This lesson goes over Mahapbarinibanna Sutta, which recounts the Buddha’s final days and his final instructions.

Questions

When the good eightfold Path is found in someone's Teaching and rules of conduct, will one find ascetics of all (four) degrees of holiness in that Teaching?; and when the Eightfold Path is missing from the Teaching and rules of conduct, will one find ascetics of any degree of holiness among those who follow these Teachings and rules?

What does the Buddha say should guide the Sangha after his death?

“Therefore, there has never been and never will be a higher attainment than that of the Buddha”. Is this about the particular Buddha or in general?

Why does the evil spirit want the Buddha to leave the body?

Why does the Buddha decide to prolong his stay by three months?

Why did the Buddha order Chunda to give this dish only to himself and to bury the remains?

Who is considered an offender in the Sangha? What punishment does the offender get?

What is the eightfold path?

What is the same for all Buddhas that they go through?

What is the allegory of the Buddha, along with his disciples, disappearing on one bank of the river and appearing on the other?

What did the Buddha instruct Ananda to do following his death?

Further Questions and Answers

Will the Buddha come back to earth?

1. The Buddha attained parnibbana, so he probably won’t come back to earth; another Buddha will come, Buddha Maitreya.

Was Maitreya a disciple of the Buddha?

1. Maitreya was not a direct disciple of the Buddha, because he resided in heavenly realms when Buddha Shakyamuni preached on earth. But later according to the Lotus sutta, he was a disciple of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of wisdom to whom the Buddha preached. He was not a direct disciple, but a disciple of a disciple of the Buddha.

What is “craving for becoming?”

1. It is craving for being born again. Craving for becoming means to be born, identify with a body. Becoming means birth not in a body of light, but in a material body. It means craving for birth in a material body.

“Those who do evil are in constant fear of death. Those who do good are freed from this fear.” What about Angulimala, did he experience fear?

1. Angulimala was afraid of death before he entered the path of Dharma. Before that, he was afraid of death. That is why he tried to destroy all other beings, to overcome his own fear. When he attained the state of an Arhat, he stopped being afraid of death. Hostility disappeared in him, and he stopped being afraid of death.