佛祖統紀 30

English (machine translation) 30

Language: English

30.1

Compiled by the Monk Zhipan of Donghu in Siming under the Song

30.2

Treatise on the Manifestation of Buddhas in the Three Times, Number 14

The appearance of the Buddhas in the world throughout distant kalpas has already been briefly laid out before the Basic Annals of Śākyamuni. Now, focusing on the three thousand Tathāgatas, it serves to elucidate the successive appearance of the Seven Buddhas and the marks of the decline and extinction of the Dharma during the Semblance and Final Dharma [Ages] of the present Buddha, following this with Maitreya's descent to be born, and concluding with Rucika's attainment of Buddhahood, briefly recording even the future Constellation Kalpa. This is strictly to discuss the conversion work in this single southern continent of Mount Sumeru; yet it can properly be synthesized with the worlds in the ten directions. Master Jingxi said: 'There must be one person who is the very first to become enlightened, who then uses this Way to awaken subsequent beings, continuing endlessly so that those who are awakened become ever more numerous; thus there are the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three times.' To make this meaning clear, the Treatise on the Manifestation of Buddhas in the Three Times is composed.

30.4

The Sanskrit word kalpa is translated here as 'differentiating periods of time' (Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa). Taking human lifespan at eighty-four thousand years, every hundred years the lifespan decreases by one year, decreasing until it reaches ten years; every hundred years it increases by one year (or it is said that the child doubles the lifespan of the father), increasing again up to eighty-four thousand years. Such one decrease and one increase constitutes one small kalpa. Twenty decreases and increases constitute one medium kalpa. Combining the four medium [kalpas] of formation, abiding, destruction, and void constitutes one great kalpa (New Mahāvibhāṣā). Here we discuss one great kalpa for each of the three times: past, present, and future.

30.5

The Past Glorious Kalpa (this kalpa has twenty small kalpas each of formation, abiding, destruction, and void).

30.6

Formation: twenty small kalpas (each small kalpa has one decrease and one increase; the rest follow this).

30.7

Abiding: twenty small kalpas. A thousand Buddhas appear in the world in succession, beginning with Buddha Padmaprabha (Huaguang) and ending with Buddha Viśvabhū (of the Seven Buddhas of the past, three Buddhas are in the Glorious Kalpa, and four Buddhas are in the present Auspicious Kalpa).

30.8

The 998th Honoured One, Vipaśyin Buddha: Clan Kauṇḍinya; father Bandhumat; mother Bandhumatī; son Sumanas; attendant Aśoka. He appeared in the world when the human lifespan was eighty thousand years, resided in the city of Bandhumatī, and sat under a pāṭalī tree to preach the Dharma. In three assemblies he liberated three hundred and forty-eight thousand people.

30.9

The 999th Honoured One, Śikhin Buddha: Clan Kauṇḍinya; father Aruṇa; mother Prabhāvatī; son Atula; attendant Kṣemankara. He appeared in the world when the human lifespan was seventy thousand years, resided in the city of Aruṇavatī, and sat under a puṇḍarīka tree to preach the Dharma. In three assemblies he liberated two hundred and fifty thousand people.

30.10

The 1000th Honoured One, Viśvabhū Buddha: Clan Kauṇḍinya; father Supratīta; mother Yaśovatī; son Suparabuddha; attendant Upaśānta. He appeared in the world when the human lifespan was sixty thousand years, resided in the city of Anupama, and sat under a śāla tree to preach the Dharma, liberating one hundred and thirty thousand people (Dīrghāgama. Note: According to the Bodhisattvacaryā Sūtra, the kalpas separating the three Buddhas beginning with Vipaśyin are immensely distant, seemingly not together in the Glorious Kalpa. Those who now speak of the Seven Buddhas mostly rely on the sense of the three thousand Buddhas of the three times found in the Bhaiṣajyarāja Sūtra and the Āgama scriptures).

30.11

Destruction: twenty small kalpas.

30.12

Void: twenty small kalpas (the characteristics of the four—formation, abiding, destruction, and void—will all be seen below under the Auspicious Kalpa).

30.13

The Present Auspicious Kalpa (Bhadrakalpa): because there are many virtuous beings, it is called the Auspicious Kalpa (Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa).

30.14

Formation: twenty small kalpas. From after the destruction and void of the past Glorious Kalpa down to the present.

30.15

When the Fortunate Kalpa was first forming, in the Ābhāsvara Heaven, golden clouds spread in the sky, completely covering the Brahmā Heaven. Torrents of great rain poured down like wagon axles, accumulating upon the wind-wheel and condensing into a water-wheel, which expanded upward until reaching the abodes of the gods. When the rain ceased and the waters receded, a great wind arose, blowing the water to produce foam, tossing it into the sky to create the palaces of the Brahmā Heaven, interspersed with the seven precious treasures. The water receded further; as before, a wind arose, blowing and tossing the foam of the water to create the palace of Māra Pāpīyas. Next it created the Paranirmita-vaśavartin Heaven, and so on progressively down to the palaces of the Yāma Heaven. The water receded yet further. A great wind blew the foam to create Mount Sumeru, made of the four precious gems. Again it blew the water foam to create the palaces of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven made of the seven precious treasures. Further, on the slopes of the mountain, it created the palaces of the Four Heavenly Kings, the seven-jeweled palaces of the heavens of the sun and moon palaces, and created the crystal palaces of the sky-dwelling yakṣas. Furthermore, on the four sides of Sumeru it made the asura citadels, adorned with the seven treasures. Again it blew the water foam to make the seven golden mountains, the four great continents, and eighty thousand small continents, arraying all around them the small Cakravaḍa mountains, formed of diamond. In this way the great wind blew and dug into the great earth, gradually going deeper, depositing a great congregation of waters to form the seven scented-water seas and the great salt-water ocean. Furthermore, beneath the earth it created the palace of Yamarāja and the dwellings of the hells. In this way the trichiliocosm was completed simultaneously in a single moment. Beyond this it further created the Great Cakravaḍa mountains, encircling this great-thousand world. Within it, the six desires [heavens], Sumeru, the sun and moon, the four continents, down to the small Iron Enclosure mountains, each numbered ten thousand million. This is based on its being formed sequentially across twenty kalpas of increase and decrease (the Qishi jing).

