Overview
Directly connected to the mechanics of decline, the Mahāvihāra commentarial system tracks the lifespan of the current Sasana by dividing its historical trajectory into three broad epochs (yuga). This framework guides practitioners to realize which spiritual attainments are contextually accessible to them based on the current age of the world.
The List
- Vimutti-yuga - The Age of Liberation: The initial pristine epoch (historically spanning the first millennium after Parinibbāna) characterized by an abundance of holy disciples who achieve full Arahatship and the analytical knowledges through direct insight.
- Samādhi-yuga - The Age of Concentration: Also called Paṭipatti-yuga. The intermediate era where practitioners, though still highly disciplined and capable of attaining deep meditative absorptions (jhānas), find the flash of supramundane liberation exceptionally rare and difficult to trigger.
- Sīla-yuga - The Age of Outer Virtue: Also called Pariyatti-yuga. The final broad era (the current epoch) where the deep meditative absorptions have largely decayed. The collective effort of the community shifts to preserving the text of the Tipiṭaka intellectually and maintaining basic moral discipline (sīla) before total disappearance.
Textual References
- Commentary: Samantapāsādikā (Introduction to the Vinaya) – Buddhaghosa explains that despite the macro-decline, as long as the legal procedures of the Vinaya are kept pure, the outer shell of the Sasana remains intact.