阿毘達磨俱舍論

Part 11

The preceding part has completed the explanation of the world of sentient beings; this part will explain the container world (bhājanaloka).

[Formation of the container world:

The wind-wheel lies at the very bottom,

Its breadth is immeasurable,

Its height is one million six hundred thousand.

Above it is the water-wheel.

Its height is one million one hundred twenty thousand;

The lower body of water is eight hundred thousand deep,

And the remainder congeals into gold.

The water-wheel and the gold-wheel

Have a diameter of one million

Two hundred three thousand four hundred fifty;

Their circumference is three times that.]

Treatise: It is said that the great trichiliocosm is formed in this manner, with constituent worlds differing in shape and size. First, through the dominant force of the karma of sentient beings, the wind-wheel arises at the lowest level, resting upon space. The wind-wheel is sixteen hundred thousand lakṣas—that is, one million six hundred thousand yojanas—thick; its breadth is immeasurable.

Its substance is solid. Even if a great Mahānagna were to hurl a vajra against it, the vajra would shatter while the wind-wheel would remain entirely unharmed. Likewise, through the dominant force of the karma of sentient beings, masses of snow and a rain whose drops are as large as carriage axles fall upon the surface of the wind-wheel.

This quantity of water forms a water-wheel one million one hundred twenty thousand yojanas deep.

(Question) Why does this water not overflow?

(Answer) Some masters of the treatises say that the water is retained by the karmic force of sentient beings, just as food and drink do not pass directly into the intestines (pakvāśaya) before being digested. Other masters maintain that the water is retained by the wind, just as grain is retained in a basket (kusūlanyāyena, koṣṭhanyāyena).

Afterward, acted upon by a kind of wind stirred up by karma, the upper portion of the water crystallizes into gold, just as milk thickens into cream when heated. Consequently, the water-wheel remains only eight hundred thousand yojanas high. The golden ground (kāñcabamayī bhūmi) above it is three hundred twenty thousand yojanas thick.

The water-wheel and the gold-wheel are equal in breadth, having a diameter of one million two hundred three thousand four hundred fifty yojanas; their circumference is three times this figure, namely three million six hundred ten thousand three hundred fifty yojanas.

[Within it are the mountains Meru,

Yugandhara,

Īṣādhara,

Khadiraka,

Sudarśaṇa,

Aśvakarṇa,

Vinataka,

And Nimindhara;

Beyond the great continents

Is Mount Cakravāda.

Mount Meru has four faces made of precious substances.

The portion of the mountain beneath the water is eighty thousand,

And the portion of Mount Meru above the water is the same.

The other eight ranges successively diminish by half;

Their breadth is equal to their height.]

Treatise: Upon the gold-wheel are nine great mountains. At the center is Mount Meru (Sumeru, “Wonderfully High”), surrounded by seven other mountains concentric with it. The Nimindhara range forms a wheel-like ring enclosing Mount Meru and the six mountains within it, and it is therefore so named.

Beyond the Nimindhara range lie the great continents. Encircling all these mountain ranges and great continents is the Cakravāda range (Iron Encircling Mountains); it is so named because it surrounds the great continents and gives the world the shape of a wheel. The Yugandhara range (“Bearing the Yoke”) and the six ranges surrounding it are all made of gold; the Cakravāda range is made of iron.

The northern face of Mount Meru is made of gold, the eastern face of silver, the southern face of beryl, and the western face of crystal. Therefore, each region of space facing these sides has its own color according to the particular substance composing each of the four faces of the mountain. The front face of Mount Meru is oriented toward Jambudvīpa and is composed of beryl; hence, when we look up at the sky, we see the color of beryl.

(Question) What accounts for the different substances composing Mount Meru?

(Answer) The water that falls upon the gold-wheel possesses various potencies; under the influence of winds having various powers, this water is transformed and converted into precious substances. Because of such transformation, water is the cause and the precious substances are the result of that cause; this is not an action occurring simultaneously and is entirely different from the doctrine of transformation (pariṇāma) maintained by the Sāṃkhyas.

(Question) What is the Sāṃkhya doctrine of transformation?

