“And why did the spiritual life established by the former three Buddhas not last long?” “They made no effort to give detailed teachings to their disciples. They gave few discourses in prose or in mixed prose and verse; few expositions, verses, heartfelt exclamations, quotations, birth stories, amazing accounts, and analyses. Nor did they lay down training rules or recite a monastic code. After the disappearance of those Buddhas and the disciples awakened under them, those who were the last disciples—of various names, families, and castes, who had gone forth from various households—allowed that spiritual life to disappear rapidly. It’s like flowers on a wooden plank. If they’re not held together with a string, they’re scattered about, whirled about, and destroyed by the wind. Why? Because they’re not held together with a string. Just so, after the disappearance of those Buddhas and the disciples awakened under them, those who were the last disciples allowed that spiritual life to disappear rapidly.