English
However, in the Suttanipāta and Apadāna commentaries, "Ānanda, Buddhas have a lower limit of four. Four countless aeons and a hundred thousand aeons, eight countless aeons and a hundred thousand aeons in the middle range, sixteen countless aeons and a hundred thousand aeons in the upper range. These should be understood as based on predominance of wisdom, faith, and effort, it is said. Among them, the one with predominant wisdom, four countless aeons and a hundred thousand aeons, the one with predominant faith, eight countless aeons and a hundred thousand aeons, the one with predominant effort, sixteen countless aeons and a hundred thousand aeons, should be understood. There, even while transmigrating in the realms of existence, the abodes of consciousness, and the abodes of beings, the one with predominant wisdom, due to the abundance of wisdom, having a perfected disposition, quickly attains enlightenment. But the one with predominant faith, being of dull wisdom, believes even what should not be believed, therefore, his enlightenment is slow. But the one with predominant effort is dull in both ways, believes even what should not be believed, and does even what should not be done, like King Pasenadi Kosala. For he, while the All-Knowing Buddha was still living, having conceived the idea of going to another's wife, though it was not to be done, and having begun to take another's life, even after hearing the sound of those in hell crying "du-sa-na," being greatly deluded, setting aside the All-Knowing Buddha, and asking a Brahmin of wrong view, by his word, caused suffering to all people for the sake of sacrifice. What need to speak of when a Buddha has not arisen? For he, after the disappearance of the dispensation of Kassapa, having become king in Bārāṇasī in a world become blind, even having become king, began to kill one hundred and one kings together with their queens for the sake of sacrifice to the Nigrodha tree deity. Thus, the one with predominant effort is dull in both ways, therefore, his enlightenment is very slow. Thus, the difference in the length of time, whether short or long, should be understood based on the predominance of wisdom, faith, and effort. Only the latter method should be praised, this is our own opinion here. The final passing away, however, in Kusinārā, in the Upavattana, in the Sāla grove of the Mallas, between the twin Sāla trees, on the full moon day of Vesākha, at dawn, in the nineteenth consciousness of death, preceded by loving-kindness. It should be understood that, having made the final act with a great resultant consciousness that is uncaused, associated with joy and knowledge, similar to a meritorious consciousness, being indeterminate, becoming the immediately preceding condition for rebirth-consciousness in some existence, without clinging due to craving, karma, and defilements, the complete abandonment of all acquisitions, the relinquishing of the appropriated aggregates occurs. But the full account should be consulted in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta of the Mahāvagga in the Dīgha Nikāya. Just as a man going to a foreign land embraces all his relatives, kisses them on the head, and departs, so too, the Blessed One, entering the city of Nibbāna, having completely attained all twenty-four hundred million attainments, up to perception and feeling, and rising from that, having attained up to the realm of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, and rising from that, having reviewed the factors of jhāna, passed away with a life-continuum consciousness, indeterminate, with the truth of suffering. But in the Pāli it is said, "Having arisen from the fourth jhāna, immediately afterwards the Blessed One passed away." There, there are two "immediately afterwards": immediately after jhāna, and immediately after reviewing. There, for one who, having arisen from jhāna, has sunk into the life-continuum, and passes away right there, it is called "immediately after jhāna." For one who, having arisen from jhāna, reviews the factors of jhāna again, has sunk into the life-continuum, and passes away right there, it is called "immediately after reviewing." But it should be understood that the Blessed One did not pass away immediately after jhāna, but passed away immediately after reviewing. Therefore, he said, "But the Blessed One, having attained jhāna, having arisen from jhāna, having reviewed the factors of jhāna, passed away with a life-continuum consciousness, indeterminate, with the truth of suffering." Here, what was the object or the action of the Blessed One's passing-away consciousness? Or were they the signs of karma or the signs of destiny? Or was it Nibbāna? Some say thus: "No in-breath, no out-breath, for the steadfast one, of such quality, desiring the unmoving peace, the sage made his end. With an unperturbed mind, he endured the pain; like the extinguishing of a lamp, so was his liberation." His heart was freed. In this verse, "whichever