Buddhist eschatology

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Buddhist eschatology, like many facets of modern Buddhist practice and belief, came into existence during its development in China, and, through the blending of Buddhist cosmological understanding and Daoist eschatological views, created a complex canon of apocalyptic beliefs. These beliefs, although not entirely part of orthodox Buddhism, form an important collection of Chinese Buddhist traditions which bridge the gap between the monastic order and local beliefs of Imperial China.

Although the main source of writings describing eschatological beliefs in Chinese Buddhism are so called “apocryphal” texts, these are an invaluable source of information in the study of Buddhism as it was actually practiced, as the available monastic sources depicting Buddhism are merely the tip of an iceberg, of which the body is still mostly submerged and hidden from view (Zürcher (Perspectives) 169). These eschatological Buddhist groups began to appear in China from 402 CE on (Overmyer 46), and escalated in number and intricacy from the Sui until the Song dynasty. Therein is where many lay and cleric groups (of laymen and clergy) such as the White Lotus Society and Amida Buddhist clergy appeared and took to propagating eschatological scriptures.

There are two major points of Buddhist eschatology: the appearance of Maitreya and the Sermon of the Seven Suns.