法苑珠林 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

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Preface to the Forest of Gems in the Garden of the Dharma

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Composed by Li Yan, courtesy name Zhongsi, Grand Master for Court Discussion and Attendant Gentleman of the Orchid Terrace, of Longxi.

Ever since the six lines arose and the eight trigrams took their ranks, writing and contracts first emerged, and instructional canons were made illustrious. Phoenix scripts and dragon diagrams, golden slips and jade characters—the hundred schools took different paths, and ten thousand scrolls divided their territories. Although their principles investigated the minute and delicate and their words exhausted standards for things, their recording of passions and summarising of nature never transcended the worldly realm; in pursuing beginnings and tracing ends, how could they encompass what lies beyond the mundane? There were also the sayings of the Archive Keeper and the talks of the Garden Official; their treasured scriptures were floating and absurd, and their brocade registers were convoluted and bizarre. Like carving ice without accomplishment, or like writing in the air without substance. How could they compete in depth or compare in quality with the wondrous tenets strung like blossoms, the abstruse phrases inscribed on leaves, the vast breadth of the two vehicles, and the profound secrecy of the eight storehouses? It is indeed like the smallness of an ant mound vying in height with Mounts Song and Hua, or the pettiness of an ox's footprint competing in flow with the Yangzi and Han Rivers! Now, as for its evident meanings and esoteric regulations, its gates of liberation and gardens of dhāraṇī: past and future limits both tally with tathatā; initial mind and ultimate mind alike return to saṃbodhi. Guiding deluded beings in the ocean of desire, emotional defilements and mental taints vanish together; leading the impoverished son into the chamber of compassion, the jewel in the clothes and the gem in the topknot arrive at once. Its transformation overflows realms as numerous as the sands of the Ganges; its merits blanket kalpas as numerous as specks of dust. Vast indeed! Supreme indeed! Impossible to praise fully! Later, when the twin stars presaged the Zhou and the sun held in the bosom reached the Han, Cai Yin journeyed west and Zhu Falan travelled east. The words from golden mouths and the tenets from jewelled terraces filled silken rolls and piled up in scripts, spreading across the Central Region. Yet the scrolls were vast and manifold, and their lineages deep and extensive; the true source of the dharmatā was difficult to inspect thoroughly in the end. Until our August Tang established the state and the Sage Emperor governed above, the abstruse teaching was thereupon proclaimed, and the dark-robed assembly gathered in abundance. Transmitting radiance and copying out the fluid, they illuminated and moistened the realms; Sanskrit chants and praise songs resounded through the capital and suburban domains. The grandeur of its broad proclamation is beyond all metaphors. There was the Great Virtue Master Daoshi of Ximing Temple, courtesy name Xuanyun, a leader of the Śākya school. In his youth, as gifted as piling sand, he cast off secular ornaments at the age of wearing patterned garments; with deep compassion in protecting ants, he completed his qualifications at the ordination altar. His monastic precepts were fully clarified, guarded just as [the monk] protected the swallowed pearl; his mastery of vinaya principles was exquisite, rejoiced in just as one gazes into a mirror. Loving and admiring the Mahāyāna, he penetrated and understood the dharmatā. Because of his outstanding erudition, he was summoned to reside at Ximing Temple. Thereupon, during his leisure from the five divisions [of the vinaya], he read widely through the tripiṭaka. Considering that across ancient and modern times, successive generations had seen many authors, whose elegant tastes and fine words still left something lacking in comprehensive recording, he therefore plucked the flowers of the literary garden and inhaled the campaka of great meanings. Compiling and cataloguing them by category, he named it the Forest of Gems in the Garden of the Dharma, in a total of one hundred sections arranged into ten cases. The meaning is abundant and the phrasing concise, combining the vastness and conciseness of Yu Shirong, displaying the mirror of the path in trace, and aspiring to the grand clarity of Sengyou. Its language is beautiful, its path illustrious; it adduces the most profound without omission, and embraces the wondrous gates completely. Yet when the text is voluminous, one's spirit flags; when the meaning is brief, one's knowledge remains slight. Not wishing to construct groundless floating words merely to fill scrolls, yet because events cannot be cast aside, the writing seems voluminous; but through persistent perusal, one will come to know its essentials. Therefore, in the Great Tang, in the first year of the Zongzhang era, the year being zhixu, the pitch-pipe being guxi, on the thirtieth day of the third month, this compilation was completed. May those who gather abstruse phrases find the jewel of comprehension upon opening the scrolls; may those who walk the correct path drink the sweet dew upon unrolling the text! Unravel it to understand the subtle; contemplate it to behold the profound! Together with the circling sun, it shall shine equally; alongside the revolving vault of heaven, it shall endure forever.

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Composed by the Śramaṇa Shi Daoshi of Ximing Temple.

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Extent of Kalpas
Tridhātu
Sun and Moon
Ṣaḍgati
Thousand Buddhas
Revering the Buddha
Revering the Dharma
Revering the Saṃgha
Paying Homage
Puṇyakṣetra
Taking Refuge and Faith
Gentlemen and Ladies
Entering the Path
Shame and Remorse
Encouraging the Path
Expounding and Listening
Views and Understanding
Pūrvanivāsa
Utmost Sincerity
Divine Anomalies
Sympathetic Resonance
Maintenance of the Dharma
Hidden Seclusion
Monsters and Anomalies
Transformations
Sleep and Dreams
Promoting Blessings
Gathering Mindfulness
Making Vows
Kāṣāya
Lighting Lamps
Hanging Banners
Incense and Flowers
Pāṭha
Revering Stūpas
Saṃghārāma
Śarīra
Offerings
Receiving Invitations
Cakravartin
Ruler and Minister
Accepting Admonition
Investigation
Reflection and Prudence
Frugality
Punishing Faults
Harmony and Compliance
Exhortation
Loyalty and Filial Piety
Unfilial Conduct
Repaying Kindness
Betraying Kindness
Good Friends
Bad Friends
Choosing Companions
Kinsfolk
Comparison and Weighing
Ingenuity and Eloquence
Foolishness and Stupidity
Fraud and Deceit
Laxity and Arrogance
Refuting Heterodoxy
Wealth and Nobility
Poverty and Lowliness
Debts
Disputes and Lawsuits
Slander
Incantations and Arts
Sacrificial Rites
Divination and Physiognomy
Praying for Rain
Gardens and Fruits
Fishing and Hunting
Compassion
Releasing Life
Rescuing from Distress
Resentment and Suffering
Karmic Cause
Receiving Retribution
Transgressions and Blessings
Hindrance of Desire
Catur-yoni
Ten Entanglements
Daśākuśala
Ṣaṭpāramitā
Deśanā
Receiving Precepts
Violating Precepts
Observing the Fast
Breaking the Fast
Rewards and Punishments
Advantages and Harms
Alcohol and Meat
Defilement and Impurity
Suffering of Illness
Renouncing the Body
Funeral Rites
Disappearance of the Dharma
Miscellaneous Essentials
Biographies