(Answer) The Sāṃkhyas maintain that within an eternally existing substratum (dharmin, dravya), dharmas arise and disappear. Why is such a doctrine unreasonable? Because one cannot maintain, on the one hand, an enduring substratum and, on the other, dharmas that arise and cease. Nevertheless, the Sāṃkhyas do not hold that there is a substratum apart from the dharmas. They say that when a dharma transforms, it becomes the support of various qualities and is therefore called a substratum; in other words, this transformation (pariṇāma) is merely a modification of the substance (dravya). But this cannot be accepted, because their terminology is contradictory: they admit that that—the cause—is this—the result—yet say that this is not the same as that.

The gold, silver, precious substances, and earth thus formed are gathered together by winds produced through karmic force, and they form the mountains and the great continents.

Thus, the lower portions of all the mountains upon the gold-wheel are submerged eighty thousand yojanas beneath the water. The portion of Mount Meru rising above the water is also that high; thus, Mount Meru has a total height of one hundred sixty thousand yojanas. The portion of Mount Yugandhara rising above the water is forty thousand yojanas; that of Mount Īṣādhara is twenty thousand, and so on until Mount Cakravāda, which is three hundred twelve and one-half yojanas high. Their breadth is equal to the height to which they rise above the surface of the water. [The word ghana in the verse means “broad.”]

[Between the mountain ranges are eight seas.

The first seven are called the “inner” seas.

The first sea is eighty thousand wide,

And at its outer boundary it is three times as wide;

The remaining six successively diminish by half.

The eighth sea is called the “outer” sea,

And is three hundred twenty-two thousand

Yojanas wide.]

Treatise: Between the mountain ranges, from Meru to Nimindhara, are seven seas filled with water possessing eight qualities: it is sweet, cool, pleasant-tasting, light, clear, odorless, does not cause thirst, and does not cause stomachache.

The first sea, lying between Mount Meru and Yugandhara, is eighty thousand yojanas wide; at its outer boundary, where it adjoins Mount Yugandhara, it is three times as wide, namely two hundred forty thousand yojanas.

The breadth of each remaining sea decreases by half. The second sea, lying between Mount Yugandhara and Īṣādhara, is forty thousand yojanas wide, and so on until the seventh sea, lying between Mount Vinataka and Nimindhara, which is one thousand two hundred fifty yojanas wide. The outer boundaries are not calculated here because doing so would be too cumbersome. These seven seas are the inner seas. The remaining sea, lying between Mount Nimindhara and Cakravāda, is called the great outer sea. It consists entirely of salt water and is three hundred twenty-two thousand yojanas wide.

[Within it are the great continents:

Jambudvīpa is shaped like a carriage,

Three sides are two thousand wide,

The southern side is three and a half.

Pūrvavideha

Is shaped like a half-moon,

Three sides are as wide as those of Jambudvīpa,

The eastern side is three hundred and fifty wide;

Godānīya is circular,

Its diameter is two thousand five hundred,

Its circumference is three times that;

Uttarakuru is square,

Each side is two thousand yojanas wide.

There are also eight intermediate continents;

Two lie adjacent to each of the four continents above.]

Treatise: Situated in the outer ocean, facing the four sides of Mount Meru, are the four great continents (dvīpas): (1) Jambudvīpa (the Southern Continent of Jambu) has three sides each two thousand yojanas wide and one side three and a half yojanas wide; it is therefore shaped like a carriage. At its center is the Diamond Seat, resting upon the golden wheel. This is the place where a bodhisattva enters the Diamond-Like Samādhi and becomes an arhat and a Buddha, because no other place and no other person has sufficient power to sustain this samādhi of the bodhisattva.

(2) Pūrvavideha (the Eastern Continent of Superior Bodies) is shaped like a half-moon. Three of its sides are two thousand yojanas wide, like the corresponding dimensions of Jambudvīpa; the remaining side is three hundred and fifty yojanas wide.

(3) Godānīya (the Western Continent of Cattle-Trade), facing the eastern side of Mount Meru, is round like the moon. Its circumference measures seven thousand five hundred yojanas, and its diameter is two thousand five hundred yojanas long.

(4) Uttarakuru (the Northern Continent of Kuru), facing the northern side of Mount Meru, is square like a seat. Each side is two thousand yojanas wide, forming a circumference of eight thousand yojanas. The word “equal” indicates that all four sides of this continent are the same.

The faces of the beings dwelling on these great continents resemble the shapes of their respective continents.

