Latest / Buddhistisches Tor Berlin Podcast / Honouring Life and Death: Reflections on a Good Friend and the Buddha’s Last Days

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Honouring Life and Death: Reflections on a Good Friend and the Buddha’s Last Days · Buddhistisches Tor Berlin Podcast

0:07
So this talk, I don't know if you've seen, we've got this
0:09
WhatsApp group and I was just sharing that I've just been at
0:14
our, we've got different centers here in Germany from our
0:17
Buddhist group. And I've just been on Wednesday
0:20
and Thursday I went down to Essen, which is quite a big
0:24
center where I used to live for about 17 years.
0:27
And I was part of the center team there.
0:30
And I was there to visit a good friend called Tara Chitta.
0:35
You can see a picture of her. So she was going to die.
0:42
And I just felt really strongly that I wanted to see her again
0:47
before that happened. And in the end, it happened the
0:51
night after I came back to Berlin.
0:54
She died that night. And I wanted to share a little
0:56
bit about her. Normally I wanted to talk about,
0:59
give a talk on ethics, but it just felt so close.
1:02
You know, it's just a few days ago and I thought what an
1:05
opportunity to talk about what has happened.
1:09
But then I also thought I wanted to talk about the Buddha's last
1:14
days. In some ways, that's also quite
1:17
a teaching. You know, how he went, attained
1:20
para Nirvana, we say, We don't say he died, but he attained
1:24
para Nirvana. So that's going to be the two
1:27
parts of my talk. I need glasses to come to the
1:31
age where I need glasses. So I thought I start with a poem
1:36
which Tara had Chitta had written 1995.
1:40
That was a long time before she was ordained.
1:44
And somehow a friend of hers, she had given it to her, found
1:50
it against her notes. And I thought it's really quite
1:52
beautiful. I it was in German and I just
1:55
translated it into English. I hope it makes sense.
1:58
That's deeply translated it. Yeah.
2:01
So it's called going for refuge. Freely I fly through the world's
2:12
My mind is open and clear. The feathers are delicate and
2:17
flexible. Nothing can break it.
2:22
My eyes see the world full of suffering, full of joy.
2:28
I can let go without fear. No one will hold me back.
2:35
I give comfort and remain free. Coming and going seas.
2:42
There is just being like the air.
2:45
No me, no you. But that which resonates between
2:50
us, there dwells the Buddha. So Tara Chitta died on Thursday
2:59
and she was aged 77 and she has been part of that sangha in
3:03
Essen and actually quite an important part of it.
3:07
We had lived together in a woman's community.
3:10
There were six or seven of us in Ghazn, Kirshen, lots of shark
3:15
events always. We were always around and we
3:19
worked together at the Buddhist Centre in Essen and she was a
3:22
delightful woman. Her eyes were often sparkling
3:26
with mischief and kindness. And her name, Tara, Cheetah
3:30
means cheetah, means the heart mind.
3:35
So it's quite interesting. In Buddhism we have only one
3:38
term, cheetah, which means the the heart and the mind.
3:42
So it's together, it's not separate, which is also could be
3:45
a teaching in itself. And Tara is the bodhisattva of
3:51
compassion. So we've got a figure here, it's
3:53
a female figure in green, and she stands.
3:57
She's the quintessence of compassion, born of the tears of
4:02
Avila Kiteshwara, and her qualities are compassion.
4:09
But it's expressed, I don't know, the ones who see it might
4:12
be who are here at the front in the mood of fearlessness.
4:15
So she exemplifies fearlessness, but also the mood of generosity.
4:21
So it's quite an interesting combination, fearlessness and
4:26
compassion. Maybe the one is part of the
4:29
other. So Tara Cheetah was quite
4:34
fearless. She was a reporter and
4:41
interviewed the Dalai Lama in 1979.
4:44
So that's a long time ago. And really got so impressed by
4:47
it that she first went into Zen and then came to our group and
4:51
she was ordained in 2002. She went to Afghanistan when
4:56
hardly any women were travelling in Afghanistan.
4:58
So quite interesting her biography.
5:02
And two years after she was ordained, she became an
5:04
Anagarica. So somebody we have these white
5:08
cases, we call them cases, but some people choose to have a
5:13
golden cases, which means that they live as an Anagarica.
