1.1“Bhante nāgasena, bhāsitampetaṁ bhagavatā—∥“Venerable Nāgasena, this too was spoken by the Blessed One:1.2‘pañceva dāni, ānanda, vassasatāni saddhammo ṭhassatī’ti.‘Now, Ānanda, the true Dhamma will last only five hundred years.’1.3Puna ca parinibbānasamaye subhaddena paribbājakena pañhaṁ puṭṭhena bhagavatā bhaṇitaṁ—And again, at the time of his final Nibbāna, when the wanderer Subhadda asked a question, the Blessed One said:1.4‘ime ca, subhadda, bhikkhū sammā vihareyyuṁ, asuñño loko arahantehi assā’ti, asesavacanametaṁ, nissesavacanametaṁ, nippariyāyavacanametaṁ.‘If these monks, Subhadda, were to live rightly, the world would not be empty of arahants.’ This statement is without remainder, without exception, and without qualification.1.5Yadi, bhante nāgasena, tathāgatena bhaṇitaṁ—If, Venerable Nāgasena, the Tathāgata said,1.6‘pañceva dāni, ānanda, vassasatāni saddhammo ṭhassatī’ti, tena hi ‘asuñño loko arahantehi assā’ti yaṁ vacanaṁ, taṁ micchā.‘Now, Ānanda, the true Dhamma will last only five hundred years,’ then the statement ‘the world would not be empty of arahants’ is false.1.7Yadi tathāgatena bhaṇitaṁ—If the Tathāgata said,1.8‘asuñño loko arahantehi assā’ti, tena hi ‘pañceva dāni, ānanda, vassasatāni saddhammo ṭhassatī’ti tampi vacanaṁ micchā.‘the world would not be empty of arahants,’ then the statement ‘the true Dhamma will last only five hundred years’ is also false.1.9Ayampi ubhato koṭiko pañho gahanatopi gahanataro balavatopi balavataro gaṇṭhitopi gaṇṭhitaro, so tavānuppatto, tattha te ñāṇabalavipphāraṁ dassehi makaro viya sāgarabbhantaragato”ti.This is a two-horned dilemma. It is more tangled than the tangled, stronger than the strong, more knotted than the knotted. It has now come to you. Show here the power and range of your wisdom, like a sea-monster that has gone into the middle of the ocean.”

2.1“Bhāsitampetaṁ, mahārāja, bhagavatā ‘pañceva dāni, ānanda, vassasatāni saddhammo ṭhassatī’ti.“This was indeed spoken by the Blessed One, your majesty: ‘Now, Ānanda, the true Dhamma will last only five hundred years.’2.2Parinibbānasamaye ca subhaddassa paribbājakassa bhaṇitaṁ—And at the time of his final Nibbāna, he said to the wanderer Subhadda:2.3‘ime ca, subhadda, bhikkhū sammā vihareyyuṁ, asuñño loko arahantehi assā’ti.‘If these monks, Subhadda, were to live rightly, the world would not be empty of arahants.’2.4Tañca pana, mahārāja, bhagavato vacanaṁ nānatthañceva hoti nānābyañjanañca, ayaṁ sāsanaparicchedo, ayaṁ paṭipatti paridīpanāti dūraṁ vivajjitā te ubho aññamaññaṁ.But those words of the Blessed One, your majesty, differ in meaning and differ in phrasing. The one is a limit placed on the Dispensation; the other is an exposition of practice. The two are far removed from each other.2.5Yathā, mahārāja, nabhaṁ pathavito dūraṁ vivajjitaṁ, nirayaṁ saggato dūraṁ vivajjitaṁ, kusalaṁ akusalato dūraṁ vivajjitaṁ, sukhaṁ dukkhato dūraṁ vivajjitaṁ;Just as, your majesty, the sky is far removed from the earth, hell is far removed from heaven, the wholesome is far removed from the unwholesome, and pleasure is far removed from pain,2.6evameva kho, mahārāja, te ubho aññamaññaṁ dūraṁ vivajjitā.in the same way, your majesty, those two statements are far removed from each other.

