Parmenides

Buddha and Parmenides on the deathless

The Buddha was not one to mince his words.

One of his most powerful quotes is recorded in the Udana—the “Inspired Utterances”:

There is that sphere of being where there is no earth, no water, no fire, nor wind; no experience of infinity…; here there is neither this world nor another world, neither moon nor sun; this sphere of being I call neither a coming nor a going nor a staying still, neither a dying nor a reappearance; it has no basis, no evolution, and no support: it is the end of dukkha. (ud. 8.1)