30.16

The first small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). When the past kalpa was destroyed, all sentient beings gathered for a long time in the Ābhāsvara Heaven. As the heavenly host grew numerous, their dwelling places became cramped and confined. Those whose merits had decreased were destined to descend and dwell below.

30.17

Initially in the world there was a devaputra who passed away from the Ābhāsvara Heaven and was born into the empty palace of Great Brahmā. He was the Brahmā King. After one decrease and one increase had passed, he thought: 'There are no Brahmā-sons born into my abode' (The Brahmā King is born first and passes away last; his lifespan lasts through the sixty small kalpas of formation, abiding, destruction, and voidness).

30.18

The second small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). At that time, the various gods of the Ābhāsvara Heaven who came to be born in the Brahmā world became the Brahmā-purohita gods (their lifespan is forty small kalpas; that is, they pass away between the second kalpa of increase and decrease of the kalpa of formation and the first kalpa of increase and decrease).

30.19

The third small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). Among the gods of the Ābhāsvara Heaven, there were further those who came to be born in the Brahmā world, becoming the Brahmā-pāriṣadya gods (their lifespan is twenty small kalpas; that is, they pass away from the third increase and decrease of the kalpa of formation until the first increase and decrease of the kalpa of abiding; or, for those who come to be born subsequently, since their arrival is irregular, the time of their passing away is likewise irregular). Gradually they descended to be born into the six heavens of desire and the human destiny; through the power of evil karma, they gradually descended to be born among hungry ghosts, animals, and hell-beings. That which is formed last is destroyed first; such is the nature of phenomena. At that time, the gods of the Ābhāsvara Heaven whose merits were exhausted came down and were born apparitionally as humans. There were those who took delight in looking upon the new earth; their light shone far, and they flew about freely, with no distinction of male or female. Because they were born collectively as a multitude, they were therefore called 'sentient beings' (multitude-born). Sweet springs welled forth from the earth, tasting like clarified butter and honey. Trying a taste with their fingers, they thereupon became attached to the flavor, losing their supernatural powers of movement and bodily radiance. A great darkness fell upon the world. A black wind blew across the ocean, casting up the sun and moon to rest upon the flanks of Mount Sumeru, illuminating the four continents under heaven. When the people saw them emerge, they rejoiced; when they saw them set, they were afraid. From this time onward there were day and night, the last and first days of the lunar month, the spring and autumn, and the reckoning of years, ending only to begin again. Due to indulging in the earth's flavor, their complexions became coarse and withered. Once the earth's flavor disappeared, forest vines then grew (the Loutan jing calls them two branches of grapes). Again they indulged in eating them together, and the forest vines disappeared in turn. Then naturally growing non-glutinous rice appeared, free of chaff and husk, endowed with manifold delicious flavors. This food was somewhat coarse, leaving residual impurities in the body. To eliminate them, two passages appeared, forming male and female organs. Those with greater sexual desire became women. Through the power of past conditioning, lustful desire arose, and husband and wife lived together. Those gods of the Ābhāsvara Heaven who came to be born later entered the mothers' wombs, and thus womb-birth came to be. At that time, the great city of Campā was built first, and then all the cities and towns. The naturally growing rice was reaped in the morning and ripened in the evening; after reaping it grew back immediately, with grains four inches long. Then sentient beings took two days' rations together, and even up to five days' rations, so that chaff and husks gradually grew, and after reaping it would not grow again. The multitude harbored anxiety and distress; each apportioned fields and dwellings, cultivating fields and sowing seeds. Thereafter, many stole rice from others' fields, whereupon they fought with their fists, and none could resolve it. They deliberated on establishing an equitable king to reward good and punish evil; then there came to be knives, staves, and slaughter. The multitude collectively provided for him, designating him a kṣatriya (translated here as 'field-master'). From then on, all kings took this as their origin. At that time, under heaven in Jambudvīpa, there was wealth, joy, and peace. Across the eighty thousand commanderies and kingdoms, the crowing of roosters could be heard from settlement to settlement. There were no illnesses, nor extreme cold or extreme heat. Rectitude was practiced through the ten wholesome actions, and the country was ruled by the true Dharma. The people loved and respected one another, and their lifespans were exceedingly long (most sutras say that the lifespan reaches a maximum of 84,000 years as the measure of increase and decrease, without saying it is infinitely long). Later kings did not practice the true Dharma, and lifespans gradually decreased. When it reached 84,000 years, their height was eighty feet. Every hundred years, life decreased by one year and height decreased by one inch. Decreasing in this manner down to ten years, their height was one foot; this is called the culmination of the decreasing kalpa. From this time onward, every hundred years it increased by one year (some sutras say the son doubles the father's lifespan; even if this occurs, the increases and decreases are not uniform), increasing up to 84,000 years, which is called the culmination of the increasing kalpa. One decrease and one increase end and begin anew. When it increases to 84,000 years, a golden wheel-turning king appears, possessing the seven treasures and a thousand sons, ruling over the four continents under heaven, whose lands are abundant and joyful. Women marry only at the age of five hundred. Thereafter, whenever the beginning of an increasing kalpa is encountered, a golden wheel-turning king always appears in the world (Dīrghāgama).