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Section 1: Extent of Kalpas (Kalpic calamities are of two kinds: first, minor; second, major)

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First, Explaining the Three Minor Calamities (This has six divisions)

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Division on Explaining the Purport
Division on Pestilence
Division on Weapons
Division on Famine
Division on Mutual Production
Division on Counteraction and Removal

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First: Division on Explaining the Purport

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Now, a 'kalpa' is a name for recording time, just like an era name. However, time has no separate substantial entity; it is elucidated in terms of dharmas. The reason why the sacred teachings extensively record it is that although it is not the sublime regulation of contemplation on principle, it is nevertheless the profound purport of admonition and encouragement. If one treads the deluded ford with past consciousness, numbers as manifold as specks of dust are easily exhausted; but if one returns to the path of awakening at the initial mind, the period of asaṃkhyeya kalpas is difficult to fulfill. This is the difference between delusion and awakening. Then again, from the fortress of mustard seeds in the Avīci hell, one's lifespan is bounded by past karma; whereas in the heavens, one's bodily form is received for the duration of the cloth rubbing the rock. This is the distinction between good and bad. As for the Sahā world, a fleeting moment is called a century; whereas in the Kāṣāya Buddha-field, an eternal kalpa is regarded as a single day. Such is the difference between defilement and purity. Speaking generally, they do not exceed major and minor. Within both major and minor, each has three. The major calamities are formed by water, fire, and wind; the minor calamities inflict harm through weapons, famine, and pestilence. Thus we know that the splendid sights of six years ultimately burn to submerged ashes, and the thousand Brahma jewelled terraces in the end drift and sink beneath pouring rains. In addition, medical prognostications provide no signs, and rain-seeking prayers lose their efficacy; frosted halberds join blades, and stellar swords cross points. Cruel venom afflicts living beings until they collapse and perish almost entirely. Fearing that the tridhātu has not yet awakened, one laments over the ṣaḍgati with grief!

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Second: Division on Pestilence