In addition, there are eight continents of intermediate size (intermediate continents). These continents bear the names of the beings who dwell there. The two continents Cāmaras (Già-mặt-la) and Avaracāmaras (Phiệt-la-già-mặt-la) lie beside Jambudvīpa; Dehas (Đề-ha) and Videhas (Tỳ-đề-ha) lie beside Pūrvavideha; Śāṭahas (Xá-suy) and Uttarakuru (Ôt-đát-la-mạn-đốt-lý-nổ) lie beside Godānīya; Kurus (Cự-lạp-bà) and Kauravas (Kiêu-thập-bà) lie beside Uttarakuru.

All these continents are inhabited by human beings. However, one theory holds that one of these continents—namely, Cāmara—is the abode of the Rākṣasas.

[North of the nine Black Mountains

Is Mount Gandhamādana, where there is

Lake Anavatapta, measuring

Fifty yojanas across.]

Treatise: In Jambudvīpa, proceeding northward, one encounters three Ant Mountains—[so called because they are shaped like ants]—also known as the Black Mountains; next come three more Ant Mountains; then another three Ant Mountains; and finally the great Snow Mountain (Himavat).

Farther north is Mount Gandhamādana, where Lake Anavatapta is situated. From it issue four great rivers: the Gaṅgā River (Khắc-già), the Sindhu River (Tín-độ), the Sītā River (Đồ-đa), and the Vakṣu River (Phược-sô).

This lake is fifty yojanas in both width and depth and is filled with water possessing the eight qualities, as described above. Only those who possess supernormal powers can reach this place. Beside the lake stands the Jambu tree (Thiệm bộ lâm thọ). Our great continent is called Jambudvīpa after either this tree or its fruit.

(Question) Where are the hells situated, and what are their dimensions?

The stanza answers:

[Twenty thousand yojanas beneath this continent

Lies the Avīci Hell, equal in depth and width;

Above it are seven other hells.

Each of these eight hells has sixteen “adjuncts”:

Hot ashes, putrid mire,

Sharp blades, and a boiling river,

On all four sides.

The remaining hells are the eight extremely cold hells.]

Treatise: Twenty thousand yojanas beneath Jambudvīpa lies the great Avīci Hell (A-tỳ-chỉ-đại-nại-lạc-ca, Avīci). This hell is twenty thousand yojanas in both height and width; thus, its bottom is forty thousand yojanas beneath the surface of Jambudvīpa.

(Question) Why is this hell called Avīci, “without interval”?

(Answer) There are two explanations: (1) In this hell there is no interruption (vīci) of suffering, whereas in the other hells suffering may be interrupted. In the Saṃjīva Hell, for example, although the bodies of beings are crushed to dust, they revive when a cold wind blows upon them; hence its name, “Revival.” (2) In this hell there is never any pleasurable sensation to interrupt suffering. Although the other hells have no pleasurable sensations born of karmic maturation, it is held that they still have pleasurable sensations that are uniform outflows.

Above the Avīci Hell are seven other hells, stacked one upon another. Counting upward from below, they are the hells of Pratāpana (Extreme Heat), Tapana (Burning Heat), Mahāraurava (Great Wailing), Raurava (Wailing), Saṃghāta (Crushing), Kālasūtra (Black Rope), and Saṃjīva (Revival). One theory holds that these seven hells are situated on the same level as the Avīci Hell.

Each of the eight hells has sixteen kinds of “adjuncts” (utsadas). This is based on a teaching of the Blessed One: “The eight kinds of hell that I have described are exceedingly difficult to escape from and are filled with beings who have committed evil deeds. Each has sixteen ‘adjuncts.’ They have four walls and four gateways; their width is equal to their length; they are surrounded by iron walls; their floors are also made of iron; their ground is blazing iron; and they are engulfed in flames whose tongues extend for hundreds of yojanas.” (Dīgha, 19, 19; Ekottara, 36, 4; Saṃyukta, 47, 4).

(Question) What are the sixteen kinds of “adjuncts”?

(Answer) At each gateway of these hells there are:

(1) A furnace of hot ashes (đường ổi, kukūla), knee-deep. When beings set foot in it, their skin, flesh, and blood are completely burned away; only when they emerge are these restored to their former condition.