5:17
They sort of like without sexual contact, but just live out of an
5:22
inner joy. Yeah, one could say much more
5:26
about that. But she also gave up a job as a
5:31
journalist in her mid 50s and started training as a nurse in
5:36
an anthroposophic hospital. So totally changed her career
5:40
and was caring there for people quite a lot.
5:43
Lot. And I remember that she had this
5:47
really lovely apartment, which she really loved.
5:49
But at some stage she realized she wanted to live with other
5:52
people, so she moved together in a community.
5:56
There were six of them just starting a new community.
6:00
None of them was attained at the time, and it was quite funny.
6:03
At some stage she said that she thought she was nearly
6:08
enlightened before she moved into the community, but living
6:12
with other people, she realized that was not the case.
6:19
So she worked at the Buddhist center and had many close
6:21
friendships, especially with the women who supported.
6:23
She is supported on their way towards ordination, and she gave
6:27
money, time, love, clarity and her good sense of humor.
6:33
And she also came to Berlin. That's about 8-9 years ago.
6:36
At that time, there was only one Dharmacharani Female Order
6:40
member, and she was just coming quite regular to support the
6:43
situation here. And two years ago, she fell and
6:48
could not live on her own anymore.
6:49
So she decided to move into an old people's home, into a
6:53
nursing care home, which was just opposite of the Buddhist
6:58
center. And I remember people were
7:00
saying, yeah, now a lot of people are coming, but it's
7:04
probably going to die out. But it didn't.
7:07
I don't know. It was really moving to see that
7:09
the Sangha and Essen people were just coming and visiting her and
7:13
just being with her. Her chapter people who were
7:16
ordained with her, they came every week to spend some time
7:19
and talk about the Dharma, the Buddha's teaching.
7:24
And just a few weeks ago, she had two strokes and she was in a
7:31
in a hospital and she because she was a nurse, she had very
7:37
clearly arranged how she would like to die and she decided not
7:42
to have a PEG tube, you know, where you're fed nourishment
7:48
through a tube. So her and four of her good
7:52
friends, they made that hard decision that she would just
7:56
stop eating and stop drinking. So this went was when I decided
8:02
to go and visit her because it would mean without food and
8:05
drink, she would die very soon. But I wasn't the only one to
8:09
visit her. There were quite a lot of
8:11
people. Somehow the doors were open for
8:14
her friends to come and visit her in these last weeks.
8:18
And I thought what a gift, what a gift she gave us that we could
8:24
just come and see her and be reminded of death, to be
8:29
reminded of what is really important in our lives and that
8:34
death can come at any moment. So it was a real teaching.
8:39
So I went to see her on Wednesday night and Thursday
8:41
morning and it was a bit uncomfortable when I was with
8:45
her on my own because she was clearly not.
8:49
She didn't open her eyes, she wasn't sort of like she was
8:51
breathing quite heavily. But when I entered the room, it
8:55
was in the hospital, they gave her a little room.
8:58
There was an atmosphere of love and stillness.
9:01
So I was just sitting down and meditating with her.
9:05
And then the next day it was really lovely.
9:08
There were two other friends of mine.
9:10
The three of us were with her. And it just happened that we
9:13
knew each other for 30 years. So there were also, again, was
9:17
an atmosphere of really love and care.
9:21
And Tara Cheetah, just sort of like, I don't know if she was
9:25
aware of us at that stage anymore, but she became quieter
9:28
and quieter. And at some stage we all
9:31
thought, is this the last breath?
9:32
But she wasn't really there then.
9:34
But that night she died with another good friend of hers
9:41
being there. So I really wanted to use this
9:48
opportunity just to join, rejoice in her merits.
9:52
There's a few of you who know her, but most of you don't.
9:56
But I just felt like it's good to hear about people who really
10:01
take that step in for a Buddhist life, dedicating their life to
10:06
going for refuge. And also to see what it means if
10:11
if we we allow other people to be part of this normally very
10:15
secret way of dying and allowing them in sharing in that
10:20
generosity and that it's a reminder of, yeah, our own
10:25
death, of what's really important in our own lives.
10:28
Very good to bring that closer to us.
10:32
So I'm just going to read the poem again.
10:35
And they were reading, we were reading, and others were reading
10:38
this poem to her freely. I fly through the world's.
