法苑珠林 98.24

98.24

安住於此中　悉能達解義
第二百歲中　復有堅固定
第三百歲中　持戒亦不毀
第四百歲中　有能多聞者
第五百歲中　復有能布施
從是如來法　念念中漸減
如車輪轉已　隨轉時有盡
正法所以隱　阿難之愆咎
為女人出家　勤請調御師
正法應住世　滿足於千年
五百已損減　餘者悉如本
是故五百歲　五百興於世
解脫定持戒　多聞及布施

Dwelling securely within this, / all can penetrate and understand the meaning. / In the second hundred years, / there is again firm samādhi. / In the third hundred years, / upholding precepts is also unbroken. / In the fourth hundred years, / there are those capable of great erudition. / In the fifth hundred years, / there are again those capable of dāna. / From then on, the Tathāgata's Dharma / gradually wanes thought by thought, / just as a chariot wheel, having turned, / comes to an end as it rolls. / That the saddharma becomes concealed / is Ānanda's fault, / for having persistently requested the Guide / for women to go forth. / The saddharma should have endured in the world / for a full thousand years; / five hundred have already been diminished, / while the remainder is as originally ordained. / Therefore, in the five hundred years, / five periods of five hundred arise in the world: / liberation, samādhi, upholding precepts, / erudition, and dāna.