After the meal the Buddha falls ill, with pain as if he were dying, yet he bears it mindfully and says, “Let us go to Kusinārā.” The later commentaries of the Southern tradition say it is three gāvutas (an ancient Indian unit of distance) from Pāvā to Kusinārā, that the Buddha rested twenty-five times on the way, and reached the sāla grove only at sunset. Pali Canon
Different Accounts
The illness: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition and the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra translated by Faxian say bloody diarrhoea; the Chinese Youxing jing, Fo bannihuan jing, Bannihuan jing and Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the Tibetan Vinaya and the Sanskrit Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra say back pain.
More differences between accounts (1)
The link between the illness and the meal: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition states that the illness broke out after eating Cunda's meal; the Chinese Youxing jing says the Buddha was already ill, and “though he ate the sandalwood ear, his sickness grew worse”, that is, the illness worsened even though he had eaten the sandalwood ear. The Sanskrit Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra does not say the illness was caused by Cunda's meal. Taishō Canon
Dating
Year 45 after the Awakening, the Buddha aged seventy-nine to eighty, after the , in the daytime on the day of Cunda's meal; the day is stated in the canonical text, and by the later commentaries of the Southern tradition it is the full moon of Vesākha; it can be fixed to the day.
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
The episode of “falling ill on the way” is recorded by five schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Dīrgha Āgama, the Sanskrit Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, the Chinese Fo bannihuan jing and Bannihuan jing and the Chinese three-fascicle Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. Attested across multiple schools. The “words ‘passing blood’” within it are recorded by two schools, the Pali canon of the Southern tradition and the Chinese three-fascicle Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra; the “words ‘back pain’” by three schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time). Time precision: fixed to the day.
Sources
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 258a4–258a7
- 梵文原典梵文《大般涅槃經》（Waldschmidt）§27.1–27.9
- 藏譯（德格版）德格版 D6 da 258a5
- 梵文原典梵文《大般涅槃經》§27.6、30.5
- Pali Canon巴利 DN 16:4.20.1–4.20.13
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.1 p.18c
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.5 p.168a
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.6 p.183c
- 大正藏大正藏 T01 no.7 p.197b
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1451 p.390c
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Sv，§198
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Sv，§198，PTS 2.573