Comparing the incomparable6
with coming-into-being,
the sage relinquished
the fabrication of becoming.
Inwardly joyful,
centered,
he split his own
coming-into-being
like a coat of mail.7
Notes
1. As DN 16 makes clear, there were several times in the past where the Buddha, at several different locations, had commented to Ven. Ānanda on how refreshing it was to be in the location where they were staying. This apparently was meant as a sign that living on would not be a burden, for in each case he had then given a broad hint–as he does here–for Ven. Ānanda to invite him to extend his life. As says in the narrative immediately following the events portrayed in this udāna, he would have refused the invitation if offered only twice, but would have accepted it on the third offer. But now that he has abandoned the will to live, he cannot take it on again, so Ven. Ānanda’s final opportunity to make the invitation is lost.
2. “And what is the base of power? Whatever path, whatever practice, leads to the attainment of power, the winning of power: That is called the base of power.
“And what is the development of the base of power? There is the case where a monk develops the base of power endowed with concentration founded on desire & the fabrications of exertion. He develops the base of power endowed with concentration founded on persistence… concentration founded on intent… concentration founded on discrimination & the fabrications of exertion. This is called the development of the base of power.” – SN 51:26
3. An eon, in the Buddhist cosmology, is an immensely long stretch of time. According to the Commentary here, it can also mean the full lifespan of a human being in that particular period of the eon (Buddhist cosmology allows for a huge fluctuation in human lifespans over the course of an eon). The Commentary adopts this second meaning in this passage, and so takes the Buddha’s statement here as meaning that a person who has developed the bases of power could live for a full lifespan or for a little bit more. In this case, the Pali for the last part of this compound, kappāvasesaṁ, would mean, “an eon plus a remainder.”
4. DN 11 defines the miracle of instruction as instruction in training the mind to the point of where it gains release from all suffering and stress.
5. In other words, the Buddha relinquished the will to live longer. It was this relinquishment that led to his total Unbinding three months later.
6. Reading tulaṁ as a present participle.
7. The image is of splitting a coat of mail with an arrow.
Origin URL: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Ud/ud6_1.html