Causes of a Decrease in People’s Lifespan

The King established guard and protection, but he did not give property to the needy, and as a result poverty became widespread.

Thus, from the not giving of property to the needy, poverty became widespread, from the growth of poverty, the taking of what was not given increased, from the increase of theft, the use of weapons increased, from the increased use of weapons, the taking of life increased - and from the increase in the taking of life, people’s lifespan decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result of this decrease of lifespan and beauty, the children of those whose lifespan had been eighty thousand years lived for only forty thousand years.

Thus, from the not giving of property to the needy, ... the taking of life increased, and from the taking of life, lying increased, from the increase in lying, people’s lifespan decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result, the children of those whose lifespan had been forty thousand years lived for only twenty thousand years.

Thus, from the not giving of property to the needy. … the speaking evil of others increased, and in consequence, people’s lifespan decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result, the children of those whose lifespan had been twenty thousand years lived only for ten thousand years.

Thus, from the not giving of property to the needy, ... sexual misconduct increased, and in consequence people’s lifespan decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result, the children of those whose lifespan had been ten thousand years lived for only five thousand years.

And among the generation whose lifespan was five thousand years, two things increased: harsh speech and idle chatter, in consequence of which people’s lifespan decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result, the children of those whose lifespan had been five thousand years lived, some for two-and-a-half thousand years, and some for only two thousand years.

And among the generation whose lifespan was two-and-a-half thousand years, craving and anger increased, and in consequence people’s lifespan decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result, the children of those whose lifespan had been two-and-half thousand years lived for only a thousand years.

Among the generation whose lifespan was a thousand years, false opinions increased ... and as a result, the children of those whose lifespan had been a thousand years lived for only five hundred years.

And among the generation whose lifespan was five hundred years, three things increased: incest, excessive greed and unwholesome practices increased ... and as a result, the children of those whose lifespan had been five hundred years lived, some for two hundred and fifty years, some for only two hundred years.

And among those whose lifespan was two hundred and fifty years, these things increased: lack of respect for mother and father, for Ascetics and Brāhmins, and for the head of the community.

Thus, from the not giving of property to the needy, ... lack of respect for mother and father, for Ascetics and Brāhmins, and for the head of the community increased, and in consequence people’s lifespan and beauty decreased, and the children of those whose lifespan had been two-and-a-half centuries lived for only a hundred years.

Monks, a time will come when the children of these people will have a life span of ten years. And with them, girls will be marriageable at five years old. And with them, these flavors will disappear: ghee, butter, sesame-oil, molasses and salt. Among them, kudru-sa-grain will be the chief food, just as rice and curry are today.

And with them, the ten courses of moral conduct will completely disappear, and the ten courses of evil will prevail exceedingly: for those of a ten-year lifespan there will be no word for ‘moral’ so how can there be anyone who acts in a moral way? Those people who have no respect for mother or father, for Ascetics and Brāhmins, for the head of the community, will be the ones who enjoy honor and prestige. Just as it is now the people who show respect for mother and father, for Ascetics and Brāhmins, for the head of the community, who are praised and honored, so it will be with those who do the opposite.

Among those of a ten-year lifespan no account will be taken of mother or aunt, of mother’s sister-in-law, of Teacher’s wife or of one’s father’s wives and so on - all will be promiscuous in the world like sheep, fowl and pigs, dogs and jackals. Among them fierce hostility will prevail one for another, fierce hatred fierce anger and thoughts of killing, mother against child and child against mother, father against child and child against father, brother against brother, brother against sister, just as the hunter feels hatred for the beast he stalks …

And for those of a ten-year lifespan, there will come to be a ‘sword-interval’ of seven days, during which they will mistake one another for wild beasts. Sharp swords will appear in their hands and, thinking: ‘There is a wild beast!’ they will take each other’s lives with those swords.

But there will be some beings who do not want to take part in this killing. They went into hiding for seven days. Then, at the end of the seven days, they will emerge from their hiding-places and rejoice together as one community, saying: "Wholesome beings, I see that you are alive!" ... so let us now do good! … And through having undertaken such wholesome things, they will increase in lifespan gradually from ten years back to eighty thousand years again. And in that time an Arahant Fully Enlightened Buddha named Maitreya will arise in the world.

(Reference: DN 26)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how a leader of a community can throw an entire population of people into significant and unfortunate circumstances.

Much like The Teaching in the previous Chapter, The Buddha shows the “cause and effect” or “action and result”, essentially, the results of the King’s decision to be selfish and how it effects the entire population.

That one decision has an effect impacting countless people. Through countless unwholesome decisions that are made, the population of people experience unwholesome results such as: poverty, theft, use of weapons, killing, lying, sexual misconduct, etc. all resulting in a decrease of lifespan for the entire population of people.

The description of what The Buddha is sharing explains how one decision of selfishness can lead to a cascade of decisions that result in significant and unfortunate results for an entire population of people.

He then explains that there will be a Fully Enlightened Buddha named Maitreya who will arise in the world. The goal and objective of a Buddha is to share these Teachings in a way that countless beings can learn and practice to attain Enlightenment benefiting the world and improving the condition of the world. Through countless individuals choosing to learn and practice these Teachings making wholesome decisions, this will gradually improve the condition of the world.

