Buddha claimed he could live for an aeon. But he believes in impermanence of the body? Confused

[BenSinner]

So one of the main teachings of Buddha is that everything in this life is impermanent. There is no eternity.

I came across his Wikipedia and saw this spoken about him.

and in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta he states that he could live for an aeon were he asked to do so

The Buddha - Wikipedia

I don’t know if ‘aeon’ means ‘forever’, but that seems to be the definition I keep seeing it listed as. If it is true that this life is impermanent, then how could Buddha live permaently if he wanted to. Kind of seems like a contradiction.

 

[rossum]

No, an aeon is not forever, though it is a very long time. One figure I have seen is 1.28 trillion years for a kalpa, which is usually translated as aeon.

HTH

rossum

 

[jfz178]

No expert here, but I have read that there are different kalpas. That 1.28 trillion years is a “Great Kalpa” Another one is an Ayu-Kalpa, which is variable, based on the level of virtue in the world. It can get as low as 10 years. Currently it is at 100 years and dropping.

So in answer to the OP, I think an aeon (a kalpa) is about impermanence. An aeon is a measure of how long something can last until impermanence overtakes it.