The place of the parinirvana. Where the Buddha lay down between the two sal trees.
The Shakya prince of Kapilavastu who left his palace, sat beneath the Bodhi tree, and set in motion the wheel of the dharma. The historical Buddha whose words seeded a tradition that now belongs to a fifth of humanity.
The Buddha's cousin and personal attendant for the last twenty-five years of his life. Foremost among the bhikkhus in learning, in memory, in good conduct, in steadfastness, and in personal attendance. The night before the First Council, he attained arahantship between waking and lying down.
The senior bhikkhu the Buddha designated as foremost in ascetic virtues. After the parinirvana, it was Mahakassapa who convened the First Council at Rajagaha and presided over the recitation of the canon. In the Mahayana traditions, he is the first patriarch of the lineage, recipient of the flower-and-smile transmission.
Nirvana is the extinction of the fires of greed, hatred, and delusion — the unconditioned reality realised when craving ceases. Parinirvana is the final passing of an awakened being beyond the conditioned aggregates at death.
The Parinirvana.