(2) A heap of putrid mire (thỉ phẩn, kuṇapa), in which dwell aquatic worms called “Sharp-Snouts.” Their bodies are white and their heads black. When beings fall into the mire, these worms pierce them to the bone.

(3) A broad road filled with sharp blades (đao nhẫn lộ, kṣuramārga, kṣuradhrārāmārga). When beings enter it, they bleed, and their skin and flesh are torn apart.

There is a forest whose leaves are like swords (kiếm diệp lâm, asipattravana). When these sword-leaves fall, they sever the hands and feet of those who have fallen there; afterward, the Śyāmaśabala dogs (Ô-bác cẩu) fight one another to devour all those severed limbs.

There is also a forest of iron thorns (thiết thích lâm, ayaḥaśalmalīvana), where the sharp thorns grow to a length of sixteen finger-breadths. When beings climb the trees, the thorns turn their points downward; when the beings fall from above, the thorns turn their points upward again. There are also iron-beaked birds (ayastuṇḍa) that fight one another to peck out the eyes of the beings who have fallen there.

These three places of torment together constitute a single “adjunct,” because they share the same kind of punishment—one that inflicts wounds.

(4) A river of boiling water (Vaitaraṇī) in which hot ashes blaze. On both banks are persons (puruṣa)—hell wardens (narakapāla)—holding swords, spears, and javelins to drive back any beings who seek to escape from the river. In the river, whether beings dive beneath the water or rise to the surface, swim upstream or downstream, swim across it or struggle about, they are all boiled by the seething water, like sesame seeds or grains of rice poured into a great pan set over a fire.

This river flows around the great hell like a deep moat.

These four “intensifications” form sixteen kinds according to their different locations, because each of the four gates of the great hell has these four kinds of “intensification.”

(Question) Why are they called “intensifications” (utsada)?

They are called “intensifications” because they are places where suffering is intensified. Within the hell, all beings already undergo many torments, but in these places called “intensifications” they must undergo still more torments. One theory (Manoratha) holds that, after being confined in hell, beings must then fall into these places to undergo additional suffering, and hence they are called “intensifications.”

From this issue, another question arises:

(Question) Above, mention was made of “hell wardens” guarding the two banks of the Vaitaraṇī River. Are these “hell wardens” sentient beings?

(Answer) They are not sentient beings.

(Question) If so, how can they move?

(Answer) It is due to the karmic power of beings, just like the wind that produces the physical world—the wind of the kalpa.

(Question) If so, how is the following statement by the Venerable Dhārmika Subhūti to be explained: “Those whose minds harbor anger and resentment, who delight in committing evil and sinful deeds and rejoice in the suffering of others, will be reborn as the wardens of King Yama (Yamarākṣasas)”?

(Answer) These beings are called Yama’s wardens because they are all subordinates of King Yama whose duty is to cast beings condemned to hell into it at King Yama’s command; it does not mean that they are the “guards of hell” whose duty is to torture the beings who have fallen there.

However, another theory holds that the hell wardens are sentient beings.

(Question) If so, where will the evil karma created by the hell wardens produce its ripened result?

(Answer) In hell itself. Since the ripened results of the uninterrupted offenses all arise in hell, why could the ripened results of the hell wardens not also arise there?

(Question) But why are the hell wardens not burned, though they remain amid the fire?

(Answer) Because karmic power causes their rebirth in the fire while preventing the fire from touching these hell wardens; or because this very karmic power causes the bodies of the hell wardens to be formed from great elements of a different kind.

The foregoing are the eight extremely hot hells. In addition, there are eight other extremely cold hells: Arbuda, Nirarbuda, Aṭaṭa, Hahava, Huhuva, Utpala, Padma, and Mahāpadma. Among these hells, some are named after the appearance of the beings who fall into them—that is, beings whose forms resemble an arbuda, a lotus, and so forth—while others, such as Aṭaṭa, are named after the lamentations uttered by beings tormented by the cold.

These hells are all situated beneath Jambudvīpa and on the same level as the great hells.

(Question) How can there be enough room beneath this single continent of Jambudvīpa for hells larger than the continent itself?

(Answer) The continents are shaped like heaps of grain: the farther downward they extend, the broader they become. Nor does the ocean penetrate vertically all the way around the continents. (Vibhāṣā, 172, 7; Cullavagga, 9, 1.3).