10:45
My mind is open and clear. My feathers are delicate and
10:49
flexible. Nothing can break.
10:53
My eyes see the world full of suffering, full of joy.
10:58
I can let go without fear. No one will hold me back.
11:05
I can give comfort and remain free.
11:09
Coming and going. Cease.
11:12
There's just being like the air. No me, no you.
11:17
But that which resonates between us, there dwells the Buddha.
11:28
OK, now I shift and I come to the Buddha.
11:33
And it's quite interesting that in a few weeks, on the 15th of
11:38
February, we celebrate the Buddha's attainment of pari
11:42
Nirvana. So what is pari Nirvana?
11:47
Probably most of you heard Nirvana, you know, where the
11:49
Buddha gained enlightenment. It's very mysterious what's
11:55
happening there. And I'm going to read you a
11:57
quote from Sangarachita, and then it might be even more
12:00
mysterious. So the death of the Buddha was
12:06
not an ordinary death because the Buddha was not an ordinary
12:10
person. Even during his lifetime, his
12:13
very closest disciples were sometimes perplexed by the
12:16
question of the Buddha's nature. Who was the Buddha?
12:22
What was the Buddha, and what would happen to the Buddha when
12:25
he died? We don't know why, but
12:29
apparently in the days of the Buddha, quite a lot of the
12:32
disciples and quite a lot of members of the public, they're
12:36
very interested in this last question, what would happen to
12:40
the Buddha when he died? So many people indeed seem to
12:45
have been fascinated by it that there came to be a standard way
12:49
of putting it. People used to come to the
12:52
Buddha and say Lord Lord is the Buddha after death.
12:57
Does the Tata guitar, it's another way for the Buddha, Does
13:01
he exist or does he not exist or both or neither?
13:06
So that was that standard question.
13:09
And the Buddha would always give the same reply and he would
13:11
always say it's inappropriate to say of a Buddha that after death
13:17
he exists. It is inappropriate to say of a
13:22
Buddha that after day after death he does not exist.
13:28
It is inappropriate to say of a Buddha that after death he both
13:32
exists in one sense and does not exist in another.
13:37
And it is inappropriate of that to say of a Buddha that after
13:41
death he neither exists nor does not exist.
13:47
What does that mean? All ways of telling, all ways of
13:54
describing, are totally inapplicable to the Buddha.
14:00
From this it becomes clear that the Buddha's death is not death
14:03
in the ordinary sense at all. This is why, in the Buddhist
14:08
tradition, it is usually termed the pari Nirvana.
14:13
We don't say the Buddha died, we say he attained pari Nirvana.
14:18
Nirvana of course means enlightenment and pari means
14:22
supreme, so pari Nirvana means supreme enlightenment.
14:28
What then is the difference between Nirvana so enlightenment
14:31
and pari Nirvana? Sangarajita says.
14:35
Well, none at all really. When a Buddha attains Nirvana
14:40
enlightenment, this is traditionally called the the
14:44
Nirvana with remainder because the Buddha still has a physical
14:50
body. Para Nirvana, on the other hand,
14:53
is known as the Nirvana without remainder because the physical
14:57
body is then no longer attached. This is the only difference, and
15:03
this difference only effects other people, notably his
15:08
unenlightened disciples. The Nirvana is just the same.
15:14
From the Buddha's point of view, there is no difference at all
15:17
between the two states before death or after death.
15:22
The experience, whatever it is and we cannot know or describe
15:27
it, is exactly the same. His attainment of pari Nirvana
15:32
may not have been an event of much consequence to the Buddha
15:36
personally, but it is important to those of us who are
15:40
unenlightened. His last days are recorded in
15:44
the Pali Canon, so that's the early scriptures in greater
15:48
detail than any other part of his life.
15:50
After his enlightenment, his followers evidently thought that
15:55
the way he died taught them a great deal about him, about his
15:59
teaching, and about the nature of Buddhahood.
16:04
So I thought I'd just share a little bit of what happened when
16:08
the Buddha died. So the Buddha was in his 80s
16:13
here, and for 45 years after his enlightenment he had been
16:17
teaching, moving from 1 village to village, living a very simple
16:23
life. His only concern was to point
16:29
out the way to enlightenment to those who went looking for it.
16:33
So that was sort of like if people wanted to find out the
16:36
truth he was teaching. An ever growing sanga of
16:41
dedicated practitioner had grown around him.
