The Buddha's later life
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He wandered around Northeast India for decades, teaching all who would listen. He covered a "territory some 150 miles long by 250 miles wide, an area somewhat smaller than Ireland or the state of Pennsylvania. He had tens of thousands of disciples and accumulated a large public following. He later established an order of monks and a corresponding order of nuns that counted his wife Yaśodhara as one of its members.
His health began to fail when he was in this late 70s. After forty-five years of teaching, he died in a small town named Kuśinagara, at the age of 80, apparently of natural causes. His final words were: "Decay is inherent in all things. Be sure to strive with clarity of mind" for Nirvana. The traditional date of his death used by Theravadin Buddhists is 544 or 543 BCE. However, dates have been suggested from 544 to 380 BCE.
He did not choose a successor. He felt that the Dharma, his teachings plus the Vinaya, his code of rules for the monks and nuns, would be a sufficient guide. Two and a half centuries later, a council of Buddhist monks collected his teachings and the oral traditions of the faith into written form, called the Tripitaka. This included a very large collection of commentaries and traditions; most are called Sutras (discourses)
Confusion between Buddha and Budai
Budai means "Cloth Sack," and comes from the bag that he is conventionally depicted as carrying. He is usually identified with (or as an incarnation of) Maitreya, [the future Buddha] so much so that the Budai image is one of the main forms in which Maitreya is depicted in East Asia. He is almost always shown smiling or laughing, hence his nickname in Chinese, the Laughing Buddha. Many Westerners confuse Budai with Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. Images of Budai are often referred to as "Fat Buddha" and "Happy Buddha." However, Gautama Buddha is generally portrayed as tall and slender