h 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. After that extinction
has taken place, the life of man will be shortened, till it is only a
period of five years. During this period of a five years' life, rice,
butter, and oil will all vanish away, and men will become exceedingly
wicked. The grass and trees which they lay hold of will change into
swords and clubs, with which they will hurt, cut, and kill one another.
Those among them on whom there is blessing will withdraw from society
among the hills; and when the wicked have exterminated one another, they
will again come forth, and say among themselves, 'The men of former
times enjoyed a very great longevity; but through becoming exceedingly
wicked, and doing all lawless things, the length of our life has been
shortened and reduced even to five years. Let us now unite together in
the practice of what is good, cherishing a gentle and sympathizing
heart, and carefully cultivating good faith and righteousness. When each
one in this way practises that faith and righteousness, life will go on
to double its length till it reaches eighty thousand years. When
Maitreya appears in the world, and begins to turn the wheel of this Law,
he will in the first place save those among the disciples of the Law
left by the Sakya who have quitted their families, and those who have
accepted the three Refuges, undertaken the five Prohibitions and the
eight Abstinences, and given offerings to the Three Precious Ones;
secondly and thirdly, he will save those between whom and conversion
there is a connection transmitted from the past.'" [1]

Such was the discourse, and Fa-hien wished to write it down as a portion
of doctrine; but the man said, "This is taken from no Sutra, it is only
the utterance of my own mind."

[Footnote 1: Th