The Great Decease

The last death of the Buddha Dazu Chongqing Southern Song Dynasty period

Excerpt from the Great Decease [link]

10. Then the Blessed One addressed the brethren, and said, 'Behold now, brethren, I exhort you, saying, "Decay is inherent in all component things! Work out your salvation with diligence!"'

This was the last word of the Tathâgata!

------------------------

11. Then the Blessed One entered into the first

[1. Compare above, Chap. II, � 7. By 'the most backward,' according to Buddhaghosa, the Blessed One referred to Ânanda, and he said this to encourage him.]

p. 115

stage of deep meditation[1]. And rising out of the first stage he passed into the second. And rising out of the second he passed into the third. And rising out of the third stage he passed into the fourth. And rising out of the fourth stage of deep meditation he entered into the state of mind to which the infinity of space is alone present[2]. And passing out of the mere consciousness of the infinity of space he entered into the state of mind to which the infinity of thought is alone present. And passing out of the mere consciousness of the infinity of thought he entered into a state of mind to which nothing at all was specially present. And passing out of the consciousness of no special object he fell into a state between consciousness and unconsciousness. And passing out of the state between consciousness and unconsciousness he fell into a state in which the consciousness both of sensations and of ideas had wholly passed away.

12. Then the venerable Ânanda said to the venerable Anuruddha: 'O my Lord, O Anuruddha, the Blessed One is dead!'

'Nay! brother Ânanda, the Blessed One is not dead. He has entered into that state in which both sensations and ideas have ceased to be!'

13. Then the Blessed One passing out of the state in which both sensations and ideas have ceased to be, entered into the state between consciousness and unconsciousness. And passing out of the state between consciousness and unconsciousness he entered into the state of mind to

[1. Ghâna, the full text and an explanation of which will be found in the translator's 'Buddhism,' pp. 174-176.

2. Compare above, Chap. III, Ё 37-42.]

p. 116

which nothing at all Is specially present. And passing out of the consciousness of no special object he entered into the state of mind to which the infinity of thought is alone present. And passing out of the mere consciousness of the infinity of thought he entered into the state of mind to which the infinity of space is alone present. And passing out of the mere consciousness of the infinity of space he entered into the fourth stage of deep meditation. And passing out of the fourth stage he entered into the third. And passing out of the third stage he entered into the second. And passing out of the second he entered into the first. And passing out of the first stage of deep meditation he entered into the second. And passing out of the second stage he entered into the third. And passing out of the third stage he entered into the fourth stage of deep meditation. And passing out of the last stage of deep meditation he immediately expired.

------------------------

14. When the Blessed One died there arose, at the moment of his passing out of existence, a mighty earthquake, terrible and awe-inspiring and the thunders of heaven burst forth.

15. When the Blessed One died, Brahmâ Sahampati, at the moment of his passing away from existence, uttered this stanza:

'They all, all beings that have life, shall lay
Aside their complex form--that aggregation
Of mental and material qualities,
That gives them, or in heaven or on earth,
Their fleeting individuality!
E'en as the teacher--being such a one, p. 117
Unequalled among all the men that are,
Successor of the prophets of old time,
Mighty by wisdom, and in insight clear--
Hath died[1]!'

16. When the Blessed One died, Sakka, the king of the gods, at the moment of his passing away from existence, uttered this stanza:

'They're transient all, each being's parts and powers,
Growth is their nature, and decay.
They are produced, they are dissolved again:
And then is best, when they have sunk to rest[2]!'

[1. Brahmâ, the first cause, the highest result of Indian theological speculation, the one God of the Indian Pantheists, is represented as using expressions full of deep allusions to the most characteristic Buddhist doctrines. The Samussaya is the result of the temporary collocation of the 'aggregations' (khandhâ) of mental and material qualities which give to each being (bhûto, that is, man, animal, god, ghost, fairy, or what not) its outward and visible shape, its individuality. Loka is here not the world in our sense, but the 'locality' in the Buddhist universe which such an individual occupies until it is dissolved. (Comp. Chap. II, Ё 14, 34.) Brahmâ appears therefore as a veritable Vibhaggavâdî.

2. On this celebrated verse see below the Introduction to Mahâ-Sudassana Sutta. It must be the original of the first verse in the Chinese work, Fa Kheu Pi Hu (Beal, Dhammapada, p. 32), though it is there so changed that every clause has lost its point.

'Whatever exists is without endurance.
And hence the terms "flourishing" and "decaying."
A man is born, and then he dies.
Oh, the happiness of escaping from this condition!'

The very meaning which is here the most essential connotation of sankhârâ is lost in the phrase 'whatever exists.' By a misapprehension of the, no doubt, difficult word Dhamma, which, however, never means 'term,' the second clause has lost its point. And by a grammatical blunder the third clause in the Chinese confines the doctrine, erroneously, to man. In a Chinese tale, called {footnote p. 118} Ngan shih niu, translated by Mr. Beal, in the Indian Antiquary for May, 1880, the following verses occur; and they are possibly another reflection of this stanza:

'All things that exist are transitory.
They must of necessity perish and disappear;
Though joined together, there must be separation;
Where there is life there must be death.'

]

p. 119

17. When the Blessed One died, the venerable Anuruddha, at the moment of his passing away from existence, uttered these stanzas:

'When he who from all craving want was free,
Who to Nirvâna's tranquil state had reached,
When the great sage finished his span of life,
No gasping struggle vexed that steadfast heart!

All resolute, and with unshaken mind,
He calmly triumphed o'er the pain of death.
E'en as a bright flame dies away, so was
His last deliverance from the bonds of life[1]!'

