Buddha’s Dying Words

The last few months had unfolded just as the Buddha said it would. He suggested that we all be ready to accept his passing, even though he did not seem weak or tired when walking from village to village. He had been moving about and teaching for almost forty-five years now, and it seemed that even at the age of eighty, he could easily go another twenty. Rather suddenly, however, whether it was caused by dysentery by drinking water collected from a wagon rut in the rainy season—which is known to be risky—or from eating tainted meat in a meal graciously offered by lay devotees, the Buddha spent his last few days in great physical pain. He was never seen to react to it, however, as there was no more suffering to be experienced in his being. Awakened from the inside out, loving-kindness and compassion would embrace his own pain as heartfully as it would embrace others. We pleaded with him to not die now, not yet—to stay and teach longer for the benefit of everyone. Many of us were indeed unprepared to accept our teacher’s passing with the equanimity he himself maintained. What a loss to be without his personal presence. The Buddha is the Awakened One, and we asked him to consider the wisdom that he could still share, and the benefits he could still offer so many beings by healing himself and staying longer. He insisted that his body is as subject to sickness, death, and decay as any other—how could we think his was any different from ours? Or ours any different from his? His message in his final days was clear and unambiguous. The Dharma is our only refuge…our only true guidance…and that is true now while the Buddha is here, and after he is gone as well. We must release all the illusions and delusions that we hold onto for security and free ourselves from the tyranny of the unwholesome, constrictive voices and impulses we hold within us. It is in the silence, stillness, and sensitivity of this Dharma that we will find our refuge. This Dharma is not attached to any person, place or thing and even the Buddha is empty of a permanent self. All clinging to forms must disappear. As an island in the open ocean would be our only refuge, so too, in this life, the Dharma is our true refuge. The deep meaning of this truth can only be known from within our own hearts, and with practice we can develop the spiritual power and wisdom to verify this truth. Understanding the laws of karma that govern our mind helps us to be faithful on the path of liberation. We do this for the sake of all sentient beings. Wisdom without compassion is incomplete, just as compassion without wisdom will not eradicate the deepest roots of ignorance from our being. Do not ask the teacher to remain; instead, reflect on the life that has brought forth this teaching and look to where the teacher points. Do not mistake the finger pointing at the moon for the moon itself. We must each practice diligently to realize the supreme truths of our existence, for the benefit of all sentient beings. This was his final message.