According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha announced that he would soon reach Parinirvana or the final deathless state abandoning the earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which, according to different translations,especially the religious texts knowledge of Heenyan texts was pork, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ananda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha.
The Mahayana Vimalakirti Sutra explains, in Chapter 3, that the Buddha doesn't really become ill or old but purposely presents such an appearance only to teach those born during the five defilements the impermanence and pain of defiled worlds and to strive for Nirvana.
"'Reverend Ananda, the Tathagatas have the body of the Dharma - not a body that is sustained by material food. The Tathagatas have a transcendental body that has transcended all mundane qualities. There is no injury to the body of a Tathagata, as it is rid of all defilements. The body of a Tathagata is uncompounded and free of all formative activity. Reverend Ananda, to believe there can be illness in such a body is irrational and unseemly!' Nevertheless, since the Buddha has appeared during the time of the five corruptions, he disciplines living beings by acting lowly and humble."
Ananda protested Buddha's decision to enter Parinirvana in the abandoned jungles of Kusinara (Pali: Kusinara) of the Mallas. Buddha, however, reminded Ananda how Kushinara was a land once ruled by a righteous wheel turning king that resounded with joy:
*** Kusavati, Ananda, resounded unceasingly day and night with ten sounds: the trumpeting of elephants, the neighing of horses, the rattling of chariots, the beating of drums and tabours, music and song, cheers, the clapping of hands, and cries of "Eat, drink, and be merry! ***
