Matter of age

Did Buddha desire enlightenment? Or was it something else? Like longevity? Did he know what was going on? Given the translated scriptures at hand, he doesn’t come across as a person with goals. Whatever he said were genuine thoughts, right? He sat down, meditated, connected with his inner self, ignited his consciousness and came up with theories — not to forget some of the awesomest oneliners — that sound so damn cool. He even had a pet dog. There’s not an iota of doubt that Buddha practised Madhyam Marga as effectively as he preached. Maybe that explains how and why he stopped at his 80th birthday. [Muhammad passed away at 62 and Jesus became the sole founder of Club 33.] When Marco Polo visited India, he was astonished to see thin yogic men crossing 160. If that’s the threshold of human endurance, then Buddha’s alleged demise through food poisoning makes sense.