Introduction
The Mahaparinibbana Sutta recounts the final days of the Buddha, how He gave His final instructions, left His body, and how His disciples responded to the passing of their Teacher. Permeated by the confusion of Ānanda—whose perspective forms the narrative core—the sutta is less about the Buddha than about the Sangha.
Advice to the Brahmin Vassakara
As already known from Samanñāphala Sutta (Digha Nikāya 2),King Ajātasattu sends his minister, the brahmin Vassakara, to inquire of the Buddha whether Ajātasattu's planned attack on his enemies, the Vajjians, would be successful. In response, the Buddha praises the customs of the Vajjians and explains that as long as they maintain their good customs, they will be invincible. The Vajjians have frequent public assemblies, their conversations take place in peace and harmony, they adhere to ancient traditions, do not abduct women, respect their sacred sites, and venerate and protect arhats. Knowing the story of King Ajātasattu, who murdered his father, Bimbisāra, to seize the throne, one can understand that the Buddha's words contain instructions on the path of correction for King Ajātasattu himself. The brahmin listens to the Buddha's words and withdraws, while King Ajatasattu, as becomes clear from the sutta's subsequent narrative, abandons the attack. Instead, he decides to strengthen his own kingdom.
The Buddha's Teachings on the Welfare of the Sangha
Preparing his disciples for his ultimate departure (parinibbāna), the Buddha set forth the fundamental conditions for the long-term flourishing of the Saṅgha. These include holding frequent communal gatherings; conducting affairs in peace and harmony; implementing general resolutions; respect for elders; not surrendering to the threefold craving that binds beings to repeated existence; and developing friendliness, allowing people to live together in joy.
Beyond these foundational practices, the Buddha introduced further sets of qualities essential for the lasting flourishing of the Saṅgha:
Gracious purposefulness
When practitioners of the Teaching refrain from sensory overindulgence and frivolous speech; strive to maintain practice during sleep; avoid bad company and seek worthy company; do not harbour unwholesome desires; and refuse to stop short of by settling for minor attainments—then the Saṅgha will flourish.
Qualities essential for a disciple
Faith; shame of immoral conduct; skilfulness in learning; steadfastness; mindfulness; and wisdom.
The Seven Factors of Awakening
Mindfulness; discrimination of mental states; asceticism (diligence); inspiration (fervor); tranquility; concentration; equanimity (detachment).
List of good realizations
Awareness of impermanence; awareness of a lack of a real self in anything; awareness of the unattractiveness of the body; awareness of flaws; awareness of the cessation of attachments; awareness of the virtues of equanimity; awareness of the cessation of suffering (nirodha).
Good Conditions for Communicating in the Sangha
Kindness in speech, thought and action; respectfulness; exercise of good behavioral traits of the body, speech and mind; maintaining thoughtfulness and insightfulness.
Morality, Concentration and Wisdom
The Buddha often taught his disciples that the fruit of concentration is great when morality is fully developed; the benefit of wisdom is great when it is fully developed through concentration; and a mind fully developed in wisdom is freed from all cravings—from the craving for sensual pleasures, from the craving for becoming, and from the craving for ignorance (oblivion).
Sariputra's (Shariputra's) Lion Roar
While the Buddha was dwelling in a mango grove at Nalanda, Sariputra approached Him and began praising the qualities of the Blessed One with admiration and devotion. Sariputra said that he thinks that there never was, is, or ever will be anyone greater or wiser than the Blessed One.
In response, the Buddha asks Sariputra whether he directly knows the qualities of the Awakened Ones of the past and future? And if he does not know them through direct experience, then wherefrom are these proud, like a lion's roar, words spoken by Sariputra?