30.20

The fourth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing), up to the twentieth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). Twenty small kalpas of abiding.

30.21

The first small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). (Those gods of the Ābhāsvara Heaven who came to be born in the Brahmā world initially as the Brahmā-pāriṣadya gods reach here their full lifespan of twenty small kalpas and perish in this kalpa.)

30.22

The second small kalpa (decreasing and increasing); the third small kalpa (decreasing and increasing); the fourth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing); the fifth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing); the sixth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing); the seventh small kalpa (decreasing and increasing); the eighth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing).

30.23

The ninth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). When human lifespan decreased to 50,000 years, the first Buddha, Krakucchanda, appeared in the world. His clan name was Kāśyapa; his father was Lide; his mother was Shanzhi; his attendant was Shanju; his son was Shangsheng. He dwelt in the city of Anhe, sat beneath a śirīṣa tree, and expounded the Dharma, delivering 40,000 people in a single assembly.

30.24

When it decreased to 40,000 years, the second Buddha, Kanakamuni, appeared in the world. His clan name was Kāśyapa; his father was Dade; his mother was Shansheng; his attendant was Anhe; his son was Daoshi. He dwelt in the city of Qingjing, sat beneath an udumbara tree, and expounded the Dharma, delivering 30,000 people in a single assembly.

30.25

When it decreased to 20,000 years, the third Buddha, Kāśyapa, appeared in the world. His clan name was Kāśyapa; his father was Fande; his mother was Caizhu; his attendant was Shanyou; his son was Jijun. He dwelt in the city of Vārāṇasī, sat beneath a nyagrodha tree, and expounded the Dharma, delivering 20,000 people in a single assembly.

30.26

When it decreased to one hundred years, the fourth Buddha, Śākyamuni, appeared in the world. Originally [destined for] when [lifespan was] 10,000 years, observing that sentient beings lacked the capacity to be delivered, he appeared in the world at the end of the kalpa when [lifespan was] one hundred years and suffering was oppressive (Dīrghāgama, Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra).

30.27

When it decreases to eighty-six years, the True Dharma ends, after 1,400 years.

30.28

According to the Fazhu ji, the Buddha told Ānanda: 'After my parinirvāṇa, the True Dharma will last for 1,000 years. Because of women renouncing household life, it is reduced by 500 years; the Semblance Dharma will last 1,000 years, and the Final Dharma 10,000 years.' The Shanjian lun states that initially the Buddha did not deliver women, but later expounded the eight guru-dharmas for them, so that 1,000 years were regained. The Fayuan [zhulin] states that a deva answered Nanshan: 'The Buddha's khakkhara staff is in a dragon cave, where it has stayed for forty years. Because after the Tathāgata's departure there would be flying rākṣasas able to recite the twelve divisions of scriptures who falsely pose as good bhikṣus and devour four hundred precept-holders daily, it was placed to suppress them in the dragon cave to cut off this evil. This furthermore caused the True Dharma to remain for an additional 400 years, the Semblance Dharma to increase by 1,500 years, and the Final Dharma to increase by 20,000 years.'

30.29

Decreasing to seventy-eight years, [the world] enters eight hundred years into the Semblance Dharma. This corresponds to the lifespan precisely obtaining at present (reckoning by the benchmark of 2,200 years since the Buddha's nirvāṇa, it should decrease by twenty-two years, which corresponds to the eleventh year of the Chunyou reign of Emperor Lizong).

30.30

Decreasing to sixty-one years, the Semblance Dharma ends, after 2,500 years (explanation seen above).

30.31

Decreasing to thirty years, entering 3,100 years into the Final Dharma, humans will be three feet tall. At that time the disaster of famine will arise, because the people will all practice the ten unwholesome deeds. Grasses, vegetables, rice, grains, and the five kinds of superior flavors will all disappear; people will only boil rotten bones together for banquets. If they come upon a single grain of millet or tare, they will hide and protect it like a jewel. For six or seven years the heavens will not send down rain; they will not even get water, let alone food or drink. Most people will starve to death, and the commanderies will become increasingly desolate. Only after seven years, seven months, and seven days will this disaster cease. At that time, a person will gather together meritorious men and women, totaling ten thousand people, keeping them as seeds of humanity. When people are able to practice good, the heavens will then rain down the food and drink they require (drawn variously from the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya, the Yogācārabhūmi-abhidharma, the Madhyamāgama, the Zhuangchun lu, and other texts).

30.32

Decreasing to twenty years, entering 4,100 years into the Final Dharma, humans will be two feet tall. At that time the disaster of pestilence will arise, because people's practice of evil will flourish anew; all will fall sick and die, with no one to give them burial. Commanderies and towns will become desolate, with only a few households remaining. Only after seven months and seven days will this disaster cease, leaving only ten thousand people as seeds. As people uphold wholesome conduct, the heavens will then rain down food, drink, and clothing.

