[Gad]

I found a very interesting sutta that talks about the dhamma these days.

The Lord Buddha said that there are 5 things that make the Dhamma decline.

The Counterfeit of the True Dhamma

“SC 1 Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapiṇḍika’s Park. Then the Venerable Mahakassapa approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to him: sn.ii.224

SC 2“Venerable sir, what is the reason, what is the cause, why formerly there were fewer training rules but more bhikkhus were established in final knowledge, while now there are more training rules but fewer bhikkhus are established in final knowledge?”

SC 3“That’s the way it is, Kassapa. When beings are deteriorating and the true Dhamma is disappearing there are more training rules but fewer bhikkhus are established in final knowledge. Kassapa, the true Dhamma does not disappear so long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world. But when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma arises in the world, then the true Dhamma disappears.

SC 4“Just as, Kassapa, gold does not disappear so long as counterfeit gold has not arisen in the world, but when counterfeit gold arises then true gold disappears, so the true Dhamma does not disappear so long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world, but when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma arises in the world, then the true Dhamma disappears.

SC 5“It is not the earth element, Kassapa, that causes the true Dhamma to disappear, nor the water element, nor the heat element, nor the air element. It is the senseless people who arise right here who cause the true Dhamma to disappear.

“SC 6 The true Dhamma does not disappear all at once in the way a ship sinks. There are, Kassapa, five detrimental things that lead to the decay and disappearance of the true Dhamma. What are the five? Here the bhikkhus, the bhikkhunīs, the male lay followers, and the female lay followers dwell without reverence and deference towards the Teacher; they dwell without reverence and deference towards the Dhamma; they dwell without reverence and deference towards the Saṅgha; sn.ii.225 they dwell without reverence and deference towards the training; they dwell without reverence and deference towards concentration. These, Kassapa, are the five detrimental things that lead to the decay and disappearance of the true Dhamma.””

Here is my interpretation of these five things. Of course, if I did it wrong, correct me.

1) Lack of consideration for the Buddha (Trivialize the veneration due to the Buddha)

2) Lack of consideration for the Dhamma (Not taking the time to check key terms in depth and translating carelessly (word for word and spreading false interpretations)

3) Lack of consideration for Sangha (corrupt monks who do not respect the rules of Vinaya, accept money, take unhealthy advantage of lay people, and support erroneous dhammas), lay people who neglect monks (especially true monks who follow the Pure Dhamma and the Vinaya) and do not give them the 4 necessities.

4) Neglecting the 5 precepts and the path that brings us closer to Nibbāna.

5) Lack of right concentration

Unfortunately, as Mr. Lal has pointed out many times, this counterfeit Dhamma is extremely hard to avoid. It is the Anatta nature (uncontrollable) that we are powerless in the face of this decadence. The true Dhamma will inevitably disappear. It’s been like this for infinite times. This is why, in the beginningless past, there were an infinite number of Buddhas, and there will also be in the future. Fortunately, there was an ariya like the Venerable Bhikkhu Waharaka Thero to find the correct meanings. This opening gives many beings the opportunity to escape from this endless cycle. For some of us who will not have enough paramis to be ariya in this life, at this moment, all is not lost. Fortunately, any effort that tends towards Nibbãna inevitably brings fruits, whether we know it or not. One could attain magga phala either in a few or many future lives or in the next Sasana or as Paccekabuddha.

For now, we must do our best to learn the right Dhamma and develop the 10 paramis optimally.

[Lal]

Thank you, Gad.

• I have discussed this topic in “Counterfeit Buddhism – Current Mainstream Buddhism.” You can find more details there.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Gad

[Gad]

Thank you Sir I didn’t know about this post !

[Author]

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