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There is a story that the Buddha was fond of saying that the human body is like a sore, like a boil which is bound to fall off at any point, at any time.
Somebody asked him once, that “If the body is like an open sore why do you look after it? Why do you bathe? Why do you wash and look after it?”
And the Buddha said, “The only way to get rid of a sore is not to neglect it but look after it; to dress it, to clean it, to keep it bandaged so that it finally drops off quietly.”
There are many such stories which you will find in Buddhist literature.
But the most important characteristic of the Buddha was his compassion. He felt so deeply for the sufferings of mankind that he was never tired of preaching the way out of suffering.
He walked and walked for miles and finally in old age passed away and again he was a simple man with his simple teachings and he died in a simple way, quite naturally.
He died peacefully after calling all his bhikshus together and giving them parting advice on how to lead their lives now that he was going and quietly went into the supreme peace of Nirvana as simply as he had always lived.