My pessimistic mode of function
continues into this month. There are so
many happenings that I don’t like them, that I don’t think they should happen,
proceed or be handled in these ways. However,
I can do nothing about them. At least, I
perceive in this pessimistic mode of function that I can do nothing about them.
There are natural calamities with
earthquake and radiation hazards. The
situation in HK public hospitals is chaotic. The government response to this chaotic situation
is itself chaotic, with the intention of making the situation more chaotic. The Statutory Minimum Wage became effective
since May 1. This first step to “big-pan-rice”
situation is tightly followed by the eager declaration to fight for maximum
working hours and the universal retirement protection scheme. Seemingly lesson is not learnt from the
Mandatory Provident Fund that proved to drain incomes from workers and
employers towards fund management companies. The construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau-Bridge
was (again) called to a halt from challenge of the Environmental Impact
Assessment report in court. The killing
of an alleged criminal without trial was applauded by many. Those formally declare that they are
organizing revolutions and activities to overthrow an existing government which
accounts for the prosperity of the country are given unconditioned credits.
All these make me think of the
Mappo Theory. The Mappo Theory
literally spells out a period of the ending of true teaching. It is the third, which is also the last,
period of the cosmic cycle when there is degeneration of true teachings of the
Buddha. The three stages
are: the “true dharma”, the “semblance dharma”, and the “end
of dharma”. According to the theory of cosmic cycles, the
three stages are differentiated by three qualities: the dharma (teaching), its
practice, and its realization leading to enlightenment. In the first stage of the true dharma, all three qualities are
present. The dharma is valued and people
practice it and get enlightened. In
the second stage of the semblance dharma, owing to worldly corruption, Buddhists go through the motions of practice
but do not
benefit from them. In the final stage of Mappo, though some Buddhists
might claim to be practicing Buddhism,
they do not even go
through the motions correctly. During that period,
there are more frequent natural disasters. There is corruption and deterioration of moral
value and discipline among the Buddhist Sangha. There is a general lack of understanding and
lack of practice of true dharma.
Mappo was referred to as Mo-fa in
China. It was a
central motif of the major doctrinal schools of the Sui and Tang, and reappeared in
sectarian religious literature from the Ming to the present. Perhaps more than any other theme, the
"decline of the Dharma" had fired the imagination of prophets and
visionaries throughout the history of Chinese Buddhism.
The Mappo
Theory has been ascribed to account for the changes in Buddhism in Japan around
the period of the twelve and thirteenth centuries. In a sense, the Mappo Theory served as a
selection ground for the modification of Japanese Buddhism at that period. There were different interpretations and
reactions. Only those suited the
spiritual needs of the people flourished. Among the changes, three were more prominent. First, there was more emphasis on the reliance
on “other power”. Second, Buddhist
teachings spread to the peasants. Third,
there was a rise of important forms of Japanese Buddhism which remained popular
until nowadays. The prominent and
important ones are the schools of Pure Land, Nichiren-she and Zen.
Of course I
do not take this Mappo Theory too seriously. Instead I would like to point out that there
is an interesting paradox here. If the
Mappo Theory holds true, the teachings and schools that become popular at the
Mappo Period are unlikely to be true dharma. This is because there is degeneration of
morality of the Sangha and the laity. The
socioeconomic situations and the dissatisfactions towards the Buddhist Sangha
provide a ground for natural selection on various teachings preached and
promoted. What have been selected by the
majority and gained popularity will thus unlikely to be the true dharma.
Are we now
in the Mappo period? Has true teaching
been abandoned and replaced by counterfeit doctrines? Are those selected by the majority by
definition not true teachings? Shall I
chant more and wait for a new Buddha to save us?
(Source: HKMA News May 2011)