Sariputra concedes that he does not know the qualities of the arhats of the past and future. However, through direct realization of the pure Dhamma transmitted to him by the Buddha, he directly comprehends the following: all those perfect arhats of the past and future who have attained or will attain perfect liberation have traversed and will traverse the same path. This is the path of liberation from mental obstructions (defilements), strengthening the mind through concentration, cultivating the good qualities of the mind, and attaining perfect Awakening. Therefore, there has never been and never will be a higher attainment than that of the Buddha, who has traversed this entire Path. (Sariputra does not claim that the Buddha is superior to other Buddhas; he emphasizes the perfection of the state attained by Buddhas.)
Preaching in Pataligama
In the village of Pataligama, there was a large community of householders who were lay followers of the Buddha. In a sermon to them, the Buddha contrasted the disadvantages of immoral behavior with the virtues of high moral conduct:
Poverty and wealth
Bad deeds lead to the loss of conscience—a state of extreme poverty. Conversely, by strengthening oneself in righteousness, one acquires considerable wealth.
Confusion and confidence in the noble assembly
One who does evil fears an assembly of noble people. One who does good feels confident in an assembly of the worthy.
Fear and fearlessness
Those who do evil are in constant fear of death. Those who do good are freed from this fear.
New birth
Upon the breaking up of the body, those who do evil are reborn in the lower realms, in a state of anguish and suffering. Those who do good are reborn in the abodes of happiness, in heaven.
Blessings to the advisors Sunidha and Vassakara and the crossing of the Ganges
Giving instructions to the advisers who invited the Buddha and the Sangha to a meal, the Buddha speaks of the benefits of generosity: when a person is noble, he feeds virtuous people, thereby bringing offerings to all the deities in a given place; the deities then patronize such a person.
After the meal, the Buddha and his monks were returning. The Ganges had overflowed, and everyone began looking for boats or rafts. The Buddha, along with his disciples, disappeared from the near bank and reappeared on the other. (This story conveys an allegory common in Buddhist texts: crossing the stream of suffering through wisdom. The Buddha's crossing of the river took place with the entire assembly of monks—a symbol of the attainment of wisdom by the entire Sangha.)
The Mirror of Dhamma
Ananda often asked the Buddha about the state attained after death by various followers of the Dhamma. The Buddha explained in detail: by breaking the bonds that bind beings to the realm of the senses, overcoming mental obstacles, and transcending the belief in the "I", beings attain the higher realms—one or another, depending on the extent to which the ascetics have realized the Noble Path of the cessation of suffering. Furthermore, the Buddha told Ānanda that it was burdensome to constantly ask him about the fate of those who had left the body. After all, Ananda himself, endowed with knowledge of the Teaching, could foretell the future: good tendencies have good consequences, while bad ones lead to suffering.
Illness and the decision to prolong life
During the rainy season, the Buddha was struck by a severe illness, sharp pain, and the harbingers of death. However, He considered that it would be wrong to leave this life without bidding farewell to His disciples and giving His final instructions. Through sheer willpower, He overcame the illness and sustained His life, postponing the hour of death for a time. Ananda, fearful of the approaching death of the Blessed One, was deeply relieved upon seeing the Buddha's recovery. However, the Buddha reminded Ananda that a body which carries its own destruction within itself cannot last forever. "I am old," said the Buddha, "my time here is drawing to an end. I am eighty years old. Just as a rickety chariot can only move slowly and carefully, my body also barely moves when it moves. Therefore, Ananda, be your own support, seek refuge within yourselves, relying on the Dhamma, taking refuge in the Dhamma. How can this be accomplished?" Live, aware of the body in the body, perceptions in perceptions, mind in mind, mental qualities in mental qualities; practice thoughtfully and with a pure mind; abandon the desires and sorrows of worldly life — this is what it means to be a support for yourself and a Refuge for yourself, relying on the Dhamma, taking Refuge in the Dhamma."
