法苑珠林 98
English (machine translation) 98
- Language
- English
98.1
Compiled by the Śramaṇa Shi Daoshi of Ximing Temple
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Chapter 98: Disappearance of the Dharma (This contains nine sections)
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Section on Expressing the Intent
Section on the Five Turbidities
Section on Time and Seasons
Section on the Deliverance of Women
Section on the Buddha's Bowl
Section on Corruption and Decline
Section on Breaking Precepts
Section on Disputes and Litigation
Section on Damaging the Dharma
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First: Section on Expressing the Intent
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I humbly consider: As the True Dharma and Semblance Dharma shift and change, the teachings flow into the final age. Among people there are the crooked and the upright, and within the Dharma there are corruptions and declines. Some rely on the true to concoct the false, while others adorn the empty to confuse the real. The words of forged writings are shallow and chaotic, yet jade and stone, vermilion and purple, have nowhere to hide their forms. Furthermore, because the world has gradually become frivolous and unstable, human minds have changed: delusional thoughts reside in their breasts, and they exclusively venerate karmic disasters, increasing the three poisons and further beckoning the four evils. Therefore, in the great night of ignorance, they have no intention at all of longing for the dawn; delighting in and admiring the six dusts, they do not realize the five knives follow close behind. Once fame and profit have encroached, notions of self and other flourish all the more, causing factions of villains to lightly raise perverse trends, while the pure and upright at times suffer slander and flattery. Hence, since the teaching flowed into the land of Cīnasthāna for over six hundred years, under the oppressive rule of wicked kings, it has suffered destruction and elimination three times. Disasters followed immediately upon their heels, fulfilling the observations of earlier worthy ones; with retribution already executed upon their offenses, they became the laughingstock of the empire. Alas, future karmic retribution is deeply lamentable indeed! Truly, because of being bound by meager learning, they followed their own minds with arbitrary judgement: as the Dharma consequently went into hiding, calamities and disasters converged upon their persons. If one were originally to unroll the charts of the eight treasuries and synthesize the clear perfection of literal meaning, and trace the nine consciousnesses to master the confusion and awakening of emotions and wisdom, then the five cataracts would have a time for clearing away obscurity, and the three clarities would have a day of surpassing luminescence.
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Second: Section on the Five Turbidities
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As stated in the Bodhisattvabhūmi-śāstra: Regarding the five turbidities, the first is called the turbidity of lifespan; the second is called the turbidity of sentient beings; the third is called the turbidity of afflictions; the fourth is called the turbidity of views; the fifth is called the turbidity of the kalpa. That in the present world lifespan is short and humans reach at most one hundred years is called the turbidity of lifespan.
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If sentient beings do not recognize parents, do not recognize śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas, or their clan elders; do not cultivate righteousness and principles; do not perform what should be performed; do not fear the fruition and retribution of evil karma in this world and future worlds; do not cultivate the giving of wisdom; do not perform meritorious deeds; do not observe the rules of the posadha; and do not uphold the restrictive precepts—this is called the turbidity of sentient beings.
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If these sentient beings increase illicit greed, give away knives and swords, give away weapons and armour, dispute, fight, and cause disorder, engage in flatteries and deceptions, lie, accept false dharmas, and other unwholesome and unvirtuous dharmas arise—this is called the turbidity of afflictions.
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If in the present world the Dharma decays and the Dharma disappears, the Semblance Dharma gradually arises, and false dharmas are continually born—this is called the turbidity of views.
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If the kalpa of famine arises, the kalpa of pestilence arises, and the kalpa of weapons arises—this is called the turbidity of the kalpa.
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Furthermore, the Abhidharmakośa-śāstra states: What are the five turbidities? The first is the turbidity of lifespan; the second is the turbidity of the kalpa; the third is the turbidity of afflictions; the fourth is the turbidity of views; the fifth is the turbidity of sentient beings. When in the descending kalpa the five turbidities, such as lifespan, arrive, they are termed 'turbidities' because they have reached their coarsest and lowest state, having become dregs. Due to the first two turbidities, lifespan and the requisites for happiness are sequentially diminished. Furthermore, due to the [next] two turbidities, auxiliary virtues are diminished. Why is that? Because of these two turbidities, many sentient beings extensively indulge in the sensual pleasures of dust-like desires and [misguided] self-mortification, which can diminish the auxiliary virtues of householders and renunciants. Due to the final turbidity, their physical stature, complexion, freedom from illness, and bodily strength are diminished, as well as wisdom, mindfulness, and unshakeable right exertion—these virtues are ruined on this account.
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Furthermore, the Dhāraṇīśvararāja-bodhisattva-sūtra states: The Tathāgata now arises in an age of the five turbidities. What are called the five turbidities? First, people are mostly wicked and malicious, and do not understand righteousness and principle. Second, the sixty-two doubts and wrong views flourish vigorously, and they do not accept the teachings of the Way. Third, people have excessive attachment and desire, worldly toil proliferates, and they do not know what to renounce or pursue. Fourth, human lifespans are short; in ancient times, [a decline from] eighty-four thousand years was considered a great loss, but now lifespans are one hundred years, whether slightly longer or shorter. Fifth, when the antarakalpa draws toward its end, the three calamities will arise, and none shall escape harm. If there are those in this evil age of five turbidities who are able to have faith in and delight in the Buddha's true and genuine wisdom, that is exceedingly rare.
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Furthermore, according to the Nyāyānusāra-śāstra: These five turbidities merely manifest in sequence the five marks of decline when they are exceedingly flourishing. What are called the five marks of decline? First, the decline of lifespan, because its duration is extremely short. Second, the decline of requisites, because they lack lustre. Third, the decline of wholesome states, because beings delight in evil conduct. Fourth, the decline of tranquillity, because they mutually conflict and fall into wrangling and strife. Fifth, the decline of physical substance, because they are not vessels for supramundane merits. It is in order to sequentially display the differences among these five kinds of decline that the five turbidities are distinguished.
