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V: Have heard talk about the Sasana. I believe it has something to do with a prediction the Buddha made about the duration of true Dhamma, but not sure. Was wondering if you could comment.
S¤sana (Poss from sa=1; asana = rock, pointed rock, arrow, food, portion, lesson in hunting) by itself is a synonym for the Dhamma, the Word, the Teaching the System. With antaradh¤na (anta=antler, end, front, anti; ara=arounda; dh¤na=giving) it is the term used to describe the period of the final dissolution of the dhamma. I remember reading, but I do not know where (see below), of this period where it gradually comes down to the king riding around asking any and everyone if anything can be remembered of the Dhamma, and I think someone is able to remember one or two lines or maybe three.
Along with this we have the statement by the Buddha to Ananda at the time of the Admission of women to the Order that "true Dhamma" would only last 500 years because of that (also see below). I am not sure what word is used there for the term 500 and I would be very cautious about taking it literally as there are numerous cases where such figures are only intended to mean "a long time" or, perhaps in this case, "half a long time", and many of these numbers are able to stand for a multiplicity of numbers: satta = 7, 100, 1000, 10,000, or, again, "a whole bunch".
And then, again, we have numerous instances where the Buddha urges diligent study on the part of everyone "lest the world be left devoid of Arahants." which to me sounds a hopeful note.
And one more: there are said to be certain dhammas that retain their viability whether the bulk of the dhamma still exists or not: Such are that one should not lie, steal, or harm living beings.
My own view is mixed. On the one hand we have millions of people who claim to believe that the suttas are the foundation of their belief system. On the other hand I believe we can count only a small number that have actually read the texts. On the one hand the suttas are being translated anew even now, and are being disseminated over the Internet in numerous places and there does seem to be some interest...hey! we have 11...well 4 active members here![1] Theoretically, with the Dhamma available on the Net, it should last a long long time. On the other hand if nobody makes any headway in the system because nobody is actually following what the Dhamma says to do it will not last long in spite of that.
This um...story...from Warren's Buddhism in Translations, which is not from the Suttas, is where I remember the idea concerning the last lines of the Dhamma. Reading this now I must say this is bunk start to finish, and destructive bunk at that. This is not Warren's fault, at the time he put his collection together there was very little understanding of Buddhism out there in the Western world.
http://www.buddhadust.org/warren_bit/bit-102.htm
My suggestion: read it, burn it into your mind as an example of the dangers of reliance on the commentaries, and put it away
Here is a chapter from Warren, Buddhism in Translations, in turn from the Culla Vaga, describing the circumstances under which women were allowed into the Sangha. It is in this description that the Buddha speaks of the Dhamma lasting only 500 years because of this fact.
#99 The Admission of Women to the Order
A reference to this subject turned up on another board in response to a question about the end of the sasana. Located by RE on the Pali board. There are other descriptions.[2]
My Paraphrase (Maha Kasapa has asked about the situation, after "seeing" that in the time of a former Buddha there were both more Arahants and fewer rules):
There is no disappearance of the True Dhamma until a false Dhamma appears, but when a false Dhamma appears then the True Dhamma disappears, in the same way that bad money drives out good.
Nieither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor wind causes True Dhamma to disappear, but here in the Order itself there appear stupid men and it is they who make the True Dhamma disappear.
It is not because there are more rules that the True Dhamma disappears, but more rules are needed when there are fewer followers and the True Dhamma disappears. A ship may sink because it is overloaded, but that is not the way it works with the Dhamma.
There are five things which conduce to the confusion and disappearance of True Dhamma. What five?
When the Beggars and Female Beggars and laymen and laywomen behave disrespectfully towards the Teacher, the Dhamma, the Sangha and the training, it is then that there is confusion and disappearance of True Dhamma.
When the Beggars and Female Beggars and laymen and laywomen behave respectfully towards the Teacher, the Dhamma, the Sangha and the training, it is then that there is clarification and preservation of True Dhamma.
Here is a translation of a portion of this, a follow-up posted on the Pali board by Venerable Kumara:
Kassapa, it's not the earth element that shrouds[3] the true dhamma; nor does the water element shroud the true dhamma; nor does the fire element shroud the true dhamma; nor does the wind element shroud the true dhamma. Rather, it's those mindless people[4] who arise 'here' who shroud this true dhamma.
