Sutta where a monk seemed dead while meditating

Q & A
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So they burned him alive.

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At that time Kakusandha, the Blessed One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha arose in the world. Kakusandha had a fine pair of chief disciples named Vidhura and SaƱjÄ«va. Of all the disciples of the Buddha Kakusandha, none were the equal of Venerable Vidhura in teaching Dhamma. And thatā€™s how he came to be known as Vidhura.

But when Venerable SaƱjÄ«va had gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut, he easily attained the cessation of perception and feeling. Once upon a time, SaƱjÄ«va was sitting at the root of a certain tree having attained the cessation of perception and feeling. Some cowherds, shepherds, farmers, and passers-by saw him sitting there and said, ā€˜Itā€™s incredible, itā€™s amazing! This ascetic passed away while sitting. We should cremate him.ā€™ They collected grass, wood, and cow-dung, heaped it all on SaƱjÄ«vaā€™s body, set it on fire, and left.

Then, when the night had passed, SaƱjÄ«va emerged from that attainment, shook out his robes, and, since it was morning, he robed up and entered the village for alms. Those cowherds, shepherds, farmers, and passers-by saw him wandering for alms and said, ā€˜Itā€™s incredible, itā€™s amazing! This ascetic passed away while sitting, and now he has come back to life!ā€™ And thatā€™s how he came to be known as SaƱjÄ«va.

MN 50

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Sanjiva literally means ā€œrevivalā€

It is also the name of one hot hell in Buddhism, because in that hell the beings kept getting killed and then revived ad infinitum (until their bad karma exhausted)

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I thought it was Buddha. Thanks. Read it many years ago. But I need this to share

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If it was a paccekabuddha, then there are some commentarial stories about such persons (or their dwellings) being accidentally or deliberately set alight. Arson attacks were apparently something of an occupational hazard for paccekabuddhas.

Here are a couple from the Dhammapada Atthakathā.

SāmāvatÄ«ā€™s attempt to burn a Private Buddha

The Snake-Ghost and the Crow-Ghost

And from the same collection, an account of an arahant-to-be somehow surviving his motherā€™s cremation after she died while he was still in her womb.

Saį¹kicca the Novice

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Thanks Bhante. :pray: will take a look

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Ajahn Brahm tells a wild story about a layman who, according to the story, was deep in jhana and his wife thought he was having a medical episode and called for an ambulance. They took him to hospital where he was being evaluated when he came out of jhana. Not too different from SaƱjÄ«vaā€™s story.

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