In the Surangama Sutra, Gautama Buddha told his disciple Sariputta of the signs that precede the end of the age:

"After my decease, first will occur the five disappearances. And what are the five disappearances? The disappearance of attainments [to Nirvana], the disappearance of the method [of doing so], the disappearance of [spiritual] learning, the disappearance of the symbols [of Buddhism], the disappearance of the relics...
 

"Then when the Dispensation of the perfect Buddha is 5,000 years old, the relics, not receiving reverence and honor will go to places where they can receive them... This, Sariputta, is called the disappearance of relics."