“In the following year, after her conversation with the Buddha about the switching of
the lotus flowers in a past life, all the chief disciples and the Buddha had the
opportunity to visit his birthplace in Kapilavatthu. The Buddha stayed at the
Nigrodharama Monastery, which was about 4 kilometers southeast of Kapilavatthu. At
that time, the Nigrodharama Monastery, which had originally been a Brahmin temple,
had been converted into a Buddhist religious site. All the idols had been destroyed. One
afternoon, after the meal offering to the Buddha and all the chief disciples was
completed, Pajapati Gotami, the Buddha’s stepmother and the biological mother of
Nanda, brought two pieces of cloth that she had painstakingly instructed her servants
to weave from the finest silk threads. The cloth was light, soft, and lustrous. One piece
was for an inner garment, and the other was for draping over the entire body. She
intended to offer these two pieces of cloth to the Buddha because she saw that the
original cloth he was using was just ordinary cotton, dyed with turmeric that looked
faded, and in some places, it had been patched and repaired. She believed that if she
offered these two pieces of cloth to the Buddha, it would make him look more majestic,
befitting his status as a Buddha, and would be an expression of the reverence and faith
she had for him, just as it had been the customary practice with teachers in the
Brahmin religion.”

“When she presented the two pieces of cloth to the Buddha, he immediately knew that
it was inappropriate to accept them. The main reason was that he did not want his
appearance to seem superior to anyone else, especially his chief disciples. Therefore,
he declined to accept the offering from her and asked her to give them to his chief
disciples instead. Initially, she felt disappointed, but because it was the Buddha’s wish,
she could not refuse. She then turned to Sariputta, who was one of the foremost chief
disciples, to offer the cloth. However, Sariputta thought the same as the Buddha, that
wearing these two pieces of cloth would make him appear superior to others, so he
also declined to accept the offering. She then turned to Ananda, Mahakassapa, and so
on, to almost everyone, but no one accepted the two pieces of cloth. Only one person
remained: her, who had just arrived, was unknown to everyone, and had not yet
displayed any outstanding special abilities.”

“Although she was not very willing to offer these two pieces of cloth to her, and she
herself was surprised that no one had accepted them—as she was the last person left
to receive them since there was no one else—she turned to look at the Buddha for his
confirmation to accept the cloth. The Buddha nodded for her to receive it. Thus, the
two pieces of cloth inevitably became hers.”

“As soon as she received the offering, Pajapati was filled with sorrow to the point of
tears. She had painstakingly intended to offer this fine, expensive cloth to the Buddha,
but the situation had turned out that she had to offer it to a new monk at the very end.
She felt that the amount of merit she would receive this time was only a tiny fraction.”

“Seeing this, the Buddha said, ‘Behold, revered mother… if this sorrow that has arisen in
you is due to the unfulfilled wish for great merit, I will explain. May great joy arise in you from now on, for the cloth that you have brought to offer has fallen into the hands
of the ‘Conqueror of Senses’ who will be born as a Buddha in the future.’ When Pajapati
heard this, her sorrow subsided and immediately turned into joy,” Lord Phoche
explained.

“So, the Buddha announced Achita’s future Buddhahood from that time on, right?” I
asked.

“Yes… now, let’s go back to the events of your great assembly,” Lord Phoche said.

“Alright,” I replied.

“Behold, all of you…” the Buddha began amidst the silence, “Before I have Achita
recount the stories of the future for you all to hear, I have something to clarify. In the
distant future, before this great world system turns towards the light, which is the
factor that will cause our world system to enter the ‘Golden Age’ and become a ‘Pure
Land,’ the people of that time will call themselves ‘Civilized Beings.’ The whole world
will have progress in Dharma, will flourish in wisdom, the cities will be peaceful, and
the people in society will be filled with compassion and goodwill towards each other.
The standard of living will be equal; there will only be wealthy people, having so much
of everything that there will be more than enough to use. The people will have ample
time; they will be interested in their own minds, have time to care for their bodies and
beautify their skin with fragrances, have time to meticulously craft jewelry and
beautiful clothing woven from fine fabrics with intricate beauty, all looking very
similar, making it almost impossible to distinguish who is who until they enter their
homes and recognize their spouses. The roads will be orderly and safe; there will be no
fear of danger when going anywhere. Leaving home, there will be no need to lock
doors. Precious belongings, jewels, gold, and silver can be left out without anyone
stealing them.”

“Behold, all of you… before that time arrives, this world system must first enter an era
of maximum decline, like a wheel plummeting from a high place to its lowest point
before easily soaring up the other side. When that age of darkness arrives, the world
system will be dim, the minds of humans will be degraded and immoral, people will
only exploit, harbor malice and hatred, and be filled with disgust and aversion. The
cities will be chaotic, robbers will rule the land, the standard of living will be dire,
beggars, homeless people, and the starving will appear everywhere. The rulers will be
without virtue, governing with corruption and fraud. The wealthy and powerful will
collude to exploit others shamelessly. Famine and hardship will lead to competition,
robbery, and murder for survival. The common people will struggle to escape death
without any peace. People will have to work day and night, without even time to cook
when hungry. The people will lack even the basic necessities that everyone should
have. Their bodies will deteriorate; everywhere you look, there will be people suffering
and sick. Their faces and skin will be rough, indicating toil. Illnesses will plague them,
even those with much money and gold. Houses and mansions will be unsafe, lived in
with anxiety. People will be suspicious even of their own family members. Fathers will
kill sons, sons will kill mothers, brothers will kill sisters. Everyone will be panicked, fearing for their own safety and possessions. No matter how securely they hide them,
someone will steal them.”

“Behold, all of you… when the decline of that era appears, humans will have inventions
that allow them to reap benefits more easily and abundantly. These inventions will all
promote decline rapidly and widely, unlike anything that has ever happened before in
history.”

“From this point forward, I will entrust Achita with the duty of recounting the events of
the future world during that time for all of you to know,” the Buddha explained, turning
to address the task Achita had initially declined.

“Uh… uh…” Achita hesitated, unsure where to draw the stories the Buddha was
speaking of.

“Ask yourself about the nature of the future world, without worrying about your own
status, without concerning yourself with the past or the future. Just know that at this
moment, you possess a soul waiting to tell you the answer,” the Buddha advised Achita.

“Ask about the future world, Lord?” Achita then tried to focus his mind in meditation
and asked the question as the Buddha had instructed.