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According to the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra, what is called a kalpa? The answer states: According to the correct Sanskrit phonetics of the West, it is called a kalpa-bhadra. 'Kalpa' (also named jiepo; in the language of Qin, it means 'discriminating periods of time'). 'Bhadra' (in the language of Qin, it means 'good existence'; it is also named 'worthy' [xian], because many worthy persons appear in the world, it is therefore named the Bhadrakalpa). Furthermore, the Lokasthitābhidharma-śāstra states: The Buddha, the World-Honoured One, taught that one antarakalpa is called one kalpa; twenty antarakalpas are also called one kalpa; forty antarakalpas are also called one kalpa; sixty antarakalpas are also called one kalpa; and eighty antarakalpas are called one mahākalpa. In what sense is one antarakalpa called one kalpa? At that time, when the monk Devadatta abides in hell receiving the karmic retribution of his maturation, the Buddha taught that his lifespan lasts for one kalpa. In what sense are twenty antarakalpas also called one kalpa? Like the heavens of the Brahmā predecessors, twenty antarakalpas are their lifespan; the Buddha taught that their lifespan lasts for one kalpa. In what sense are forty antarakalpas also called one kalpa? Like the lifespan of the Brahmapāriṣadya heaven, which is forty antarakalpas, the Buddha taught that their lifespan lasts for one kalpa. In what sense are sixty antarakalpas also called one kalpa? Like the lifespan of the Mahābrahmā heaven, which is sixty antarakalpas, the Buddha taught that their lifespan lasts for one kalpa. In what sense are eighty antarakalpas called one mahākalpa? In the Sutra on the World Within Kalpas taught by the Buddha, it says: for twenty antarakalpas it is destroyed; next, it passes through twenty antarakalpas where, having been destroyed, it is empty; next, it passes through twenty antarakalpas where it arises and forms; next, it passes through twenty antarakalpas where, having arisen and formed, it abides. Among these twenty antarakalpas of arising, forming, and abiding, how many have already passed and how many have not yet passed? Eight antarakalpas have already passed, eleven antarakalpas are yet to come, and the ninth kalpa is presently not yet exhausted. In this ninth kalpa, how much has passed and how much is yet to come? There definitely remain 690 years in the future (taking the yimao year at the end of the Liang dynasty, when this treatise was translated, as the benchmark). In the interval of these twenty antarakalpas, there are three minor calamities that revolve in succession: first, the calamity of pestilence; second, the calamity of weapons; and third, the calamity of famine. (These three minor calamities are listed in different orders across various sutras and treatises. If relying on the Dīrghāgama, Madhyamāgama, Qishi jing, and so on, weapons are listed first, famine next, and pestilence last. If relying on the Abhidharmakośa, Abhidharma, Vibhāṣā, and so on, weapons are listed first, pestilence next, and famine last. If relying on the Yogācāra-bhūmi, Abhidharma-samuccaya, and so on, famine is listed first and weapons last. In terms of the succession according to the length of years and months, relying on the Yogācāra-bhūmi and Abhidharma-samuccaya is correct.) Now, provisionally relying on the Lokasthitābhidharma-śāstra, it states: this is within the ninth, corresponding precisely to the third calamity; this kalpa will end on account of famine. The Buddha said: during the first kalpa among those where these twenty antarakalpas of the world arise, form, and come to abide, when the minor calamity arises, there is a great pestilence, and all manner of illnesses arise without exception. In all the lands within Jambudvīpa, all the people suffer a great pestilence. All the ghosts and spirits arouse wrathful and evil minds to harm the people of the world. Lifespans become short and fleeting, lasting only ten years. Their physical forms become stunted and small, either two spans or three spans, though by their own measure they consider it eight spans. For provisions and food, darnel and wild millet are considered the best. Human hair garments are considered the finest. They have only weapons with which to adorn themselves. At that time, people do not practice the saddharma; unrighteous greed, wrong views, and similar deeds grow day and night. Evil ghosts and spirits harm people everywhere. At that time, the lineages of great kings all collapse and perish, and all realms become deserted and ruined one after another. Only small commanderies and counties are what remain, far removed from one another and each isolated in its own place. Such people are afflicted and tormented by illness, with no one to give medicines, food, or drink. Due to these causes and conditions, countless people die untimely deaths before their lifespans should naturally end. In a single day and night, immeasurable sentient beings die of illness. Because of practicing evil dharmas, they receive this retribution, being born within this [time] where the kalpa turbidity arises; after abandoning their lives, they fall into the three evil destinies. Then a commandery or county in turn falls into desolation, with only a few households remaining, increasingly far apart and each in an isolated place. For those who die of pestilence, there is no one to send them off or bury them. At that time, the land is covered with white bones, until houses and dwellings in turn become completely emptied. When only seven days remain at the end of this kalpa, during these seven days immeasurable sentient beings perish entirely from pestilence. Even if there are survivors, they are dispersed in different places. At that time, one person gathers together the men and women within Jambudvīpa, leaving only ten thousand to remain as the human seed for the future. Only these ten thousand people are able to maintain virtuous conduct. Because the good ghosts and spirits wish to keep the human seed from being severed, they protect these people, causing fine flavors to enter their pores; through karmic power, the human seed is not severed. After seven days pass, this great pestilence is extinguished all at once. All the evil ghosts abandon them and depart. As for the food, drink, and clothing of these sentient beings, heaven rains down whatever is required in accordance with their thoughts. The yin and yang balance in harmony, delicious flavors spring forth, and their bodies become lovely, peaceful, joyful, and free from illness. They are like beloved kin who have not seen each other for a long time: suddenly brought together, they give rise to joy and delight, holding each other by the hand and refusing to part. While the people of the previous kalpa had a lifespan of ten years, the people of the subsequent kalpa born from them have a maximum lifespan of twenty thousand years. Merits such as these are naturally achieved; they are aligned with good dharmas, and good in body, speech, and mind. After abandoning their lifespans, they are born into good destinies. Relinquishing their lives in heaven, they are born back into the human destiny; they are naturally worthy and good, complete with the categories of moral discipline. After relinquishing their lives, they are born again into heavenly destinies. It continues like this for a long, long time. The pestilence in the middle of the first kalpa comes to an absolute end, and the second kalpa then follows with [lifespans of] twenty thousand years. This is the first lifespan measure in the interval of this kalpa. These people are born from those former people of twenty thousand years; their spiritual powers are unhindered, their material necessities are abundant, and their lifespans reach forty thousand years. Being born in the human and heavenly destinies, it continues like this for a long, long time. This is termed the second kalpa. The second lifespan measure in the interval is forty thousand years, with material necessities abundant, and lifespans reach sixty thousand years. It continues like this for a long, long time, termed the third kalpa. The third lifespan measure in the interval is sixty thousand years. From sixty thousand years it reaches eighty thousand years. At this time, a woman marries only when she reaches five hundred years of age. At that time, people have only seven ailments: namely, urination, defecation, cold, heat, sexual desire, hunger, and old age. During such a time, all lands are wealthy, noble, abundant, and joyful, without hostile bandits, rebellion, or theft. Villages are contiguous, so that the crowing of roosters can be heard by one another. Although farming is minimal, the harvest is immensely great. Clothing, wealth, and jewels are abundant and to their satisfaction; they sit in peace receiving joy, running after nothing. When the lifespan reaches eighty thousand years, it abides for an asaṃkhyeya of years, until sentient beings do not give rise to the ten unwholesome deeds. Once they give rise to the ten unwholesome deeds, because of this, every hundred years [lifespan] decreases by ten years; in the next hundred years it decreases again by ten years, gradually decreasing in succession until ten years remain. When the final ten years are reached, it abides and decreases no further. The longest reaches eighty thousand, and the shortest reaches ten years. If a Buddha does not appear in the world, the sequence proceeds like this. If a Buddha appears in the world, as long as the saddharma abides, the lifespan of sentient beings temporarily halts and does not decrease. As the saddharma diminishes slightly, the lifespan gradually decreases.

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Section Three: The Calamity of Weapons

