The Buddha’s last words were spoken to a large group of disciples in the Mallas’s sāl-tree grove near Kusinārā. The text which recounts these events is the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta – the story of the great extinguishing. The Blessed One knew that it was time for him to die, or to pass into extinction . He was on a tour of the main places where he had taught, accompanied as always by Ānanda and there was a kind of magic in the air as miraculous events occurred where ever they went. The tour came to an end when, after taking a meal with a lay supporter, the Buddha became fatally ill with food poisoning. Word went around and a great company of the Blessed One’s disciples gathered to pay their last respects to him. He questioned them to make sure they had no lingering doubts about the teaching, but none of them did. Every one of them was at least a stream entrant, and had realised the Truth for themselves. And then the Sutta says:
Buddhists have always had a particular interest in the words of the Buddha, have put a huge amount of effort into preserving them and interpreting them. His last words have a unique resonance, and special place amongst the corpus of Buddhavācā. In this essay I take a close look at these last words to see what they mean, and why they mean that. I will also explore along the way some of the complexities of translating a specialised technical jargon from one language to another.
Beneath the sala trees at Kusinagara, in his last words to his disciples, the Buddha said:
“Make of yourself a light. Rely upon yourself: do not depend upon anyone else. Make my teachings your light. Rely upon them: do not depend upon any other teaching.
Consider your body: Think of its impurity. Knowing that both its pain and its delight are alike causes of suffer- ing, how can you indulge in its desires? Consider yourself’; think of its transiency; how can you fall into delusion about it and cherish pride and selfishness, knowing that they must all end in inevitable suffering? Consider all substances; can you find among them any enduring ‘self’? Are they not all aggregates that sooner or later will break apart and be scattered? Do not be confused by the universality of suffering, but follow my teaching, even after my death, and you will be rid of pain. Do this and you will indeed be my disciples.”
“My disciples, the teachings that I have given you are never to be forgotten or abandoned. They are always to be treasured, they are to be thought about, they are to be practiced. If you follow these teachings you will always be happy.
The point of the teachings is to control your own mind. Keep your mind from greed, and you will keep your behaviour right, your mind pure and your words faithful. By always thinking about the transiency of your life, you will be able to resist greed and anger, and will be able to avoid all evils.
