I hesitated before I wrote that title because there is no such thing as “last” or even “first,” but there is a short list commonly known as Buddha’s final teaching before he died, and so I am sharing it here and now.
Words attributed to Buddha are the basis of much industry, interpretation, and enterprise. Buddha’s teachings were entirely spoken and conveyed for hundreds of years by word of mouth until the first written records were made. This is just the way it is and in one sense it works just fine. Sure, words are subject to erroneous understanding by deluded people, but with a bit of practice and a flicker of clarity, you can look at a modern quotation, especially a popular one, and know instantly that Buddha never said any such thing.
And this is precisely what his instructions foretold. There’s a good chance you guys are going to get this all wrong.
“Last words” are interesting in another way. When you’re present at someone’s death, you don’t know when the final moment will come, or what the critical utterance will be. Sometime later you reflect on what happened last and then decide for yourself what it means. Before her death, my mother told me, “Be yourself and take good care of your family.” She lived for several days after I heard that, and she may have said more that I didn’t hear or recall. But the words I retained were useful for me — simple and straightforward — carrying with them a mother’s hope that I wouldn’t complicate things quite so much.
That’s the spirit with which I see Buddha’s last instructions. A human being, surrounded by devotees and dependents, with a final chance to bring peace and ease to a population crazed with fear and grief. I have simplified these from a scholarly translation, but in a nutshell, this is what Buddha tells you to do here and now:
1. Want little — Suffer less.
2. Be satisfied — Enough is enough.
3. Avoid crowds — Be alone and quiet.
4. Keep going — Don’t turn back.
5. Pay attention — Guard your mind.
6. Meditate — Or you are lost.
7. See for yourself — Cultivate wisdom.
8. Don’t talk about it — Do it.
“Now, all of you be quiet and do not speak. Time is passing and I am going to cross over. This is my last admonition to you.”
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Based on “Eight Awakenings of Great Beings” by Dogen Zenji. From Enlightenment Unfolds: The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Dogen, edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi.
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You had me with the excellent and thought-provoking picture of a walnut shell.
But “a bit of practice and a flicker of clarity” is the KMM language that keeps me in your thrall. Similarly, quoting Buddha “There is a good chance you guys are going to get this all wrong” – wonderful language, tone, imagery. And so accurate! I was there and I don’t know how many times I hear him say those very words.
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Thank you for this teaching, Maezen.
You have a way of stilling the waters, so we can see the gems that lay just beneath.
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Because my waters are rough, Steve. My waters are rough. In gassho.
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Thank you Maezen,
#5 is a big one for me, also encompassing listening. Like the words you keep close from your mother; I believe there are words always available, the perfect words, if we are simply paying attention.
in gassho
Mary
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I love walnuts.
Thanks.
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No. 4 is my mantra at present. No. 6, I especially need to heed. No. 3 is my natural inclination. Then there is 1, 2, 5, 7 and 8 to consider. Thank you, Maezen. XOClare
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Thank you for sharing this profound teaching with us – and for summarizing it so perfectly: how I love your ‘simple’ and striking wake up calls!
In deep gassho.
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Clare, what they say about these 8 is that each one contains all the others. So do one, and they are all done. A quick study.
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Thanks, Maezen!
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Many years ago (39 to be exact!) when I was a student, a man sat next to me on the bus,leaned across and said “Do you know that your brain is like the inside of a walnut shell”. I think I got off quickly at the next stop.
I don’t know to this day whether he was philosopher or fool – but it does kind of make you think……..
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