30.33

Decreasing to ten years, entering 5,100 years into the Final Dharma, humans will be one foot tall, and women will marry at five months old. At that time the disaster of weapons will arise, because people's practice of evil will become still more rampant, each conceiving thoughts of slaughter. Those who can perform evil will be respected by others. Whatever grasses, trees, tiles, or stones they grasp will all turn into knives and swords, mutually harming and butchering one another, with countless unnatural deaths. There will also be those who detest this evil and conceal themselves in the mountains. Only after seven days and seven nights will this disaster cease, leaving only ten thousand people as seeds. When people emerge from their hiding places and see one another again, they will give rise to compassion and jointly practice wholesome dharmas. The food and clothing they require will then be rained down by the heavens. Because they can practice good, lifespans will increase once more, increasing again by one year every hundred years (the above are called the three minor disasters; they only destroy the direct retribution [of beings]. If encountering the three major disasters, both the direct retribution and dependent environment are destroyed). When human lifespan in the southern continent reaches ten years, the kalpa of weapons will arise, and they will slaughter one another; the Buddha Dharma at that time will temporarily disappear (Fazhu ji).

30.34

When it increases to forty-nine years, entering 10,000 years into the Final Dharma, Candraprabha Bodhisattva will appear in Cīnasthāna (that is, the eastern land, Zhèndàn), expounding the Dharma for a full fifty-two years. After delivering sentient beings extensively and entering nirvāṇa, the Śūraṅgama Sūtra and the Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra will be the first to disappear and not be seen; the remaining sutras will disappear in sequence. The Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra will remain for a final hundred years, delivering sentient beings on a grand scale, and then disappear (Benqi jing; note: The Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra says: 'In future ages when the scriptures are entirely destroyed, out of compassion and pity I will specially cause this sutra to abide for a hundred years; if there are sentient beings who encounter this sutra, they may all attain deliverance according to their wishes.' The Vow of Nanyue says: 'I now vow to uphold this sutra so that it is not destroyed until the appearance of Maitreya Buddha in the world').

30.35

When [lifespan] increases to one hundred years, fifteen thousand one hundred years of the Final Dharma period will have elapsed. The people of the southern continent (Jambudvīpa) will again cultivate goodness. At that time, the sixteen arhats along with their disciples will return among humanity to proclaim the unsurpassed true Dharma, liberating immeasurable multitudes and causing them to go forth from the household life (The Scripture on the Total Extinction of the Dharma and Record of the Duration of the Dharma).

30.36

When it increases to two hundred forty-four years, twenty-nine thousand five hundred years of the Final Dharma period will have elapsed. When five hundred years remain before the Dharma is about to perish, if one single-mindedly cultivates this Lotus Samādhi, one will immediately attain purity of the six sense faculties. Therefore, we know that in the final age there is also the capacity to enter the Mahāyāna (Commentary on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa citing the Scripture on the Contemplation of Samantabhadra).

30.37

When it increases to two hundred forty-nine years, the thirty thousand years of the Final Dharma period will then be exhausted.

30.38

When it increases to seven hundred years, the sixteen arhats will have finished propagating the Dharma (from their descent into the human world until then should be five thousand years of preaching and converting). Gathering all the scriptures and relics, they will erect a stūpa. Sitting cross-legged, they will encircle this stūpa, and all will sink into the earth. This marks the appearance of the complete extinction of the Buddha's Dharma. From then on, one hundred billion pratyekabuddhas will appear in the world to preach the Dharma and benefit sentient beings (The Scripture on the Total Extinction of the Dharma. Note: The Record of the Duration of the Dharma states that when human lifespan reaches seventy thousand years, the sixteen arhats will build a stūpa of the seven treasures, and Śākyamuni's bodily dhātus will all be collected within it. Making offerings of incense and flowers, they will speak thus: "Having previously received the command to protect and uphold the true Dharma and to bring manifold benefits to gods and humans, now that the treasury of the Dharma is submerged and our conditions [with beings] are completed, we now bid farewell and enter extinction." Through their prior vow and power of concentration, fire will rise and burn their bodies. The stūpa will then sink into the earth down to the diamond boundary. At that time, Śākyamuni's true Dharma will be forever extinguished. Thenceforth, seven hundred koṭis of pratyekabuddhas will appear in the world at one time. When human lifespan reaches eighty thousand years, the holy assembly of pratyekabuddhas will again all enter extinction. Thereafter, Maitreya Tathāgata will appear in the world. The Record speaks of eternal extinction at seventy thousand, which is too far removed from the Final Dharma period. Now we take the scripture's statement of seven hundred years as correct).

30.39

When it increases to twenty thousand years, an iron-wheel-turning king will appear and rule the southern continent alone (The Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya states: gold, silver, copper, and iron wheels correspond to one, two, three, and four continents; an iron-wheel king rules one continent, a gold-wheel king rules four continents). When it increases to forty thousand years, a copper-wheel-turning king will appear and rule the two continents of the east and south. When it increases to sixty thousand years, a silver-wheel-turning king will appear and rule the three continents of the east, west, and south.

