經律異相 6.60

6.60

佛言。我以正法付囑人天者。我法千歲不動。告帝釋四王。我涅槃後各於國土護持正法。過千載後。惡風暴雨多諸災患。人民飢饉觸物磨滅。飲食失味珍寶沈沒。西方有王名鉢羅婆。北方有王名耶婆那。南方有王名釋迦。東方有王名兜沙羅。此四王皆多眷屬。殺害比丘破壞塔寺。四方盡亂。時諸比丘來集中國。拘睒彌國王名摩因陀羅西那。生子。手似血塗。身似甲冑。有大勇力。有五百大臣同日生子。皆血手冑身。時拘睒彌國一日雨血。王見惡相即大恐怖請問相師。相師答曰。王今生子。當王閻浮提多殺害人。為名難當。年漸長大。時四惡王。從四方來。王大憂怖。有天神告曰。大王但立難當為王。足能降伏四大惡王。便依神言捨位與子。以髻中明珠。冠其子首。集五百大臣。香水灌頂。令往征伐。諸臣之子身被甲冑。從王征討。與四惡王戰。殺之都盡。王閻浮提。治拘睒彌鞞國。佛告四大天王。巴連弗國。當有婆羅門。名曰阿耆尼達多。通達比陀經論。此婆羅門當納妻。其妻有身。便欲與人論議。以問相師。相師答曰。是胎中兒。當了達一切經論。生子明了解一切經論及諸醫方。教授五百弟子。於我法中出家學道。通達三藏。善能說法。辯才巧妙攝多眷屬。此巴連弗邑。當有大商主。名曰須陀那。其妻有身。便質直柔和諸根寂靜。時彼商主即問相師。相師答曰。胎中兒極為良善。月滿生子名曰修羅陀。年紀漸長於我法中出家學道。勤行精進證羅漢果。然其寡聞少欲知足。及少知舊居。在揵陀摩羅山。恒為難當王說法。難當見父王過世。兩手抱父屍悲號啼哭憂惱傷心。時彼三藏為王說法。王憂惱即止。於佛法中生大敬信。而發聲唱言。自今以後我施諸比丘無恐畏適意為樂。而問比丘。前四惡王毀滅佛法更幾年歲。諸比丘答云。經十二年。王心念言。作師子吼。我當十二年中。供養五眾種種豐足。供施之日。天當降香澤之雨。遍閻浮提一切苗稼皆得增長。諸方人眾皆持供具來詣拘睒彌國。供養眾僧。時諸比丘不勤三業。戲論過日。貪著利養好自嚴飾身著妙服離出家法形類比丘。而是法中大賊。壞正法幢。建惡魔幡。滅正法炬。然煩惱火。消正法海。壞正法橋。沒正法船。拔正法樹。時天龍鬼神等於諸比丘皆生惡意。厭惡遠離。不復衛護。而同聲唱言。却後七日佛法滅盡。號咷悲泣。共相謂言。至說戒日比丘鬪諍。如來正法於此而滅。諸優婆塞聞諸天言。共詣眾中諫諸比丘鬪諍。至十五日說戒。時揵陀摩羅山阿羅漢修羅陀。觀閻浮提。今日何處。有眾僧欲往說戒。即詣拘睒彌。時彼僧眾乃有百千人。唯有此阿羅漢修羅陀來。又復有一三藏名曰弟子。此是如來最後大眾聚集。爾時維那行舍羅籌。白三藏言。眾僧已集。今為說波羅提木叉。時彼上座答言。閻浮提如來弟子皆來集此數有百千。如是眾中我為上首。了達三藏不學戒律。況復餘者而有所學。今當為誰而說戒律。時阿羅漢修羅陀立上座前。合掌白上座。但說波羅提木叉。如佛在時。舍利弗目揵連等大比丘眾所學法我今已悉學。如來雖滅已出千歲。彼所制律儀我悉已備。上座弟子聞修羅陀比丘自言如來所制戒律我悉備持。起不忍心。有一弟子名曰安伽陀。極生忿恨。從坐起罵辱彼聖。汝是下座比丘愚癡無智而毀辱我師。即持利刀殺彼聖人。時有一鬼名曰大提木法。作是念言。世間唯有此一羅漢。而為惡比丘弟子所害。執持金剛杵打頭命終。時阿羅漢弟子。見殺其師忿恨不忍。即殺三藏。時諸天世人悲哀啼泣。嗚呼苦哉。如來正法今便都盡。即此大地六種震動。無量眾生號吼啼泣。各各離散。時拘睒彌王。聞諸比丘殺阿羅漢及三藏法師。心生惱惋。諸邪見輩競破塔廟。及害比丘。從是佛法索然頓滅（出雜阿含）佛告阿難。我泥洹後。法欲滅時。五濁惡世魔道興盛。諸魔沙門壞亂吾道。著俗衣裳飾好袈裟五色之服。飲酒炙肉殺生貪味。無有慈心更相憎嫉。時有菩薩精進修德。一切敬待人所宗尚。教化平等。憐貧念老。救育窮厄。恒以經像。令人奉事。作諸福德。志性溫善。不侵害人。捐身濟物。不自惜己。忍辱仁和。設有是人。眾魔比丘咸共嫉之。誹謗揚惡擯黜驅遣不令得住。自共於後不修道德。寺廟空荒不復修理。轉就毀壞。但貪財物。積聚不散。不作福德。販賣奴婢耕田種殖。焚燒山林傷害眾生。無有慈心。奴為比丘。婢為比丘尼。無有道德。婬妷濁亂。男女不別。令道薄淡。皆由斯輩。或避縣官。依倚吾道。求作比丘。不修戒律。月半月盡。絓名講戒。厭惓懈怠。不欲聽聞。抄略前後。不肯盡說。經不誦讀。設有讀者。不識字句。為強言是不諮明者。貢高求名噓天推步。以為榮貴望人供養。諸魔比丘命終之後。精神當墮無澤地獄。五逆罪中餓鬼畜生靡不更歷。過恒沙劫罪竟。乃出生在邊國無三寶處。法欲滅時。女人精勤恒作功德。男子懈慢不用法語。眼見沙門如視糞土。無有信心。法輪殄沒諸天泣淚。水旱不調五穀不熟。災疫流行死亡者眾。人民勤苦縣官侵剋。不修道理皆思樂亂。惡人轉多善者甚少。日月轉促人命轉短。四十頭白裁壽六十。男子壽短。女人命長。七八九十或至百歲。大水忽起卒至無期。世人不信故謂有常。眾生雜類無有豪賤。沒溺浮。漂魚鼈噉食菩薩比丘眾魔驅逐不預眾會。菩薩入山福德之處惔怕自守以為忻快。壽命延長諸天衛護。月光出世得相遭值。共興吾道五十二歲。首楞嚴經。般舟三昧。先滅化去。十二部經尋復化滅盡不復現不見文字。沙門袈裟自然變白。聖王去後吾法滅盡。譬如油燈臨欲滅時光更猛盛。於是便滅。吾法盡時亦如燈滅。自此之後難可綱紀。如是久後彌勒當下世間作佛。天下太平毒氣消除。雨潤和適五穀滋茂。樹木長大人長八丈。皆壽八萬四千歲。眾生得度不可。稱計（出法滅盡經）。

The Buddha said: "When I entrusted the True Dharma to humans and gods, my Dharma was to remain unshaken for a thousand years. I told Śakra and the Four Kings: 'After my nirvāṇa, protect and uphold the True Dharma in your respective lands.' After a thousand years have passed, violent winds and rainstorms will bring many disasters and calamities. The people will suffer famine; all things will be worn down and ruined. Food and drink will lose their flavor, and precious gems will sink and be lost. In the west there will be a king named Pallava; in the north there will be a king named Yavana; in the south there will be a king named Śaka; in the east there will be a king named Tuṣāra. These four kings will all have many followers; they will murder monks and demolish stūpas and monasteries. The four directions will be entirely thrown into chaos. Then all the monks will gather in the Central Realm. The king of the country of Kauśāmbī will be named Mahendrasena. He will father a son whose hands will look as if smeared with blood, and whose body will look like it is clad in armor, possessing great valor and strength. Five