Treasuring the greatness of the Buddha’s enlightenment as a human being - is Mahayana’s focus, because it teaches the concept of Buddha-nature inherent in all human beings. 

Focus on the “human character” of the Buddha as a role model for all people – is what enables the individual to strive to reveal own highest state of humanity.

On the other hand, the Tripitaka portrays the Buddha as a supreme being beyond human capacity or imagination.

The Buddha as Superman

The Buddha: “That Blessed One enjoys the various kinds of supernormal power: having been one, he becomes many; having been many, he becomes one; he appears and vanishes; he goes unhindered through a wall, through an enclosure, through a mountain, as though through space; he dives in and out of the earth as though it were water; he walks on water without sinking as though it were earth; seated cross-legged, he travels in space like a bird;” 

Source: Majjhima Nikaya https://tuvienquangduc.com.au/English/canon/sutta/majjhima/mn012.html

Overwhelming ordinary people by superstitious beliefs

Such superstitious beliefs alienate the Buddha, excluding him from the realm of human beings.  No individual can aspire to take the Buddha as a role model in human behaviour, through portraying him with non-human characteristics.

The question is who benefits from portraying the Buddha as someone who penetrates through walls and walks on water, and appears and disappears… etc?  

Obviously, in the eye of ordinary people, the monks are the closest to the Buddha, and they are the only source of information about his powers and greatness.  

Exalting the Buddha by imaginary powers beyond ordinary people’s reality can leave an impression in them that the monks (being the closest to the Buddha) must possess higher level of spirituality and should be obeyed without questioning.

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The superstition of Poisoning the Buddha

While the previously mentioned superstition was about exalting the greatness of the Buddha (penetrating walls and walking on water) – Tripitaka offers a story that greatly degrades Shakyamuni Buddha.

Tripitaka portrays the Buddha as a person lacking in reason, who deliberately consumed rotten meat - knowing that he will be poisoned by that food - just before he died.  

Theravada teaches that the Buddha knew and accepted to die of poison, because he was “polite”:

“Buddha’s nirvana and passing

Buddha ultimately passed due to tainted food. One evening, while wandering for alms he received a meal from Cunda Kammāraputta, a smith.[1] He knew that the food was rotten and would cause him immense harm, yet as a monk, he humbly accepted it — it is impolite to refuse alms — and blessed Cunda for the food. He ate it with equanimity. He endured the consequent sharp pains …”.

Source: Buddha Weekly

Portraying the Buddha as accepting rotten meat donated to him – was a fabricated story by elderly monks to establish a rule in their order for younger monks not to refuse whatever food donated to them (when they go begging) – as otherwise they would be “impolite”.

Theravada asks the monks to take the Buddha as an example, who accepted bad food despite knowing it is going to cause him “immense harm”.  The story goes to clearly consider the Buddha as a “monk” to be followed, saying: “yet as a monk” he accepted rotten food to show his “politeness” – and this clarifies that the invented story was about how monks in the order should behave with politeness.

Illustrating the Buddha as a foolish person, who voluntarily accepted immense harm leading to his death – just to prove that he was “polite” – this and other superstitions disqualify Theravada from deserving trust in its teachings.

Mahayana have completely different account than the Theravada about the last days of the Buddha’s life:   

The last days of Shakyamuni Buddha according to Mahayana Buddhism

Although Shakyamuni Buddha was in an advanced age, he continued to teach travelling (in the region of Vaishali) accompanied by his close disciples.  Arriving to a village called Pava, the Buddha and his disciples were invited by a blacksmith called Chunda to dine in his house.  In a mode of thanksgiving, Chunda had a meal prepared for them, the main ingredient of which was some kind of mushroom.  Shakyamuni graciously accepted Chunda’s hospitality, inviting him and his disciples.  Mahayana records refer mainly to his disciple Ananda, who accompanied the Buddha and was invited with the Buddha for that meal prepared with mushroom.  Some accounts named the mushroom kind as “pigs-delight mushroom”.  

The Buddha did not eat alone. The invitation was for the Buddha and others in his company. The whole company shared the same meal, and none experienced any discomfort from eating that donated food, except for the Buddha who experienced inconvenience, recorded as accompanied by diarrhea. 

Despite the discomfort he felt, the Buddha insisted on continuing his preaching, with Ananda by his side, as usual.  After recovering, he left the village of Pava towards Kushinagara, southeast of Kapilavastu.  But by this time, he was too weakened by age and illness to proceed very far.  Upon reaching Kushinagara, Shakyamuni repaired to a grove of sal trees and had a couch spread for him beneath the trees.  

Resting on the couch the Buddha realised that death was approaching, and he asked Ananda to inform the people of Malla tribe living in the town of Kushinagara that the Buddha was about to enter Nirvana.  

The Mallas came at once to pay homage, and an ascetic among them wanted to ask the Buddha about the Dharma, but Ananda - concerned over his master’s condition - denied that request and an argument between them ensued.  Shakyamuni, overhearing it asked the ascetic to approach his bedside and accepted him into the order.

Then Shakyamuni addressed the monks gathered around his couch saying: 

“Decay is inherent in all composite things. 

Work out your own salvation with diligence”. 

These are reported to be his last words.

As this record illustrates, Shakyamuni taught the Dharma up until the last moments with dedication and clarity of mind.  

Unlike the superstitious story of the Tripitaka about the Buddha “accepting poison to be polite”, the Buddha displayed full wisdom, awareness, and bright attitude, teaching the Dharma until the last moment in his life.  

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