30.40

When it increases to eighty-four thousand years, a gold-wheel-turning king will appear and rule the four under-heavens. The wheel-turning king is endowed with seven treasures. The first is the golden wheel treasure: when the holy king appears, a divine golden wheel treasure suddenly manifests before him. The wheel has a thousand spokes and is crafted by divine artisans; its diameter is fourteen paces. Seeing it, the holy king strokes the wheel with his hand and says, "May you turn toward the east according to the Dharma." The wheel then turns east. The king leads his fourfold army following behind it. All the petty kings of the east come, bow, and say, "Excellent, Great King! We pray you will govern here." Then the holy king says, "You should govern and instruct with the true Dharma; do not allow bias or injustice." Hearing this, the kings follow the holy king to inspect all the countries up to the shores of the Eastern Sea. The south, west, and north, wherever the wheel goes, are likewise governed. The second is the white elephant treasure: as the king sits in his palace, it suddenly appears before him. He then tests it and rides upon it; leaving the city at dawn, he circles the four seas and returns by mealtime. The third is the dark-blue horse treasure: it suddenly appears before him; riding it at dawn, he returns by mealtime. The fourth is the divine pearl treasure: it suddenly appears before him; placed atop a high banner, its light illuminates one yojana. The people in the city all rise to work, thinking it is daytime. The fifth is the jade-woman treasure: she suddenly appears; her countenance is upright and beautiful, warm in winter and cool in summer. The sixth is the householder treasure (the various scriptures call it the treasure of the overseer of wealth): he suddenly appears, seeing and knowing all hidden treasures within the earth. The seventh is the army-commander treasure: he suddenly appears; brave and possessed of wise counsel, he is entrusted specifically with punitive expeditions. These are the seven treasures endowed to a wheel-turning king (The Dīrghāgama).

30.41

The tenth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). When [lifespan] decreases to eighty thousand years, the fifth buddha, Maitreya, will appear in the world. At that time, the ground of Jambudvīpa will be level and even like a vaiḍūrya mirror. Woods and groves will flourish to a height of thirty li. Eighty-four thousand small cities made of various gems will cover the world. The great city among them will be named Ketumatī, with pavilions of the seven treasures, sevenfold rows of trees, gardens, groves, and bathing ponds filled with water of eight virtues. Its streets and thoroughfares will be twelve li wide. That land will be secure and peaceful, free from the afflictions of bandits, thieves, floods, fires, weapons, and famine. There will be a bright pearl pillar twelve li high, its radiance surpassing the sun and shining constantly day and night. Fragrant breezes will blow from time to time upon the pearl pillar, raining down precious necklaces, which the people will take for adornment. Nets of diverse jewels will cover the city, and when the wind blows upon the jewelled bells, they will proclaim refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. Human bodies will be sixteen zhang tall, and their lifespan will reach eighty thousand years with no premature deaths. Women will marry only at five hundred years of age. Daily they will experience wonderful pleasures and wander deeply in dhyāna, like the gods of the Third Dhyāna Heaven. People will always have compassionate minds, reverent and harmonious, all because Maitreya instructs them with a compassionate heart and they uphold the precept of not killing. There will be only three ailments: first, eating and drinking; second, bodily evacuations; third, aging. There will be a fragrant and delicious rice that yields seven harvests from a single planting, complete with the hundred flavours, digesting as soon as it enters the mouth. At the time of evacuation, the earth will cleave and produce red lotus flowers to cover the foul odours. When people grow old, they will spontaneously walk beneath the trees, recollecting the Buddha and awaiting their end, to be reborn in the Great Brahmā Heaven or before the buddhas. There will be a wheel-turning holy king named Śaṅkha, endowed with the seven treasures and a thousand sons; four great treasuries of jewels will be filled with precious items. When the multitude sees them, their minds will harbour no greed or attachment, and each will say: "In the time of Śākyamuni Buddha, ancient beings stole and robbed from one another for the sake of these treasures, creating offenses leading to birth and death." At that time, Maitreya Bodhisattva in the Tuṣita heaven palace will be about to descend to become a buddha. He will be born into a great brāhmaṇa family; his father's name will be Subrahma and his mother's name will be Brahmavatī. Descending and entering the womb, his body will be purple-golden with the thirty-two marks, sitting on a precious lotus with immeasurable light. His body will be thirty-two zhang tall, like a mountain of yellow gold. Contemplating with right mindfulness suffering, emptiness, and impermanence, he will take no pleasure in the household life. At that time, King Śaṅkha will offer a terrace of seven treasures. Having accepted it, Maitreya will bestow it on the brāhmaṇas, who will immediately tear it apart and divide it among themselves. Seeing this precious terrace destroyed in an instant, Maitreya will realize that conditioned phenomena are all subject to obliteration; cultivating the contemplation of impermanence, he will praise the impermanence verse of past buddhas: / All conditioned phenomena are impermanent, / This is the law of arising and ceasing; / When arising and ceasing have ceased, / Extinction is bliss. / Having spoken this verse, he will go forth from the household life to learn the Path, proceeding outside the city of Ketumatī to the Diamond Adorned Bodhimaṇḍa under the Dragon Flower Bodhi Tree (its branches are like jewelled dragons disgorging hundreds of precious flowers, hence the name Dragon Flower). On that very day in the initial watch of the night, he will subjugate Māra and attain the Path. Śakra, Brahmā, and the Four Heavenly Kings will entreat him to turn the wheel of the Dharma. King Śaṅkha together with eighty thousand ministers will all request to go forth; their beards and hair will fall away spontaneously, and they will become śramaṇas. At that time, Maitreya Buddha, along with King Śaṅkha and the other monks and the eight classes of devas and nāgas, will enter the center of the city of Ketumatī. In that place, the diamond jewel throne upon which past buddhas sat will spontaneously well forth from the earth, and the Buddha will turn the wheel of the true Dharma from this throne. The brāhmaṇa elder Sudatta of that time will be the present elder Anāthapiṇḍada; the wheel-turning king's precious woman (that is, the jade-woman treasure) Śyāmāvatī will be the present mother of Viśākhā; and Maitreya's relative Sumati will be the present bhikṣuṇī Bhadrā. Each along with eighty-four thousand people will go forth to learn the Path. At that time, the thousand sons of King Śaṅkha will all request to go forth, leaving only one son behind to succeed to the throne. At the first assembly, the World-Honoured Maitreya will preach the Dharma upon the diamond throne, and ninety-six billion people will attain arhatship. At the second assembly, he will preach the Dharma in the Flower Grove Park outside the city, and ninety-four billion people will attain arhatship. At the third assembly, he will preach the Dharma again in the Flower Grove Park, and ninety-two billion people will attain arhatship (The Record of the Western Regions notes: At the place in the country of Vārāṇasī where Maitreya received the prophecy of becoming a buddha, the Buddha told Maitreya, "Those liberated at the three assemblies of preaching the Dharma are all sentient beings who planted merit in my bequeathed Dharma. Household and renunciant, those upholding precepts and those breaking precepts, all will receive conversion and guidance, realizing the fruit and attaining liberation. The liberation of the three assemblies is indeed the conversion of good friends with shared affinity"). At that time, Maitreya together with immeasurable people will ascend to the summit of Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa and split open the mountain peak with his hand. Mahākāśyapa will immediately rise from samādhi, take the saṃghāṭī robe of the Buddha, and present it to Maitreya. Leaping into the air, he will perform eighteen transformations and enter parinirvāṇa. They will collect his bodily relics and erect a stūpa on the mountain summit. Maitreya Buddha will dwell in the world for sixty thousand years. After he enters extinction, gods and humans will collect his relics and erect eighty-four thousand jewel stūpas in each of the four under-heavens. The true Dharma will abide in the world for sixty thousand years, and the semblance Dharma will also abide for sixty thousand years (Drawn collectively from the Scripture on the Descent of Maitreya, the Scripture on the Coming of Maitreya, the Scripture on Maitreya Attaining Buddhahood, and the Scripture of the Wise and the Foolish. Note: The Scripture on the Bodhisattva in the Womb says there are 5,670,000,000 years until Maitreya's time. The Scripture of Various Places says 5,070,600,000 years. The Scripture on Maitreya's Descent and the Scripture on Maitreya's Ascent both say 560,000,000 years. The Zhuangchun lu says that from the Buddha's extinction to Maitreya's birth is 8,809,200 years. The various accounts differ and have not been harmonised through calculation).