These sixteen hells are all formed by the karmic power of beings. Other hells, such as the isolated hells (prādeśika), are formed by the karmic power of one person, two persons, or many persons. They are of numerous kinds and have no fixed location: they may be found in rivers, mountains, deserts, and so forth.

The principal abode of the hell beings lies below. Animals have three abodes: on land, in water, and in the air. Their principal abode is the great ocean, and those that came later went to other places.

The king of the pretas is named Yama. The dwelling of King Yama, which is also the principal abode of the pretas, lies five hundred yojanas beneath Jambudvīpa and has the same dimensions in depth and breadth. The pretas found elsewhere are the excess population from this abode, and they differ greatly from one another. Some possess supernatural powers and majesty like those of the devas. The sutras explain the differences among these beings very clearly.

(Question) What are the dimensions and other characteristics of the sun and moon?

The stanza answers:

[The sun and moon are at half the height of Mount Meru,

Their breadths are fifty-one and fifty yojanas;

Midnight on this continent is when the sun sets

Or rises on another;

The same applies to all four continents.

From the ninth day of the latter half

Of the second month of the rainy season, the nights gradually lengthen;

And from that same day of the fourth month of the cold season,

The nights gradually shorten, while the days vary inversely to the nights.

Day and night each increase by one lava

As the sun moves southward or northward.

When the moon is near the sun, it is obscured by shadow and thus appears to wane.]

Treatise: The sun and moon rest upon the wind. Through the shared karmic power of beings, winds arise that fashion (nirmā) the moon, sun, and stars in midair (antarikṣe). All these celestial bodies revolve around Mount Meru as though swept along by a whirlpool.

(Question) How far away are the sun and moon?

(Answer) They are situated at a distance equal to half the height of Mount Meru and move on a level with the summit of Mount Yugaṃdhara.

(Question) What are their dimensions?

(Answer) The circular disk of the sun is fifty-one yojanas across, and that of the moon is fifty yojanas across.

The smallest “palace” (vimāna) among the palaces of the stars measures one krośa; [the largest measures sixteen yojanas].

Through the karmic power of beings, a circular disk of fiery stone, emitting heat and light, was formed on the lower outer surface of the sun’s palace; and on the lower outer surface of the moon, a circular disk of watery stone, emitting cold and light, was likewise formed. According to the particular case, their function is to cause the growth, preservation, or destruction of eyes, bodies, flowers, fruits, crops, grasses, and trees.

In a world of four great continents there is only one moon and one sun; nevertheless, the sun cannot affect all four great continents at the same time.

When it is midnight in Uttarakuru, the sun has just set in Pūrvavideha; and when it is midnight in Jambudvīpa, the sun has just risen in Godānīya. And so it continues in succession.

Because the course of the sun changes, the days and nights vary in length.

The nights begin to grow longer from the ninth day of the latter half of the second rainy month (bhādrapada), and begin to grow shorter from the ninth day of the latter half of the fourth cold month (phālguna). With regard to the days, the reverse is true: when the nights grow longer, the days grow shorter; and when the nights grow shorter, the days grow longer. The gradual lengthening of the days and nights depends on whether the sun moves toward the south or the north of Jambudvīpa.

(Question) Why does the surface of the moon appear incomplete at the beginning of the bright fortnight?

(Answer) The Prajñapti Treatise says: “When the lunar palace moves close to the solar palace, the sun’s shadow falls upon the lunar palace. Therefore, when the shadow obscures the opposite face, the luminous face appears incomplete.” The earlier masters, however—the Yogācāras—maintain that, according to the moon’s movements, it appears now full and now incomplete.

(Question) To what class do the beings dwelling in the palaces of the sun and moon belong?

(Answer) They are devas belonging to the retinue of the Four Great Kings (Cāturmabhārājakāyikas), and only devas of this class dwell in these palaces. However, a great many members of the retinue of the Four Great Kings also dwell upon the land, on the terraces (pariṣaṇḍās) of Mount Meru and the other mountains.

(Question) How many such terraces are there, what are their dimensions, and which devas dwell there?

The stanza answers:

[Mount Meru has four terraces,

Ten thousand yojanas apart,

Projecting sixteen thousand,

Eight thousand, four thousand, and two thousand yojanas.