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Furthermore, the Satyaka-nirgrantha-putra-sūtra states: The Buddha addressed Mañjuśrī: All Buddhas and Tathāgatas possess twelve kinds of supreme and wonderful merits, just like the clarified butter (sarpirmaṇḍa) which is the most supreme among all flavours; it is foremost in purity and can purify all Buddha-lands, and the Tathāgatas attain anuttarā-saṃbodhi within them. What are the twelve? First, manifesting the turbidity of the kalpa. Second, manifesting the turbidity of time. Third, manifesting the turbidity of sentient beings. Fourth, manifesting the turbidity of afflictions. Fifth, manifesting the turbidity of lifespan. Sixth, manifesting the turbidity of the distinctions among the three vehicles. Seventh, manifesting the turbidity of impure Buddha-lands. Eighth, manifesting the turbidity of sentient beings difficult to convert. Ninth, manifesting the turbidity of expounding various afflictions. Tenth, manifesting the turbidity of non-Buddhist disturbances. Eleventh, manifesting the turbidity of Māra. Twelfth, manifesting the turbidity of Māra's karmic deeds. Good men, all Buddha-lands are fully endowed with supramundane merits, adorned and completely pure; they do not have such faults of the various turbidities. You all should know that these are entirely the power of the Buddhas' skillful means for the benefit of sentient beings.
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Furthermore, the Great Sūtra on the Five Turbidities states: After the Buddha's nirvāṇa, there will be five disorders. First, future bhikṣus will study the Dharma from white-robed laymen; this is the first disorder in the world. Second, white-robed laymen will sit in the high seats while bhikṣus occupy lower seats; this is the second disorder in the world. Third, when bhikṣus preach the Dharma, people will not practice or receive it, but when white-robed laymen preach the Dharma, people will take it as unsurpassed; this is the third disorder in the world. Fourth, bhikṣus belonging to Māra's fold will arise of their own accord in the world and consider themselves as possessing the truth of the authentic Way, being ignorant of the authentic scriptures of the Buddha's Dharma, and feigning [virtue] to gain faith; this is the fourth disorder in the world. Fifth, future bhikṣus will keep wives, children, and slaves, engaged in livelihood, only wrangling together and not abiding by the Buddha's teachings; this is the fifth disorder in the world. Nowadays, one frequently sees ignorant laymen who understand nothing yet feign knowledge of the Dharma; they do not renounce their domestic households, yet act as teachers and models. Foolish commoners take them as their guides, vainly wasting their efforts so that in the end their strivings are of no benefit, and in future rebirths they still cannot escape hell. Therefore the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra states: 'There was a blind man who, not seeing the road himself, falsely claimed to see the road, and led five hundred other blind men along with him to fall into a cesspit. Standing oneself in a rushing torrent, how can one save those who are drowning?'
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Section 3: Eras and Seasons
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As the Sūtra on the Seven Dreams of Ānanda states: Ānanda had seven kinds of dreams and came to ask the Buddha about them. First, he dreamed that a pond was ablaze with flames reaching the sky. Second, he dreamed that the sun and moon set, and the stars also vanished. Third, he dreamed that ordained bhikṣus were tumbling into a ditch of filth, while white-robed laymen stepped upon their heads to climb out. Fourth, he dreamed that a herd of boars came and rushed against a sandalwood grove, destroying it. Fifth, he dreamed that he carried Mount Sumeru on his head and did not find it heavy. Sixth, he dreamed that a great elephant abandoned a small elephant. Seventh, he dreamed that a lion king named Huasa died on the ground with seven downy hairs on his head; all the beasts saw it and were terrified; later, worms were seen emerging from within his body and only then devoured it. With these bad dreams he came to ask the Buddha. The Buddha told Ānanda: 'The things you dreamed of are all for the evil age of the five turbidities in the future; they will not harm you. Why do you look anxious? The first dream of the pond ablaze with flames reaching the sky means that in the future, bhikṣus will have less and less wholesome minds, while wickedness and rebellion will blaze fiercely, and they will slaughter one another beyond reckoning. The second dream of the sun, moon, and stars vanishing means that after the Buddha enters nirvāṇa, all the śrāvakas will follow the Buddha into nirvāṇa and no longer remain in the world; the eyes of sentient beings will be extinguished. The third dream of ordained bhikṣus tumbling into a ditch of filth while white-robed laymen step on their heads to climb out means that future bhikṣus will harbor venom and jealousy even to the point of killing each other; when religious practitioners have their heads severed, laymen will be intimate with [the murderers]; upon death, [such bhikṣus] will enter hell, whereas diligent laymen will be born in heaven upon death. The fourth dream of the herd of boars rushing against and destroying the sandalwood grove means that in the future, laymen will enter monasteries, slander the Saṃgha, search out its shortcomings, and destroy stupas and harm monks. The fifth dream of carrying Mount Sumeru on the head without finding it heavy means that after the Buddha's nirvāṇa, Ānanda will be the master who recites the scriptures for one thousand arhats; he will not forget a single phrase, and his reception and comprehension will be vast, yet he will not consider it a heavy burden. The sixth dream of the great elephant abandoning the small elephant means that in the future, wrong views will blaze fiercely and destroy my Buddhist Dharma, and people of virtue will all conceal themselves and not appear. The seventh dream of the dead lion means that for one thousand four hundred and seventy years after the Buddha's nirvāṇa, while the minds of the disciples of the four assemblies cultivate virtue, all evil māras will not be able to disturb them. The seven hairs refer to what happens after seven hundred years.'