30.42

Eleventh small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). Twelfth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). Thirteenth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). Fourteenth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). Fifteenth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). In these decreasing kalpas, from the sixth buddha, Siṃha, down to the buddha Ruci, altogether nine hundred ninety-four buddhas will appear in succession, preaching the Dharma and liberating people (The Scripture of the Medicine King and the Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya).

30.43

The Buddha told Bimbisāra: "In the past, after the extinction of Dīpaṃkara Buddha, there was a monkey who saw an arhat enter concentration. He immediately took the sitting mat, draped it as a kāṣāya, and walked around the monk. The monk arose from concentration and preached to him the three refuges, the five precepts, and the method of seeking bodhi. Having received the teaching according to instruction, the monkey leaped with joy, fell from a tree, died, and was reborn in the Tuṣita heaven. Encountering a bodhisattva one birth away from Buddhahood, he had the unsurpassed Path preached to him. Thenceforth, he encountered countless buddhas. In his final body, following immediately after Maitreya, he will attain bodhi, with the title Siṃhacandra Buddha. This is none other than the present Vasumitra" (Scripture on Siṃhacandra Buddha).

30.44

Sixteenth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). Seventeenth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). Eighteenth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). Nineteenth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing).

30.45

Twentieth small kalpa (decreasing and increasing). In the final increasing kalpa, the one-thousandth buddha, Rucika, by the power of his original vow, will appear in the increasing kalpa, appearing at dawn and entering extinction at dusk. At that time, many people will weary of the world and cultivate the various concentrations; the abiding kalpa having reached its limit, they will be very easy to convert and liberate. As long as their disposition is that of a śramaṇa, even if they have defiled the conduct of a śramaṇa, yet resemble a śramaṇa in appearance and wear a kāṣāya, at the place of Maitreya Buddha they will all obtain entry into nirvāṇa without any being left behind or missed (The Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya and the Great Compassion Scripture).

30.46

The commentary states: Those followers who have not attained liberation under Śākyamuni's bequeathed teachings are entrusted to Maitreya. Those of Maitreya's bequeathed teachings are entrusted to the nine hundred and ninety-four Buddhas. These various bequeathed teachings are successively entrusted from one to the next, and finally entrusted to Rocana. In Rocana's era, beings are very easy to transform and save; if someone still does not attain liberation then, they can truly be called dullest of the dull. Beings of such dullest capacity cannot avoid waiting until the Constellation Kalpa. How sorrowful! To meet the bequeathed teachings life after life, even if one has not yet escaped, is still fortunate. But if during this time one commits the gravest evil and enters the Unremitting [Hell] for long kalpas, then one turns one's back on the Buddhas; this is truly lamentable. For example, when Maudgalyāyana entered hell to inquire after Devadatta, the hell-warden replied, 'Here we have the Devadatta of Kāśyapa Buddha's time, and the Devadatta of Śākyamuni Buddha's time; which one do you wish to ask after?' Although this was a great provisional manifestation beyond ordinary measure, yet the provisional must lead to the real; how could there not be those experiencing the actual retribution? In this final age, practice in this land has teaching but no realization. If one wishes to pray for easy liberation, nothing is better than dedicating oneself to the practice of rebirth in the Pure Land; then once one ascends to the non-arising, one dwells forever in non-retrogression. When later Buddhas bring about transformations, one can then ride on one's vows to come as part of the retinue who assist by their presence. I leave these words to those with aspiration: you should consider striving forward.

