佛說五恐怖世經

Thus indeed have I heard: At one time the Buddha was dwelling at Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park, in the country of Śrāvastī. The Buddha addressed the bhikṣus:

– In the age to come there will be five things to be feared. They have not yet arrived, they have not yet come to pass, but before long they will occur. You should reflect well upon them and employ skillful means to keep far away from them. These five things are:

– The first thing to be feared: Hereafter, bhikṣus in the age to come will not cultivate themselves in body, will not keep the precepts, and will not restrain their minds. Although such a one has no wisdom, does not cultivate himself, does not keep the precepts, and does not restrain his mind, even to the point of having no wisdom, yet when others come to him to learn the Way he confers upon them the great precepts, and they follow him in study and honor him as their master. That one was originally able to keep the precepts, to follow his own mind, and to possess wisdom, having studied thus from beginning to end. But because those who study that Dharma come to listen, and at first also study in this manner, thereafter they destroy the precepts and the discipline, speak words that slander the scriptures and the Dharma, and depart far from true and right wisdom. Bhikṣus! This is the first thing to be feared, which before long will occur in the age to come. You should reflect well upon it and employ skillful means to keep far away from this thing to be feared.

– The second thing to be feared: Bhikṣus in the age to come will not cultivate themselves in body, will not keep the precepts, will not restrain their minds, and will have no wisdom. For the sake of others they will expound the treasure-store, yet not in proper sequence, contrary to the precepts and discipline of the Buddha, causing those others to think that by following this they can reach the other shore and be liberated from the cycle of birth and death. Bhikṣus! This is the second thing to be feared, which before long will occur in the age to come. You should reflect well upon it and employ skillful means to keep far away from this thing to be feared.

– The third thing to be feared: Hereafter, bhikṣus in the age to come will not cultivate themselves in body, will not keep the precepts, will not restrain their minds, and will have no wisdom. Because such a bhikṣu has no enlightened teacher, he receives unrighteous Dharma, causing the true Dharma to be lost and the precepts, discipline, and dignified deportment to perish. Bhikṣus! This is the third thing to be feared, which before long will occur in the age to come. You should reflect well upon it and employ skillful means to keep far away from this thing to be feared.

– The fourth thing to be feared: Hereafter, bhikṣus in the age to come will not cultivate themselves in body, will not keep the precepts, will not restrain their minds, and will have no wisdom. Not cultivating himself, not keeping the precepts, not restraining his mind, and having no wisdom, such a bhikṣu nevertheless gathers an assembly to expound the discipline and speak of dignified deportment; yet that which ought to be expounded in the latter part he instead expounds and speaks in the middle part, and that which ought to be expounded in the middle part he instead expounds and speaks in the latter part. Thereby the discipline and deportment, from being clear and manifest, become obscure in meaning, so that one cannot learn it for oneself, and one departs far from the true Dharma. Bhikṣus! This is the fourth thing to be feared, which before long will occur in the age to come. You should reflect well upon it and employ skillful means to keep far away from this thing to be feared.

The fifth thing to be feared: Bhikṣus in the age to come will not cultivate themselves in body, will not keep the precepts, will not restrain their minds, and will have no wisdom. Although such a one does not practice, does not keep the precepts, does not restrain his mind, and has no wisdom, yet he believes in and accepts all manner of conduct and all the clever, boastful, and deceitful words of the world; and when he sees one who speaks such things, his mind and heart take great delight in it.

But as for words that accord with the Dharmas of suffering, emptiness, and impermanence, and the Dharma of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination that the Buddha has taught, he shows that he takes no delight in them, casts them all aside, and is unwilling to learn them. When he hears another speak of these things, he gives rise to doubt, regards them as untrue, and likewise takes no joy in them. Bhikṣus!

This is the fifth thing to be feared, which before long will occur in the age to come. You should reflect well upon it and employ skillful means to keep far away from this thing to be feared.