Just like individual unwholesome decisions from one individual can work to degrade a population, individual wholesome decisions from each individual, to improve our life practice, can improve the condition of one’s mind, their life, and the world. So, if one decision from a King can degrade a population of people, one decision can work to improve the condition of a population of people as well.

Your decision to improve your life practice will help improve your life, the life of those close to you, and all of humanity.

Why Did Gotama Buddha Share That He is a Buddha and Why Will Maitreya Buddha Not Share with The Public That He is a Buddha?

During the lifetime of Gotama Buddha, people did not know what is a Buddha. To help humanity understand what a Buddha is, Gotama Buddha needed to help us to understand this important Teaching by sharing that he is a Buddha.

So, during his lifetime, he shared that he is The Perfectly Enlightened One - a Buddha.

This helped us to understand what a Buddha is and is not, so this important Teaching was understood and available to be shared throughout humanity after his death.

What is a Buddha?

A “Buddha” is not a Stage of Enlightenment but instead, is a unique type of Enlightened being. A Buddha is an Arahant who has attained Enlightenment without any assistance of Teachers but only through their own efforts of using the world as their Teacher and perhaps Teachings of a previously awakened Buddha.

There are three primary criteria of what makes a Buddha a Buddha.

1.) A Buddha awakens to Enlightenment through their own independent journey without the assistance of any Teachers, independently discovering The Teachings that lead to Enlightenment.

A Buddha has fully eliminated The Ten Fetters to attain Enlightenment as an Arahant but they have done so through their own independent journey without the assistance of any Teachers, developing deep wisdom of what is needed to attain Enlightenment.

2.) A Buddha guides countless others to Enlightenment during their lifetime through sharing their independently discovered Teachings that led to their own Enlightenment during their independent journey.

A Buddha has the ability to guide countless beings to the attainment of Enlightenment during their lifetime and after their death. A Buddha will dedicate the remaining time of their life towards sharing their Teachings and guiding countless beings to Enlightenment.

3.) Upon a Buddha’s death, they will leave their Teachings in a condition that can be continually shared assisting countless more beings to Enlightenment after their death.

A Buddha’s Teachings and Students will continue to guide countless people to Enlightenment after a Buddha’s death. A Buddha has already done the hard work of figuring out how to attain Enlightenment. You just need to learn and practice his Teachings to improve the condition of the mind and your life.

A Buddha is referred to as a Fully Perfectly Enlightened Buddha, a Perfectly Enlightened One, or a Tathāgata. They are a human being, a Teacher, one with deep compassion for all beings and the world. A Buddha has deep wisdom to help the world and can accomplish that goal through individuals choosing to learn and practice their Teachings to attain Enlightenment.

They are considered Perfectly Enlightened because there are no outside influences that have led to their awakening, so they have “Perfect Enlightenment” where their mind is unaffected by any teachings outside of their own independently discovered Teachings that led to their awakening.

A Buddha will have an excellent memory being able to recall countless past events and situations with stunning accuracy. Unlike other humans, their memory does not fade and is not overwritten.

Why Will Maitreya Buddha Not Share with The Public That He is a Buddha?

Gotama Buddha predicted that a new Buddha would arise 2,500 years after his death and referred to him as “Maitreya Buddha”. Gotama Buddha died in 483 BCE which dates the awakening of Maitreya Buddha to the year 2017.

“Maitreya” refers to “loving-kindness” as it is predicted that this new Buddha will have a significant amount of loving-kindness for the world and choose to share The Path to Enlightenment with all of humanity, restoring The Teachings of Gotama Buddha for all of humanity to gradually become Enlightened.

Since Gotama Buddha shared The Teachings of what a Buddha is and is not, and in current times declaring one’s self as a Buddha would be viewed as arrogance, prideful, boasting, and based in ego, Maitreya Buddha will not share that he is a Buddha but instead, humbly share his Teachings without a need for others to know he is a Buddha - his Students may gradually discover this truth on their own as they progress towards awakening to Enlightenment.

During the lifetime of Gotama Buddha, there was no such thing as “worldwide fame”. Instead, Gotama Buddha was initially isolated to a small portion of the world. He taught in, what we refer to today as, Northeast India. Sharing and teaching that he was a Buddha, did not produce the perception that he was attempting to elevate himself to “worldwide fame” because worldwide fame did not exist during his lifetime.

Humanity spoke many different languages 2,500 years ago and there was only minimal interaction between various populations and societies. So sharing and teaching that he was a Buddha was to acknowledge what a Buddha is and is not, while helping humanity understand this important Teaching along with all the other Teachings that lead to Enlightenment.

Today, if someone declared they were a Buddha, this would be scrutinized and considered as, someone attempting to attain “worldwide fame” and people would consider this to be based in arrogance, pride, boastfulness, and ego. Therefore, an individual who publicly declares themselves as a Buddha could not actually be a Buddha because they could not be Enlightened if there was arrogance, pride, boastfulness, and ego.

