Insights from the book are not independent from context, wisdom, and the question. But this does not mean that the bias that drives investigation and discovery bore no fruit. I have found the views shared in the book to be useful when engaging teachers, and inparticular online groups. Homeostatic mechanisms will continue to defend rationale even when it needs to be updated.
This is a fascinating book. Well worth the read.
He demonstrated how sangha should conduct. It is one of rules of monastic order that one accepts whatever type of food one has received. One should not say why this n why not that. Otherwise it’s gping against the purpose. That is not same as suicide. @irene . Suicide is when one willingly ends one’s life. Lord buddha did not do that. It would be wrong to say that it is same as suicide. He simply was following the pure conduct as a part of his teaching by demonstration.
I will give you analogy. If let’s say person x’s exam is near and x is not meeting his friends because of my study then no-one can argue that it is same as avoiding friends and being alone! Its because x has purpose in my mind he is behaving like that. If 3rd or 4th person says that x is avoiding friends while he can just simply go and meet them as he does usually, would be just forgetting the context. So I proved that it is wrong to conclude that accepting pork was same as suicide.
Let’s just put it aside if he could have lived long or not. Point is that it wasn’t suicide. It was karma acting. Enlightened ones don’t oppose karma. What I mean is that, lord buddha gave Ananda opportunity to request him to live more(upto complete 100 years of age or more than that doesn’t matter). But ananda couldn’t request(if anyone’s there to blame then it’s venerable ananda only…but that’s another argument and not the context here). Point is that Lord Buddha is not one to blame here. At that particular time lord buddha has taught every person there was who could be taught and established in the liberation. At that time he did what he could. 2500 years later we are here suffering all kinds of pains and saying that “buddha could have lived long then why didn’t he live long and instead did suicide by eating pork knowingly”, would be just like child complaining that, if sun anyways comes up then why it doesn’t stay there forever and prevent night of darkness?? Well the explanation is that it’s the ‘earth’ which rotates around itself causing periodical darkness and sun is actually always there…on question about how long sun can stay up there and cause day does not matter(same as lifespan of Buddha)…but essentially it is earth at fault(in the present context ok). But child doesn’t understand this and blames sun. If we accuse lord buddha of suicide like this we are no different than this child in above analogy.