16:43
So all in northern India, it was just really spreading the
16:48
Buddha's word. And I guess at the time to be 80
16:52
years old was quite something. His body was giving him troubles
16:57
and pains and at some stage he was getting really ill.
17:02
But his mind was clear and free. He realized that he had not much
17:07
time to live on. By an effort of will, he
17:11
recovered sufficiently and undertook a last farewell tour.
17:16
Yeah, not Frank Sinatra, but this time the Buddha.
17:19
His last farewell tour, my and he said to Ananda.
17:24
And Ananda appears quite a lot now.
17:27
He was the cousin of the Buddha, and at the very end of his life
17:32
he was also his attendant, looking after him.
17:35
And Ananda is just lovely. Yeah, He's just, he hasn't been
17:40
on, he hasn't been enlightened yet.
17:42
So that comes up quite a lot. But he's just, there's a real
17:46
friendship between the two, between the Buddha and Ananda.
17:50
So the Buddha says my journey is drawing to its close.
17:56
He said to Ananda. Just as a worn out carriage like
18:00
a cart or a yeah, a car can only be kept going by being held
18:05
together with straps, so this body can only be kept going by
18:09
being strapped up. But my mental and spiritual
18:13
vigour, my strength is undiminished.
18:19
So his body, like all conditions, things are just
18:21
subject to decay. But his mind was beyond birth
18:25
and death. So he took leave of some of his
18:31
disciples in Vaishali and set off on this final round to visit
18:36
at least 11 other places. It's very sort of like, it's
18:39
really like, it's lovely how it's described in the in the
18:42
Scriptures that he goes to all these places just to see his
18:46
disciples again. And some of them were then
18:49
gathering and continuing the journey with with him.
18:53
And there he delivered a teaching.
18:57
Nearly in all these 11 places, it's the same teaching and it's
19:00
on the threefold path on ethics, meditation, and wisdom.
19:05
And Ivlala Tratna would be here. He would be very pleased to hear
19:08
it because that's his, one of his favorite teachings, the
19:11
threefold path here. And it says there great becomes
19:17
the fruit. Great is the gain of
19:19
concentration when it is fully developed by virtuous conduct.
19:24
So by ethics, great becomes the fruit.
19:27
Great is the gain of wisdom when it's fully developed by
19:30
concentration. So it's these three steps.
19:35
If it's a Buddhist path, it would need you to look at how
19:38
you act, how you work with your mind, and that aspect of this
19:44
wisdom, seeing things as they really are, to attain a mind
19:50
which is utterly free from greed, hatred, and delusion.
19:54
It's the mind that is fully developed in wisdom.
19:58
So meditation on its own, it's not enough.
20:00
Ethics on its own it's not. It's not enough just to be good.
20:04
But it's part of this threefold path.
20:06
And it's really lovely that he brought so many teachings.
20:09
If you go into our bibliotheque, there so many books on Buddhism.
20:13
But to bring it down to the threefold path at the very end
20:17
of his life is very good, despite the constant physical
20:23
pain and despite his knowledge of his close death.
20:27
He was as outward going and concerned with the needs of
20:29
others as he had ever been, and he was very aware of his
20:34
surroundings. It's described in the scriptures
20:37
that he really appreciated the beauty around him of certain
20:41
places they passed or certain grows.
20:46
And he also delivered discourses in towns and villages and
20:50
continue to accept new disciples and gave his final instructions
20:55
to the different sunglass. And then at one stage he reached
20:59
a village called Pava, where he took his last meal provided for
21:05
him by a local metal worker, a Smith called Chunda.
21:11
And unfortunately, the meal gave him severe stomach pains and
21:15
diarrhea. It gave him food poisoning.
21:19
So any one of you had food poisoning, knows what's
21:23
happening even to a strong body. But with his last strength, he
21:29
made his journey to a small village called Kuchinagara in
21:34
the North East of India. Have you been there?
21:37
No, I'm sorry. And resting at a river.
21:42
He then told Ananda, which is quite moving, to tell Chunda,
21:47
the silversmith, tell him and reassure him that he should not
21:53
feel guilty that the last meal he gave the Buddha gave him a
21:56
food poisoning, which he unintentionally did.