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According to the Lokasthitābhidharma-śāstra: The Buddha taught that one antarakalpa is called one kalpa. The rest is the same as before, up to eighty antarakalpas being called a mahākalpa. Within this, when the twenty antarakalpas arise, form, and abide, the second minor calamity arises due to great weapons. When human life lasts ten years, the three poisons and wrong views increase day and night. Parents, children, brothers, and relatives fight and quarrel with one another, to say nothing of strangers. At that time, after giving rise to quarreling, people immediately brandish their fists at each other, or terrify one another with tiles, stones, and weapons. The states of the four quarters attack and invade one another; in a single day and night, countless are slain. Such faults arise naturally; when people practice what is unwholesome, they receive this retribution, being born within this where the kalpa turbidity arises. At that time, human dwellings are destroyed and wiped out all at once; even if some remain, they are scattered and dispersed. When only seven days remain at the end of this kalpa, during these seven days, grasses and trees grasped in the hand immediately turn into weapons; by means of these weapons, people mutually harm one another, dying in fear and exhaustion. At that time, people dread weapons and flee into forests and thickets; or cross river waters to conceal themselves on solitary islands; or enter pits and caves to escape the calamity. If at times they see one another, they still run in panic and lose their wits from terror, or collapse to the ground, like roe deer encountering a hunter. In this way, during the seven days, those who die violent deaths from weapons are countless. Even if there are survivors, they are dispersed in different places. At that time, one person gathers together the men and women of Jambudvīpa, leaving only ten thousand to remain as the human seed for the future. In this time, all practice unrighteousness; only these ten thousand people are able to practice good dharmas. Because the good ghosts and spirits wish to keep the human seed from being severed, they protect these people, causing fine flavors to enter their pores; through karmic power, the human seed remains naturally unsevered in the midst of the kalpa. After seven days pass, this great calamity of weapons is extinguished all at once. All the evil ghosts abandon them and depart. As for the food and clothing required by these sentient beings, heaven rains down whatever is required in accordance with their thoughts. The yin and yang balance in harmony, delicious flavors spring forth, and their bodies become lovely, with their physical marks fully restored. All good dharmas arise naturally; they are cool, tranquil, peaceful, joyful, and free from illness. Minds of loving-kindness and compassion arise, free from any intent to vex or harm. Seeing one another, they give rise to joy and delight, like beloved kin who have not seen each other for a long time: suddenly brought together, they give rise to joy and delight, holding each other by the hand and refusing to part. From their ten years, they progressively practice goodness, being born among humans and devas up to [lifespans of] twenty thousand years, and ultimately up to a lifespan of eighty thousand years, abiding for an asaṃkhyeya of years. The rest is the same as before and need not be reiterated.

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Section Four: The Calamity of Famine

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According to the Lokasthitābhidharma-śāstra: From one antarakalpa up to eighty antarakalpas, during the period of maintenance of the kalpa, when the minor calamity of the third kalpa arises, it arises on account of a great famine. When the calamity is about to arise, due to heaven's extreme drought all the people encounter a great pestilence. All spirits and ghosts give rise to wrathful and evil intentions to harm the people of the world. Their lifespans are shortened, lasting only ten years. Their bodily forms are stunted and small, perhaps two or three spans long. What they eat is wild tare and barnyard grass; human hair serves as clothing and is still considered the finest garment. They adorn themselves with weapons and have no reverence for one another. Poverty, distress, foolishness, and false views grow day and night. Grain is dear and there is famine; begging with bowls is practiced. Seeing others' provisions, they forthwith go and snatch their food. By this cause and condition, countless people starve to death. All sentient beings are born amidst the kalpa impurity; it arises spontaneously. They commit evil deeds. Heaven does not send down rain for four or five years; due to the severe drought, even fresh grass and wild herbs cannot be found, how much less rice and grain! All birds and beasts are caught and eaten. In a single day and night, those who starve to death are immeasurable in number. Prefectures and counties become empty and desolate, with only a few families remaining, situated farther and farther apart. They do not practice the true Dharma, and the three poisons flourish ever more. Poverty and misery correspond day and night. At this time, for six or seven years, heaven does not send down rain. Due to the severe drought, even the wish to see water cannot be fulfilled, how much less cooked rice! During this kalpa, only seven days remain [of the disaster]. In a single day and night, countless starve to death. Even if there are survivors, they are dispersed in different places. At that time, one person gathers together the males, females, young, and old within Jambudvīpa, ten thousand persons in all, leaving them as human seed for the future. The people are capable of practicing goodness. All good spirits and ghosts, wishing not to allow the human seed to be cut off, protect these people, causing fine nourishment to enter their pores. Due to the power of karma, the human seed is not cut off. After seven days have passed, this famine ceases all at once. All evil ghosts depart completely. According to what clothing and food are needed, heaven immediately rains them down. Yin and yang harmonize, and delicious flavors are born. Bodily forms become lovely, and their marks and features are restored. All good dharmas arise spontaneously; it is refreshing, tranquil, peaceful, joyful, and without sickness. Compassion enters their minds, and there is no intent to harm. Just as when loved ones have not seen each other for a long time, suddenly reuniting, joy arises in their joyful minds; they hold each other by the hand and do not part. From ten years of age, practicing goodness by degrees, they are born among humans and devas, with lifespans long and extended, reaching twenty thousand years and even eighty thousand years. The remaining dharmic causes are all identical to the initial exposition. (According to the Lokasthiti[-abhidharma-śāstra], each of the three calamities lasts seven days. If according to other sūtras and treatises, famine lasts seven years, seven months, and seven days; pestilence lasts seven months and seven days; and weapons last at most seven days.) Therefore, the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra states: When the human lifespan is thirty years, [the famine] only begins to be established. At that time, exquisite food and drink can no longer be obtained; they only boil rotten bones together for a feast. If they happen to obtain a single grain of rice, wheat, millet, or barnyard grass, it is prized like a maṇi jewel, stored in chests and guarded. Those sentient beings for the most part have no vigor, collapsing upon the ground and no longer able to rise. Due to famine, the race of sentient beings is nearly wiped out. Only after such a calamity of famine has passed for seven years, seven months, seven days, and seven nights is it finally surmounted. Those sentient beings then gather together again and give rise to an inferior degree of revulsion; by this cause and condition, lifespan does not decrease further, and the calamity of famine ceases. Furthermore, when the human lifespan is twenty years, the revulsion originally arisen is now abandoned. At that time, there are many epidemic vapors, malarial miasmas, and disasters of fever arising in succession. Sentient beings encountering these illnesses mostly perish. Only after such a calamity of illness has passed for seven months, seven days, and seven nights is it finally surmounted. Those sentient beings then gather together again and give rise to a middling degree of revulsion; by this cause and condition, lifespan is not reduced further, and the calamity of illness ceases. Furthermore, when the human lifespan is ten years, the revulsion originally arisen is again abandoned. At that time, sentient beings seeing one another give rise to fierce and violent intentions to kill. By this cause and condition, whatever grass, trees, tiles, or stones they grasp all become exceedingly sharp swords; they slaughter one another until they are dead and wiped out. Only after such a calamity of weapons has passed for at most seven days is it finally surmounted.