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Furthermore, the Māyā-sūtra states: Māyā asked Ānanda: 'Have you in the past heard the World-Honoured One explain when the Tathāgata's true Dharma will come to an end?' Ānanda wept and answered: 'In the past, I heard the World-Honoured One speak of the events that would occur when the Dharma comes to an end in the future. He said that after the Buddha's nirvāṇa, Mahākāśyapa and Ānanda would compile the Dharma treasury. Once that matter was completed, Mahākāśyapa would enter the concentration of cessation (nirodhasamāpatti) on Mount Kukkuṭapāda. I too shall attain the realization of the fruit, and subsequently enter parinirvāṇa in due order. The true Dharma will be entrusted to Upagupta. Upagupta will be skilled in explaining the essentials of the Dharma, like Pūrṇa, extensively expounding it to deliver people. Furthermore, he will exhort and convert King Aśoka, causing him to have firm and right faith in the Buddha's Dharma, and to erect eighty-four thousand stupas with the relics (śarīra). After another two hundred years have passed, there will be a bhikṣu named Śīlananda, skilled in explaining the essentials of the Dharma, who will deliver one billion two hundred million people in Jambudvīpa. After three hundred years, there will be a bhikṣu named Nīlotpalākṣa, skilled in explaining the essentials of the Dharma, who will deliver fifty million people. After four hundred years, there will be a bhikṣu named Gomukha, skilled in explaining the essentials of the Dharma, who will deliver twenty thousand people. After five hundred years, there will be a bhikṣu named Ratnadeva, skilled in explaining the essentials of the Dharma, who will deliver twenty thousand people; and beings of the eight classes will arouse the aspiration for anuttarā-saṃbodhi. The true Dharma will come to an end here. After six hundred years, the ninety-six kinds of non-Buddhist paths and the like, with wrong views competing to arise, will destroy and extinguish the Buddha's Dharma. There will be a bhikṣu named Aśvaghoṣa, skilled in explaining the essentials of the Dharma, who will subdue all these non-Buddhists. After seven hundred years, there will be a bhikṣu named Nāgārjuna, skilled in explaining the essentials of the Dharma, who will tear down the banner of wrong views and light the lamp of the true Dharma. After eight hundred years, bhikṣus will take delight in fine clothing, indulging themselves in play and merrymaking; among hundreds of thousands or tens of millions of people, only one or two will attain the fruit of the Way. After nine hundred years, male slaves will become bhikṣus and female slaves will become bhikṣuṇīs. After one thousand years, when bhikṣus hear of the contemplation of impurity and ānāpānasmṛti, they will become angry and unwilling [to practice them]; among countless bhikṣus, only one or two will contemplate in right absorption. After one thousand one hundred years, bhikṣus will act as matchmakers and arrange marriages like secular people, and slander the Vinaya among the great assembly. After one thousand two hundred years, these bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs will engage in non-brahmacarya; if they have children, the boys will become bhikṣus and the girls will become bhikṣuṇīs. After one thousand three hundred years, the kāṣāya will turn white and no longer accept dye. After one thousand four hundred years, the four assemblies of that time will be like hunters, delighting in taking life and greedily selling the property of the Three Jewels. After one thousand five hundred years, in the country of Kauśāmbī, there will be a Tripiṭaka bhikṣu skilled in explaining the essentials of the Dharma. When the poṣadha is concluded on the fifteenth day, an arhat bhikṣu will ascend the high seat and proclaim the pure precepts, saying, 'This should be done, and this should not be done.' The disciples of that Tripiṭaka bhikṣu will reply to the arhat, saying, 'Your bodily and verbal actions are impure now; how can you utter such coarse words?' The arhat will reply, 'For a long time my bodily, verbal, and mental karma has been pure and free from all faults.' Having heard these words, the Tripiṭaka's disciples will become doubly resentful and furious, and will slay that arhat right on his seat. Then the disciples of the arhat will say, 'What our master said conformed with the principle of the Dharma; why did you kill our preceptor?' And they will forthwith kill that Tripiṭaka [master] with sharp knives. None among the devas, nāgas, and eight classes will not be grieved and distressed. The evil Māra Pāpīyas and the hosts of non-Buddhists will leap with joy, vying to destroy stupas and monasteries and slaughter bhikṣus. All the collections of sūtras will drift away to Kuśinagara, and the dragon king Anavatapta will take them all into the ocean. Thereupon the Buddha's Dharma will be completely extinguished.' When Mahāmāyā heard these words, she wept and lamented, and spoke this verse to Ānanda:
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"All things inevitably return to destruction; / nothing is ever permanently secure. / Mount Sumeru and the waters of the ocean / will also melt away and dry up when the kalpa ends. / The mighty and powerful in the world / will inevitably fall back into decay and ruin. / My son, in the past, / diligently and arduously gathered all practices; / thus he was able to attain right awakening / and proclaim the Dharma treasury for the multitude. / How is it that at that time / it will all be submerged and exhausted completely?"
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Section 4: Ordination of Women
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As the Samantapāsādikā states: Because women were ordained as renunciants, the true Dharma would only abide for five hundred years. Because the World-Honoured One instituted the teaching of the eight heavy rules (garudhamma) for bhikṣuṇīs, the true Dharma was restored to one thousand years. Question: After the one thousand years, is the true Dharma completely extinguished? Answer: It is not completely extinguished. For one thousand years beings attain the three knowledges; for another thousand years they attain the arhatship with cessation of attachment, but without the three knowledges; for another thousand years they attain anāgāmin; for another thousand years they attain sakṛdāgāmin; for another thousand years they attain srotaāpanna; altogether reaching ten thousand years. For the first five thousand years beings attain the Way; for the latter five thousand years they study but do not attain the Way. After ten thousand years, all scripture texts and writing will be completely extinguished, and there will only remain shaved heads and kāṣāya robes.