22:02
And he in fact told Anand to tell him to provide a Buddha
22:06
with a last meal before his para Niwas Vlana was an extremely
22:12
beneficial thing to do. Find that very moving.
22:15
You know that he even at that moment thinks of the
22:17
consequences for Chunda. And just as he, the Buddha, was
22:22
born in the open air under a tree and gained enlightenment in
22:27
the open air under a tree, so the Buddha attained Para Nevara
22:31
Lana in the open air under a tree.
22:35
And Anand, I thought that Kushinagara was not the best
22:39
place for the Buddha to actually die.
22:41
You know, he's been, there's lots of villages, kings, lots of
22:46
merchants. They all had met the Buddha.
22:49
And Kushinagara was just a tiny little village with mud and
22:54
straw, straw houses in the middle of nowhere, far away from
22:59
the liveliness of kingdoms and cities.
23:02
But the Buddha told him, and maybe there was a teaching
23:05
again, that Cushinagara in the past had been a very rich and
23:09
prosperous town and that he had chosen to die there.
23:13
But at that stage it was just a tiny little village.
23:17
But just outside of Cushinagara there was a Grove of Sal trees.
23:22
Is anybody from you from India and had seen Sal trees?
23:26
Ah, how do they look? Yeah, yeah.
23:36
I read up and looked at it. It's sort of like, really, they
23:38
stand really tall, like nearly like columns and must be really
23:42
beautiful. And at some time of the year,
23:44
they have white petals of flowers.
23:49
And they are in this Grove where there were two lines of salt
23:53
trees next to each other. They, the people from the
23:55
village had put up a little stone seed or stone couch, they
23:59
called it, for the elders of the village to sit on and hear the
24:04
Buddha lay down as a depiction of how the Buddha laid down.
24:10
So that was a sort of like you find everywhere when this is
24:14
the, it's not the sleeping Buddha, but it's the Parivan
24:17
Nirvana posture of the Buddha. And some of the events which are
24:23
now unfolding are a bit more mythical.
24:26
Yeah. Then the Blessed One lay down on
24:30
his right side in the lion's posture, resting 1 foot upon the
24:36
other, and so deposed himself mindfully and clearly
24:41
comprehending. At that time, the twin
24:45
sanitaries broke out in full bloom, though it was not the
24:50
season of flowering, and the blossoms rained upon the body of
24:54
the Tatakata in worship of the Tatargata.
24:57
So the Tatargata is the Buddha, and celestial Mandava flowers
25:03
and heavenly sandalwood powder from the sky rained down upon
25:08
the body of the Tatargata, and the sound of heavenly voices and
25:13
heavenly instruments make music in the air out of reverence and
25:18
honor. For the Tatargata.
25:21
It must have been amazing if you believe in it, but just to
25:25
imagine it, you know these flowers coming down.
25:29
And also Ananda was amazed and astonished about what was
25:32
happening. But then the Buddha is quite
25:35
interesting, commented that the best way to honor and Revere him
25:40
was not with a magical thing, but it was by practicing the
25:46
teaching in its subtleties and living in accordance with the
25:50
truth. So in Buddhist stories, quite a
25:55
lot of magic happens, but the events in itself are not given
26:01
much importance. It's just to touch us on a
26:04
different level. But magic didn't mean that
26:07
somebody is more developed, you know, if they could have a
26:09
miracle. The most important thing was
26:12
that you practised and put the truth, live in accordance with
26:18
the truth. And then there's a bit of a
26:22
funny incidents. I think it was funny at the
26:26
time. The Venerable Upavana, so the
26:29
venerables are the monks, was standing before the Blessed 1,
26:34
the Buddha fanning him and the Blessed One said to him, move
26:38
aside Biku, do not stand in front of me.
26:44
And to the Venerable Ananda came the thought.
26:47
This Venerable Upavana has been attendance on the Blessed One
26:51
for a long time, closely associating with him and serving
26:55
him. Get now, right at the end, the
26:57
Blessed One criticizes him. What now could be the reason?
27:03
What the cause for the Blessed 1 to criticize the Venerable
27:06
Upavana, saying, Move aside, Pico, do not stand in front of
27:11
me. What do you think was the
27:13
reason? What could be the reason for him
27:16
to ask and move aside? He went a bit more sunshine.
27:24
Yeah. Could have been a reason.