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Section Five: Mutual Generation

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According to the Madhyamāgama: In the past, there was a cakravartin who appeared in the world named Mūrdhata. He upheld the precepts of fasting and practiced dāna. To the poor in the kingdom, he gave out wealth to provide for them. Later, after a long time had passed, although there were poor people in the kingdom, he could not provide goods to relieve their lack. The people became increasingly impoverished; because of poverty, they then stole others' property. The owners watched, arrested, bound, and brought them before the kṣatriya King Mūrdhata, saying: 'Heavenly King, this person stole my property. May the Heavenly King punish him.' The king asked that person, saying: 'Did you truly steal?' He replied: 'I truly stole. Why? Because of poverty and distress. If I did not steal, I would have no way to support myself.' The king then gave out wealth and granted it to him, saying to the thief: 'You may return; do not do it again.' For this reason, people thought: 'We should also steal others' property.' Thereupon, they competed with one another in committing theft. This means that because of poverty and having no goods, they could not be relieved; therefore, people became increasingly impoverished, and theft flourished greatly. Therefore, the people's lifespans decreased and their physical appearance deteriorated: fathers lived for eighty thousand years, and sons lived for forty thousand years. When human lifespan was forty thousand years, someone again stole and was brought before the king. Having heard this, the king thought: 'If someone in my kingdom steals others' property, and I again give out wealth to provide for all of them, my treasury will be depleted and theft will flourish ever more. I had rather make an extremely sharp sword now: if there is someone in my kingdom who steals, I will arrest him, place him under a high pole, and cut off his head.' Having made this thought, he ordered it to be executed. Afterwards, the people imitated this sharp sword, using it to commit robbery: seizing the owner of the property, they severed his head. Because of poverty, theft flourished, and killing with weapons increased. Therefore, the people's lifespans decreased and their physical appearance deteriorated: fathers lived for forty thousand years, and sons lived for twenty thousand years. When human lifespan was twenty thousand years, the thieves thought: 'If the king knows the truth, he may bind and whip me, banish me and fine me, or impale me on a pole. Should I not speak falsely to deceive the king?' Having thought thus, he said to the king: 'I did not steal.' This means that because of poverty and having no goods, they could not be relieved; theft and killing increased, and then false speech and divisive speech followed. Therefore, their lifespans decreased and their physical appearance deteriorated: fathers lived for twenty thousand years, and sons lived for ten thousand years. When human lifespan was ten thousand years, jealousy and sexual misconduct increased. Therefore, their lifespans decreased and their physical appearance deteriorated: fathers lived for ten thousand years, and sons lived for five thousand years. When human lifespan was five thousand years, three dharmas increased: unlawful desire, wicked covetousness, and false dharmas. Therefore, fathers lived for five thousand years, and sons lived for two thousand five hundred years. When human lifespan was two thousand five hundred years, another three dharmas increased: divisive speech, harsh speech, and frivolous speech. Therefore, their lifespans decreased and their physical appearance deteriorated: fathers lived for two thousand five hundred years, and sons lived for one thousand years. When human lifespan was one thousand years, one dharma increased: that is, false views. Because one dharma increased, their lifespans decreased and their physical appearance deteriorated: fathers lived for one thousand years, and sons lived for five hundred years. When human lifespan was five hundred years, those people were not filial to their parents, could not respect śramaṇas and brahmans, did not practice compliant deeds, did not perform meritorious karma, and did not perceive the transgressions of future lives. Therefore, fathers lived for five hundred years, and sons lived for two hundred and fifty years, or two hundred years. Now, if someone has a long life, it may be a hundred years or not much more. The Buddha further addressed the bhikṣus: 'In the distant future, when the human lifespan is ten years, a girl five months after birth will already be married off. When the human lifespan is ten years, there will be a grain called barnyard grass that will be the foremost delicious food, just as now coarse grain is considered the finest meal. All ghee, oil, salt, honey, and sugarcane will completely vanish. Only those who practice the paths of the ten unwholesome actions will be respected by people; there will be no goodness at all. A mother toward her child will have an intensely harmful mind; a child toward the mother will also have an intensely harmful mind. Fathers, sons, brothers, sisters, and relatives, turned toward one another, will have murderous intent, just as a hunter seeing a deer has an intensely harmful mind. When the human lifespan is ten years, there will be the culmination of the seven-day calamity of weapons. If one grasps grass, it turns into a sword; if one grasps firewood, it also turns into a sword. With these weapons, they kill one another. After the seven days of the calamity of weapons have passed, it then stops. At that time, there will also be people who give rise to shame, modesty, revulsion, and distaste. During the seven-day calamity of weapons, these people enter the mountains and wilderness to hide in concealed places. When the seven days have passed, they emerge from the concealed places in the mountains and wilderness. Meeting one another again, they give rise to compassionate minds and cherish one another deeply, just as a loving mother with an only son, having been long parted from him, meets him coming from afar and cherishes him deeply; they then say: 'Good sirs, our meeting today allows us to attain peace. Because we gave rise to unwholesome thoughts, all our kinsmen have died. We should together practice good dharmas and abandon the karma of killing.' Having practiced good dharmas, their lifespans increase and their physical appearance improves: people with a lifespan of ten years give birth to children with a lifespan of twenty. People with a lifespan of twenty then think: 'If we seek goodness, our lifespan and appearance improve. We should increase our practice of goodness and together abandon taking what is not given.' Having practiced this good, their lifespans increase: people give birth to children with a lifespan of forty years. Furthermore, they abandon sexual misconduct; having practiced this good, their lifespan and appearance improve, and people give birth to children with a lifespan of eighty years. Furthermore, they abandon false speech; having practiced this good, their lifespan and appearance improve, and people give birth to children with a lifespan of one hundred and sixty years. Having attained one hundred and sixty years, they further abandon divisive speech; having practiced this good, their lifespan and appearance improve, and people give birth to children with a lifespan of three hundred and twenty years. Furthermore, they abandon harsh speech; having practiced this good, their lifespan and appearance improve, and people give birth to children with a lifespan of six hundred and forty years. Furthermore, they abandon frivolous speech; having practiced this good, their lifespan and appearance improve, and people give birth to children with a lifespan of two thousand five hundred years. Furthermore, they abandon covetousness and envy; having practiced this good, their lifespan and appearance improve, and people give birth to children with a lifespan of five thousand years. Furthermore, they abandon anger; having practiced this good, their lifespan and appearance improve, and people give birth to children with a lifespan of ten thousand years. Furthermore, they abandon false views; having practiced this good, their lifespan and appearance improve, and people give birth to children with a lifespan of twenty thousand years. Furthermore, they abandon unlawful desire, wicked covetousness, and the practice of false dharmas, [thinking:] 'We had better abandon these three evil, unwholesome dharmas.' Having practiced this good, their lifespan and appearance improve, and people give birth to children with a lifespan of forty thousand years. When the lifespan is forty thousand years, they are filial to parents, respect and revere śramaṇas and brahmans, practice compliant deeds, cultivate meritorious karma, and perceive the transgressions of future lives. Having practiced this good, people give birth to children with a lifespan of eighty thousand years. When the human lifespan is eighty thousand years, this continent of Jambudvīpa will be exceedingly abundant and joyful, with numerous inhabitants; villages and towns will be so close that a chicken could fly from one to the next. Women will marry only at the age of five hundred. There will be only seven illnesses: cold, heat, urination, defecation, sexual desire, hunger and thirst, and aging, with no other afflictions. At that time, there will be a king named Śaṅkha, who will be a cakravartin, clever and wise, possessing four kinds of armies to govern and rule the four continents, fully endowed with the seven treasures and a thousand sons, upright, valiant, fearless, and able to subdue others' hosts, ruling the great earth as far as the great sea, not by weapons, but by the command of Dharma, bringing them peace and happiness. (The rest regarding the prolongation and abbreviation through methods concerning illness and famine are all identical to the preceding.)

