Cunda Kammāraputta was a
smith
Smith may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* 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
** List of people ...
who gave
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),*
*
*
was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
his last meal as an offering while he visited his mango grove in
Pāvā
Pāvā was an important city of the Malla (tribe), Malla tribe of History_of_India#Second_urbanisation_(c._600_%E2%80%93_200_BCE), ancient India at the time of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha. It is located about sout ...
on his way to
Kuśīnagara. Shortly after having Cunda's meal, the Buddha suffered from fatal
dysentery
Dysentery ( , ), 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 may include dehyd ...
.
The condition could have been
Clostridial necrotizing enteritis
Clostridial necrotizing enteritis (CNE) is a severe and potentially fatal type of food poisoning caused by a β-toxin of ''Clostridium perfringens'', Type C. It occurs in some developing country, developing regions, particularly in New Guinea, wh ...
due to a high protein (meat) diet.
Before entering the
parinirvāṇa, the Buddha told
Ānanda 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 (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
, and thus he should rejoice.
[Dīgha Nikāya II. 135f]
Name
The name Kammāraputta (in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, ''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 (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
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 pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...
is generally supported by the
Theravada
''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
tradition; while that it was a
vegetarian dish, by the
Mahayana
Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
tradition.
These may reflect the different traditional views on
Buddhist vegetarianism
Buddhist vegetarianism is the practice of vegetarianism by significant portions of Mahayana Buddhist monastics and laypersons as well as some Buddhists of other sects. In Buddhism, the views on vegetarianism vary between different schools of ...
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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunda
Disciples of Gautama Buddha
Indian Buddhists
Blacksmiths