According to the Great Collection Sutra, the time after The Founding Master Shakyamuni Buddha entered the Eight Masses of Nirvana, 2539 years up to the present, was divided into five periods.

• The first period was the first 500 years and belonged to liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving. In this period, true Buddhist disciples willingly practiced Dharma in conformity with the supreme principle. They willingly corrected their nature, aiming at Self-nature, Awareness of Nature and bright mind; gave up bad habits; followed Buddha's teachings; and meditated, opening Buddhist intelligence and attaining liberation through knowing, seeing, and solving.

• The second period was the second 500 years and belonged to the meditation period. In this period, most true disciples practiced with diligence, obtained tranquil Buddhist intelligence, and cultivated meditation in conformity with Buddha's teachings, attaining the enlightenment of the limited low level (Hinayana) or the unlimited high level (Mahayana) in accordance with their effortful and virtuous merits.

• The third period was the third 500 years and belonged to the learned period. In this period, true disciples followed the twelve sets of the Buddha’s sutras strictly to practice Dharma, studying and discussing Secret, Visible, Sudden, and Gradual Teachings.[54] The way of Self-Nature, Awareness of Nature came to be more and more neglected.

• The fourth period was the fourth 500 years and belonged to the pagoda period. In this period most faithful Tao practitioners completely neglected the way of Self-Nature, Awareness of Nature and practiced without seeking liberation through solving, being fond of measurable virtuous deeds. By training in that way, they earned the blessed reward of Divine Human status after their death.

• The fifth period was the fifth 500 years. In this period, Tao practitioners completely lost the way of Self-Nature and usually competed against each other; hated, loved, envied, mistrusted, and badly devastated one another. They adhered especially to education and advanced degrees, studied many Buddhist sutras and presumed themselves to be right, and devastated, competed with, killed, and harmed each other to usurp fame and profit.