The Buddha refuses to maintain life in the body
While the Buddha was meditating at a tomb near the city of Vesali, an evil spirit, Mara, appeared to him. Mara urged the Buddha to leave his body, reminding him that the Buddha had decided to remain in samsara until the Sangha had gained strength and power, until the Teaching had spread throughout the world. And now that the Sangha had reached maturity, when the Teaching had spread, the time had come for the Buddha to depart this world. The Buddha replied to Mara: "Rejoice, evil spirit! By my own will, I will forsake the rest of my earthly days. By the end of the third month, the parinibbana of the Tathagata will come."
The moment the Buddha made his decision, an earthquake shook the ground.
Ananda's Despair
Preparing Ananda to accept the inevitable, the Buddha gives him instructions to help him understand the illusory nature of name-form:
The Buddha tells Ananda that when He entered the assemblies of earthly beings (kshatriyas, brahmins, householders, and ascetics) and heavenly beings (the Four Great Kings, the Thirty-three Gods, the Maras, and the Brahmas), He became like them in appearance and like them in voice. Then He preached and instructed them, and they wondered—who is this?
Next, the Buddha explains the forms of concentration that lead to mastery of the illusory body: concentration on ordinary small and large objects; concentration on ordinary small and large objects through internal perception; concentration on blue forms, yellow forms, red forms, and white forms (these skills can be characterized as the foundations of the art of visualization). Then the Buddha explains to Ananda that mastery manifests as freedom of perception and awareness in the sense realm, the realm of (pure) forms, and the formless realm. After illuminating and explaining to Ananda the qualities of the liberated state, the Buddha announces to Ananda His decision to leave the body at the end of three months.
Ananda begs the Blessed One to remain in samsara until the end of the kalpa. However, the Buddha reminds Ananda that everything born must die. Therefore, the Tathagata also leaves his body. (Ananda feels guilty for not having previously asked the Buddha to remain in the body until the end of the kalpa, when, as the sutta describes, the Buddha mentioned supernatural powers. However, the desire for an indefinite prolongation of the body's existence contradicts the Buddha's Teaching.)
The Last Supper
Having spent the final months of his life visiting various assemblies of monks, the Buddha strengthened their understanding of the Four Noble Qualities: good morality, concentration, wisdom, and liberation. The last supper the Buddha shared with the assemblies of monks was with Chunda the Blacksmith. Among other dishes, Chunda the Blacksmith prepared tender boar meat. The Buddha ordered Chunda to serve this dish only to himself and to bury the remains.
After the meal, the Buddha again suffered greatly, but, overcoming it, he set out on foot with Ananda toward the village of Kusinara. The Buddha instructed Ānanda that if anyone blamed Cunda for serving the Blessed One his final meal, they should be given this response: "Blessed is Chunda, he has accumulated good karma for many rebirths by offering the Buddha his final meal. Great is his merit!"
On the way, Ananda witnessed a miraculous phenomenon: when the Buddha wanted to drink, the turbulent stream many carriages had passed through suddenly became clear and clean.
Inner peace
A resident of Kussinara, Pukusa, approached the Buddha as he rested under a tree and asked Him about inner peace. He told the Blessed One that he had once met a hermit who remained completely serene and absorbed in inner contemplation while a procession of chariots passed by, leaving a layer of dust on the meditator's clothing.
The Buddha told Pukusa his own experience of how profound contemplation can be: He recounted how, when during a severe thunderstorm with thunder and heavy rain, lightning nearby had killed two villagers and four oxen, the Buddha was so immersed in his thoughts that he did not notice what was happening. Deeply moved, Pukusa placed brocade robes on the Buddha's body, but their radiance was dimmed by the light emanating from the Buddha's own body.
The Place of Parinibbana
Preparing to leave his body, the Buddha lay on his right side between two twin sal trees in the lion pose. Sal trees have very large flowers with red petals, and these flowers showered upon his body. Ananda began to ask the Buddha to postpone his departure until the day when they would be in some civilized, well-known place, since the village of Kusinara was located in the depths of the jungle. However, the Buddha stopped Ananda: "Do not say that. There was a time when this place was the city of Maha Sudassana, the capital of a great empire."
