perplexity respecting either The Buddha or the Doctrine or the Order or the Path or the course of conduct.”

“With you, Ananda, it is a matter of faith, when you say that; but with the Tathgata, Ananda, it is a matter of knowledge that in this congregation of priests not a single priest has a doubt or perplexity respecting either The Buddha or the Doctrine or the Order or the Path or the course of conduct. For of all these five hundred priests, Ananda, the most backward one has become converted, and is not liable to pass into a lower state of existence, but is destined necessarily to attain supreme wisdom.”

Then The Blessed One addressed the priests:—

“And now, O priests, I take my leave of you; all the constituents of being are transitory; work out your salvation with diligence.”

And this was the last word of The Tathgata.

Thereupon The Blessed One entered the first trance; and rising from the first trance, he entered the second trance; and rising from the second trance, he entered the third trance; and rising from the third trance, he entered the fourth trance; and rising from the fourth trance, he entered the realm of the infinity of space; and rising from the realm of the infinity of space, he entered the realm of the infinity of consciousness; and rising from the realm of the infinity of consciousness; he entered the realm of nothingness; and rising from the realm of nothingness, he entered the realm of neither perception nor yet non-perception; and rising from the realm of neither perception nor yet non-perception, he arrived at the cessation of perception and sensation.

Thereupon the venerable Ananda spoke to the venerable Anuruddha as follows:—

“Reverend Anuruddha, The Blessed One has passed into Nirvana.”

“Nay, brother Ananda, The Blessed One has not passed into Nirvana; he has arrived at the cessation of perception and sensation.”

Thereupon The Blessed One rising from the cessation of his perception and sensation, entered the realm of neither perception nor yet non-perception; and rising from the realm of neither perception not yet non-perception, he entered the realm of nothingness; and rising from the realm of nothingness, he entered the realm of the infinity of consciousness; and rising from the realm of the infinity of consciousness, he entered the realm of the infinity of space; and rising from the realm of the infinity of space, he entered the fourth trance; and rising from the fourth trance, he entered the third trance; and rising from the third trance, he entered the second trance; and rising from the second trance, he entered the first trance; and rising from the first trance, he entered the second trance; and rising from the second trance, he entered the third trance; and rising from the third trance, he entered the fourth trance; and rising from the fourth trance, immediately The Blessed One passed into Nirvana.