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Furthermore, the Vinayamātṛkā-sūtra states: The venerable Kāśyapa reproached Ānanda for requesting the ordination of women, rebuking Ānanda on ten counts: First, if women had not gone forth, the various dānapatis would constantly each have held vessels of food beside the roads, kneeling on both knees to offer it to the śramaṇas. Second, if women had not gone forth, the various dānapatis would constantly have offered robes and bedding, seeking out śramaṇas on the roads to accept and use them. Third, if women had not gone forth, the various dānapatis would constantly have ridden elephants, horses, and carriages, yet upon reaching the roadside, thrown their five limbs to the ground, begging the śramaṇas to tread upon them and pass by. Fourth, if women had not gone forth, the various dānapatis would constantly have laid their hair upon the roads, begging the śramaṇas to tread upon it and pass by. Fifth, if women had not gone forth, the various dānapatis would constantly, with respectful hearts, have invited the śramaṇas to their homes to make offerings. Sixth, if women had not gone forth, the various dānapatis upon seeing śramaṇas would constantly, with respectful hearts, have swept the ground clean, removed the garments from their bodies to spread upon the ground, and asked the śramaṇas to sit. Seventh, if women had not gone forth, the various dānapatis would constantly have removed the garments from their bodies to brush the dust from the bhikṣus' feet. Eighth, if women had not gone forth, the various dānapatis would constantly have unloosed their hair to brush the dust from the bhikṣus' feet. Ninth, if women had not gone forth, the majestic virtue of the śramaṇas would surpass that of the sun and moon, let alone the heterodox, who would never dare to look directly at a śramaṇa's head. Tenth, if women had not gone forth, the Buddha's saddharma would have endured for a thousand years; now it is reduced by five hundred years. In the [first] one hundred years, there is firm liberation; in the [second] one hundred years, there is firm samādhi; in the [third] one hundred years, there is firm upholding of precepts; in the [fourth] one hundred years, there is firm erudition; in the [fifth] one hundred years, there is firm dāna. In the first hundred years, the Dharma of liberation is firm.
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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.
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Section 5: The Buddha's Bowl
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As the Lotus Face Sūtra states: The Buddha said to Ānanda: In a future age, in the kingdom of Kaśmīra, a great Dharma assembly shall be held. There will be five devaputras such as Kumbhīra. After their parinirvāṇa, there will be a disciple of the non-Buddhist Pūraṇa named Lotus Face (Padmamukha), intelligent and wise, with a body of golden hue. This greatly deluded person had previously made offerings to four arhats. At the time of making offerings, he made this vow: 'In a future life, may I destroy the Buddha-Dharma!' Because of his offerings to the arhats, life after life he received an upright and handsome body. In his final life, he will be born into a royal family and become a king named Mihirakula, who will destroy my Dharma. This greatly deluded person will smash my bowl. Having broken the bowl, he will be born into the great Avīci hell. After this greatly deluded person's life ends, there will be seven devaputras who, shedding their bodies one after another, will be born in the kingdom of Kaśmīra to re-establish the Tathāgata's saddharma and set forth great offerings. Ānanda, because the bowl is broken, my disciples will gradually defile the pure precepts and take delight in unwholesome deeds. All people of wisdom will enter parinirvāṇa. Kings will not govern according to the royal law, and the people of those lands will mostly commit the ten unwholesome actions. Owing to these evil karmas, this Jambudvīpa will lose five kinds of flavours: namely ghee, oil, salt, cane sugar, and syrup. Therefore, the Buddha's broken bowl will proceed to the north. At that time, the beings of the north, upon seeing the Buddha's broken bowl, will set forth great offerings. Those who generate aspirations for the three vehicles, moved by the power of beings' wholesome roots, will cause this broken bowl of mine to spontaneously become whole again, no different from its original state. Shortly thereafter, my bowl will disappear from Jambudvīpa and appear in the palace of the Nāgarāja Sāgara. At the time of its disappearance, this Jambudvīpa will be in total darkness for seven days and seven nights; the majestic light of the sun and moon will no longer appear; the earth will quake greatly; and the assemblies of devas, humans, and others will all wail loudly, their tears falling like rain. At the very moment of its disappearance, the Tathāgata's Vinaya and Dharma will also disappear and no longer be seen. At that time, the demon king (Māra), seeing that the Vinaya and Dharma are destroyed, will feel immense joy in his heart, and because he teaches beings to commit evils extensively, he will fall alive into the Avīci hell. At that time, the Nāgarāja Sāgara, seeing the bowl, will make offerings for seven days, bowing and circumambulating it to the right, and some will generate aspirations for the three vehicles. In this way, my bowl will disappear from the dragon palace and appear in the palace of the Four Heavenly Kings, where for seven days they will set forth great offerings and each generate aspirations for the three vehicles. After seven days have passed, it will disappear from the palace of the Four Heavenly Kings and appear in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven. The Buddha's mother, Queen Māyā, seeing the Buddha's bowl, will be sorrowful and afflicted as if an arrow had pierced her heart, beyond endurance, rolling about on the ground like a round log, and speaking thus: 'The Tathāgata's parinirvāṇa—how swift it was! The Sugata's passing—how too quick! The eye of the world has been extinguished; the Buddha-tree has toppled; the Buddha-Mount Meru has collapsed; the Buddha-lamp is also quenched; the Dharma-spring has dried up; the impermanent sun of Māra has withered the Buddha-lotus!' Then the Queen, holding the bowl with both hands, will address the heavenly assembly: 'This is the bowl constantly used by my Śākyamuni Tathāgata; now it has arrived here.' At that time, Śakra will set forth great offerings for seven days and seven nights, and some will generate aspirations for the three vehicles. After seven days have passed, it will disappear from the Trāyastriṃśa heaven and appear in the Yāma heaven. At that time, the Yāma heavenly king, seeing the Buddha's bowl, will make various offerings for seven days and seven nights, and some will generate aspirations for the three vehicles. After seven days have passed, it will disappear from the Yāma heaven and appear in the Tuṣita heaven. At that time, the Tuṣita heavenly king, seeing the Buddha's bowl, will make various offerings for seven days and seven nights. After seven days have passed, it will disappear from the Tuṣita heaven and appear in the Nirmāṇarati heaven. At that time, the Nirmāṇarati heavenly king, seeing the Buddha's bowl, will make various offerings for seven days and seven nights, and some will generate aspirations for the three vehicles. Then the heavenly king, holding the bowl with both hands, will speak a verse (the verses of praise spoken previously by the other devas are omitted here because the text is lengthy):
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Rare is the Great Guide, / compassionate toward living beings; / for the benefit of sentient beings, / he causes his bowl to come here.