Firm-handed, Garland-bearing,

Ever-intoxicated, and the Great Kings with their devas

Dwell successively upon the four terraces;

And there are also dwellings upon the other seven mountains.]

Exposition: Mount Meru has four terraces. The first terrace lies ten thousand yojanas above the surface of the water; the second is ten thousand yojanas above the first; and so on up to the fourth terrace. These terraces reach halfway up Mount Meru.

The first projects (nirgata, ḥphags) sixteen thousand yojanas from Mount Meru; the remaining terraces project, in the order given above, eight thousand, four thousand, and two thousand yojanas. The first terrace is inhabited by yakṣas called Firm-handed (ardham ākṣiptam = ardham avastabdham); those on the second are called Garland-bearing; and those on the third are called Ever-intoxicated (Sadāmatta [the stanza reads sadāmada]).

All these devas belong to the retinue of the Four Great Kings. On the fourth terrace dwell the Four Great Kings and their attendants; all of them are called the devas of the Four Great Kings.

Just as the attendants and retinues of the Four Great Kings dwell upon Mount Meru, other members of their retinue dwell upon the seven Golden Mountains, where they also have cities and towns. These constitute the most numerous class of beings in the heavenly realm.

(Question) Where do the devas of the Thirty-three dwell?

The stanza answers:

[The summit of Meru is eighty thousand yojanas wide

And is the dwelling place of the devas of the Thirty-three;

At its four corners are four peaks,

The abodes of the Vajrapāṇis.

At the center is the city of Sudarśana,

Ten thousand yojanas in circumference,

One and a half yojanas high, made of gold,

Of many colors, with soft ground.

Within it stands the supreme palace,

One thousand yojanas in circumference.

Outside the city, four gardens provide adornment:

Caitraratha, Pāruṣyaka, Miśraka, and Nandana;

On its four sides are delightful grounds,

At a distance of twenty yojanas.

To the northeast stands the Pārijātaka tree;

To the southwest is the Sudharmā Hall.]

Exposition: The devas of the Thirty-three (Trāyastriṃśas) dwell upon the summit of Mount Meru. Each side of this summit is eighty thousand yojanas long. Some masters say that each side is only a little more than ten thousand yojanas and that its circumference is eighty thousand yojanas.

At the four corners are four peaks (kuṭa), each five hundred yojanas high and wide, which are the abodes of the yakṣas called Vajrapāṇis.

At the center of Mount Meru stands the golden city of Śakra, the lord of the devas, called Sudarśana. Each side of the city is two thousand five hundred yojanas long, making its circumference ten thousand yojanas; it is one and a half yojanas high. Both the city and its ground are adorned with one hundred and one colors. The ground is as soft as the leaf of a cotton plant and expands and contracts beneath each footstep.

At the center of the city stands the palace of Śakra, lord of the devas. This palace is called Vaijayanta because its magnificence and precious substances shine forth even into the other abodes of the devas. Each of its sides is two hundred and fifty yojanas long, making its circumference one thousand yojanas. The foregoing describes all the delightful features of the city.

Adorning the exterior of the city are four gardens where the devas take their pleasure: Caitraratha, Pāruṣyaka, Miśraka, and Nandana. On the four sides, twenty yojanas beyond these gardens, are four other pleasure grounds (krīḍāsthānāni) of the devas. The ground in these places is exquisite, captivating the devas and causing them to contend with one another.

A kind of magnolia tree called the Pārijātaka is where the devas of the Thirty-three enjoy sensual pleasures. Its roots spread for fifty yojanas, its trunk rises one hundred yojanas, and its branches, leaves, and petals (śakhāpattrapalāśa) cover fifty yojanas. Its fragrance travels one hundred yojanas downwind and fifty yojanas against the wind.

(Question) A fragrance may travel one hundred yojanas downwind, but how can it travel against the wind?

(Answer) Some masters say that the statement that it travels fifty yojanas downwind means that this fragrance does not extend beyond the limits of the tree’s canopy, which is itself fifty yojanas wide. [This explanation, however, is unreasonable,] because the scripture states that the fragrance travels against the wind. We may therefore say that the fragrance does not “fly” against the wind, for it ceases at the very place where it arises; rather, this fragrance has the characteristic of being able to produce a continuous succession of similar fragrances despite the obstruction of the gentle breezes of the heavenly realm. Thereafter, however, the fragrance gradually weakens until it ceases altogether and cannot travel as far as it does when borne downwind.