Next, the Buddha spoke of Ananda's wondrous qualities: when Ananda begins to speak, everyone rejoices, but when he stops, everyone is sad. With this, the Buddha reaffirmed the authority of Ananda's stories, which later became the basis of the suttas. He also explained the highest measure of punishment in the Sangha. This highest measure is to cease communication with the offender—let him do as he pleases, but other members of the Sangha are not to associate with him.
Continuing his conversation with Ananda, the Buddha recalled the four most sacred places associated with His activity: the place of birth, the place of attaining Awakening, the place of turning the Wheel of the Teaching, and the place of passing into parinibbana.
On the last night, the villagers received a blessing from the Buddha and He accepted the wandering ascetic Subhadda into the Sangha.
Subhadda
The ascetic Subhadda had been torn for a long time. He could not decide which hermit's teachings to follow or which community to join. Learning of the Buddha's final hour, he decided to seek His guidance. However, knowing Subhadda's habit of idle talk, Ananda refused to allow the ascetic to see his dying Teacher. Three times Ananda refused, but then, seeing Subhadda's mind with his eye of wisdom, the Buddha ordered the monk on duty nearby to admit the visitor.
Upon entering, Subhadda began his usual inquiries about the truth of this or that teaching and the achievements of this or that Teacher. But the Buddha redirected him: "Enough, Subhadda. May they all, as they claim, have attained profound wisdom or not attained it at all... I will tell you the profound Dhamma: if in someone's Teaching and rules of conduct there is the good eightfold Path, then in that Teaching you will find ascetics of all (four) degrees of holiness; and if the Eightfold Path is missing from the Teaching and rules of conduct, then you will not find ascetics of any degree of holiness among those who follow these Teachings and rules.
Subhadda, I was twenty-nine years old
when I renounced the world to seek what is good.
Fifty-one years have passed since then, Subhadda,
and all this time I have been a wanderer in the realms of virtue and truth;
and except there, there is no one liberated."
Subhadda became the last Disciple accepted by the Buddha into the Sangha.
The Buddha's Final Words
“Perhaps,” the Buddha instructed Ananda, “some among you will think, The Master’s word has fallen silent.” No, Ananda. The Dhamma, the morality that I have taught you—let them be your Teacher.
Let the younger monks now respectfully address their elders as "venerable."
The Sangha can abolish all minor and unimportant precepts.
After these instructions, the Buddha spoke his final words: “All created things are subject to decay. Remain constantly mindful!”
The Elder Maha Kassapa
The elder Maha Kassapa (whose conversion story is described in the Kassapa Sihanada Sutta, Digha Nikaya 8) received the news of the Blessed One's parinibbana belatedly. He was informed of this by a naked ascetic carrying a mandarava flower he had taken as a relic from Kusinara (apparently a reference to the sal tree flower). The monks in Kassapa's Sangha reacted to this news in different ways: the less experienced began to grieve and grew despondent; those monks whose passions had subsided reasoned as follows: "Can what is born, containing its own decay within itself, not decay?" They remained in a state of equanimity. Among them, there was someone who said: "Enough lamentation! Previously, we were supposed to listen to all the edicts of the Great Ascetic. Now we can do as we please."
Maha Kassapa called his Sangha on the journey and arrived in Kusinara. The funeral pyre could not be lit until Maha Kassapa came to bid farewell to the Blessed One.
Division of the relics
The rulers of many regions where the Buddha preached during his lifetime decided to claim his remains for themselves. As their disputes began to escalate, the elders of the Sangha decided to divide the remains into eight parts. Those who arrived after the division took the ashes from the funeral pyre for themselves and erected a stupa over them. A separate stupa was erected for the vessel in which the body was cremated. Since ten cardinal directions were distinguished in ancient India, ten stupas became a symbol of the spread of the Dhamma.
