This article analyzes the spread of the Indian prophecy of the ‘disappearance of the dharma (Ch. famie 法滅) in Kauśāmbī’ in Khotanese, Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism. I first emphasize that the eleven multi-lingual versions of this prophecy which we have at our disposal, should not be used as historical records, for it is difficult to historically identify the events and figures in the texts. Second, the Indian Buddhist Kauśāmbī prophecy was no longer in currency in Chinese Buddhism after the fifth or sixth century and was instead replaced by the Chinese Buddhist doctrine of mofa 末法 (‘the final dharma’). Third, unlike in China, this Indian Buddhist prophecy exerted enduring and profound influences in Khotan which, at the time, was the centre of Mahāyāna Buddhism in the Western Regions. Khotanese Buddhism would then modify the Indian prophecy to form its unique narrative (that I call the ‘Khotan-Tibet-Gandhara-Kauśāmbī narrative’) which is distinct from either the Indian or Chinese prophecy. This narrative would then pass down wholesale to Tibetan Buddhism. Lastly, in this new narrative adopted by Khotanese and Tibetan Buddhism, we could still observe references to China, suggesting that the Chinese culture may have had positive influences on the Western Regions and Tibet at the time.