30.47

Krakucchanda Buddha appeared when human lifespan was forty thousand years. Kanakamuni Buddha appeared when it was thirty thousand years. Kāśyapa Buddha appeared when it was twenty thousand years. Śākyamuni Buddha appeared when it was one hundred years. Maitreya Buddha [will appear] when it is eighty-four thousand years. Siṃha Buddha when it is seventy thousand years. Prabhāpāla Buddha when it is ninety thousand years. Saumya Buddha when it is sixty thousand years. Puṣpa Buddha when it is five hundred thousand years. Next there is again a Puṣpa Buddha when it is nine hundred million years. Sucandra Buddha when it is seventy thousand years. Arthasaṃdarśaka Buddha appeared when it was one hundred years (and so forth). The thousandth Buddha, Prajñākarman (which is the Chinese translation of Rocana), will appear when human lifespan is eighty thousand years. After the thousand Buddhas of the Fortunate Kalpa have passed, there will be sixty-five kalpas without a Buddha (these are all discussions of small kalpas of one decrease and one increase). Afterwards there will be a kalpa named Mahāyaśas. Formerly, the thousand sons of Wheel-Turning King Zeming will all achieve unexcelled perfect awakening together in this kalpa. After this kalpa has ended, for eighty kalpas no Buddha at all will arise. Afterwards there will be a kalpa named Likened to the Constellations. Formerly, the eighty thousand great ministers of Wheel-Turning King Zeming will achieve unexcelled perfect awakening in this kalpa. After this kalpa has ended, for three hundred kalpas no Buddha will arise either. Afterwards there will be a kalpa named Greatly Pure; Wheel-Turning King Zeming's holy queen and palace women will achieve unexcelled perfect awakening (Bhadrakalpika-sūtra).

30.48

The commentary states: The Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya takes the increases and decreases of the three times to discuss the gradual arising of the three thousand Buddhas. The Bhadrakalpika-sūtra explains the arising of the Buddhas as having long and short intervals, without fixed kalpa numbers. There are three meanings to this: first, what the Buddha preached differed according to the faculties of beings; second, the compilations differed according to the different schools; third, the transmissions and translations differed according to who came earlier and later, so it is difficult to reconcile them (such cases are very numerous). However, if one roughly discusses the sequence and takes the increases and decreases as evidence, one must take the Abhidharmakośa as the standard. The Kalpa Chapter of Ci'en precisely adopts this treatise.

30.49

Destruction: twenty small kalpas (decreases and increases). The disaster of fire destroys up to the First Dhyāna. (In the kalpa of destruction there are the three great disasters of fire, water, and wind. Now in the Fortunate Kalpa, only one cycle of the disaster of fire is discussed. The two disasters of water and wind are not within the Fortunate Kalpa; their three characteristics will be explained separately later.) Beginning from the hells and ending at the Brahmā heavens, the world of sentient beings undergoes nineteen increases and decreases, being gradually destroyed completely. Only the receptacle world remains vast and empty, until all sentient beings of the trichiliocosm are completely gone. Only in the final kalpa of increase and decrease is the receptacle world destroyed (it is named world because it is like a receptacle). Seven suns emerge from the bottom of the ocean, the great oceans completely dry up, Mount Sumeru crumbles, and the wind blows the fierce flames upward to burn the Brahmā heavens, reducing everything to ash and cinder, so that even the entire trichiliocosm is burnt away at once. This is the destruction of both the environment and the beings within it, and it is called the kalpa of destruction (Nyāyānusāra).

30.50

Empty: twenty small kalpas (decreases and increases). From the Brahmā world of the First Dhyāna downward, the worlds are empty and void, just like a pit of ink. There is neither day nor night, sun nor moon, but only vast darkness. Lasting for twenty increases and decreases like this, it is called the empty kalpa (Kośa).

30.51

The future Constellation Kalpa (the arising of a thousand Buddhas is like the constellations in the sky). Formation: twenty small kalpas (decreases and increases).

30.52

Duration: twenty small kalpas (decreases and increases). In this kalpa, a thousand Buddhas appear in succession, beginning with Sūryaprabha Buddha and ending with Sumeru-lakṣaṇa Buddha (Bhaiṣajyarāja-sūtra). The Buddha said: 'After my parinirvāṇa, if there are those who diligently cultivate merit, practice the various samādhis, recite Maitreya's name, and practice the six dharmas (the practice of the six perfections), they will definitely be born in the Tuṣita Heaven. They will also follow Maitreya to descend and be born in Jambudvīpa to be the first to hear the Dharma; in future ages they will encounter all the Buddhas of the Fortunate Kalpa, and in the Constellation Kalpa they will also encounter the Buddhas and receive the prediction of bodhi' (Maitreya-upapatti-sūtra).

30.53

Destruction: twenty small kalpas (decreases and increases). Empty: twenty small kalpas (decreases and increases). (The characteristics of formation, duration, destruction, and voidness are all as explained before.)

