If Bahiya was fully awakened and therefore free from defilements, then why was he gored by a cow protecting her calf? 

Why would he not know that getting too close to a cow and her calf might cause such an effect? 

Or is there something else in this part of the story? What? 

I feel the part of the story of Bahiya where he suddenly awakens by Buddha's quick and dirty dhamma talk is mostly appreciated but not the following death of Bahiya the very same day in such a way. 

Im still pondering this question myself and can't get a satisfactory answer. 

Shit happens. Chaos, random occurrences, and so on, are part of life for everyone, even the awakened.

Papa
"If Bahiya was fully awakened and therefore free from defilements, then why was he gored by a cow protecting her calf? 

Why would he not know that getting too close to a cow and her calf might cause such an effect? "

you serious?
I just wonder why you wonder?
do you assume that "fully awakened" beings are above what the universe has in store for them? Whether being gored by a cow or stung by a rattlesnake or flattened by a bus or hit by a meteorite? 

I guess being awakened comes in different depth, grades, levels, etc.

Was Bahiya awakened enough to perceive and communicate with the cow and recognize and pacify her protective instincts?
If he died such stupid death then apparently he was not awakened enough to realize the danger he was putting himself in.
Can be either normal ignorance based heedlessness or conceit induced heedlessness.
Either way he wasn't at the time mindful enough of the situation to not die.
One can only wonder if his supposed awakening had anything to do with it.

I take Buddha took this incident as an important warning and contemplated upon it.

Shit happens.

The story tells that previous to awakening, Bahiya already had supernatural powers. Therefore, his death becomes a bitter irony: siddhis were never the ultimate prize, neither before nor after his enlightenment.

Here's what Leigh Brasington has to say on the topic:

"Not long after the Blessed One’s departure, a cow with a young calf attacked Bāhiya of the Bark-cloth and killed him.” This seems to
have been a common hazard at that time. Today it would be as if someone went to their weekly meditation group, and on the way home
a drunk driver ran a red light and killed them. Only they didn’t have drunk drivers back then; they had cows with calves – and there
were no fences, just like today in India. You can imagine Bāhiya is walking along and in seeing, he's just seeing – there’s a cow over on
the left, there’s a calf on the left, there’s another cow over on the right, the assumption of course is that calf on the left goes with that
cow on the left. Bāhiya walks between that calf on the left and that cow on the right – which is the real mama and oops, he’s done in.

I say this is a common hazard because Bāhiya of the Bark-cloth was not the only person mentioned as being killed by a cow with a calf.
There was the former king of Taxila, who renounced his kingship and traveled to Rājagaha to become a Buddhist monk. He actually
encountered the Buddha one night in a potter’s shed, and the Buddha gave him a discourse during which he attained the third level of
awakening. But before he could reach final arahantship, he was killed by a cow with calf.6 There’s also the story of Suppabuddha the
leper, who saw a large gathering of people. Thinking it may be a free distribution of food, he went to the gathering; but no, it was just
someone giving a talk, but Suppabuddha sat down to listen anyhow. It was the Buddha, and he gave a Dhamma talk – and Suppabuddha
the leper attained the first level of awakening. But he too was killed by a cow with calf.7

One of the Vinaya stories talks about the public
executioner in King Pasenadi’s kingdom of Kosala with its capital at Savatthi. This executioner was also killed by a cow with calf.
The commentaries, bless their little hearts, say it was all the same cow – despite the fact that these took place in widely separated areas.
Supposedly, in a previous life these four guys had hired a courtesan, had their way with her, and then killed her. Now she had come back
as a cow and killed them.8 Be careful when studying the Commentaries. A cow with calf just was a hazard at that time, and poor Bāhiya
got caught in the hazard."

I also wonder if it might have been an easy way to tidy [edited] up the story considering that Bahiya was not a member of the sangha but rather part of a different tradition with a different lifestyle so other endings in which he went back and talked to his peers about his enlightenment and did or did not change his lifestyle might have been long-winded for memorized text. 

Papa, I'm happily surprised you started your own pass-the-popcorn thread! I'm only joking because I know you can take it.

In regard to the manner of Bhiya's death, nothing can beat "shit happens."

I remember one day in Bodh Gaya, India, in 1995, when I was volunteering there at the Root Institute, and we were walking down the main street in town with a number of other people, and suddenly a large water buffalo with big horns started charging down the street straight at us for no obvious reason, and a whole group of us had to jump into the ditch on the side of the road or be trampled or gored. There were other water buffalo around, nothing weird happening, no other buffalo charged, and the buffalo seemed calm before it charged, acting like water buffalo typically do, and they were common co-habitants on the road with us, never saw it happen again, hadn't happened before, was something of a fluke, but a fluke that left an impression, and comes to mind every time I am reminded of poor Bahiya. 

