Cattārome bhikkhave, āhārā bhūtānaṃ vā sattānaṃ ṭhitiyā sambhavesīnaṃ vā anuggahāya. Katame cattāro? Kabaliṅkāro1 āhāro oḷāriko vā sukhumo vā, phasso dutiyo, manosañcetanā tatiyā, viññāṇaṃ catutthaṃ.
Hello all,
“Monks, there are these four nutriments for the maintenance of beings who have come into being or for the support of those in search of a place to be born. Which four? Physical food, gross or refined; contact as the second; intellectual intention the third; and consciousness the fourth”.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.011.than.html
So there is several factors keeping an animal alive. Metabolism (physical food) is part of it. Intention is a sankhara (ayu/jivita sankhara) and will to live seems to describe it. However saying the ‘Buddha lost the will to live, after Ven Ananda kept repeatedly missing the opportunity to keep him alive for longer’ doesn’t quite cut it. So maybe ‘gave up the life force’ seems appropriate. We don’t need to sterilize the suttas of any mention of what might seem magical, after all it is a religious text.
Which perhaps leads to a bigger question- does any form of supernatural exist?
with metta
M