hundred ministers will also father sons on the same day, all of whom will have bloody hands and armored bodies. At that time, it will rain blood for one day in the country of Kauśāmbī. Seeing this evil omen, the king will be terrified and will consult a physiognomist. The physiognomist will answer, saying: 'The son born to Your Majesty today will reign as king over Jambudvīpa, will slaughter many people, and will be named Nandana (Hard to Withstand).' As he gradually grows older, the four evil kings will come from the four directions. The king will be greatly distressed and terrified. A heavenly deity will tell him: 'Great King, simply establish Nandana as king, and he will be fully capable of subduing the four great evil kings.' Following the deity's words, the king will abdicate his throne to his son, crown his son's head with the bright jewel from his topknot, assemble the five hundred ministers, and anoint his head with scented water, commanding him to go on campaign. The sons of all the ministers, clad in armor, will follow the king on his punitive expedition, battle with the four evil kings, and slay them completely. He will reign over Jambudvīpa, ruling from the land of Kauśāmbī. The Buddha told the Four Heavenly Kings: In the country of Pāṭaliputra, there will be a brāhmaṇa named Agnidatta, who will be thoroughly versed in the Vedic scriptures and treatises. This brāhmaṇa will take a wife. When his wife becomes pregnant, she will immediately wish to debate with others. He will ask a physiognomist about this, and the physiognomist will answer, saying: 'This child in the womb will be thoroughly versed in all scriptures and treatises.' A son will be born, clearly understanding all scriptures, treatises, and medical recipes, and he will instruct five hundred disciples. He will leave household life in my Dharma to study the path, thoroughly master the Tripiṭaka, be skilled in preaching the Dharma, and with wondrous eloquence gather many followers. In this city of Pāṭaliputra, there will also be a great caravan leader named Sudhana. When his wife becomes pregnant, she will be upright, gentle, and quiet in all her faculties. Then that caravan leader will ask a physiognomist, and the physiognomist will answer, saying: 'The child in the womb is exceedingly wholesome and virtuous.' When the months are fulfilled, she will give birth to a son named Sūrata. As he gradually grows older, he will leave household life in my Dharma to study the path, vigorously practice, and realize the fruit of arhatship. Yet he will be of little learning, with few desires, content, having few acquaintances, and dwelling on Mount Gandhamādana. He will constantly preach the Dharma for King Nandana. When Nandana sees that the late king his father has passed away, he will embrace his father's corpse with both hands, wailing, weeping, and heartbroken with grief. Then that master of the Tripiṭaka will preach the Dharma to the king, and the king's grief will immediately cease. He will give rise to great reverent faith in the Buddha's Dharma, and raise his voice to declare: 'From this day forward, I grant all monks freedom from fear, to enjoy pleasures as they please.' Then he will ask the monks: 'For how many more years did the former four evil kings destroy the Buddha's Dharma?' The monks will answer: 