Without doubt, Buddha was one of the most influential personalities in the World’s history, and his thoughts and teachings have affected faiths, beliefs, literature and philosophy not only within India, but in the western countries too. We are all aware of the legend’s journey through life, but little is known about the circumstances when he left this mortal world. We have already told you how Houdini died. Here at OneHowTo.com, we will try to find out exactly how did Buddha die.
How did he die?
The last meal that Buddha ate was either pork dish or mushroom (historians are not certain on this point) that he had received from a blacksmith as an offering. After that, he fell seriously ill, maybe due to food poisoning, and he started realizing that his end was approaching fast. He asked Ananda, his disciple, to prepare a death bed for him. After his death, his body was cremated and his belongings, along with his remains, were kept in stupas, some of which are still present there.
Preparation for the death
After eating his last meal, Buddha got seriously ill due to food poisoning. He had the ability to subdue his illness and diarrhea with meditation, and he had already announced that he would leave this body after 3 months. This choice of death he had is known as Parinibbana. He walked to another area where he exactly wanted his Parinibbana to happen. At night, he laid down between two sal trees in the Northern India forest, and went into meditation. From the first jhana level of Samadhi, he went up through all the 8 jhana levels, and then entered the Arahat Nibbana level of highest realization. This was the last thing he did in his life, and then he left his body. The best thing is that Lord Buddha chose to die, and he died peacefully and mindfully. There was no pain or remorse, and he left this world only after giving it so much thanks to his teachings.
Followers' beliefs
As you may know, Buddhism believes in reincarnation, therefore, according to his followers, Buddha has never actually ‘died’. He keeps coming back to life one after the other, until his followers learn all the life lessons he wants to teach them. Enlightenment can never be completely gained, because there is no end to it, and thus keeps moving forward forever.
If you want to read similar articles to How Did Buddha Die, we recommend you visit our Culture & Society category.