Fluke = shit happens

​​​​​​​

Or maybe it's just a story, generated by the generate AI of the old man, sitting in his room generating dharma stories to spread the word, or a word! And he liked to have a short story that gives strong impression!

[quote=Siavash '] Or maybe it's just a story, generated by the generate AI of the old man, sitting in his room generating dharma stories to spread the word, or a word! And he liked to have a short story that gives strong impression!

This very much seems a possibility I mean, looking at my own mind stuff, it creates stories most of the waking time! Are they true? Dunno.

shit happens = ... wait!!! Where is the toilet paper?!!!

Oh my! That an interesting commentary!  

In that case Im glad I never had to listen to Buddha talk! Jeez! (Im looking around me shoulder now ... no cows, no buffalos, no rhinos ... ) 

Hi Pepe great to hear from you mate! 

Yes, this would often pop up as a commentary in my mind about this issue of his death! He could see Devas and talk with them! That is some high-level Fire Kasina sh.t right there! So he can see stuff but can't see stuff! Blind spots remain! Even after the awakening, there might be loads of karmic load remaining in this meat-and-bone-human being, made of karma. Stuff is unfolding as it flows. Might not create new seeds but might unfold nonetheless. And it seems Bahiya could not see that very moment arising when a cow is just about to gore him. He did not have that so-called 6th sense that Ninjas had!  
He also was not able to calm the cow with his Chi. 

So much for his powers. So much for him being a perfect awakened being, still he got ripped up by an angry cow. 

BTW I now remember the story of the Buddha being on his deathbed in great pain, trying to enter Jhanas but he could not. The pain was too great. He died. In great pain. Dead. The Buddha. 

https://youtu.be/V2YIVhxfNVk?si=KaJZ_YFixxxEUmVo

​​​​​​​We just never know what's coming next, do we?

I wonder ... is not I ponder.

I think his horoscope for that day was plain shit! Star aligned in a matter that caused him get a blind eye in that very moment! The cow was dealt better cosmic cards and thats just it! She went All In and cashed on the karmic revenge! At least he will not be reborn again as Buddha made him an Arahant! Still a good ending really if you look at the glass half full  

(off topic) Your reply made me think about where was I at that time ... I was in the tranches, in war, as a soldier. I do remember staring sometimes at the full moon when being on guard, and wondering about all the people in the rest of the world ... some partying, others working, some doing creative stuff, others what-not and me there holding a gun in the mud. So you were one of them in Bodh Gaya at that time maybe. Thanks for sharing! 

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Hm ... lemme think ... ... ... ... 

Being ripped up by a cow might not be such a bad way to go. Relatively fast, exciting, outside in the open air. It's not like the option of living forever way was on the table, so I don't see it as any worse than the other options, especially for a guy who was so not into comfort that he didn't even wear a robe made of rags (let alone a purpose-made robe like the Buddha and his buds) but just swaddled his privates in bark fiber. 

There's a crossroads at the end of my road that has about 3 crashes a month. Regularly enough that me and my house mates have all seen them happen. Makes going for a walk quite the adventure. 

Not sure if I figured it out yet but I have some idea that makes at least some sense.

Imho Bahya didn't specifically avoid the cow because he was always safe around them.
But then he got transmission from Buddha which changed Bayia's mind in such a way that made his old mind feel somehow worse and not to be used anymore. Then when Bahyia walked and saw cow he was conceited thinking that his new understanding, new mind with its in his view 'awakened' glow is such a superior development, superior mind he needed not even bother with anything and if anything cow should recognize how awakened he is and be even less likely to react with fear and aggression - he was in this case heedless by conceit and ignorance at the same time.

This version makes some assumptions about how it all went but makes some sense even on its own.
Definitely Buddha at least considered it went like that with self-served "maybe, just maybe you shouldn't present this stuff in such a way as to make people ignorant about the so called big-picture and heedless regarding cause and effect in relation to conditions which made them as they previously were". I mean even if he wouldn't he did and using these exact words in the exact order with the exact image of certain glow inducing anxiety in cow which she didn't expect and inquiring immediate answers about it received images of cessation including images of cessation around mind which was protective of her calf and reacting to these images faster than being able to truly grasp true meaning of what she received Bayia was already dead or at least mortally wounded ;)

There is a reason why Buddha was popular and it was something justified in his mind judging of self-proclaimed amazingness and completeness of his insights in to nature of things but which in reality was aspect of heedlessness which he in this case passed on to Bayia. He didn't consider himself intrinsically Buddha but his mindfulness a Buddha - he was still just a person who maybe didn't mean to fuel traits of heedlessness but still had some so even he was not one hundred percent without any possibility of committing a sin - missing the mark. But I guess the only victim in this case was Bayia who by the way I really don't think would in this case be really awakened to the point to end his cycle of rebirth. In fact the moments before his death he was most probably even more confused and in disbelief than he was being wounded. I guess the next nana in order would be dukkha nanas. Something he would then process over his next rebirth to figure out answer to unasked question which arose in his mind "but why?". Unless perhaps the "why?" he got answer and was ready for consequence of his heedless wrongdoing before he was dead. In this case I doubt that. Even sudden "awakening" is nothing more than A&P and it needs process of maturation and really integrating it and this can take years or even decades. He experienced very sudden dissolution the same day so not much time to integrate anything.