3.1Api ca, mahārāja, mā te pucchā moghā assa, rasato te saṁsanditvā kathayissāmi ‘pañceva dāni, ānanda, vassasatāni saddhammo ṭhassatī’ti yaṁ bhagavā āha, taṁ khayaṁ paridīpayanto sesakaṁ paricchindi, ‘vassasahassaṁ, ānanda, saddhammo tiṭṭheyya, sace bhikkhuniyo na pabbājeyyuṁ.“But, your majesty, so that your question may not be in vain, I will explain it in accordance with its essence. When the Blessed One said, ‘Now, Ānanda, the true Dhamma will last only five hundred years,’ he was pointing out its decline and setting a limit on what remained: ‘Ānanda, the true Dhamma would have lasted a thousand years if women had not gone forth.3.2Pañceva dāni, ānanda, vassasatāni saddhammo ṭhassatī’ti.Now, Ānanda, the true Dhamma will last only five hundred years.’3.3Api nu kho, mahārāja, bhagavā evaṁ vadanto saddhammassa antaradhānaṁ vā vadeti abhisamayaṁ vā paṭikkosatī”ti?Now, your majesty, when the Blessed One spoke in this way, did he declare the disappearance of the true Dhamma, or did he reject the penetration (i.e. realisation of the Dhamma)?”3.4“Na hi, bhante”ti.“Certainly not, venerable sir.”3.5“Naṭṭhaṁ, mahārāja, parikittayanto sesakaṁ paridīpayanto paricchindi.“He set a limit by declaring what remained, your majesty, while proclaiming what was lost.3.6Yathā, mahārāja, puriso naṭṭhāyiko sabbasesakaṁ gahetvā janassa paridīpeyya ‘ettakaṁ me bhaṇḍaṁ naṭṭhaṁ, idaṁ sesakan’ti.Just as, your majesty, a man whose goods have been lost might take everything that remained and announce to the people, ‘This much of my property is lost; this is what is left.’3.7Evameva kho, mahārāja, bhagavā naṭṭhaṁ paridīpayanto sesakaṁ devamanussānaṁ kathesi ‘pañceva dāni, ānanda, vassasatāni saddhammo ṭhassatī’ti.In the same way, your majesty, the Blessed One, proclaiming what was lost, told gods and humans what remained: ‘Now, Ānanda, the true Dhamma will last only five hundred years.’3.8Yaṁ pana, mahārāja, bhagavatā bhaṇitaṁ—So what the Blessed One said,3.9‘pañceva dāni, ānanda, vassasatāni saddhammo ṭhassatī’ti, sāsanaparicchedo eso.‘the true Dhamma will last only five hundred years,’ is a statement of the limit of the Dispensation.

4.1Yaṁ pana parinibbānasamaye subhaddassa paribbājakassa samaṇe parikittayanto āha—But when, at the time of his final Nibbāna, he spoke to the wanderer Subhadda, praising the ascetics, saying4.2‘ime ca, subhadda, bhikkhū sammā vihareyyuṁ, asuñño loko arahantehi assā’ti, paṭipattiparidīpanā esā, tvaṁ pana taṁ paricchedañca paridīpanañca ekarasaṁ karosi.‘If these monks, Subhadda, were to live rightly, the world would not be empty of arahants,’ that is an exposition of practice. You, however, are treating the limit and the exposition as one and the same in essence.4.3Yadi pana te chando, ekarasaṁ katvā kathayissāmi, sādhukaṁ suṇohi manasikarohi avikkhittamānaso.But if you wish, your majesty, I will explain it by making them one in essence. Listen well, attend carefully, with an undistracted mind.”

