“Why then did the spiritual life established by the latter three Buddhas last long?” “The Buddhas Kakusandha, Konāgamana, and Kassapa were untiring in giving detailed teachings to their disciples. They gave many discourses in prose and in mixed prose and verse; many expositions, verses, heartfelt exclamations, quotations, birth stories, amazing accounts, and analyses. And they laid down training rules and recited 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—made that spiritual life last for a long time. It’s like flowers on a wooden plank. If they’re held together with a string, they’re not scattered about, whirled about, or destroyed by the wind. Why? Because they are 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 made that spiritual life last for a long time. This is why the spiritual life established by those Buddhas lasted long.”