Cunda Kammāraputta was a

smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

who gave

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

his last meal as an offering while he visited his mango grove in

Pāvā Pāvā (now Fazilnagar) was an important city of the Malla tribe of ancient India at the time of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha. It is located about southeast of Kushinagar in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Buddhist history When the B ...

on his way to Kuśīnagara. Shortly after having Cunda's meal, the Buddha suffered from fatal

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

. The condition could have been Clostridial necrotizing enteritis due to a high protein (meat) diet, which is provided as bhikkha as a mark of respect for high ranking Bhikkus in

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

. Before entering the parinirvāṇa, the Buddha told

Ānanda Ānanda (5th4th century BCE) was the primary attendant of the Buddha and one of his ten principal disciples. Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda stood out for having the best memory. Most of the texts of the early Buddhist '' Sutta-Piṭ ...

to visit Cunda and tell him that his meal had nothing to do with his getting ill, and therefore should feel no blame nor remorse; on the contrary, offering the Tathāgata his last meal before passing away was of equal gain as of offering him his first meal before attaining

buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out ...

, and thus he should feel rejoice.Dīgha Nikāya II. 135f

Name

The name Kammāraputta (in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, ''Karmāraputra'') means ''son of the smith''. In Chinese, his name is rendered as 準陀 (Zhǔntuó).

Cunda as a lay follower of Gautama Buddha

In the ''Cunda Kammāraputta Sutta'', Gautama Buddha stays at Cunda's mango grove and they talk about rites of purification. Cunda declares that he approves of the rites of the

brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

s of the West and the Buddha mentions that the rites of purification of these brahmins and the purification in the discipline of the noble ones is quite different. Cunda asks him to explain how there is purification in his discipline, and so the Buddha teaches him the ten courses of skillful action. Cunda praises him for his teachings and declares himself a lay follower from that day on.

Cunda's Meal

In the ''Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta'', Gautama Buddha and a group of bhikkus stay at Cunda's mango grove and are offered by him a meal. The meal consists of sweet rice, cakes and ''sūkaramaddava'', which is translated differently depending on the buddhist tradition. Since the word is composed by ''sūkara'', which means ''pig'', and ''maddava'', which means ''soft, tender, delicate'', two alternatives are possible: # Tender pig or boar meat. # What is enjoyed by pigs and boars. In the latter meaning, the term has been thought to refer to a mushroom or truffle, or a yam or tuber. The idea that the Buddha's last meal consisted of

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

is generally supported by the

tradition; while that it was a vegetarian dish, by the

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

tradition. These may reflect the different traditional views on

Buddhist vegetarianism Buddhist vegetarianism is the practice of vegetarianism by significant portions of Mahayana Buddhist monks and nuns (as well as laypersons) and some Buddhists of other sects. In Buddhism, the views on vegetarianism vary between different schoo ...

and the monastic precepts. In the sutta, the Buddha asks Cunda to serve the rice and cakes to the community of bhikkus, and to only serve the ''sūkaramaddava'' to him. Any leftovers should be buried in a pit. Cunda does as he is told.

Notes

References

Disciples of Gautama Buddha Indian Buddhists {{India-reli-bio-stub