5.1Idha, mahārāja, taḷāko bhaveyya navasalilasampuṇṇo sammukhamuttariyamāno paricchinno parivaṭumakato, apariyādiṇṇeyeva tasmiṁ taḷāke udakūpari mahāmegho aparāparaṁ anuppabandho abhivasseyya, api nu kho, mahārāja, tasmiṁ taḷāke udakaṁ parikkhayaṁ pariyādānaṁ gaccheyyā”ti?“Here, your majesty, suppose there were a lake filled with fresh water, brimming up before one’s eyes, bounded and enclosed by an embankment. While the water in that lake was not yet exhausted, a great rain cloud, pouring down continuously one shower after another, rained down upon it. Would the water in that lake, your majesty, come to depletion or exhaustion?”5.2“Na hi, bhante”ti.“Certainly not, venerable sir.”5.3“Kena kāraṇena, mahārājā”ti?“For what reason, your majesty?”5.4“Meghassa, bhante, anuppabandhatāyā”ti.“Because of the continuity of the rain, venerable sir.”5.5“Evameva kho, mahārāja, jinasāsanavarasaddhammataḷāko ācārasīlaguṇavattapaṭipattivimalanavasalilasampuṇṇo uttariyamāno bhavaggamabhibhavitvā ṭhito.“In the same way, your majesty, the lake of the true Dhamma, the excellent teaching of the Conqueror, is filled with the fresh, stainless water of good conduct, virtue, qualities, duties, and practice. It is brimming up, standing as though it had overtopped the highest realm of existence.5.6Yadi tattha buddhaputtā ācārasīlaguṇavattapaṭipattimeghavassaṁ aparāparaṁ anuppabandhāpeyyuṁ abhivassāpeyyuṁ.If the Buddha’s sons were to make the rain-cloud of good conduct, virtue, qualities, duties, and practice pour down continuously, one shower after another,5.7Evamidaṁ jinasāsanavarasaddhammataḷāko ciraṁ dīghamaddhānaṁ tiṭṭheyya, arahantehi loko asuñño bhaveyya, imamatthaṁ bhagavatā sandhāya bhāsitaṁ ‘ime ca, subhadda, bhikkhū sammā vihareyyuṁ, asuñño loko arahantehi assā’ti.then this lake of the true Dhamma, the excellent teaching of the Conqueror, would last for a long time, a long span of years, and the world would not be empty of arahants. It was with reference to this meaning that the Blessed One said: ‘If these monks, Subhadda, were to live rightly, the world would not be empty of arahants.’

6.1Idha pana, mahārāja, mahati mahāaggikkhandhe jalamāne aparāparaṁ sukkhatiṇakaṭṭhagomayāni upasaṁhareyyuṁ, api nu kho so, mahārāja, aggikkhandho nibbāyeyyā”ti?Again, your majesty, suppose a great mass of fire were blazing, and people kept adding dry grass, sticks, and cow dung to it, one load after another. Would that mass of fire go out, your majesty?”6.2“Na hi, bhante, bhiyyo bhiyyo so aggikkhandho jaleyya, bhiyyo bhiyyo pabhāseyyā”ti.“Certainly not, venerable sir. It would blaze more and more, shine more and more.”6.3“Evameva kho, mahārāja, dasasahassiyā lokadhātuyā jinasāsanavarampi ācārasīlaguṇavattapaṭipattiyā jalati pabhāsati.“In the same way, your majesty, throughout the ten-thousandfold world-system the excellent teaching of the Conqueror blazes and shines through good conduct, virtue, qualities, duties, and practice.6.4Yadi pana, mahārāja, taduttariṁ buddhaputtā pañcahi padhāniyaṅgehi samannāgatā satatamappamattā padaheyyuṁ, tīsu sikkhāsu chandajātā sikkheyyuṁ, cārittañca sīlaṁ samattaṁ paripūreyyuṁ, evamidaṁ jinasāsanavaraṁ bhiyyo bhiyyo ciraṁ dīghamaddhānaṁ tiṭṭheyya, asuñño loko arahantehi assāti imamatthaṁ bhagavatā sandhāya bhāsitaṁ ‘ime ca, subhadda, bhikkhū sammā vihareyyuṁ, asuñño loko arahantehi assā’ti.If, your majesty, the Buddha’s sons were in addition to practice constantly and diligently, endowed with the five factors of striving, if they trained with eager desire in the three trainings, and if they fully perfected the training in conduct and in virtue, then this excellent teaching of the Conqueror would last more and more, for a long time, a long span of years, and the world would not be empty of arahants.