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The Buddha said to Ānanda: In this Jambudvīpa and the other ten directions, all Buddha-bowls and Buddha-śarīra reside within the palace of the Nāgarāja Sāgara. In this way, in a future age my bowl and my śarīra will sink down from this earth, pass straight through eighty thousand yojanas, and abide at the vajra limit. In a future age, when the lifespan of living beings is eighty-four thousand years, the Maitreya Tathāgata's voice will be like the drum of Mahābrahmā, the voice of the kalaviṅka. At that time, my bowl and my śarīra will emerge from the vajra limit and reach the presence of Maitreya Buddha in Jambudvīpa, abiding in empty space, emitting five-coloured lights—namely blue, yellow, red, white, and crystal-variegated. Those five-coloured lights will further reach all other heavenly realms; having arrived at those heavens, within that light, a voice will speak a verse:
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All conditioned phenomena are impermanent; / all dharmas are without self; / and cessation is nirvāṇa: / these three are the Dharma seals.
98.30
That light will further reach all hells, also proclaiming this verse; the emitted light will also reach the worlds of the ten directions, and within the light this verse will likewise be spoken. The Buddha said to Ānanda: When the light emitted by my bowl and my śarīra has performed Buddha-work in the worlds of the ten directions, it will return to its original place, abiding in empty space as a canopy of great radiant clouds. When the śarīra and the bowl display this spiritual power, eighty hundred million beings will attain the fruit of arhatship, one hundred billion beings will shave their hair to go forth with pure faith, and ten thousand beings will arouse the aspiration for anuttara-saṃyak-saṃbodhi, all becoming non-retrogressing. Maitreya, holding the bowl and the Buddha's śarīra with both hands, will address all the devas, humans, and the entire assembly: 'You should know that this bowl and śarīra belong to Śākyamuni Tathāgata, the heroic great being, who can cause measureless hundreds of thousands of nayutas of kotis of sentient beings to dwell in the city of nirvāṇa, surpassing an udumbara blossom by hundreds of thousands of kotis of times; therefore the bowl and śarīra have come here.' Then Maitreya Buddha will erect a stupa of four jewels for this bowl of mine and my śarīra, placing the śarīra and bowl inside this stupa, setting forth great offerings and reverently prostrating before them. According to the Account of the Sympathetic Resonance in the Maintenance of the Dharma by Vinaya Master Daoxuan: A question was asked regarding the cause and conditions for the devas and humans holding the bowl. A celestial being replied: In the thirty-eighth year after the Tathāgata attained awakening, in the multistoried lecture hall of the Jetavana hermitage, the Buddha said to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva: 'Go to the ordination platform and strike the bell, summoning the devas, dragons, bhikṣus, and assemblies of great bodhisattvas of the ten directions to assemble completely at Jetavana.' Mañjuśrī gathered them according to the teaching, and all came to Jetavana. By spiritual power, the World-Honoured One transformed the Jetavana hermitage to resemble the Land of Wondrous Joy; from between his eyebrows he emitted light that illuminated the ten directions everywhere, and the earth quaked in six ways. A hundred billion Śākyamunis came together in assembly, and ten billion Wondrous Light Buddhas also gathered at Jetavana. The World-Honoured One sat cross-legged and entered the vajra-samādhi; the earth quaked greatly again. Arising from samādhi, he emitted a great voice and addressed the entire assembled host from the three thousand worlds: 'When I first crossed over the city walls to the kingdom of King Bimbisāra and entered the mountains to practice the path, celestial Māra confused me on the road, but a mountain deity showed me the path and spoke to me: "Formerly, when the ancient Kāśyapa Buddha entered parinirvāṇa, he left behind an old earthenware bowl and entrusted it to me to protect and uphold, waiting until the Tathāgata descends to be born, so that I might deliver it to the World-Honoured One. When the World-Honoured One attains awakening, he must first receive this bowl of mine, and only after that the bowls of the Four Heavenly Kings." I told the mountain deity: "If I attain Buddhahood, it shall be as you say." Later, when I entered the river to bathe and received the milk-gruel from the two maidens, the mountain deity then presented the bowl to me. I then accepted and used it to hold the milk-gruel and eat, and the earth quaked in six ways. I have held this bowl for thirty-eight years without any damage. When I entered Rājagṛha to accept the king's invitation, after I finished eating, I ordered Rāhula to take my bowl back to that dragon pool to wash it. Rāhula washed the bowl and broke it into five pieces. I then joined the broken bowl with lead and tin. This was not Rāhula's fault; it was meant to signify the evil bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs of future ages who will lightly desecrate the Dharma vessels. In the first five hundred years, my Vinayapiṭaka will divide into five schools; my sūtras will divide into eighteen schools; and by the time the saddharma completely disappears, my tripiṭaka will divide further into five hundred schools. Those unintelligent bhikṣus originally lack compassionate hearts; they do not generate vast vows to deliver sentient beings, but merely stir up disputes and elevate the banner of conceit, swiftly destroying the saddharma. When a thousand years have passed, the saddharma will be completely extinguished. Evil bhikṣus will fill Jambudvīpa and the other continents, not upholding the prohibitions and precepts. Evil bhikṣuṇīs will be like courtesans, not practicing the eight rules of respect. They will take my vessels of measured capacity (pātra) and wander into taverns, or enter brothels to store wine and meat. How painful! How bitter! How could the Dharma not disappear?'"