(Question) Does this continuous succession of fragrances have as its basis the great elements that constitute fragrance? Or is it that the wind itself is transformed into fragrance? [That is, the wind has produced a new fragrance, which is no longer the fragrance of the flowers, just as sesame seeds become permeated with the fragrance of flowers.]

(Answer) This cannot be determined. Nevertheless, the Blessed One said: “The fragrance of flowers cannot travel against the wind; neither can the fragrance of sandalwood, Tagara, or jasmine. But the fragrance of virtue can travel against the wind; that of a good person (satpuruṣa) pervades all directions.” (Saṃyukta, 28, 31; Ekottara, 13, 17; Udānavarga, vi. 14)

(Question) How, then, can the doctrine that fragrance “travels against the wind” accord with this teaching?

(Answer) The Blessed One taught this with reference to fragrances of the ordinary world, for everyone knows that fragrance cannot travel against the wind.

The Mahīśāsakas say that the fragrance [of the flowers of the Pārijātaka tree], when carried downwind, can spread as far as one hundred yojanas, and when there is no wind, it spreads fifty yojanas.

To the southwest is the Sudharmā Hall, where the assembly of devas (devasabhā) gathers to examine the good and evil deeds performed by sentient beings.

The arrangement of the world inhabited by the devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three has been described above; next comes the explanation of the worlds inhabited by the other devas possessing form.

[Above are the devas possessing form,

Dwelling in palaces in the sky.]

Treatise: The devas higher than those of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three dwell in “palaces in the sky” (vimānas). These devas are the Yāmas, Tuṣitas, Nirmāṇaratis, and Paranirmitavaśavartins, together with the devas of the Form Realm—that is, the sixteen classes of devas beginning with the Brahmakāyikas. Thus, there are altogether twenty-two classes of devas in the receptacle world (bhājanaloka), dwelling in the respective places described above. [There are also many other devas, such as the Krīḍāpramoṣakas, Prahāsakas, and so forth, but this treatise has omitted them.]

[The six classes of desire-realm devas engage in sexual union, embrace,

Hold hands, smile, and gaze at one another to consummate desire.]

Treatise: The devas belonging to the Four Great Kings, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the Yāma Heaven, the Tuṣita Heaven, the Nirmāṇarati Heaven, and the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven all belong to the Desire Realm. The devas above them do not belong to the Desire Realm.

The devas belonging to the Four Great Kings and the Heaven of the Thirty-Three dwell upon solid ground and therefore engage in sexual union in the same manner as human beings; however, they allay the fire of desire by emitting wind rather than semen. The Yāma devas allay the fire of desire by embracing, the Tuṣita devas by holding hands, the Nirmāṇarati devas by smiling at one another, and the Paranirmitavaśavartin devas merely by gazing at one another. The foregoing is the explanation given in the Lokaprajñāpti (Chapter VI).

According to the Vibhāṣā (113, 9), the explanations in the Prajñapti concerning embracing, holding hands, and so forth do not indicate different modes of sexual union, because these classes of devas engage in sexual union in the same manner as human beings. Rather, they indicate the duration of the act. The greater the sensual pleasure produced by desirable objects, the longer the sexual union lasts.

If a boy or girl is seated upon the lap of a being in a heavenly realm, that child is the offspring of that being. All such beings are spontaneously born.

[Newborn devas resemble children from five to ten years old;

In the Form Realm, they are fully developed and clothed.]

Treatise: When devas of the six heavens of the Desire Realm are first born, they resemble children five, six, seven, eight, nine, or ten years old, respectively, according to the sequence of these six heavens; afterward, however, they develop very rapidly.

When devas of the Form Realm are first born, their bodies are already fully developed and they are already clothed. All devas use the language of the noble ones (ārya speech).

(Question) How can the distinction between birth in desire and birth in bliss be known?

The stanza answers:

[The three kinds of birth in desire comprise humans and devas.

The three kinds of birth in bliss comprise the nine grounds of the three dhyānas.]

Treatise: In the Desire Realm, there are beings who freely enjoy objects of sensual pleasure that have arisen before them. These are beings in the human realm and the devas of the first four among the six heavens of the Desire Realm.