Maitreya Buddha would know that if he announced his awakening to Enlightenment, that no one would believe this and therefore, it would hinder his ability to share The Teachings that lead to Enlightenment.

A Buddha’s Teachings are not based in belief. They are not interested in anyone believing anything at all, including, believing that they are a Buddha.

A Buddha does not need anyone to know they are a Buddha to be able to effectively share their Teachings into the world. A Buddha would be wise enough to awaken to Enlightenment on their own without any Teachers or guidance which is an enormous feat that requires a significant amount of wisdom. The last Buddha currently known to the world existed over 2,500 years ago.

Maitreya Buddha would not only have the wisdom to awaken to Enlightenment on his own without any Teachers or guidance but, he would also have the wisdom of how to share his Teachings with all those who have a sincere interest to learn his Teachings without the need for others to know he is a Buddha. Not only would Maitreya Buddha have the wisdom to awaken to Enlightenment on his own but, he would be able to create a wholesome environment that is conducive for Students to learn, reflect, and practice The Teachings that lead to Enlightenment with his guidance and without anyone needing to know he is a Buddha.

In fact, others knowing he is a Buddha would actually hinder his ability to share his Teachings and to guide countless Students to Enlightenment.

One of the most significant “powers” that a Buddha has is that no one knows he is a Buddha.

A Buddha has the ability to observe the quality of mind of his Students based on observation and interaction with them. He can observe the wholesome and unwholesome qualities of mind and then offer Teachings to help them cultivate wholesome qualities of mind and eliminate the unwholesome qualities of mind. A Buddha is more effective when no one knows that he is a Buddha so that he can more readily observe the normal state of an individual’s mind and then share Teachings to help his Students who are seeking guidance.

In this way, if people knew Maitreya Buddha existed in the world, they would potentially be on their best behavior anytime they are around him and thus, render useless his ability to observe the normal state of his Student’s mind.

He would be unable to observe the wholesome and unwholesome qualities of his Student’s mind, therefore, he would lack the insight to readily offer Teachings that would help guide his Students to Enlightenment.

A Buddha’s only goal is to guide as many Students to Enlightenment as possible during their lifetime and leave The Teachings in a condition that countless more people can get to Enlightenment after their death.

If a population of people were convinced that Maitreya Buddha is a Buddha, not only would people need to believe him, not only would people consider that he has arrogance, pride, boastfulness, and ego, thus, not be a Buddha…but also, his power and ability to diagnose the mind of his Student’s would be rendered useless and hinder his goal to guide countless Students to Enlightenment because he would lack the insight of the wholesome and unwholesome qualities of mind of his Students and be unable to share Teachings with them based on those important observations.

There was not a worldwide announcement of Gotama Buddha’s awakening nor was there a worldwide announcement of the arrival of other important Teachers, such as, Jesus Christ. Therefore, Maitreya Buddha would not need a worldwide announcement to be an effective Teacher but instead, would have the wisdom to accomplish his goals of restoring The Teachings of Gotama Buddha that guide all of humanity to Enlightenment on The Path to Enlightenment without anyone knowing he is a Buddha.

Having countless Enlightened beings in the world would create the ability for all of humanity to create “heaven on earth”.

People not knowing that Maitreya Buddha has awakened to Enlightenment would be beneficial to Maitreya Buddha, his Students, and all of humanity in multiple ways.

1.) People would not need to believe he is a Buddha, they could discover the truth on their own as they learn, reflect, and practice his Teachings to awaken to Enlightenment.

2.) Humanity would not regard him as having arrogance, pride, boastfulness, or ego because he would humbly go about his work guiding countless people to Enlightenment while restoring The Teachings of Gotama Buddha back into the world.

3.) He would retain his ability to observe the wholesome and unwholesome qualities of mind of his Students, thus, aiding him in more readily guiding countless people to Enlightenment.

No one should expect that Maitreya Buddha will make a worldwide announcement of his awakening. Instead, he will humbly, peacefully, and respectfully share his Teachings into the world with all those who have a sincere interest in learning, reflecting, and practicing The Path to Enlightenment to attain Enlightenment.

If you learn, reflect, and practice The Teachings of Maitreya Buddha that are restoring The Teachings of Gotama Buddha, then you will see the clarity, conciseness, and preciseness that Maitreya Buddha can share Gotama Buddha’s Teachings with all those who choose to progress towards Enlightenment. And, you will be able to make significant progress towards Enlightenment through his in-depth Teachings based on his deep wisdom.

Maitreya Buddha’s only goal is to restore The Teachings of Gotama Buddha by guiding countless people to Enlightenment during his lifetime and after his death. He would have no interest in fame or fortune as he would know those are not what leads to lasting and fulfilling peacefulness and joy that is permanent - the Enlightened mind.

If you live during the lifetime of Maitreya Buddha, this is the very best time to learn, reflect, and practice The Teachings to attain Enlightenment. There is no other time in history that is better than learning directly with a Buddha to attain Enlightenment.

May you all experience the peace and joy of the Enlightened mind.

Be well and have a wonderful life…..perhaps your last life.