27:25
Yeah, Yes, but so the Blessed One said throughout the tenfold
27:46
world system, Anandas, there are hardly any of the deities that
27:51
have not gathered together to look upon the Tatargata.
27:55
So the whole sky was filled with deities.
27:59
There is not a spot in the sky that you could be pricked with
28:03
the tip of a hair. What a description that is not
28:07
filled with powerful deities. And these deities, Ananda, are
28:12
complaining from afar have we come to look upon the Tatargata?
28:17
For rare in the world is the arising of Tatargata's Arahans,
28:21
fully enlightened ones. And this day, in the last watch
28:25
of the night, the Tatargata's parinibana will come about.
28:31
But this Piku, this monk, has placed himself right in front of
28:34
the Blessed One, concealing him, so that now at the very end we
28:40
are prevented from looking upon him.
28:43
That's Ananda, the deities complained.
28:46
So Upavana moved to the side so that the deities could all see
28:51
the Buddha. Buddha then sorted out the
28:57
Funeral arrangements, and he said to Ananda and the other
29:01
monks that they were not to concern themselves with all the
29:06
arrangements, but just get on with their spiritual practice.
29:11
Very good, very good advice. And the lay followers, however,
29:16
were to take care of his remains as they would do to those of a
29:21
great ruler. Yeah.
29:23
So it was quite clear the monks had to get on.
29:26
And all this proved too much for Ananda to bear.
29:30
He realized that Buddha's end was near, and he went away and
29:34
wept. So that happened as well.
29:37
Yeah, he was leaning against the doorpost and wept and said, I'm
29:42
still but a learner and still have to strive for my own
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perfection. But at last my master, who was
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so compassionate towards me is about to pass away.
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Sometimes it's said, who was so kind?
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That's also very interesting. You know, what do we think the
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Buddha has? What kind of qualities?
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You know, it would be his clarity, It would be his
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fearlessness. It would be his wisdom, it would
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be I don't know. But what did Ananda, who lived
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with him for so many years point out?
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It was his compassion and his kindness.
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And the Blessed 1 spoke to the biggest because saying where?
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Because is Ananda. And he asked a certain pico to
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bring Ananda to him, Ananda to him, saying, Go BQ and say to
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Ananda, Friend Ananda, the Master calls you.
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And the venerable Ananda went to the Blessed 1, bowed out to him,
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and sat down to one side. Then the Blessed 1 spoke to the
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Venerable Ananda, saying, enough, Ananda, do not grieve,
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do not lament. Have I not warned you about this
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before? We must lose and be prived off
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and separated from everything pleasant and dear.
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How else could it be otherwise? For a long time, long time,
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Ananda, you have attended to me with loving kindness in deeds,
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words and thoughts, graciously, pleasantly, wholeheartedly, and
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beyond measure. Great good have you gathered,
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Ananda? Keep on applying yourself.
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So keep on practicing and you soon will be free.
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You soon will gain enlightenment.
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And then the Buddha turned to the monks who were gathered
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there and praised Ananda. And he said, if because a
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company of because should go to see Ananda, they become joyful
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on seeing him. And if he then speaks to them of
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the Dharma of the teachings, they are made joyful by his
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teaching. And when he keeps silence, they
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are sad. So it is also when, because
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Bikunis, the nuns, the layman or laywoman, go to see Ananda, they
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become joyful on seeing him. And if he then speaks to them of
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the Dhamma, of the teaching, they are made joyful by his
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teaching. And when he keeps silent they
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are sad. It's lovely, isn't it?
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So this was the final expression of Gautama's affection for his
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good friend. And after this, the Buddha dealt
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with one or two more points concerning monastic discipline.
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So he also focused his mind on a few individuals where he had to
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sort something out, and he was then ready just to go.
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But at this time, a wanderer called Shubhada who happened to
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be in the area, He was not a Buddhist, but from some other
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sect. He was just approaching Ananda
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and asked him if he could put a question before the Buddha.
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And Ananda said, he's tired, don't disturb him.
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But the Buddha heard it and allowed Subhada, Subhada to ask
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his question. And then the Buddha taught him.
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And Subhada replied with the same delight that you hear
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again, again in the scriptures when somebody was touched by the
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Buddha's words. Excellent, Sir, excellent.
