40b: The Last Days 2, In Vajji – 1532 

 

productive deeds (

kamma

), is one meaning. The formless

 

fruition-

attainment (

ārupa-loka-phala-samāpatti

) that acts as a condition for 

prolonging life is the other meaning. 

“To give up the life-maintaining mental process,” means the Buddha, was 
resolving that he would not re-enter into the fruition-attainment (

phala-

samāpatti

) after three months; he would do so only up to the full moon of 

May (

Vesākha

). By that resolution, the Buddha, in effect, renounced the 

condition for prolonging his life beyond three months. 

When the Buddha thus renounced the life-maintaining mental process, the 
great earth quaked in six different ways: 1) Swaying from east to west; 2) 
swaying from west to east; 3) swaying from south to north; 4) swaying 
from north to south; 5) heaving upwards; and 6) lunging downwards. This 
phenomenon occurred throughout the 10,000 world-element, causing 
people terror, with gooseflesh appearing on their skin and the body-hairs 
standing up. 

When the Buddha had relinquished the life-maintaining mental process, he 
felt delightful satisfaction with the thought that the burden of the body, 
which he had been carrying over the long course of Saṁsāra, was now to 
be laid aside in the next three months. Since the joy at this happy prospect 
was so intense that it could not be contained it found expression in the 
joyous utterance of the above verse. 

The fact that the verse was the outcome of great joy makes it evident that 
in relinquishing the life-maintaining mental process, the Buddha was not 
yielding to Māra out of fear. If it were so, how could such a joyous 
utterance come about? Only the happy prospect, foreseen by the Buddha-
knowledge, that three months 

[1030]

 hence he would be laying down the 

burden of the five aggregates and making an end of all suffering (

dukkha

), 

brought forth that joyous utterance concerning his relinquishment. 

Then Ven. Ānanda bethought himself: “Wonderful it is! Unprecedented it is! 
This hair-raising earthquake is monstrous indeed! It is really stupendous! How 
rolling thunders echoed and re-echoed! What is the cause of great earthquakes? 
What conditions them?” He approached the Buddha, made his obeisance to him, 
and sitting at a suitable distance, addressed the Buddha thus: “Wonderful it is! 
Unprecedented it is! This hair-raising earthquake is monstrous indeed! It is 
really stupendous! How rolling thunders echoed and re-echoed! Venerable sir, 
what is the cause of such great earthquakes? What conditions them?”