sage, passionless, having peace, focusing on Nibbana, made his time" should be connected, and the Buddha's passing-away consciousness having Nibbana as its object is incorrect, because rebirth, life-continuum, and death consciousnesses do not have Nibbana as their object. "Nibbana is a condition by way of object-condition for the change-of-lineage and purification moments, Nibbana for the fruition and advertence moments" according to the Paṭṭhāna, only the impulsion and advertence moments are intended. Therefore, here, "whichever sage, by fruition attainment, passionless, called passionless, free from craving, having peace, focusing on Nibbana, having made it the object, made his time, a measure of eighty years, pass" should be the connection. But some say thus: "However, for a taintless one, not arising anywhere, only the name-and-form phenomena, etc., as they appear, become the object for the end of death, not karma, karma-sign, etc." Because it is said that karma-sign and destination-sign do not become the object for the death consciousness of an arahant, that too is incorrect. The meaning here is that for an arahant, a taintless one, not arising anywhere in existence, only the name-and-form phenomena, etc., as they appear in whatever way, become the object for the advertence and impulsion consciousnesses at the end of death, because there is no renewed arising in existence. What is the reason why past karma, karma-sign, and destination-sign do not become the object? But the death consciousness has as its object only the past object taken by the rebirth consciousness. "Only name-and-form, etc." Here, "name" includes consciousness and mental factors, "form" includes the eighteen kinds of form. Name and form are name-and-form. Name-and-form and those phenomena are thus. Those, etc., of which they are the beginning, are name-and-form phenomena, etc. By the word "etc." the six kinds of concepts are included, therefore, even Nibbana could be the object for the action-impulsion at the time near death for an arahant, this is our acceptance, but having investigated... It should be taken. But it should be seen that the object taken by the rebirth-consciousness of the Blessed One's decease-consciousness, having passed away from Tusita heaven, and dwelling in the womb of Queen Sīrimahāmāyā, is the same object. And that is only a sign of destiny, not signs of action or action-result. By reason and by scripture, only the sign of destiny is fitting. For indeed, in Tusita heaven itself, having been the deva Setaketu, for four thousand divine years, seventy-five crores and sixty hundred thousand human years, at the end, seeing the five portents, by the arahant-brahmās in ten thousand world-systems, and by special deities coming together, "It is time, great hero, to be born in your mother's womb; Crossing over with the world of devas, may you awaken to the deathless state," being entreated, having looked at the five great observations, "time, continent, country, family, and mother," having passed away from Tusita heaven, on the full-moon day of Āsāḷha, together with the Uttarāsāḷha constellation, in nineteen rebirth-consciousnesses, with a great resultant consciousness similar to the joyful, knowledge-conjoined, unprompted wholesome consciousness of the preliminary part of loving-kindness, he took rebirth. From the object-approaching process before that, these five, observed as time, continent, country, family, and mother, go to the state of being the object as the destiny-sign object of the rebirth-consciousness. Because of our inclination, tendency, and leaning towards that, due to the prevalence of abundance, in the Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha and other Abhidhammattha Vibhāvanī, "At the time of death, according to suitability, the action that generates rebirth in the next existence, or the action-sign, the form and so on, previously perceived at the time of doing that action, being instrumental, or the destiny-sign, to be perceived in the immediately arising existence, being for enjoyment, covered by the power of action, appears at one of the doors. Thereafter, relying on that same object, thus presented, a pure consciousness, corresponding to the ripening action..." Ah, frequently, the mind-stream, inclined to the pure or defiled, predominantly flows in accordance with the becoming-karma. Or, that very generating karma becomes accessible, newly done, at the door of the senses. But for one near death, at the end of the thought-process, with the cessation of the life-continuum, as a falling away, the dying-consciousness arises and ceases, being the end of the present existence. At its cessation, immediately after, taking that same object, with or without a basis, as appropriate, generated by the formation encompassed by the underlying tendency to ignorance, rooted in the underlying tendency to craving, being grasped by its concomitants, being the foundation for its co-nascent factors, being foremost in the continuity of existence,