'For twelve years.' The king will think to himself and make a lion's roar: 'For twelve years, I shall make offerings to the five assemblies in abundant variety.' On the day of the offering, heaven will send down a rain of fragrant moisture; throughout Jambudvīpa all crops will flourish, and crowds from all regions will bring offering implements to Kauśāmbī to make offerings to the saṅgha. At that time, the monks will not be diligent in the three kinds of action, but will spend their days in frivolous talk, craving gain and offerings, fond of adorning themselves, dressing in fine garments, deviating from the rules of renunciation, resembling monks in appearance alone. They will be great thieves within the Dharma, tearing down the banner of the True Dharma and raising the pennant of evil Māra; extinguishing the torch of the True Dharma and kindling the fire of defilements; drying up the ocean of the True Dharma, breaking the bridge of the True Dharma, sinking the boat of the True Dharma, and uprooting the tree of the True Dharma. At that time, heavenly beings, dragons, ghosts, spirits, and the like will all conceive ill will toward the monks, detesting and abandoning them, no longer protecting them. With one voice they will cry out: 'Seven days from now, the Buddha's Dharma will be completely extinguished!' Wailing and weeping bitterly, they will say to one another: 'When the day of reciting the precepts arrives, the monks will dispute, and here the Tathāgata's True Dharma will perish.' The upāsakas, hearing the words of the devas, will go together among the assembly to admonish the monks against quarreling. When the fifteenth day arrives for reciting the precepts, the arhat Sūrata on Mount Gandhamādana will survey Jambudvīpa: 'Where is an assembly of monks today where I may go to recite the precepts?' He will immediately go to Kauśāmbī. At that time, the monastic assembly there will number hundreds of thousands, yet only this arhat Sūrata will come [from afar]. There will also be a master of the Tripiṭaka named Śiṣya. This will be the final great assembly of the Tathāgata's disciples. At that time, the karmadāna will distribute the salākā tallies and say to the master of the Tripiṭaka: 'The assembly of monks is assembled; now preach the Prātimokṣa.' Then that elder will answer: 'The Tathāgata's disciples throughout Jambudvīpa have all gathered here, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. In such an assembly, I am the foremost; I am thoroughly versed in the Tripiṭaka yet do not study the Vinaya precepts, so how much less has anyone else studied them? For whom should I now recite the precepts?' Then the arhat Sūrata will stand before the elder, join his palms, and say to the elder: 'Simply recite the Prātimokṣa. The Dharma studied by the great assembly of monks such as Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana when the Buddha was in the world has now been completely studied by me. Although the Tathāgata has been extinguished for over a thousand years, I have fully preserved all the rules of conduct he established.' When the disciples of the elder hear the monk Sūrata say of himself, 'I have fully preserved the precepts established by the Tathāgata,' intolerance will arise in them. There will be a disciple named Aṅgada who will become extremely