佛臨涅槃記法住經

Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One (Bhagavān) was dwelling in the Twin Śāla Grove (Śālavana) at the birthplace of the Malla clan in the city of Kuśinagara, together with immeasurable and innumerable śrāvakas and bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who had assembled there, accompanied by devas, humans, asuras, and others. The entire great assembly surrounded him on every side.

When the Blessed One was about to enter nirvana, out of compassion for sentient beings he addressed Ānanda in a gentle, loving voice: “Before long, I shall enter parinirvana. There is nothing conditioned (saṃskṛta) that is not entirely relinquished. All the works of a Buddha have been brought to their ultimate consummation.

“I have proclaimed the Dharma that leads away from the caves and dwellings, the wondrous ambrosial Dharma, the supremely sovereign Dharma, and the Dharma of utmost peace and bliss. This Dharma is profound and wondrous, difficult to understand and difficult to know, beyond thought and investigation, utterly transcending the sphere of thought and investigation. It is inwardly realized by the great sages themselves.

“I have also thrice turned the unsurpassed wheel of Dharma, a mighty wheel complete with twelve aspects. No other śramaṇa, brāhmaṇa, deva, Māra, Brahmā, or anyone else can turn it in accordance with reality.

“For devas and humans I have sounded the conch of the Great Dharma and beaten the drum of the Great Dharma, awakening those who sleep in the long night of ignorance (avidyā).

“For devas and humans I have raised the banner of the Great Dharma and kindled the torch of the Great Dharma, illuminating all things everywhere and dispelling obscurity and darkness.

“For sentient beings I have made the bridge of the Great Dharma and the vessel of the Great Dharma, rescuing them and carrying them across the place where all are swept away and submerged by violent currents.

“For sentient beings I have poured forth the stream of the Great Dharma and sent down the rain of the Great Dharma, causing every parched place to be moistened.

“I have revealed the true path of liberation and guided those in the worlds who were deluded and had lost their way. All sentient beings whom I was to liberate have already been liberated; for those not yet liberated, I have also created the causes and conditions through which they may attain liberation.

“I have subdued all tīrthikas. I have demolished all false doctrines. I have overturned the palaces of the Māras. I have destroyed all the armies of Māra and uttered the lion’s roar (siṃhanāda). I have accomplished the great work of a Buddha, fulfilled the original vows of the Great Man (puruṣa), and preserved the Dharma-eye (dharma-cakṣus) so that it will not be damaged or diminished. I have guided the śrāvakas and bestowed predictions upon bodhisattvas. I have established the unsurpassed Buddha-eye (buddha-cakṣus) for the future age, illuminating the world without interruption.

“Ānanda! You should diligently preserve and further sustain this unsurpassed True Dharma so that it will not disappear.

“Ānanda! I now have nothing further to accomplish. Great nirvana (mahānirvāṇa) alone is my destination.”

When Ānanda had heard the Buddha’s words, he was filled with sorrow and longing. After a long while he said: “It cannot yet be time! For the sake of sentient beings, the Tathagata passed through three incalculable eons of diligent and arduous practice before attaining the unsurpassed True Dharma. After the Buddha’s passing, for how many periods will the True Dharma remain in the world, benefiting devas, humans, asuras, and others, before gradually disappearing?”

The World-Honored One then again addressed Ānanda in a loving voice: “The traces of the Dharma-teaching—the causes and conditions of former times—of all Buddhas are alike. Do not grieve! After my passing, the unsurpassed True Dharma will remain in the world for one thousand years, benefiting devas, humans, asuras, and others. Thereafter it will gradually disappear.

“Ānanda, you should know! During the first century after I enter nirvana, the sacred Dharma within my holy teaching (āgama) will remain firmly established. My disciples will be wise and learned, eloquent and fearless, able to subdue false doctrines, endowed with great spiritual powers, and will bring many benefits to sentient beings.

For this reason, devas and nāgas will rejoice and diligently increase their protection. Kings, ministers, elders, and householders will do likewise, clearly recognizing the field of merit. They will give rise to profound, pure faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, making offerings to them, revering, honoring, and praising them.

At the end of that century, a great king named Aśoka will appear in the world. Endowed with great power, he will rule Jambūdvīpa and erect eighty-four thousand tall, broad, and magnificently adorned stūpas. He will make offerings to the śarīra relics left from my body, causing immeasurable multitudes who see or hear of them to rejoice, acquire the karma of liberation, and be reborn in the heavenly realms.

“During the second century after I enter nirvana, tranquility will remain firmly established within my holy teaching (āgama). My disciples will be wise and learned, like Teachers of Devas and Humans (śāstā deva-manuṣyāṇāṃ), endowed with great majesty and virtue, and will bring many benefits. For this reason, devas and nāgas will rejoice and continually increase their protection. Kings, ministers, elders, and householders will do likewise, clearly recognizing the field of merit. They will give rise to profound, pure faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, making offerings to them, revering, honoring, and praising them.

“During the third century after I enter nirvana, right practice will remain firmly established within my holy teaching (āgama). My disciples who attain liberation through wisdom, liberation in both respects, and direct bodily realization will number immeasurable hundreds of thousands. Because so many people attain the noble fruits, devas and nāgas will rejoice and continually increase their protection. Kings, ministers, elders, and householders will do likewise, clearly recognizing the field of merit. They will give rise to profound, pure faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, making offerings to them, revering, honoring, and praising them.

“During the fourth century after I enter nirvana, seclusion will remain firmly established within my holy teaching (āgama). My disciples will delight in dwelling in wilderness retreats (araṇya) and diligently cultivate

tranquil concentration (samādhi). For this reason, devas and nāgas will rejoice and continually follow and protect them. Kings, ministers, elders, and householders will do likewise, clearly recognizing the field of merit. They will give rise to profound, pure faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, making offerings to them, revering, honoring, and praising them.

