In this country Fa-hien heard an Indian devotee, who was reciting a
Sutra from the pulpit, say: "Buddha's alms-bowl was at first in Vaisali,
and now it is in Gandhara. After so many hundred years (he gave, when
Fa-hien heard him, the exact number of years, but he has forgotten it),
it will go to Western Tukhara; after so many hundred years, to Khoten;
after so many hundred years, to Kharachar; after so many hundred years,
to the land of Han; after so many hundred years, it will come to
Sinhala; and after so many hundred years, it will return to Central
India. After that, it will ascend to the Tushita heaven; and when the
Bodhisattva Maitreya sees it, he will say with a sigh, 'The alms-bowl of
Sakyamuni Buddha is come'; and with all the devas he will present to it
flowers and incense for seven days. When these have expired, it will
return to Jambudvipa, where it will be received by the king of the sea
nagas, and taken into his naga palace. When Maitreya shall be about to
attain to perfect Wisdom and become Buddha, it will again separate into
four bowls, which will return to the top of mount Anna, whence they
came. After Maitreya has become Buddha, the four deva kings will again
think of the Buddha with their bowls as they did in the case of the
previous Buddha. The thousand Buddhas of this Bhadra-kalpa, indeed, will
all use the same alms-bowl; and when the bowl has disappeared, the Law
of Buddha will go on gradually to be extinguished.
Pages:
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328