18. When the Blessed One died, the venerable Ânanda, at the moment of his passing away from existence, uttered this stanza:

'Then was there terror!
Then stood the hair on end!
When he endowed with every grace--
The supreme Buddha--died[2]!'

[1. Ketaso Vimokho. Kenaki dhammena anâvarana-vimokho sabbaso apaññatti-bhâvûpagamo, says Buddhaghosa; that is, 'the deliverance which is free from the restraint of each and every mental quality completely vanishing away' (dhammâ being here = saññâ and vedanâ and sankhârâ; see 'Buddhism,' pp. 91, 92). See also below, p. 153.

2. In these four stanzas we seem to have the way in which the death of the Buddha would be regarded, as the early Buddhist thought, by four representative persons--the exalted God of the theologians; the Jupiter of the multitude (allowing in the case of {footnote p. 119} each of these for the change in character resulting from their conversion to Buddhism); the holy, thoughtful Arahat; and the loving, childlike disciple.]

p. 119

19[1]. When the Blessed One died, of those of the brethren who were not yet free from the passions, some stretched out their arms and wept, and some fell headlong on the ground, rolling to and fro in anguish at the thought 'Too soon has the Blessed One died! Too soon has the Happy One passed away from existence! Too soon has the Light gone out in the world!'

But those of the brethren who were free from the passions (the Arahats) bore their grief collected and composed at the thought 'Impermanent are all component things! How is it possible that [they should not be dissolved]?'

20. Then the venerable Anuruddha exhorted the brethren, and said: 'Enough, my brethren! Weep not, neither lament! Has not the Blessed One formerly declared this to us, that it is in the very nature of all things near and dear unto us, that we must divide ourselves from them, leave them, sever ourselves from them? How then, brethren, can this be possible--that whereas anything whatever born, brought into being, and organised, contains within itself the inherent necessity of dissolution--how then can this be possible that such a being should not be dissolved? No such condition can exist! Even the spirits, brethren, will reproach us[2].'

[1. Nearly = V, 11-14; and below, VI, 39.

2. Ugghâyanti. I have followed the reading of my own MS., which is confirmed by the Sumangala Vilâsinî and the Mâlâlankâra-vatthu. Vigghâyanti, which Childers reads, would be questionable Buddhism. The spirits do not become extinct; that is, not as a general rule, as would be implied by the absolute statement, {footnote p. 120} 'Even the spirits, brethren, become extinct.' It is no doubt true that all spirits, from the lowest to the highest, from the most insignificant fairy to the God of theological speculation, are regarded as temporary. But when they cease to exist as gods or spirits (devatâ), they do not go out, they are not extinguished (vigghâyanti); they continue to exist in some other form. And though that other form would, from the European point of view, be a different being, as there would be no continuity of consciousness, no passage of a 'soul' from the one to the other; it would, from the Buddhist point of view, be the same being, as it would be the resultant effect of the same Karma. There would follow on the death of a devatâ, not extinction, but a transmutation of force, a transmigration of character, a passing on, an inheritance of Karma. Only in the exceedingly rare case of an anâgâmin, of which an instance will be found above, Chap. II, � 7, could it be said that a spirit becomes extinct.

The expression 'of worldly mind,' here and above in V, 11, is in Pâli pathavi-saññiniyo, an ambiguous phrase which has only been found in this connection. Buddhaghosa says merely, 'because they made (mâpetvâ) an earth in heaven.' This gloss again may be taken either in a figurative or in a literal sense; but, if not impossible, it is at least unlikely that the good commentator means calmly to state that the angels created a floor in the skies--for the greater convenience of tumbling! The word seems to me also to be opposed to vitarâgâ, 'free from passion,' and I have therefore taken it in a spiritual sense. There is a third possibility, viz. that it is used in an intellectual sense, 'having the idea of the world present to their mind;' and this would be in accordance with the more usual use of saññî. But how easily, especially in Buddhism, the intellectual merges into the religious may be seen from such a phrase as marana-saññino, used at Mahâvamsa 33. Of the bhikkhus. Compare also above, III, 14.]

The Dazu Rock Carvings (Chinese: 大足石刻; pinyin: Dàzú Shíkè) are a series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings, dating back as far as the 7th century AD, depicting and influenced by Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist beliefs. Listed as a World Heritage Site, the Dazu Rock Carvings are made up of 75 protected sites containing some 50,000 statues, with over 100,000 Chinese characters forming inscriptions and epigraphs. The sites are located in Chongqing Municipality within the steep hillsides throughout Dazu County, located about 60 kilometers west of the urban area of Chongqing. The highlights of the rock grotto are found on Mount Baoding and Mount Beishan.

The carvings were listed as a World Heritage Site in 1999, citing "…their aesthetic quality, their rich diversity of subject matter, both secular and religious, and the light that they shed on everyday life in China during this period. They provide outstanding evidence of the harmonious synthesis of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism."[1] [link]

大足石刻位于中国西南部重庆市大足区境内，是唐末宋初时期的摩崖石刻，以佛教题材为主，其中以宝顶山摩崖造像和北山摩崖造像最为著名。大足石刻是中国著名的古代石刻艺术，1999年被列为世界文化遗产。

大足石刻最初开凿于初唐永徽元年（公元650年）（尖山子摩崖造像），历经晚唐、五代（公元907～959年），盛于两宋（960～1278年），明清时期（14～19世纪）亦有所增刻，最终形成了一处规模庞大，集中国石刻艺术精华之大成的石刻群，其内容为释儒道三教合一，堪称中国晚期石窟艺术的代表，也是中国南方石窟艺术中的顶尖之作。[link]

Good information on some of the carvings here:
[link]

David McBride Photography