98.31
At that time, all the bhikṣus said with one voice to the Buddha: "This morning, when we entered the city to beg for food and returned to our quarters to wash our respective vessels of measured capacity, they all broke at the same time, each dividing into five pieces. We were just about to ask the Buddha about this, and having just heard the World-Honoured One explain the sign of the impending disappearance of the Dharma in the future, great terror has arisen in our hearts."
98.32
At that time the World-Honoured One addressed the bhikṣus: 'I leave behind a Saṃgha of bodhisattvas, in all eighty billion persons, who will not take nirvāṇa. In the future evil age they will protect and uphold the holy teaching, each using supernatural powers to transform evil bhikṣus and make them revere the Buddha's bowl.'
98.33
Then the World-Honoured One arose from his seat, proceeded to the ordination platform, and ascended the platform from the north. The bhikṣus presented the bowls, and the World-Honoured One personally received them. He also addressed Rāhula: 'Bring me my broken bowl.' Once the Buddha had received the bowl, he cast it into the air, where it ascended to the Summit of Existence. In this sequence, the [buddhas] identically named Śākyamuni successively threw [their bowls], one after another like strung beads. Having ascended to the peak of the Form Realm, they descended one by one directly back to the ordination platform. The hundreds of billions of buddhas who had assembled also ordered their attendants to take their bowls and each bestowed them upon Śākyamuni Buddha, joining together to maintain them and cause future evil monks and nuns to feel shame and repentance. When the World-Honoured One received them, he threw them up again into the upper realms, and one after another in succession they returned to the platform. At that time the World-Honoured One transformed that broken earthenware bowl so that its form was like the golden banners of the devas, emitting great light that illuminated the lands of the ten directions.
98.34
Furthermore, when the Buddha was in the world, he said to Śakra, Lord of the Devas: 'You must offer me pearls and celestial craftsmen.' He also said to the heavenly Māra: 'You must offer me the seven precious gems.' He also said to the Dragon King Sāgara: 'You must offer me maṇi jewels.' Śakra, the devas, and the nāgas thereupon offered jewels and gems. Within three times seven days they all gathered at the ordination platform and constructed pearl stupas adorned with the seven precious gems, upon which maṇi jewels were placed. Through the Buddha's supernatural power, within three times seven days all were completed simultaneously, yielding in all eighty billion stupas of pearls and seven precious gems in which to enshrine the Tathāgata's earthenware bowl. At that time King Māra addressed the Buddha, saying: 'I shall myself construct a pearl stupa to enshrine the World-Honoured One's bowl. Although I am the heavenly Māra, I revere and obey the Buddha's words; therefore, in future ages I will not let evil persons harm the holy teaching, and I will transform evil bhikṣus to make them feel shame and repentance.' The Buddha then granted his consent. Using pure maṇi [jewels], a single great stupa forty yojanas high was fashioned to enshrine the Buddha's bowl. When the World-Honoured One was about to enter nirvāṇa, he entrusted King Māra with building the stupa, ordering that it be entrusted to Śakra, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the Great King Māra: 'Guard and protect it yourselves. After my nirvāṇa, when the saddharma has completely disappeared, place my bowl-stupa to the south of the ordination platform and keep it there for twelve years. You Four Heavenly Kings must constantly make offerings to it yourselves day and night, guarding and protecting it so that it suffers no harm. After twelve years have passed, entrust it to the Dragon King Sāgara to be placed in his palace at the great storehouse of the Vinaya. Further, command the Dragon King to build sixteen stupas to be the retinue of the bowl-stupa. After another twelve years, entrust it again to Śakra and the Four Heavenly Kings, who shall carry it to the summit of Mount Sumeru, to remain to the south of the Golden Sand Pool in Śakra's Pleasure Garden.' The Buddha said to the gandharva kings and the spirits of the eight classes: 'For forty years, perform celestial music to make offerings to the jewel stupa. For those disciples who uphold the precepts in that evil age, protect their almsbowls as you would protect the pupils of your eyes.'
98.35
The Buddha told Śakra, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the others: 'In the Vajra Cave of Mount Sumeru, take the yellow sandstone and make many stone bowls, and place them within the new stupas. Let their dimensions and shapes be like my broken bowl, all made in the form of five joined pieces, and deposit them in those stupas. You must guard and protect them, letting no harm come to them. After a hundred years, when King Aśoka has finished building his stupas, you shall take my stupas throughout the great chiliocosm, to a billion households; or, across a span of ten thousand li, two bowl-stupas should be installed. Within those lands, search all around for famous mountains and ancient holy dwelling-places, and install them there.' He also told the Heavenly King of the North: 'Go to Mount Laṅkā, collect ox-head candana incense, and at the three periods of the day go to those stupas and burn incense as an offering without interruption. I command the Maheśvara deva to install the bowl-stupas, and I also dispatch the Four Heavenly Kings and the gandharva kings to burn incense and play music to make constant offerings. You devas, humans, nāgas, and spirits do not yet understand my intention: this is to cause the unlawful bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs of future times to reform evil and give rise to good, and for this reason I have had them installed in this way.'
