Sūkaramaddava

sūkaramaddava (S. sūkaramārdava; C. zhantanshu’er 栴檀樹耳). Literally, “soft pig.” The last meal of the Buddha before his passing away. According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, the Buddha and his disciples were invited to a meal by Cunda the metal-worker. Cunda served them sweet rice, cakes, and sūkaramaddava. "The Buddha told Cunda to serve the sūkaramaddava only to him and to bury the rest in the ground because no one other than the Buddha would be able to digest it." Shortly thereafter the Buddha suffered an attack of dysentery. "The Buddha proceeded to Kushinagar, where he instructed Ānanda to visit Cunda and tell him that he should not feel remorse; he had in fact gained great merit by serving the Buddha his last meal."

There has been much debate as to the meaning of sūkaramaddava. Some say, it is a dish containing pork, while others say it is a dish containing some type of food that is fed to pigs, such as mushrooms or truffles. The Indian and Sinhalese commentators mostly support that the Buddha's last meal consisted of pork. The Chinese translation for this term, however, indicates a type of vegetarian dish.