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Section Six: Counteraction and Eradication

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According to the new Vibhāṣā-śāstra: However, there are sacred words explaining antidotes to them: if someone can uphold the precept against killing for one day and one night, in future lives they definitely will not encounter the arising of the calamity of weapons. If someone can, with an earnest and pure mind, present a single harītakī fruit as an offering to the saṃgha, in a future age they definitely will not encounter the arising of the calamity of pestilence. If someone can give a single morsel of food to sentient beings, in future lives they definitely will not encounter the time of the calamity of famine. Question: Do these three calamities occur in the other continents or not? Answer: The primary calamities do not occur, but there are similar ones—namely, rage increasing, physical strength deteriorating, and hunger and thirst repeatedly intensifying. This refers to the other two continents [Pūrvavideha and Avaragodānīya], because Uttarakuru also has no sinful karma for one to be born there, and furthermore they have no increasing of rage there.

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Commentary: Sentient beings are obstinate, with no thought of reforming themselves. Stinginess, greed, and jealousy grow ever more prevalent, and evil karma ever more flourishing. For this reason human sentiments become treacherous and fierce, malice runs rampant, and causing the entry into the Final Dharma, both persons and things are depraved. All their dependent and proper fruitions are thereby caused to decline day and night. Thus the Fu fazang jing says: King Aśoka was personally distributing food to the saṃgha. At that time, Piṇḍola poured ghee over the rice. King Aśoka said, “Great sage, the nature of ghee is difficult to digest; might it not cause illness?” The venerable one answered, “It does not cause affliction. Why? When the Buddha was in the world, the water was equal to today's ghee. Therefore, eating it will never result in illness.” At that time, the venerable one, wishing to demonstrate this, plunged his hand into the earth down to more than forty-two thousand li, took up the essence of the earth, and showed it to the king, [saying,] “The king should know now: sentient beings have meager merit, so the rich and fatty flavors have all drained down into the earth. For this reason, the world's merit is gradually declining and extinguishing.” After the king made his offerings, he rejoiced and departed. Indeed, before even a hundred years had elapsed since the World-Honoured One concealed his radiance, there were already such portents; how much more so now, when it is approaching two thousand years—how could there still be refined flavors? Therefore the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra says: When the three calamities arise, at that time sentient beings furthermore have three kinds of ultimate decline and deterioration: deterioration of lifespan, deterioration of the body, and deterioration of resources. As for deterioration of lifespan: lifespan reaches a minimum of ten years. As for deterioration of the body: body size reaches a minimum of one span (diṣṭi), or even one fistful. As for deterioration of resources: at that time sentient beings consider only foxtail millet and barnyard millet to be the foremost among foods; they consider hair to be the foremost among garments; and they consider iron to be the foremost among adornments. The five kinds of superior flavors will all disappear—namely the tastes of ghee, honey, oil, salt, and so forth, as well as the processed taste of sugarcane.

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Part Two: The Three Major Calamities (This has four sections)

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Section on the Measures of Time
Section on the Seasons
Section on the Kalpa of Destruction
Section on the Kalpa of Formation

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Section One: The Measures of Time

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According to the new Vibhāṣā-śāstra: Kalpas are of three kinds: first, intermediate kalpas; second, kalpas of formation and destruction; third, mahākalpas. Intermediate kalpas are again of three kinds: first, kalpas of decrease; second, kalpas of increase; third, kalpas of increase and decrease. A decrease is when the human lifespan decreases from an immeasurable number of years down to ten years. An increase is when the human lifespan increases from ten years up to eighty thousand years. An increase and decrease is when the human lifespan increases from ten years up to eighty thousand years, and again decreases from eighty thousand years down to ten years. Here, one decrease, one increase, and eighteen increases-and-decreases—together these twenty intermediate kalpas are when the world forms. For twenty intermediate kalpas, having formed, it abides; these together are called the kalpa of formation. It undergoes twenty intermediate kalpas of the world's destruction. For twenty intermediate kalpas, having been destroyed, it remains empty; these together are called the kalpa of destruction. Altogether, eighty intermediate kalpas are together called a mahākalpa. Among the twenty intermediate kalpas during which it abides after having formed: the first is solely a decrease; the last is solely an increase; and the eighteen in between are both increases and decreases. Therefore the Abhidharmasamuccaya says: It is by these numbers of kalpas that the lifespans of the gods of the form and formless realms are revealed.