7.1Idha pana, mahārāja, siniddhasamasumajjitasappabhāsavimalādāsaṁ saṇhasukhumagerukacuṇṇena aparāparaṁ majjeyyuṁ, api nu kho, mahārāja, tasmiṁ ādāse malakaddamarajojallaṁ jāyeyyā”ti?“Here, your majesty, suppose people were to polish a bright, smooth, well-cleaned, lustrous, spotless mirror again and again with fine, delicate red-ochre powder. Would any dirt, mud, dust, or grime arise on that mirror, your majesty?”7.2“Na hi, bhante, aññadatthu vimalataraṁyeva bhaveyyā”ti.“Certainly not, venerable sir. It would only become cleaner still.”7.3“Evameva kho, mahārāja, jinasāsanavaraṁ pakatinimmalaṁ byapagatakilesamalarajojallaṁ, yadi taṁ buddhaputtā ācārasīlaguṇavattapaṭipattisallekhadhutaguṇena jinasāsanavaraṁ sallakkheyyuṁ, evamidaṁ jinasāsanavaraṁ ciraṁ dīghamaddhānaṁ tiṭṭheyya, asuñño ca loko arahantehi assāti imamatthaṁ bhagavatā sandhāya bhāsitaṁ ‘ime ca, subhadda, bhikkhū sammā vihareyyuṁ, asuñño loko arahantehi assā’ti.“In the same way, your majesty, the excellent teaching of the Conqueror is naturally stainless, free of the dust and grime of the defilements. If the Buddha’s sons were to keep watch over this excellent teaching through good conduct, virtue, qualities, duties, practice, austerity, and the ascetic practices, then this excellent teaching of the Conqueror would last for a long time, a long span of years, and the world would not be empty of arahants. It was with reference to this meaning that the Blessed One said: ‘If these monks, Subhadda, were to live rightly, the world would not be empty of arahants.’7.4Paṭipattimūlakaṁ, mahārāja, satthusāsanaṁ paṭipattikāraṇaṁ paṭipattiyā anantarahitāya tiṭṭhatī”ti.The Teacher’s dispensation, your majesty, is rooted in practice; it has practice as its cause; it endures as long as practice is not lost.”

8.1“Bhante nāgasena, ‘saddhammantaradhānan’ti yaṁ vadesi, katamaṁ taṁ saddhammantaradhānan”ti?“Venerable Nāgasena, you speak of ‘the disappearance of the true Dhamma.’ What is that disappearance of the true Dhamma?”8.2“Tīṇimāni, mahārāja, sāsanantaradhānāni.“There are these three disappearances of the Dispensation, your majesty.8.3Katamāni tīṇi?What are the three?8.4Adhigamantaradhānaṁ paṭipattantaradhānaṁ liṅgantaradhānaṁ, adhigame, mahārāja, antarahite suppaṭipannassāpi dhammābhisamayo na hoti, paṭipattiyā antarahitāya sikkhāpadapaññatti antaradhāyati, liṅgaṁyeva tiṭṭhati, liṅge antarahite paveṇupacchedo hoti, imāni kho, mahārāja, tīṇi antaradhānānī”ti.The disappearance of attainment, the disappearance of practice, and the disappearance of the outward sign. When attainment has disappeared, your majesty, even one who practices well does not achieve realisation of the Dhamma. When practice has disappeared, the training rules laid down fall away, and only the outward sign remains. When the outward sign has disappeared, the lineage is cut off. These, your majesty, are the three disappearances.”

9.1“Suviññāpito, bhante nāgasena, pañho, gambhīro uttānīkato, gaṇṭhi bhinno, naṭṭhā paravādā bhaggā nippabhā katā, tvaṁ gaṇivaravasabhamāsajjā”ti.“Venerable Nāgasena, the question has been well explained: the profound has been made clear, the knot has been untied, the doctrines of opponents have been destroyed, broken, and robbed of their lustre. You have come face to face with the best of the leaders of orders, a bull among them.”

10.1Saddhammantaradhānapañho sattamo.Question on the Disappearance of the True Teaching, the seventh