enraged. Rising from his seat, he will revile that noble one: 'You are a junior monk, ignorant and foolish, yet you insult my teacher!' He will immediately seize a sharp knife and kill that noble one. At that time, a spirit named Daitimukha will think: 'In the world there is only this one arhat, yet he has been murdered by the disciple of an evil monk!' Holding a vajra pestle, he will strike [the Tripiṭaka master's] head, ending his life. Then the disciples of the arhat, seeing their teacher killed, will be unable to bear their rage and will kill the Tripiṭaka master. At that time, heavenly beings and worldly people will weep with sorrow: 'Alas, how bitter! The Tathāgata's True Dharma has now come to a complete end!' Thereupon this great earth will tremble in six ways; countless sentient beings will wail and weep, scattering in all directions. At that time, the king of Kauśāmbī, hearing that the monks have killed the arhat and the Dharma master of the Tripiṭaka, will be grieved and lament. Those of wrong view will vie with one another to destroy stūpas and shrines and murder monks. From this, the Buddha's Dharma will suddenly become desolate and be extinguished. (From the Saṃyuktāgama.) The Buddha told Ānanda: 'After my nirvāṇa, when the Dharma is about to be extinguished, in the evil world of the five turbidities, the path of Māra will flourish. Māra śramaṇas will corrupt and disrupt my path, wearing secular clothes and decorating themselves with fine kāṣāyas of five colors. They will drink wine, roast meat, kill living beings, and crave savory tastes, devoid of compassion, envying and hating one another. At that time, there will be bodhisattvas who vigorously cultivate virtue, treating all with respect, revered by the people, teaching and transforming impartially, showing pity for the poor and elderly, rescuing and nurturing those in distress and peril, constantly using scriptures and images to have people serve them and perform all kinds of merit. Gentle and wholesome by nature, they will not harm others; giving up their bodies to aid living beings, they will not spare themselves, patient and benevolent. If there are such persons, the multitude of Māra monks will all become jealous of them, slandering them, proclaiming their faults, expelling and driving them away so that they cannot remain. Afterward, they themselves will not cultivate morality and virtue; temples and shrines will be left empty and desolate, no longer repaired, gradually falling into ruin. They will only crave wealth and property, hoarding it without dispersing it, performing no merit; they will buy and sell male and female slaves, plow fields, plant crops, burn mountain forests, and harm living beings, devoid of compassion. Male slaves will become monks and female slaves will become nuns, devoid of morality and virtue, lewd, licentious, and chaotic, with no separation between men and women. That the path becomes diminished and diluted will be entirely due to this sort of people. Or to escape the authorities, they will rely on my path, seeking to become monks without observing the precepts. In the middle and end of the month, they will nominally recite the precepts, but being weary and indolent, they will not want to listen, abridging beginning and end, refusing to recite them fully. They will not chant or read