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Section Two: The Seasons

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According to Master Xuanzang’s *Record of the Western Regions*, "The workings of yin and yang revolve, and the sun and moon turn like an armillary sphere. Although their designations differ, their seasons are identical. The months are named according to the asterisms under which they are established. The shortest unit of time is called a kṣaṇa." As the *New Vibhāṣā* states: "How may the measure of that kṣaṇa be known? Some say: According to the *Kāraṇaprajñapti-śāstra*, it is like a middle-aged woman spinning downy hair, shaking fine down that is neither long nor short; this point is stated to be the measure of a tatkṣaṇa. That does not mean to state the length or shortness of the thread of hair, but only that when the down emerges from between the fingers, the amount that emerges is a tatkṣaṇa. Question: The previous question asked about the kṣaṇa; for what reason was the *Prajñapti* cited to explain the measure of a tatkṣaṇa? Answer: Here the coarse is adduced to reveal the subtle, because the subtle is difficult to know and cannot be directly revealed. That is to say, one hundred and twenty kṣaṇas make one tatkṣaṇa; sixty tatkṣaṇas make one lava, which contains seven thousand two hundred kṣaṇas; thirty lavas make one muhūrta, which contains two hundred and sixteen thousand kṣaṇas; thirty muhūrtas make one day and night, which contains twenty short of sixty-five hundred thousand kṣaṇas [i.e., 6,479,980 kṣaṇas]. In one day and one night, these five aggregates undergo that many arising and perishing impermanences." Some say: "This is coarse and is not the true measure of a kṣaṇa. In my view, in the time it takes a strong man to snap his fingers, sixty-four kṣaṇas pass." Some say this is not so: "In my view, it is like two strong men snapping many fine threads of Kāśī cloth; as many threads as are severed, that many kṣaṇas pass." Some say this is not so: "In my view, it is like two strong men pulling taut many fine threads of Kāśī cloth, and another strong man swiftly severing them with a sword of hundred-refined steel from the country of Cīna; as many threads as are severed, that many kṣaṇas pass." Some say: "These are still coarse and are not the measure of a kṣaṇa. The World-Honoured One did not declare the real measure of a kṣaṇa. As the World-Honoured One said: 'Suppose there are four skilled archers, each holding bow and arrow, standing back-to-back, wishing to shoot toward the four quarters. There is a swift man who comes and says to them: "You may all release your arrows at once; I can intercept them all and let none fall to the ground." What do you think? Is this swift or not?' The bhikṣus said to the Buddha, 'Extremely swift, World-Honoured One.' The Buddha said: 'That man cannot equal a terrestrial yakṣa. A terrestrial [yakṣa's] swiftness cannot equal an aerial yakṣa. An aerial [yakṣa's] swiftness cannot equal the devas of the realm of the Cāturmahārājakāyika. That realm's swiftness cannot equal the two discs of the sun and moon. The swiftness of the two discs cannot equal the god Firm-Course (Dṛḍhapratāpa), who drives the chariot of the sun and moon discs. These various devas are successively swifter and swifter, yet the arising and perishing of the lifespan-formations is swifter than they, turning in a kṣaṇa without pausing even for an instant.' From this we know that the World-Honoured One did not speak of the real measure of a kṣaṇa. Question: For what reason did the World-Honoured One not declare the real measure of a kṣaṇa to others? Answer: Because no sentient being is capable of knowing it." Furthermore, according to the *Ānāpāna-sūtra*, within a single finger-snap, the mind has nine hundred and sixty [moments]. Furthermore, the *Humane Kings Sūtra* states that in a single thought there are ninety kṣaṇas, and within each kṣaṇa there are again nine hundred arisings and perishings. Furthermore, the *Bodhisattva Garbhastha Sūtra* states that within a single finger-snap there are thirty-two hundred thousand billion thoughts, thought after thought taking form, and each form possessing consciousness; the Buddha's spiritual power enters into these subtle consciousnesses and causes them all to attain deliverance. Furthermore, the *Abhidharma* has a total of twelve tiers: first is called kṣaṇa; second is called tatkṣaṇa; third is called lava; fourth is called muhūrta; fifth is called day and night; sixth is called half-month; seventh is called one month; eighth is called season (ṛtu); ninth is called course (ayana); tenth is called year (saṃvatsara); eleventh is called pair (yuga); twelfth is called kalpa. One kṣaṇa is translated as "one thought" (yinian). One hundred and twenty kṣaṇas make one tatkṣaṇa, translated as "a blink of an eye" (yishun). Sixty tatkṣaṇas make one breath. One breath makes one lava. Thirty lavas make one muhūrta, translated as "a brief moment" (xuyu). Thirty muhūrtas make one day and night, calculated to have 6,380,000 kṣaṇas. The *Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya* states that twenty thoughts make one blink of an eye; twenty blinks of an eye are called one finger-snap; twenty finger-snaps are called one layu; twenty layus are called one xuyu (muhūrta); one day and one night have thirty muhūrtas. At the time of the longest day, the daytime has eighteen and the night has twelve; at the time of the shortest, the daytime has twelve and the night has eighteen; at the spring and autumn equinoxes, they are equal. Furthermore, the *Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra* states that the six divisions of day and night comprise thirty periods. At the time of the spring and autumn equinoxes, day and night each have fifteen periods, increasing or decreasing at other times. In the fifth month, the daytime has eighteen periods and the night has twelve; in the tenth month, the night has eighteen periods and the day has twelve. According to Master Xuanzang’s *Record of the Western Regions*, secular usage divides day and night into eight periods (four during the day and four at night, each period having four sub-divisions). The waxing of the moon until full is called the white fortnight (śuklapakṣa); the waning of the moon until dark is called the black fortnight (kṛṣṇapakṣa). [They comprise] either fourteen or fifteen days, because the months have large and small [lengths]. The white comes first and the black comes after, combining to form one month. Six months combine to form one course (ayana): when the