What can we all learn from this story?
Do not under any circumstances walk around cows that has calf. Not even after being awakened.
Also probably good idea to also avoid bulls ;)

Blind eye at times seems like the best solution.
I mean I at times after getting tired of having some types of mind eyes opened just close them in the style which works for things I am flooded over without resilution in sight and it can be a part of the solution - seeing unlike* what physicist tell us is shooting rays from your eyes toward object. If you close eyes you don't shoot rays from your eyes which can be helpful to let things settle.
One cannot however make good decissions by closing eyes. There needs to be some kind of algorithm that ballances opened and closed eyes.

Imho cow didn't want revenge but was just scared of something she didn't recognize.
Also I don't think Bayia was Arahant.
The Buddha in Gautama Buddha is an idea. His actions including any assesement need not come from the idea. Buddha as an idealized idea will know this and this is what fetter of ignorance is about. You cannot attain anything that will without fail always make all your actions take everything in to account including all of reality. In this case if anything Bayia had good realization which could have if he had a chance to actually realize it more than just A&P lead him to become Arahant. He obviously died before that.

All sudden and not so sudden realizations and awakenings are A&P.
You might have Path Fruition and feel your mind opened on things and it might feel permanent... nah, its A&P. There will be dissolution and process of mind proving to itself that what it thinks it knows is sheet. With actually good insight nothing that will be traumatic but still it needs to happen and it takes time.

Besides imho Buddha was confused and closed eyes on his own rebirth and why he claimed silly stuff forgetting to use raw logic unto his own dharma - whatever is conditioned will lead to impermanent results. Unbinding is in some sense conditioned - if it wasn't then it wouldn't need awakening. In this same sense in which it is conditioned it will happen and with it whole cycle of rebirth will happen too. I would even say that to be truly good samaritaning we should speed this process up and do everything in our might to bring Buddha to rebirth. And not before his dharma is long time forgotten but before that. This is good and in moments his eyes were opened more what he intended and part of the reason why he put so much effort in to teaching. There is after full awakening knowledge its all kinda imagined - all of it - and reason for all this is obvious. Nothing in this reality is permanent but this also means nothing is impermament as in arise and pass away once. He will get rebirth. Buddha I mean. Bahyia rebirth need to be shorter in whatever time axis we refer to using imaginary reasons why that have to happen.

Of course the meaning of rebirth is here what makes all the difference in if I am just saying crazy things or wise things. I purposefully leave them ambiguous ;)

*) It totally works like physicists tell us... but it also doesn't. Its as all things in this universe purposefully complex to not be so obvious and for complex phenomena to arise out of it. Even when universe itself awakens to it then it will quickly close its eyes again because its what it always do and for the same reason. Its more fun this way. One cannot thus assume Buddha was walking with his eyes opened at all times. Its open eyes, get some stuff and close them, then mull over that stuff. Conclusions can be wrong - and they will inevitably miss some aspects of the whole truth. If you manage to not miss them like I guess Buddha did (or whould I say "din't"?) it still won't mean anything else than him not getting confused about what he says - but it, what he says is limted in the sense made limited to not try to capture complexity of the whole thing for people to arrive at full understanding Buddha pointed to capturing multiple insights in multiple things he said then partial understanding out of it that too closely matches meaning of words/symbols carrying the message then this understanding will also be limited. Not to mention no one can excluse possibility universe can purposefully present ideas which aren't true leading to wrong conclusions - or and this is more true: we cannot grasp the complexity of what universe shows us and like Buddha only can grasp as much as handful of leaves out of the whole thing at a time and too have to query these things from different angles to realize full truth.

Again, did Bayia queries universe... or even Buddha, from all the relevant angles to be truly awakened and even if he did does it means its true awakening or just an illusion created in mind about awakening? Imho its relatively safe to assume he didn't. After all he had to be taught dharma by cow and in perhaps not very skillful way showing giant gaping hole in his understanding/awakening.

But who actually knows...

"But who actually knows..."

​​​​​​​ I agree with this one! 

Best to drop the idea to get awakened! Ignorance is bliss! Seems only those who awaken get gored! Me being still alive only proves I haven't even had the SE! Good for me!