|
The Buddha's imitability exists both harmoniously and in stark contrast to is superhumanity when his own death approaches. In the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, two miraculous events follow the poisoning of the Buddha by the "pig's delight." The events differ in the manner in which the Buddha's nature is expressed: in the first, the Buddha maintains his demeanor when faced with what ought to be racking, death-dealing pains; in the second, the Buddha causes a stream to flow clearly so as to provide drinkable water. The effect of this harmonious interaction if his imitability and his saintliness, in the first episode, upon the sharply contrasting interaction between the two, in the second, is to heighten and strengthen the view of the Buddha's saintliness, while not destroying hope among humans.
When the Buddha partakes of the last meal, it is quite clear that what he has done is to knowingly 'sign his own death warrant.' The Buddha eats food, which he knows to be poisonous; but it is the manner in which he deals with having eaten the "pig's delight," which emphasizes both his human and his superhuman nature.
As it should with any human, the poison instigates a process within the Buddha, which leads to death. He was "attacked by a severe sickness with bloody diarrhoea, and with sharp pains as if he were about to die" (151). This shows how the Buddha, despite his awesome powers, is subject to the limitations of the human body. He can be hurt, he can be poisoned, he can even die. The passage continues, however, with the successful passivity of the Buddha.
Despite his sickness, the Buddha maintains his calm and chooses to proceed to Kusinara. The Buddha "endured all this mindfully and clearly aware, and without complaint" (151). As any person can faithfully declare, it is very difficult, perhaps even impossible, to remain calm and clear-headed while violently sick. In particular, his fatal condition should have made the feat even more difficult. Instead of seeking pity and help from his followers, the Tathagata instead traveled to Kusinara so that he might have the opportunity to give them one last chance to ask of him that which they might need or wish to know. Although it is subtle, this utmost concern for his followers and ability to rise above his own physical sufferings displays the Buddha's superhumanity.
In this passage, the author integrates the imitability and saintliness of the Buddha in an extremely effective and inconspicuous manner. At first glance, it is not even apparent that the Buddha's actions are particularly out of the ordinary. But when the scene is more closely examined, the Buddha demonstrates physical, mental and emotional superiority to 'mainstream' humanity. The subtlety of this event is contrasted immediately afterward when the Buddha desires water while traveling to Kusinara.
The Buddha's saintliness is already emphasized by the mere physical act of traveling while in a condition capable of incapacitating a normal human, but it reaches to even greater heights when a stream became clean so that the Buddha might quench his thirst. The very fact that the Buddha is tired and thirsty, however, shows that there is still some element of the human besought by travail.
That the journey affects the Buddha is without doubt: he said, "'Come Ananda, fold a robe in four for me: I am tired and want to sit down' …'Ananda, bring me some water: I am thirsty and want to drink'" (151). To continue on with his path while sick shows the Buddha's humanness. It is this ability to fight on in the face of physical pain, which provides a useful, imitable example of how people should deal with hardship.
When the Buddha needs water, however, he goes beyond the limitations of humans to get it. When Ananda finally went to the stream, shoe water had been made dirty by the passage of a caravan, it began to "flow pure, bright and unsullied" (152). It is obviously not to be considered within the scope of human powers to alter reality 'magically.' In this way, the author demonstrates the saintliness and superhuman nature of the Buddha.
In the river passage, there is a very sharp contrast between the two natures of the Buddha. It is so blatant as to be unavoidable. He suffers from limitations to his physical body, but he miraculously overcomes them by making the physical state of another thing (the stream) alter, so as to be capable of assuaging his own pain.
That the author is both upholding the Buddha as an example of human perseverance and showing that he has somehow transcended the limitations of the human form is clear. He does so in two different styles-once with subtlety and tact and again, with blatant contrast. The fact that these two events are successive further emphasizes the superhumanity of the Buddha.
When the author tactfully displays the saintliness of the Buddha, he is setting up for a sharper and stronger contrast. Just as the concurrence of imitability with superhumanity makes the Buddha seem that much more superhuman, the first scene sets a stage and strengthens the climax for the Buddha's later manifestation. First the author gives us a 'soft' view of the Buddha's saintliness as he maintains his passivity and mental clarity while experiencing intense, lethal pain; then, he counts upon the successive human frailty of exhaustion and thirst to 'slingshot' our perspective to reverence for the Buddha's superhuman might when he transforms the stream into pure, drinkable water. This passage demonstrates that there is nothing, which can stop the Buddha. Despite his acceptance of physical weakness, he refuses to succumb. Even when faced with 'insurmountable' odds, he succeeds where a human would fail.
By showing the Buddha subject to worldly pains, however, the author lessens our own pain. Because the Buddha suffered and because the Buddha overcame, humans have reason and hope to believe that their own suffering might one day end. While the Buddha is shown to be vastly superior to humans, he is similar enough that humans can still project themselves into his position, which is what gives them faith in their own travails.
|
| |
