Bringing all of this information together we can now attempt a translation of the phrase, the Buddha’s sacred last words:

vayadhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādetha

“All compounded things, all experiences (mental and physical), all phenomena by their very nature decay and die, and are disappointing: it is through being not-blind-drunk on, obsessed by, or infatuated with, the objects of the senses that you succeed in awakening, or obtain liberation.”

Or more succinctly:

“All things are disappointing, [it is] through vigilance [that] you succeed.”

From The Last words of the Buddha