The Lotus Sutra - IV. The Three Time Periods

According to the sutras, the time following a Buddha’s death can be divided into three consecutive stages, namely the Former Day of the Law, the Middle Day of the Law and the Latter Day of the Law.[1] While various sutras and commentaries offer different interpretations of the exact duration of each of these stages, there is agreement on the characteristics of each period.

During the Former Day of the Law, the spirit of Buddhism prevails and people can attain enlightenment through its practice. In the Middle Day of the Law, Buddhism becomes firmly established in society and many Buddhist temples are built. In the process, however, it becomes formalised and rigid, and gradually fewer and fewer people are able to benefit from it. In the Latter Day of the Law, people lose their desire for enlightenment altogether and are increasingly at the mercy of their greed, anger and stupidity - the three poisons. The world of Buddhism is wracked with internal feuds, both personal and doctrinal, and the teachings themselves lose their power to lead people to Buddhahood.

In the ‘Sutra of the Great Assembly’ (Daishutsu Sutra; also called the Daijutsu or Daijuku Sutra), Shakyamuni describes how his teachings will grow, prosper and decline according to this pattern, in the five five-hundred year periods following his death. The first two five-hundred year periods correspond to the Former Day of the Law, the next two to the Middle Day of the Law, and the fifth five-hundred year period corresponds to the Latter Day of the Law, which all interpretations of the three time periods agree will last at least ten thousand years.

Teaching, practice and proof

The process by which Buddhism is established and then gradually declines during the Former, Middle and Latter Days of the Law has been further defined by Buddhist scholars through the ages in a concept known as ‘teaching, practice and proof’. ‘Teaching’ refers to what the Buddha teaches; ‘practice’ refers to how that teaching is put into practice; and ‘proof’ refers to the merit - strictly speaking, enlightenment - that results from correctly practising the teaching.

According to Tz’u-en (632-682 AD), in the Former Day of the Law there is teaching, practice and proof; in the Middle Day of the Law there is is teaching and practice, but no longer any proof; and in the Latter Day only the teaching remains - both practice and proof have been lost.

Nichiren Daishonin agreed with this view, although he explains that, fundamentally, people in the Former Day of the Law were able to gain proof - enlightenment - through practising the Buddha’s teachings only because they had already established a bond with the Lotus Sutra during Shakyamuni’s lifetime. In the Latter Day of the Law, however:

There is no longer a single person who has formed a relationship with Shakyamuni Buddha. Those who possessed the capacity to gain enlightenment through either the provisional or true Mahayana sutras have long since disappeared.[2]

Both the concepts of the three time periods and teaching, practice and proof emphasise that even the Lotus Sutra will have lost its power to lead ordinary people to enlightenment in the Latter Day of the Law. Nichiren Daishonin therefore concludes:

In this impure and evil age, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of the ‘Life Span’ chapter, the heart of the essential teaching, should be planted as the seeds of Buddhahood for the first time in the hearts of all those who commit the five cardinal sins[3] and slander the correct teaching.[4]

The reasoning to support this conclusion is explored in greater depth in the sections entitled ‘The Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin’.

[1] In his translation of the Lotus Sutra, Watson calls these three periods, respectively, the Correct Law, the Counterfeit Law and the Latter Day of the Law.

[2] WND, p. 473.

[3]Five cardinal sins: the five most serious offences in Buddhism, usually held to be (1) killing one’s father; (2) killing one’s mother; (3) killing an arhat; (4) wounding a Buddha; and (5) causing disunity among believers.

[4] WND, p. 473.