30.54

If one can uphold the precept of not killing for a single day and night, one will definitely not encounter the disaster of weapons when it arises. If one can, with a deeply pure mind, offer a single harītakī fruit to the Saṅgha, one will definitely not encounter the disaster of epidemics when it arises. If one can give a single morsel of food to sentient beings, one will definitely not encounter the disaster of famine when it arises. In the eastern and western continents there are no fundamental three disasters, but there are three similar disasters: namely, surging anger is similar to weapons; physical emaciation is similar to epidemics; and frequent bouts of hunger and thirst are similar to famine. In the northern continent, neither the fundamental nor the similar disasters exist (New Vibhāṣā). When the three disasters arise, there are also three kinds of extreme decline: first, lifespan, which at its extreme reaches ten years; second, physical basis, where bodily stature at its extreme reaches a span; third, provisions, where wild millets are the foremost among foods, hair is the foremost among clothing, and iron is the foremost among ornaments (Yogācārabhūmi. '搩' [zha], the same as '磔' [zhe], pronounced [as the fanqie] zhi-ge, is the Zhou foot: for humans it is one foot, for a Buddha two feet).

30.55

As for the great three disasters: at the end of each great kalpa, a disaster of fire must arise (as described above, the eighty small kalpas of formation, duration, destruction, and voidness of the Fortunate Kalpa constitute one great kalpa). After seven great kalpas and seven fire disasters pass like this, having destroyed the First Dhyāna seven times in all, another great kalpa passes and a water disaster arises, destroying up to the Second Dhyāna. Thus, seven times seven fire disasters alternate with seven water disasters; then after another seven fire disasters, in all fifty-six rounds of fire destroy the First Dhyāna, and seven rounds of water destroy the Second Dhyāna. When yet another great kalpa passes, a wind disaster arises. In total, this makes sixty-four great kalpas, which constitutes the full sequence from beginning to end of the three great disasters (the meaning is derived from the Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya).

30.56

Regarding the first disaster of fire destroying the First Dhyāna: when the disaster is about to arise, the sins of those in the hells are exhausted, and they come to be born among humans; those with fixed karma are reborn into the hells of other directions, until not a single sentient being remains, which is called the destruction of the hells. Animals, hungry ghosts, and asuras are also gradually exhausted. At that time, everyone in the world practices the ten virtues. Inside the human body there are no parasitic worms, just like the Buddha's body, because animals have already been destroyed at this time. Then a person in this southern continent, spontaneously without a teacher, attains the First Dhyāna (the first meditation). Emerging from the dhyāna, he calls out, 'Joy and bliss born of detachment: how blissful! How serene!' Hearing this, the other humans all enter the dhyāna, and at the end of their lives, they are all reborn in the Brahmā world. The eastern and western continents are to be explained analogously. Those of the northern continent have dull faculties and lack thoughts of detachment from desire; when their lives end, they are born into the desire-realm heavens, where dhyāna appears before them and only then can they become detached from desire, until not a single sentient being remains in the human destiny, which is called the destruction of the human destiny. Then, among the six heavens of the desire realm, a devaputra spontaneously attains the First Dhyāna, until they are all reborn in the Brahmā world, which is called the destruction of the desire realm. Then, in the Brahmā world, a devaputra spontaneously attains the Second Dhyāna (the second meditation), and calls out, 'Joy and bliss born of samādhi: how blissful! How serene!' The other devas, hearing this, all enter this dhyāna, and at the end of their lives, they are all reborn in the Ābhāsvara Heaven, until the Brahmā world (the Great Brahmā Heaven) is destroyed. Beginning from the hells and ending at the Brahmā heavens, through nineteen increases and decreases, the world of sentient beings is gradually destroyed completely; only the receptacle world remains vast and empty, until all sentient beings of the three realms and trichiliocosm with shared karma are completely exhausted. Only in the final kalpa of increase and decrease is the receptacle world destroyed. Here, seven solar discs gradually emerge. A great black wind blows the ocean waters into two halves. First, taking one sun, it places it in the belly of Mount Sumeru to traverse the solar path, and grasses and trees wither and fall. Next, taking a second sun, rivers and streams all run dry, and the ocean water gradually dries up by seven hundred yojanas. When the third sun emerges, the Ganges and other rivers completely dry up. When the fourth sun emerges, Lake Anavatapta dries up. When the fifth sun emerges, the waters of the four great oceans dry up completely by seven thousand yojanas all at once. When the sixth sun emerges, fires ignite on the great earth, and there is nothing that is not incinerated. When the seventh sun emerges, Mount Sumeru collapses and the various mountains blaze together. The wind blows the fierce flames upward to burn the celestial palaces, until even the Brahmā heavens are reduced to ash without remainder. The flames of their own realms burn their own palaces; it is not that disasters of other realms can destroy other realms, but because they ignite each other by proximity, it is said that they burn upward. Beginning from the hells and reaching to the Brahmā heavens, within one kalpa of increase and decrease they are gradually destroyed completely, until the entire trichiliocosm is destroyed at once. This is the destruction of the First Dhyāna by the disaster of fire. After the disaster of fire has passed, the world is empty and void, like a dark pit, for the duration of twenty increases and decreases. Then great clouds rain down, the water rises to the heavens, and the wind blowing the water-froth creates the Brahmā palaces; and so on down to the hells, which are established as before (as explained earlier under the kalpa of formation; drawn from the Dīrgha-āgama, Hetu-sūtra, Saṃyuktābhidharma-hṛdaya, Abhidharma-samayapradīpikā, Nyāyānusāra, and Yogācārabhūmi-abhidharma-samuccaya).

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佛祖統紀 — 志磐, Classical Chinese