“During the fifth century after I enter nirvana, the meaning of the Dharma will remain firmly established within my holy teaching (āgama). My disciples will cherish the True Dharma and diligently study treatises and debate, discerning principles and matters and resolving doubts. For this reason, devas and nāgas will rejoice and continually protect them with diligence. Kings, ministers, elders, and householders will do likewise, clearly recognizing the field of merit. They will give rise to profound, pure faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, making offerings to them, revering, honoring, and praising them.

“During the sixth century after I enter nirvana, the scriptural teaching will remain firmly established within my holy teaching (āgama). Most of my disciples will diligently recite and study the teachings without weariness of mind, and they will bring many benefits to immeasurable sentient beings. For this reason, devas and nāgas will rejoice and diligently increase their protection. Kings, ministers, elders, and householders will do likewise, clearly recognizing the field of merit. They will give rise to profound, pure faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, making offerings to them, revering, honoring, and praising them. Yet they will harbor many doubts concerning the purport of the teachings.

“During the seventh century after I enter nirvana, material gain and honor will remain firmly established within my holy teaching (āgama). Devas, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, and others will make offerings to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, revering, honoring, and praising them. Most of my disciples will become attached to material gain, reverence, and fame. They will not diligently cultivate the higher training in morality, concentration, and wisdom.

“During the eighth century after I enter nirvana, contentious strife will remain firmly established within my holy teaching (āgama). My disciples will suspect and envy one another, associate with evil people, defile and slander others, despise and revile those who uphold the precepts, scorn the learned, disregard the six harmonies, and devote their thoughts to contention and opposition. Their views will be unskillful; they will not respect their teachers and elders, nor abide in right awareness. They will be deceitful, flattering, crooked, and coarse and vicious in speech like caṇḍālas. Relying upon kings, ministers, and elders, they will contrive to squander the property of the Three Jewels, form wicked factions, and humiliate good people.

“During the ninth century after I enter nirvana, worldly occupations will remain firmly established within my holy teaching (āgama). Most of my disciples will scheme to engage in favored worldly pursuits: plowing fields, planting crops, trading, appraising goods, carrying messages, and so forth, in order to sustain their livelihoods. They will treat lightly and violate the rules of training established by the Tathagatas.

“During the tenth century after I enter nirvana, conceptual proliferation (prapañca) will remain firmly established within my holy teaching (āgama). Most of my disciples will diligently study every kind of frivolous discourse. They will abandon the supramundane (lokottara) true teachings of the Buddhas, namely: Sūtra, Geya, Vyākaraṇa, Gāthā, Udāna, Nidāna, Avadāna, Itivṛttaka, Jātaka, Vaipulya, Adbhuta-dharma, and Upadeśa.

Instead, they will diligently study and recite worldly (loka or laukika) discourse, such as discourse about kings, discourse about robbers, discourse about warfare, discourse about food, discourse about drink, discourse about clothing, discourse about vehicles, discourse about the self, discourse about sexual desire, discourse about men, discourse about women, discourse about various countries, discourse about rivers and seas, discourse about various non-Buddhist schools, and so forth.

Because they delight in all these kinds of frivolous discourse, śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas will despise them, and my holy teaching will decline and disappear.

“Within the Vinaya of my True Dharma there will be groups of bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs who commit such evils. They will fail to cultivate bodily discipline and wisdom of mind properly; they will become angry and contentious, plot destruction, and slander one another. They will crave all kinds of fine robes, bowls, dwellings, and ornaments.

Because they gather with wicked companions, although they may have guarded the pure precepts for many years, they will violate them all in a single moment. Although they may have accumulated roots of goodness for many years, all will regress because of their many anxieties and angry resentments. Because of these causes and conditions, the assemblies of devas and nāgas will grieve and become indignant, abandoning them and no longer offering protection.

Kings, ministers, elders, and householders will no longer give rise to pure faith in the Three Jewels, but will instead slander and disparage them.

“Because of these causes and conditions, the True Dharma will be destroyed. Thereafter, the bhikṣus will sink ever more deeply into evil conduct, and kings, ministers, elders, and householders will no longer respect them.

“Because the residual power of the Three Jewels (tri-ratna or ratna-traya) has not yet been entirely extinguished, at that time there will still be bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, and others who have few desires and know contentment, preserve the restraints (saṃvara), cultivate meditative concentration (dhyāna), delight in great learning (bahuśruta), and uphold the Tathagata’s teachings contained in the Three Baskets (trīṇi piṭakāni). They will extensively analyze and expound them for the fourfold assembly, bringing benefit and happiness to immeasurable sentient beings.

“There will also be kings, ministers, elders, and householders who cherish the True Dharma. They will make offerings to the Three Jewels, revere, honor, praise, and protect them, and restore neglected places that no one visits or remembers. You should know that all these are inconceivable bodhisattvas who, through the power of their original vows, are born in that age to preserve the Tathagata’s unsurpassed True Dharma and bring great benefit to sentient beings.”

At that time, Ānanda, the śrāvakas, bodhisattvas, devas, nāgas, yakṣas, humans, nonhumans, and the entire great assembly heard the Blessed One’s prophecy concerning the periods during which the Dharma would abide and the differing conduct and karma of future bhikṣus. Their sorrow deepened, yet they faithfully accepted the teaching and practiced it.

THE SŪTRA IN WHICH THE BUDDHA, AS HE WAS ABOUT TO ENTER NIRVANA, RECORDED THE ABIDING OF THE DHARMA
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