English
Knowing that Āḷāra and Uddaka had passed away, remembering the great help of the group of five monks, rising from his seat, as he went to Kāsipura, conversing with Upaka on the way, on the Āsāḷha full moon day, in the Deer Park at Isipatana, where the group of five monks were residing. Having attained that state, they behaved with an inappropriate argument, O Venerable, making known and setting in motion the Wheel of Dhamma, he caused eighteen crores, headed by the Elder Aññākoṇḍañña, to drink the nectar of immortality. From then onwards, having lived for forty years, having taught eighty-four thousand aggregates of Dhamma, having delivered beings beyond calculation from the wilderness of existence, having completed all the Buddha's tasks, in the Mallians' Upavattana, in the Sāla Grove at Kusinārā, between the twin Sāla trees, on a couch prepared with his head to the north, on the Visākha full moon day, mindfully and consciously, he lay down on his right side in the posture of non-rising. It is said that then, in homage to the Blessed One, the twin Sāla trees were covered with all kinds of flowers, from the roots to the tips. Not only the twin Sāla trees, but all the branches of all the trees were covered with all kinds of flowers. Not only in that park, but in the entire ten thousand world-systems, the fruit-bearing trees bore fruit. On the trunks of all the trees were trunk lotuses, on the creepers were creeper lotuses. In the sky were looking-up lotuses, and breaking through the surface of the earth were stalk lotuses. The entire great ocean was covered with five-colored lotuses, and the Himalayas, three thousand yojanas in extent, were like a densely packed cluster of peacock feathers, like a garland constantly adorned, like a tightly bound flower diadem, and like a well-filled flower basket, exceedingly beautiful. The earth-bound deities of the twin Sāla trees, moving their tearful eyes, scattered flowers over the body of the Tathāgata. Divine Mandārava flowers also fell from the sky. They were golden in color, the size of parasols, holding pollen the size of large gourds, and not only Mandārava flowers, but all other Pāricchatta flowers and the like, filling golden baskets and silver baskets, were scattered unbroken in various ways by the deities standing in the Tāvatiṃsa heaven and even in the Brahma world. Having come, they showered the Tathāgata's body with powders of various kinds, not only the deities, but also nāgas, supaṇṇas, and humans offered sandalwood powders. Not only sandalwood powders, but also kāḷānusārī, tagara, red sandalwood, and all kinds of fragrant powders, orpiment, collyrium, gold, and silver powders. Filling all kinds of fragrant perfumes into gold and silver caskets, deities standing at the edges of the universe threw them, without scattering in between, they showered only the Tathāgata's body, and divine musical instruments played in the sky. Not only those, but all kinds of stringed, leather-covered, and hollow instruments, of deities, nāgas, supaṇṇas, and humans in ten thousand world-systems, having gathered in one world-system, played in the sky. It is said that certain long-lived deities, named Varacāraṇa, having heard that a great man would be born in the human realm and become a Buddha, began to string garlands, thinking, "We will take them on the day of conception." While they were stringing, when the great man was conceived in his mother's womb, they were asked, "For whom are you stringing these?" They replied, "Not yet, we will take them on the day of his birth." Having heard that he was born, they said, "We will go on the day of the Great Renunciation." Having heard that he had made the Great Renunciation, they said, "We will go on the day of Enlightenment." Having heard that he was enlightened today, they said, "We will go on the day of the Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma." Having heard that he had turned the Wheel of Dhamma, they said, "We will go on the day of the Twin Miracle." Having heard that he had performed the Twin Miracle today, they said, "We will go on the day of the Descent from Heaven." Having heard that he had descended from heaven today, they said, "We will go on the day of Relinquishing the Lifespan." Having heard that he had relinquished the lifespan, they said, "Not yet, we will go on the day of Parinibbāna?" "Today, the Blessed One, between the twin sāla trees, lying down on his right side, mindful and fully aware, in the lion's posture, will attain Parinibbāna in the last watch of the night, for whom are you stringing these?" "He is born," they said, "He took rebirth in his mother's womb today, He emerged from the womb today, He renounced the world today. He attained Buddhahood today, He set the Wheel of Dhamma in motion today. He performed the Twin Miracle today. He descended from the heavens today. He relinquished his life-force today. He attained final Nibbana, it seems, today. Should he not remain