Fó shuō fǎ miè jìn jīng 佛說法滅盡經
The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on the Extinction of the Dharma by anonymous translator
About the work
This 1-fascicle anonymous text is one of the most important Chinese-Buddhist mò fǎ texts: a sustained prophetic narrative of the complete extinction (miè jìn 滅盡) of the Dharma in the latter days. The work is foundational to mature Chinese Buddhist eschatology and was widely cited in subsequent Buddhist literature, particularly during the Three Periods (正法 / 像法 / 末法) doctrinal disputes of the Suí–Táng era.
Abstract
The bracket adopted here (350–600) reflects the broad pre-Táng period.
Translations and research
- Nattier, Jan. Once Upon a Future Time (1991) — discusses this text extensively.
Other points of interest
- Nattier (1991) considers this work to be a Chinese composition rather than an Indic translation, on the basis of internal stylistic and doctrinal features. The work’s eschatological narrative is one of the most distinctive contributions of medieval Chinese Buddhism to Buddhist apocalyptic literature.