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As if someone were to set up right what had been knocked
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down, or reveal what had been hidden, or hold a lamp up in the
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dark so that those with eyes could see.
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Just so the Blessed One had made clear the truth.
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And so, so Bada asked to go for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and
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Sangha, and became the Buddha's last disciples.
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Then the Buddha turned to the monks who were there and asked
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them if anyone had doubts in his teaching.
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And no one expressed any doubts. And then the Buddha asked a
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second time and a third time, saying that he thought the
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disciples might consider it rude if they would express a doubt.
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And so he asked them to talk to each other, you know, maybe get
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another one to speak if they had still any doubts on their
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behalf. And again, no one spoke.
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And the Buddha announced that she knew that this was because
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everyone present had at least achieved irreversible progress
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on the path. They had all achieved the level
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of stream entry and could not fall back.
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Eventually they were going to achieve enlightenment.
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And then the Buddha summarized his entire life's teaching in
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the last two sentences. He spoke all composite things.
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So all things which are to made together or or have yeah,
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composed all things. Composite things are subject to
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decay with mindfulness strife. So when we see reality, we see
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that nothing stays together. Everything is processed, there
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are no things. When we see this, we see through
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the mundane, we see through to the other side, we see the
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transcendental, and we are free. The way to do is, is to
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mindfully strive. The entire teaching of the
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Buddha is summoned up in this phrase.
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All composite things are subject to decay with mindfulness.
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Strive. So keep your eyes open and make
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an effort constantly. And then he entered into deep
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meditation and ascended the four Dianas SO4 higher states of
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concentration and emerging from the 4th absorption, he then
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attained the final Nirvana. So I just end with a quote from
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Sangarajita. Put on my glasses again.
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The force of this final scene, more than any other in the
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Buddha's life, is most tellingly captured not so much in the
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words of the Pali Canon, but in the paintings by the great
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Chinese and Japanese artist artists of the medieval period.
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Against a beautiful forest backdrop, the trunks of the
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sultries are seen rising like columns, straight and tall, to a
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crown of broad green leaves and large white flowers.
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The Buddha is resting on his right side, with the cell trees
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showering white blossoms down upon him.
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He's surrounded by disciples, his closest followers sitting
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near his head in the yellow robes, and all sorts of other
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people, other other people, Brahmins, Princess ministers,
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ascetics, firework, ships, shippers, merchants, peasants,
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traders, crowding in around where they can.
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Not only people, all sorts of animals, as well as elephants,
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goats, deer, horses, dogs, even mice and birds have gathered to
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look their last on the Buddha up in the clouds.
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The God and goddesses complete this cosmic deathbed scene.
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What comes across, therefore, from the best paintings of that
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scene is that this is no ordinary conclusion to someone's
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life, but an event of universal significance which the whole of
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creation has come to witness. The general mood, as you would
38:03
expect, is tearful. Even the animals are weeping,
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and you particularly notice the elephant's big fat tears rolling
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down his cheek. In fact, the only one who aren't
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weeping are a few of the disciples, though sitting close
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to the Buddha and the cat. The cat remains unmoved and
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banter writes out of Fabled felon, no shaloms, Fabled felon
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no Shalom. So in the fables, the cats are
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very what's no shaloms? Not bothered about anything, but
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the closest disciples stay perfectly calm because they are
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able to see beyond the physical body and know that really the
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change from Nirvana to para Nirvana is no change at all.
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This is the scene honored by many great artists.
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The real point of remembering this event is to focus our mind
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on the fact of death, and not just the Buddha's death, but our
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own. So the mode mood is sober,
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reflective and meditative. We reflect indeed that the fact
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of death is present not one day of the year only, but every day
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of our lives, and that the recollection of this fact should
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be an aspect of our daily spiritual practice.
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The Buddha's Para Nirvana reminds us to renew our whole
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meditation practice in the late light of the ever present
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reality of death. OK, and in the blurb I wrote a
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little quote from Sangara Chita. Have to say, I found it when
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people were writing something about Tara Chita.
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Somebody had translated it into German, but I couldn't find it
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in the English words. And so deeply again helped me.
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So this might not be the original words by banter, but
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probably the meaning is the right same.
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The middle way is to value life as highly as we can, to value
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life as highly as we can, but not to cling to it, and to
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honour death when it approaches, neither to long for it nor to
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fear it. So thank you.