employed in Tibet, generally proceed without refer-
ence to these terms.
In East Asia, however, these expressions played a
central role in calculations of the duration of the
dharma. The concepts of saddharmaand saddharma-
pratirupakaappeared in China by the third century
C.E., where they were translated as zhengfa(correct
dharma) and xiangfa(image [or semblance] dharma),
respectively, by DHARMARAKSA(Zhu Fahu, fl. 265–309
C.E.). Combining these neatly parallel Chinese terms
with a third expression, moshi(final age; used to trans-
late the Sanskrit pas ́cimakala,“latter time”), subse-
quent generations of Chinese thinkers constructed
a three-part periodization scheme consisting of the
“correct dharma” (zhengfa), “semblance dharma”
(xiangfa), and “final dharma” (mofa). This third and
final period, which is unknown in Indian sources, was
understood as a period when Buddhism is still known,
but human spiritual capacity is at an all-time low. In
China this third and final period was commonly cal-
culated as having begun in 552 C.E.; in Japanese sources
(drawing on different translated scriptures) the more
common date for the onset of mofa(Japanese, mappo)
is 1052. In both cases, however, it was expected to en-
dure for the foreseeable future, a period regularly de-
scribed as lasting “10,000 years and more.”
Causes of decline
On one level, the decline and eventual disappearance
of the dharma is viewed in Buddhist sources as auto-
matic, simply resulting from the principle of the tran-
sitoriness of all conditioned things. On another level,
however, Buddhists have sought to identify specific
factors that may contribute to—or conversely, that
may inhibit—the ongoing process of decline.
As noted above, the earliest tradition points to the
presence of women in the monastic order as the criti-
cal factor in Buddhism’s early demise. Other explana-
tions soon appeared, however, many of which point to
internal causes—that is, the conduct of members of the
Buddhist community themselves—as bringing about
the disappearance of Buddhism. These include lack of
respect toward various elements of the Buddhist tradi-
tion, lack of diligence in meditation practice, and care-
lessness in the transmission of the teachings. Other
accounts point to sectarian divisions or the appearance
of false teachings as the cause of decline. Finally, ex-
cessive monastic association with secular society also
regularly appears as a contributing cause.
Other accounts, however, link the decline of the
dharma to forces impinging on the Buddhist commu-
nity from without. Modern secondary sources have
often blamed declining Buddhist fortunes on PERSE-
CUTIONS or foreign invasions, but when Buddhist
scriptures point to external causes it is generally not
persecution or conquest but excessive patronage of the
Buddhist community that is blamed for its decadence
and decline.Responses to the idea of decline
Though most Buddhists before the modern period
have shared the idea that Buddhism is in the process
of decline, responses to this idea have varied widely. In
Sri Lanka, for example, the steady decline of the
dharma spelled out in the writings of Buddhaghosa is
associated with an emphasis on the importance of pre-
serving the written teachings, and it also harmonizes
well with the widespread assumption that it is no longer
possible to attain arhatship in this day and age. In Ti-
bet, by contrast, where the dharma is also expected to
last for 5,000 years, there is far greater optimism about
the possibilities for practice and attainment in the pre-
sent age, due in part to the assumption that tantric
practice offers a short-cut to enlightenment.
In East Asia the concept of mofaeffectively over-
shadowed worries about the eventual disappearance of
Buddhism, leading instead to a focus on the challenge
of practicing Buddhism during this prolonged and
decadent final age. In China concern with mofaap-
pears to have peaked in the sixth and seventh centuries
C.E., when it inspired such figures as Daochuo
(562–645) and Shandao (613–681) to emphasize the
necessity of relying on the Buddha AMITABHAin this
difficult time. Xinxing (540–594), founder of the SAN-
JIE JIAO(THREESTAGES SCHOOL), by contrast, held that
even greater efforts were needed in order to make
progress in such a decadent age. After the seventh cen-
tury, attention to mofaappears to have receded in
China, and it is of relatively little importance (except
as a rhetorical flourish used in critiques of the monas-
tic san ̇gha) in most of East Asia today.
In Japan, however, mappohas remained a central
and governing concept, above all for members of PURE
LAND SCHOOLSand the NICHIREN SCHOOL. Zen Bud-
dhists, by contrast, have often dismissed the relevance
of the idea, claiming that what could be accomplished
in S ́akyamuni Buddha’s time is equally accessible to-
day. Though agreeing on little else, Pure Land and
Nichiren Buddhists share the idea that the age of map-DECLINE OF THEDHARMA