98.36
Section 6: Textual Corruption and Decline
98.37
As the Sūtra on the Transmission of the Dharmapiṭaka states: Bhikṣu Ānanda converted living beings, bringing them all to liberation. At last, he came to a bamboo grove, where he heard a bhikṣu reciting a verse from the Dharmapada:
98.38
'Though a man should live a hundred years / and never see an egret,
It would be better to live for a single day / and catch sight of one.'
98.39
When Ānanda heard this, he sighed in sorrow: 'How swiftly the eye of the world has been extinguished! How could defilements and evils arise so easily? Violating the holy teaching, they conceive false thoughts on their own. This is not the Buddha's word and must not be practiced. You should know now that two kinds of people slander the Buddha: first, those who, though broadly learned, give rise to wrong views; second, those who do not understand the profound meaning and make inverted, false statements. These two conditions bring self-destruction and cannot lead people away from the three evil destinies. Listen carefully now while I recite the Buddha's verse:
98.40
'Though a man should live a hundred years / without understanding the dharma of arising and cessation,
It would be better to live for a single day / and come to understand it.'
98.41
Then the bhikṣu reported Ānanda's words to his master. The master told him: 'Ānanda is old and decrepit, his wisdom has decayed; his words contain many errors and are not to be believed. Now you should merely recite as before.' Later, Ānanda heard that bhikṣu beneath the bamboo grove still reciting the earlier verse. He asked him the reason, and [the bhikṣu] replied: 'Venerable one, my master told me that Ānanda is old and decrepit, his words are mostly false, and I should merely recite and practice according to what went before.' Ānanda reflected: 'He disdains my words, perhaps having accepted another teaching.' Thereupon he entered samādhi to search for someone of superior virtue, but saw no one who could turn that [monk's] mind. He then spoke these words: 'How extraordinary! Impermanence is exceedingly fierce and powerful, scattering and destroying like this immeasurable sages and worthies, rendering all worlds utterly empty and desolate, constantly dwelling in darkness and walking in dread. Wrong views blaze fiercely and unwholesomeness increases, slandering the Tathāgata and cutting off the true teaching. They will forever sink in the great river of saṃsāra, opening the gates to the evil destinies and closing the path to the human and heavenly realms, enduring all kinds of suffering and affliction for countless kalpas. Today it is fitting for me to enter nirvāṇa.'
98.42
Furthermore, the New Mahāvibhāṣā-śāstra asks: 'To what extent can the saddharma be said to remain?' It answers: 'When those who practice the Dharma remain.' 'To what extent can the saddharma be said to have disappeared?' It answers: 'When those who practice the Dharma have disappeared.' Question: 'Why is this treatise composed again?' Answer: 'In order to distinguish the meaning of the sūtra. As the sūtra says: "Kāśyapa, you should know that the Dharma and Vinaya realized and taught by the Tathāgata cannot be destroyed or submerged by the earth element, water element, fire element, or wind element. Yet there is a class of pudgalas who will appear in the world, having evil desires and evil conduct, fully endowed with evil dharmas. What is not the Dharma they will declare to be the Dharma; what is the Dharma they will declare not to be the Dharma; what is not the Vinaya they will declare to be the Vinaya; and what is the Vinaya they will declare not to be the Vinaya. They will be able to extinguish without remainder my saddharma, which was gathered over three incalculable kalpas." Although the sūtra speaks thus, it does not distinguish to what extent the saddharma can be said to remain, or to what extent the saddharma can be said to have disappeared. That sūtra is the fundamental basis on which this treatise relies; what was not distinguished there must now be distinguished, and hence this treatise is composed. Herein there are two kinds of saddharma: first, conventional saddharma; second, ultimate saddharma. Conventional saddharma refers to collections of names, phrases, and syllables—that is, the sūtra, vinaya, and abhidharma. Ultimate saddharma refers to the noble path—that is, the undefiled faculties, powers, limbs of awakening, and limbs of the path. Those who practice the Dharma are also of two kinds: first, those who uphold the Dharma of the teaching; second, those who uphold the Dharma of realization. Those who uphold the Dharma of the teaching are those who recite and explain the sūtras and so forth. Those who uphold the Dharma of realization are those who can cultivate and realize the undefiled noble path. If those who uphold the teaching continue in unbroken succession, they can cause the conventional saddharma to remain long. If those who uphold realization continue in unbroken succession, they can cause the ultimate saddharma to remain long. When they disappear, the saddharma will disappear. Therefore the sūtra says: "My saddharma does not abide relying upon walls, pillars, or the like; it abides solely relying upon the continuity of sentient beings who practice the Dharma." Question: 'Why did the World-Honoured One not decisively state the duration of the Dharma's persistence?' Answer: 'Because he wished to show that the saddharma's long or short duration depends on those who practice the Dharma. That is, if those who practice the Dharma always practice the saddharma as during the Buddha's lifetime and not long after the Tathāgata's extinction, then the Buddha's saddharma will abide perpetually in the world without disappearing. If there are no such practitioners of the saddharma, then that saddharma will quickly disappear. If women had been permitted to go forth without being made to practice the eight strict rules (garudharma), then the persistence of the Buddha's saddharma would have been reduced by five hundred years. Because the Buddha caused them to practice the eight strict rules, the saddharma's remaining in the world will still complete a full thousand years.'