sun moves on the inner course, it is the northern course (uttarāyaṇa); when the sun moves on the outer course, it is the southern course (dakṣiṇāyana). Combining these two courses forms one year. Furthermore, one year is divided into six seasons: from the fifteenth day of the first month to the fifteenth day of the third month, it gradually grows hot; from the sixteenth day of the third month to the fifteenth day of the fifth month, it is intensely hot; from the sixteenth day of the fifth month to the fifteenth day of the seventh month, it is the rainy season; from the sixteenth day of the seventh month to the fifteenth day of the ninth month, it is the luxuriant season; from the sixteenth day of the ninth month to the fifteenth day of the eleventh month, it gradually grows cold; from the sixteenth day of the eleventh month to the fifteenth day of the first month, it is intensely cold. In the Tathāgata’s holy teaching, the year has three seasons: from the sixteenth day of the first month to the fifteenth day of the fifth month is the hot season; from the sixteenth day of the fifth month to the fifteenth day of the ninth month is the rainy season; from the sixteenth day of the ninth month to the fifteenth day of the first month is the cold season. Alternatively, it is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Calculating according to the treatises: fifteen nights make a half-month; two half-months make one month; three months make one season; two seasons make one course, one course being half a year or six months; two courses make one year; two and a half years make one pair (yuga). This is due to the intercalary month: taking the intercalary month together with the standard months, this refers to a pairing of months, not a pairing of intercalations. If one considers two intercalations in five years as a pair, an intercalation occurs every two and a half years; how could that be established as a single? Accumulating these units of time clarifies that there are four kinds of kalpas: first, the individual kalpa (antara-kalpa); second, the kalpa of formation (vivarta-kalpa); third, the kalpa of destruction (saṃvarta-kalpa); fourth, the great kalpa (mahākalpa). From human lifespan of ten years gradually increasing to eighty thousand years, passing a long time at eighty thousand years, and then gradually decreasing to ten years, constitutes one individual kalpa. Because it stands in contrast to the collective, it is called "individual". If measured by tangible things: according to the *Saṃyuktāgama*, there is a city of one yojana in extent, and its height is the same, filled with mustard seeds; if one takes one seed every hundred years, the mustard seeds will be exhausted while the kalpa is still not exhausted. Considered accordingly, this is an individual kalpa. If based on the great kalpa, a city of eighty yojanas is taken as the measure. The *Loutan jing* states that kalpas are discussed in terms of two things: first, it says there is a great city one thousand li from east to west and four thousand li from north to south, filled with mustard seeds; every hundred years the devas descend to take one mustard seed; when they are exhausted, the kalpa is still not exhausted. Second, it says there is a great rock forty li square; every hundred years the devas descend to brush the rock with a robe of gossamer silk; when it is worn away, the kalpa is still not exhausted. These also should be individual kalpas. Second, there are forty [individual kalpas] for the kalpa of formation, and the kalpa of destruction is likewise. Why is this? When the world forms, it takes twenty individual kalpas; when it endures, it takes twenty individual kalpas; when it is destroyed, it takes twenty individual kalpas; when it is empty, it takes twenty individual kalpas. Here, endurance is combined with formation, and emptiness is combined with destruction, so each comprises forty individual kalpas. In total, these formations and destructions combine to have eighty individual kalpas, making one great kalpa. If one further expands them, there are separately six kalpas: first, the individual; second, formation; third, endurance; fourth, destruction; fifth, emptiness; sixth, the great. If one further summarizes them, there are three kalpas: first, the small kalpa; second, the medium kalpa; third, the great kalpa. "Small" refers to the individual kalpa; "medium" refers to either formation or destruction; "great" combines formation and destruction. In the desire realm, a lifespan of one kalpa is a small kalpa; the lifespan-kalpa of the three heavens of the first dhyāna is a medium kalpa; the lifespan-kalpa of the second dhyāna and above is a great kalpa. In the secular mathematics of foreign countries, there are sixty decimal places; beyond this, numbers cannot be counted, hence called asaṃkhyeya. These counted years serve as the measure of kalpas; progressing through the sixty positions is called an asaṃkhyeya-kalpa. This is the measure of a great kalpa. Therefore, the *Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra* states taking a city of one hundred yojanas as the measure, taking one mustard seed every hundred years; thus it uses the metaphor of brushing a stone of one hundred yojanas once every hundred years with a heavenly robe of Kāśī silk; these are all measures of the great kalpa. Thus, considering that within one great kalpa in the Sahā world (formerly called Suopo world) one thousand Buddhas appear, when inquiring into the designation of "kalpa", it cannot be counted by ordinary units of time. Therefore, the metaphors of rocks and mustard cities are adopted to gauge the duration of a single period. That is to say, based on the aforementioned, it fully encompasses the four kalpas of formation, endurance, destruction, and emptiness. As stated before, increasing from ten years to eighty thousand, and returning from eighty thousand down to ten years, passing through twenty cycles, constitutes one small kalpa. Twenty small kalpas make one kalpa of formation. Calculating by years, it spans eighty thousand million billion hundred thousand eight million years [80,000,000,000,000,800,000 years]; this is merely one small kalpa. Now the kalpa of formation has already passed and entered into the kalpa of endurance, which has already passed through eight small kalpas. Śākyamuni Tathāgata is the fourth Buddha during this kalpa of endurance; there still remain nine hundred and ninety-six Buddhas who will successively appear hereafter.

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法苑珠林 — 道世, Classical Chinese