even for the time it takes to drink rice-gruel on the second day? Is it not unseemly for one who attained Buddhahood after fulfilling the ten perfections?" Taking the garlands that were not yet finished, They came, seeking space within the inner circumference of the universe, Finding it at the mouth of the universe, They ran, hand in hand, neck to neck, Singing about the Three Jewels, The thirty-two marks of a great man, The six-hued rays, The ten perfections, The half-six perfections, The hundreds of Jataka tales, The fourteen Buddha-knowledges, And at the end of each, they would say, "O friend, O friend!" This was said in relation to that: "Even divine music resounded in the sky." The Blessed One, while such great veneration was taking place, In the first watch of the night, taught the Dhamma to the Mallas, In the middle watch, having taught the Dhamma to Subhadda, Established him in the fruit of the path, In the last watch, having exhorted the monks, At the break of dawn, shaking the great earth, Attained final Nibbana in the element of Nibbana without remainder. When the Blessed One, the Lord of the World, had attained final Nibbana, The Venerable Ananda announced that event to the Malla kings. Having heard it, taking perfumes, garlands, all the musical instruments, and five hundred pairs of cloths, They went and honored, respected, revered, and venerated the body of the Blessed One With dances, songs, music, garlands, and perfumes, Erecting canopies of cloth, Arranging circular garlands, Thus they spent that day. Then it occurred to the deities and to the Mallas of Kusinara: "It is too late today to cremate the body of the Blessed One. Now we will cremate the body of the Blessed One." Thus... Thus they spent the third day. Likewise, they spent the fourth, fifth, and sixth days. On the seventh day, the deities and the Mallas of Kusinara, honoring, respecting, esteeming, and venerating the Blessed One's body with divine and human dances, songs, music, garlands, and perfumes, carried it through the midst of the city and placed it where the Mallas' shrine called Makutabandhana was. Now, at that time, Kusinara was covered with Mandarava flowers up to the ditches, ramparts, and thorny thickets, by the command of the king. Then the Mallas of Kusinara wrapped the Blessed One's body in new linen cloths, just as they would do for the body of a universal monarch. Having wrapped it in new linen cloths, they wrapped it in teased cotton. Having wrapped it in teased cotton, they wrapped it in new linen cloths. In this way, having wrapped it in five hundred layers of pairs, they placed it in an iron oil-trough and covered it with another iron trough. Having made a pyre of all kinds of fragrant woods, they placed the Blessed One's body on the pyre. At that time, the venerable Maha Kassapa was traveling from Pava to Kusinara along the highway, accompanied by a large Sangha of monks, about five hundred monks. At that time, deities who had faith and were reborn in heaven, not seeing the Elder in that assembly, considered, "Where is our family Elder?" Seeing him traveling along the road, they determined, "Let the pyre not ignite until our family Elder has paid homage." Then four Malla chieftains, having bathed their heads and wearing new clothes, thinking, "We will light the sandalwood pyre with a hundred pieces of precious wood," even though eight, sixteen, or thirty-two people, taking double torches and fanning with palm-leaf fans and blowing bellows, were unable to make the fire catch. Then the Mallas of Kusinara, asking the venerable Anuruddha about the reason for the pyre not igniting, (learned it was) the deities' intention. Having heard that, Mahākassapa, they say, came with five hundred monks, thinking, "I will worship the feet of the Ten-Powered One." While he was coming, they say, the pyre would not light. "What kind of boorish monk is this? Is he fair? Is he tall? Is he short? When a monk like this is present, has the passing away of the Ten-Powered One taken place?" So they spoke. Carrying garlands and perfumes, they went to the roadside. Some, having decorated the streets, stood looking out for his arrival. Then venerable Mahākassapa approached Kusinara, the Mallas' shrine called Makutabandhana, where the Buddha's pyre was. Having approached, arranging his upper robe over one shoulder, he circumambulated the pyre three times. Considering and reflecting, he thought, "In this place are the feet." Standing near that place of the feet, having attained the fourth jhana, the basis of super-knowledge, and emerging from it, he resolved, "May the feet of the Ten-Powered One, adorned with a thousand spokes, along with the cotton wrappings, the five hundred pairs of cloths, the golden coffin, and the pyre, split in two and be established on my head, on my highest point." With the thought of resolution, those pairs of cloths and so on, having split in two, like the full moon among the clouds, the feet emerged.