The only thing I know about Buddha's final moments are from parinibbana
sutta and mahaparinibbana sutta. English and pali online versions of
those suttas are available, their chinese and other counterparts are
here (for the benefit of chinese and sanskrit readers on the list who
would like to inspect directly):

[S. 6.15 ] parinibbana sutta:
http://www.suttacentral.net/disp_correspondence.php?division_acronym=SN%206&sutta_number=15.0&sutta_coded_name=Parinibb%C4%81na&volpage_info=SN%20I%20157&sutta_id=372
[D. 16] mahaparinibbana sutta :
http://www.suttacentral.net/disp_correspondence.php?division_acronym=DN&sutta_number=16.0&sutta_coded_name=Mah%C4%81parinibb%C4%81na&volpage_info=DN%20II%2072&sutta_id=16


I can't read Chinese so I don't know what the counterparts say or
whether they add anything.

I do know from reading many english translations of pali suttas that the
Buddha frequently said things similar to : 'He is indeed a Blessed One,
an arahant, rightly self-awakened: consummate in knowledge & conduct,
well-gone, a knower of the cosmos, an unexcelled trainer of those
persons ready to be tamed, teacher of human & divine beings, awakened,
blessed. He has made known --- having realized it through direct
knowledge --- this world with its devas, maras, & brahmas, its
generations with their contemplatives & priests, their rulers & common
people. He has explained the Dhamma admirable in the beginning,
admirable in the middle, admirable in the end; has expounded the holy
life both in its particulars & in its essence, entirely perfect,
surpassingly pure. It is good to see such a worthy one.'"

In other passages, he said, "I see no one in this world who could answer
[some difficult existential question] except myself or one of my
disciples."

Recall the first sermon before the turning of the wheel, where the
buddha proclaimed, "I am the perfectly enlightened one." The person who
heard that thought, "I don't believe this guy", shook his head, said
something like, "Yeah, sure you're perfectly enlightened." and walked
away. (anyone know the sutta and # for that?)

Another passage (anyone know sutta and #?): The buddha said something
like, "See this dirt in my pinky finger nail? How much dirt is there
compared to all the dirt on the planet? Similarly the knowledge I'm
imparting to you guys is just a tiny fraction of my vast knowledge. Why?
I only teach you guys what is spiritually relevant for your complete
deliverance from dukkha."

When other brahmans debated with Buddha, I recall passages where they
basically said to the buddha, "I can beat you in a debate," and the
Buddha said something to the effect of, "There's no way you could kick
my ass but I will indulge your question anyway and thoroughly defeat it."

If a heretic or religion wanted to criticize the Buddha, they have a
better chance and a stronger argument through other means. To claim the
Buddha did not know, that "he is still seeking the way", they would be
hard pressed to find scriptural evidence of that.


-Frank

On 2/14/2010 4:24 AM, Ong Yong Peng wrote:
>
> Dear friends,
>
> a senior pastor from Singapore recently made unruly comments and
> insensitive remarks on Buddhism. Pastor Rony Tan, who claims to have a
> congregation of 12,000+ in Singapore, made a video of a church service
> speech. In this video, Pastor Tan referred to Buddhism and each time
> accompanied it with his opinion of the religion. I watched this video,
> which was first available from Tan's website and subsequently in
> several video sharing websites. This matter has created a huge outcry
> within Singapore's civic circles on various fronts. Tan has since
> apologised for his actions, and promised not to repeat the same
> mistake again.
>
> In this past decade, we have seen almost daily how bigotry and
> fundamentalism has caused tensions and conflicts within communities
> and across continents. It is human to err, but irresponsible religious
> speeches can threaten social stability of a secular country like
> Singapore. It is not my intention to "talk" about the person on this
> forum. Only one point I like to discuss: at one point in the speech,
> Pastor Tan said that when the Buddha was about to pass away, he
> uttered the last words "I am still seeking the way."
>
> I thought I have heard this before, but used on someone else. So, I am
> curious if Christian evangelicals used "canned messages" in their
> preaching to win ignorant converts. Is there anyone who knows
> Christian evangelism methods well enough to comment?
>
> Also, "I am still seeking the way." is obviously a quote taken from
> someone or somewhere and inadequately applied to the Buddha. Please
> correct me if I am wrong, but I am sure most Buddhists would agree the
> Buddha's final words are "Transient are all compounded things, strive
> on with diligence!". This is of course from the Pali tradition. Is
> there any difference from the Chinese and Tibetan traditions?
>
> Thank you.
>
> metta,
> Yong Peng.
>
>



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