ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 23.10

23.10

The Sage’s teaching, and now it’s gone.

“ ‘Anger, pride, and arrogance
Like foul spirits possess them.
Fond of money, inhumane—other than evil,
They’ve done nothing at all.

“ ‘Now is the time that the holy Dharma is razed.
The signs, they tell an awful tale.
The virtuous are filled with grief;
The teacher, he saw it all.

“ ‘All of what the perfect sage predicted,
Everything has come to pass—
A trifling remnant of the Sage’s teaching
Remained, and now it’s gone.

“ ‘The ocean of the Sage’s teaching
Will be a wasteland before long.
The wanton, with their vulgar wisdom,
Through negligence have done their harm.

“ ‘They don’t know how to serve the just.
They cling to faults and abandon good.
Like children, fearful when alone,
They are never in solitude, ever unaware.

“ ‘These deluded persons, trailing after
Nasty masters who were poorly trained,
Convinced of what is totally wrong,
Have spoiled the Dharma, and now it’s gone.

“After they speak these words, in bitter disappointment never again will the gods, nāgas, and yakṣas look after the monks or shelter them. With the holy Dharma due to vanish in seven days’ time, the gods will be unhappy and hover in the sky, crying out this pronouncement: ‘Friends, seven days from now, when the time comes for the poṣadha purification ceremony, the holy Dharma of the Tathāgata will vanish because of a dispute.’

“Upon hearing this, five hundred lay vow holders of Kauśāmbī will go to the monastery to pacify all the monks’ fighting, faultfinding, quarrels, and disputes, protesting, ‘Alas! The Buddha’s doctrine will vanish soon because of a dispute.’ And they will also say:

“ ‘The Śākya lion’s teaching
That gladdened every being
Very soon will be destroyed,
Crushed beneath the wheel of time.