Traveling to Kusinara, the Buddha is thirsty and has Ananda fetch water for him

On the way to Kusinara, after taking the meal of sukaramaddava at Cunda's house, the Buddha came down heavily with the illness known as pakkhandhikabadha and almost passed away right there, before the designated time, but with an effort of will he subdued the illness with his perfection of patient endurance (khanti paramita).

Pakkhandhikabadha is a kind of illness that arises only in Buddhas, in which there is internal bleeding. It has been ventured that the illness may have been internal hemorrhoids.

Because of the illness, the Buddha was put under a great amount of difficulty, but he maintained mindfulness and clear comprehension and was not perturbed by it.

They journeyed to a place along the way where there was a small river with some water flowing in it. Here the Buddha stopped and rested at the roadside, sitting under a tree, and told Ananda to fold his outer robe (sangati) into four layers and spread it under the tree. There he sat and rested. He asked Ananda to fetch some water for him from the river.

"I will drink a little to quench my thirst," the Buddha said.

Venerable Ananda pointed out that the water in this river was very shallow. Moreover, a caravan of about 500 ox-carts had just crossed over it, the hooves of the cattle having stirred up the water and made it muddy. He said to the Buddha, "Not far from here there is another river called the Kukkutanadi, with cool, clear, fresh water, and a shady place to rest. May the Blessed One please go there."

The Buddha refused Ananda's invitation three times, so Ananda took the Buddha's bowl down to scoop some water from the river. Seeing the water, he was amazed and exclaimed to himself:

"The power of the Buddha is truly amazing! The river was so muddy, and yet now that I've come close to scoop out some water, the water has become clear."

Then Ananda took the bowl of water to the Buddha.
 

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