the scriptures, and if there are those who read them, they will not understand the words and sentences, obstinately insisting they are right without consulting those who are enlightened; arrogant and seeking fame, they will sigh at the heavens and calculate the stars, regarding it as honorable and noble, expecting offerings from others. After these Māra monks die, their spirits will fall into the Non-beneficial Hell (Avīci); among the retributions for the five heinous crimes, they will experience every realm of hungry ghosts and animals. After passing through kalpas numerous as the sands of the Ganges and their sins are exhausted, they will be born in a frontier country where there are no Three Jewels. When the Dharma is about to be extinguished, women will be diligent and constantly perform meritorious deeds, while men will be indolent and disregard the words of the Dharma. Seeing śramaṇas as though looking at dung and dirt, they will lack faith. When the wheel of the Dharma is extinguished, the devas will weep tears; water and drought will be unseasonable, and the five grains will not ripen. Plagues and epidemics will spread, and those who die will be numerous. The people will toil bitterly, the authorities will oppress and exploit them, they will not cultivate principles, and all will think of and delight in chaos. Evil people will become more numerous, and good people very few. The sun and moon will become swifter, and human lifespan shorter: at forty their hair will turn white, and life will barely reach sixty. Men's lifespan will be short, while women's lifespan will be long, reaching seventy, eighty, ninety, or even a hundred years. Great floods will suddenly arise, arriving unexpectedly without warning; worldly people will not believe it, still regarding things as permanent. Sentient beings of various kinds, whether noble or base, will sink, drown, and float, eaten by fish and turtles. Bodhisattvas and monks will be driven out by the multitude of Māras, not participating in assemblies. The bodhisattvas will enter the mountains to places of merit, calm, self-restrained, finding joy therein; their lifespans will be lengthened, protected by the devas. When Candraprahā (Moonlight) appears in the world, they will meet together, and jointly revive my path for fifty-two years. The Śūraṅgama Sūtra and the Pratyutpanna Samādhi will be the first to disappear; the twelve divisions of scriptures will soon after also disappear completely, no longer appearing, with no written characters to be seen. The kāṣāyas of śramaṇas will naturally turn white. After the holy king departs, my Dharma will be completely extinguished. It is like an oil lamp about to go out, whose light blazes even brighter, and then is extinguished. When my Dharma comes to an end, it will likewise be like a lamp going out. From this time forward, it will be difficult to maintain order. Long after this, Maitreya will descend into the world to become a Buddha. The world will be at peace, toxic vapors will be eliminated, rains will fall harmoniously, the five grains will flourish luxuriantly, trees will grow tall, and people will be eighty cubits tall, all with a lifespan of eighty-four thousand years. The sentient beings who obtain deliverance will be beyond count.' (From the Sūtra on the Extinction of the Dharma.)