Mahaparinirvana

Around 544-545 BCE, the Buddha died – or at least his earthly body did. Buddhists believe that by having gained enlightenment and removed his attachment to worldly things he had achieved nirvana.

Buddhists believe that those who have not yet achieved nirvana remain trapped in the cycle of birth and death (samsara), and will be reborn into this world after their body dies.

Those like the Buddha, however, who have achieved nirvana, instead escape this cycle, and after their body’s death they enter Parinirvana – the final deathless state of eternal peace. The Buddha’s body was cremated, and the ashes buried, but his True Self had passed to eternal peace and happiness – exactly what Prince Siddhārtha had set out to search for many years before...