98.43
Furthermore, a verse spoken by Kātyāyana on the total disappearance of the Dharma says:
98.44
The venerable Kātyāyana, / Embodied the Way and upheld the discipline.
Seeing those who were violent and rash, / He opened the path of the Dharma with verses:
When the saddharma is on the verge of vanishing, / The human lifespan will barely reach one hundred years.
The radiance of the saddharma / Will not remain long in the world before disappearing.
When the saddharma has completely perished, / The assemblies of bhikṣus will be bewildered and confused.
They will abandon the scriptural teachings / Expounded by the holy enlightened ones;
Setting aside the principles and meanings of the sūtras, / They will instead seek out one another’s shortcomings.
[Each proclaiming,] “What I myself have heard and received / Walks alone without equal!”
Taking what belongs in the middle and putting it at the bottom, / Raising what belongs at the bottom and placing it in the middle,
They will no longer know the proper sequence, / Yet esteem their endless speech.
Their citations and proofs will be erroneous and perverse; / Inverting explanations, lacking head or tail.
What they hear and receive will be superficial and lax; / Their discourses and discussions will lack pure speech.
They will mutually dispute and litigate with one another, / Thereby giving rise to venomous and harmful minds.
Greedy to acquire gain and offerings, / They will drift and sink along with worldly customs.
Delighting in confusion and disturbance, / They will not long to dwell in quietude and silence.
Encroaching upon and deceiving one another in turn, / In order to support their wives and children.
At times when there are bhikṣus / Arriving as guests from afar,
The monastery prior will first look after his own comfort, / And only in his leisure will he grant an audience.
Seeing the bhikṣus from afar, / His expression will be neither pleasant nor harmonious;
Only when they abandon [the place] and leave / Will his heart find delight.
Constantly harboring anger and malice, / Becoming arrogant through pride and self-importance,
Their desires will know no satisfaction; / Giving free rein to their minds, they follow defilement and filth.
Vile deeds will be practiced without interruption; / They will not wish to recite or receive the sūtras.
All day they will laugh, sing, and dance; / In the darkness of night, they will sleep without waking.
When such as these assemble together, / Their talk will never reach the principles of the sūtras;
They will only speak of county officials and bandits, / And the worldly comings and goings of the vulgar crowd.
Supposing there is a learned one / Who is venerated by the multitude,
The envious will seek to go forth, / Saying they will study the bhikṣu’s Dharma;
Yet their actions will not accord with the teaching, / Springing solely from the pursuit of gain and offerings.
While their years are still tender and young, / They will keep numerous disciples.
Their minds harbor conflict and disorder; / They cannot thoroughly master what they study.
None can be scrupulous with the precepts; / They fall into wrong views.
Careless and devoid of shame, / They cannot cultivate prudent conduct.
Nor do they take pleasure in Dharma assemblies, / But eagerly cling to gain and offerings.
No sooner have they quarreled and fought / Than they form enmity and grudges.
The māras and their host of minions / Will thereby take advantage of them.
When the devas, nāgas, ghosts, and spirits / Come wishing to hear the teachings of the sūtras,
Straining forward and longing to hear the precepts, / They hear only disputes and litigation instead.
The devas and men will harbor resentment: / “Such conduct is not fit for a bhikṣu!”
Moving about, they will discuss among themselves: / “The Buddha-Dharma is about to perish completely!
We abandoned the pleasures of heaven / And came specifically wishing to receive the Dharma;
Unable to hear the saddharma, / It were better to cast it aside and depart.”
Those venerable ghosts and spirits / Whose minds took delight in the Buddha-Dharma
Will no longer care for the bhikṣus, / And will no longer provide them protection.
At that time, wicked ghosts and spirits / Will act with violence and inflict poisonous harm;
They will seize the vital energy of the bhikṣus, / Leaving none of their life remaining.
Thieving dogs devoid of shame or remorse, / Lazy and harboring venomous intent—
Such as these in future ages / Will conversely be venerated and served!
While benevolent and worthy bhikṣus, / Who fully possess a sense of shame and conscience,
In that time when the Dharma is lost, / Will instead not be attended upon.
Just like the lion king / Residing amidst the trees of the forest:
Jackals, wolves, wild dogs, and foxes / Dare not eat its flesh;
Yet when its life ends and worms emerge from its body, / They turn back and devour its own flesh,
Gnawing upon it day and night together, / Utterly destroying its form.
The saddharma, when present in the world, / Will never perish on its own;
Yet through the conditions of the semblance Dharma, / The saddharma will be completely extinguished.
Just like a ship in the midst of the sea, / Which sinks because it is heavily overloaded,
The Buddha-Dharma is also like this: / It is completely extinguished on account of gain and offerings.
The bhikṣus will encounter calamities / Like someone who has lost both parents.
Today is the utmost Final Age; / The Buddha's saddharma is completely extinguished.
From this day forward, / The scriptures will no longer be expounded;
The Vinaya and the prohibitions— / Whence shall they ever be heard?
The devas, the tree spirits, / The slaughtering spirits of the wilderness,
Are grieved, sorrowful, and distressed in mind, / Tossing and turning, unable to rest at peace.
The lamp of the Dharma has already been extinguished; / Right learning has already been ruined and destroyed.
This age has suffered the greatest collapse; / The drum of the Dharma will sound no more.
The māras rejoice, / Gathering together to celebrate,
Raising their hands and praising aloud: / “Now is the Buddha’s Final Age!”
Knowing that such perils and afflictions / Will be present in the coming ages of the future,
One should all the more increase one's vigor, / And exert one's strength to seek deliverance!
First 44 of 59 passages. Read on
Linked texts (1)
- 法苑珠林 — 道世, Classical Chinese