It's an important sutta that I think all Buddhists should read. The endnotes found in Ven. Bodhi' translation of SN is most interesting, with cross-tradition references extracted from the commentaries.
And another couple of references concerning this issue (located by RK and posted on the Pali Board).
Anguttara Nikaya, PTS Volume 3, Chapter 8, paragraph viii (88) A.iii.90
The Elder
Monks, possessed of five qualities, the way of an elder monk is not to the advantage of many folk, is not for the happiness of many folk, is not for the good of many folk; it is to the harm and ill of devas and men.
Of what five?
There is the elder, time-honoured and long gone forth; well-known, renowned, with a great following of householders and those gone forth; a receiver of the requisites; the robes, alms, lodgings and medicaments for sickness; who is learned, has a retentive and well-stored mind, and those Dhammas, lovely in the beginning...are by him fully understood in theory; but he is a wrong viewer with perverted vision. He turns away many folk from Saddhamma and sets them in what is not Saddhamma. Thus though he be an elder, time-honoured and long gone forth, through him they fall into the way of wrong views; though the elder be well-known, renowned, with a great following of householders and those gone forth, through him they fall into the way of wrong views; though the elder be a receiver of the requisites...through him they fall into the way of wrong views; though the elder be learned and has a retentive and well-stored mind, through him they fall into the way of wrong views.
Anguttara Nikaya book of fives 155 (Abridged)
Monks these five things lead to the confounding, the disappearance of Saddhamma. What five?
Herein monks, the monks master not Dhamma:. The sayings, psalms...runes.
This monks is the first thing...
The teach not others in detail as heard, as learned...
They make not others speak it in detail...
They make no repetition of it in detail...
Again monks, the monks do not in their hearts turn over and ponder upon Dhamma, they review it not in their minds. This monks is the fifth thing that leads to the confounding, the disappearance of Saddhamma.
Here's another one that deals with The Wellfarer's Discipline (sugata-vinayo) and what will allow it to continue to grow and what will stiffle that growth.
A new "Translation" (really an editing of Woodward's version of this sutta): of The Wellfarer's Discipline
http://www.buddhadust.org/sutta/an/fours/suttas/an.iv.xvi.x_160-sugatavinaya.htm
[1]For a more recent (and more hopeful) count of BuddhaDust visitors, seehttp://www.buddhadust.org/website_established.htm
[2]PTS: Samyutta Nikaya II: Saddhammappatiruupaka Sutta, pp 224
PTS: The Book of the Kindred Sayings: Kindred Sayings on Kassapa: 13: A counterfeit Norm, Mrs. Rhys Davids, trans., pp 152
WP: Connected Discourses of the Buddha, I, Nanamoli/Bodhi, trans, pp681
[3]VenK: "'Shroud' seems to me a good translation for 'antaradhaapeti', in the sense that the notion of 'antara' is kept; although the more common translation 'cause to disappear' seems fine too."
[4]VenK: "Literally 'moghapurisaa' means empty (or, hollow) people.
In other translations, 'mogha' has been commonly rendered as 'foolish' or 'misguided'. The commentaries usually gloss 'moghapurisaa' as 'tucchapurisaa'. Not much help since the dictionaries define 'tuccha' as 'empty, vain, deserted'.
The A.t.thakanipaata-a.t.thakathaa, glossed "moghapurisaa" as 'muu.lhapurisaa tucchapurisaa'. 'Muu.lha' is a pp. of muyhati, which means 'to be perplexed, bewildered'.
So, 'moghapurisaa' seems to mean people who are 'empty of wisdom', in that he is perplexed, bewildered. I think 'mindless people' serve well as a translation. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi translates it as 'senseless people'.
'Moghapurisa' is used by the Buddha in almost every instance to address bhikkhus who instigated the training rules of the Paatimokkha. If the instigator happens to be an ariya, such as Ven. Anuruddha, instead of that term, his name is used.
I do not know of any case whereby the Buddha used the term for anyone else other than bhikkhus. (Do correct me if I'm wrong.) So, it seems reasonable to assume that 'those 'empty' people who arise 'here'' means bhikkhus who are empty of wisdom."
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