There are beings who freely enjoy objects of sensual pleasure that they themselves have created. These are the beings of the Nirmāṇarati Heaven.

There are also beings who freely enjoy objects of sensual pleasure created by others. These are the beings of the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven.

The first kind enjoys objects of sensual pleasure that appear before them; the second kind enjoys objects of sensual pleasure that they have wished to create; and the third kind enjoys objects of sensual pleasure that others have wished to create. These are the three kinds of “arising” or “existence in desire” (births in desire, kāmopapattis) in the Desire Realm.

In the Form Realm, the nine grounds belonging to the first three dhyānas constitute the three kinds of “birth in bliss” (sukhopapattis). For long periods, the devas of these three levels pass their time in joy: through the bliss born of seclusion from the afflictions (kleśas) (bliss born of seclusion, vivekaja sukha); through the bliss accompanied by joy that arises from meditative concentration (born of concentration, samādhija); and through the bliss in which joy has been relinquished (bliss free from joy, niḥprītika-sukha). Because these modes of birth are free from suffering and endure for long periods, they constitute the three kinds of “birth in bliss.”

In the intermediate dhyāna (dhyānāntara), there is no joyful bliss; why, then, is it still called a heaven of birth in bliss? This is a point requiring discussion.

(Question) At what heights are the twenty-two heavens mentioned above, from the heaven of the Four Great Kings to the highest heaven of the Form Realm, situated?

The stanza answers:

[However far one must travel downward from one realm,

The ascent to the realm above it is likewise the same.]

Treatise: It is not easy to calculate the heights of these realms in yojanas. Nevertheless, one may take the distance that must be traversed in descending from a given heavenly realm and thereby infer the distance from that realm to the next realm above it. In other words, however far a heavenly realm lies above Jambudvīpa, it lies that same distance below the realm above it.

For example, the fourth terrace of the Four Great Kings, which is the dwelling place of these four heavenly kings, lies forty thousand yojanas above sea level; thus, the distance from this heaven down to sea level is equal to the distance from it up to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three [because the summit of Mount Meru is eighty thousand yojanas above sea level]. However many yojanas must be traversed in descending from the Heaven of the Thirty-Three to sea level, the same distance must be traversed in ascending from there to the Yāma Heaven.

This pattern continues: however many yojanas the Akaniṣṭha Heaven lies above the Sudarśana Heaven, the Sudarśana Heaven lies that same number of yojanas above Jambudvīpa.

Above the Akaniṣṭhas there is no further dwelling place. Precisely because this place is higher than all the others and no other place is higher than it, it is called the Akaniṣṭha Heaven, the Ultimate Heaven of Form. Some masters hold that this realm is called the Aghaniṣṭha Heaven because the word agha means “accumulated form,” and this realm is the ultimate limit of such form.

(Question) Can beings born in a lower realm ascend to a higher palace and see the beings there?

The stanza answers:

[Without supernormal powers or the assistance of another,

Beings of a lower realm cannot see a higher realm.]

Treatise: Upon attaining supernormal powers, or when assisted by a being possessing supernormal powers or by a being from the Yāma Heaven, beings of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three can travel to the Yāma Heaven.

A being born in a lower abode can see beings in a higher abode and can travel to that higher abode; however, this cannot occur if the latter being belongs to a higher dhātu or bhūmi. It is likewise impossible to perceive tangible objects belonging to a higher dhātu or bhūmi, because such tangible objects do not lie within the sphere of a lower faculty. For this very reason, beings belonging to a higher dhātu or bhūmi cannot descend in their own bodies to lower dhātus or bhūmis, but must assume manifested bodies belonging to the dhātus or bhūmis they wish to visit. (Dīgha, ii. 210)

Another school, the Mahāsaṃghikas, maintains that beings in a lower bhūmi can still see a being in a higher bhūmi just as they see other beings in their own bhūmi, provided that the being in the higher bhūmi wishes to make itself visible to them.

(Question) What are the dimensions of the palace of the Yāma gods and those of the other heavens?

(Answer) Some masters maintain that the palaces of the upper four of the six heavens of the Desire Realm are each the size of the summit of Mount Meru. Some masters maintain that each higher palace is twice the size of the one below it. Some masters maintain that the extent of the first dhyāna is equal to the four great continents; the second dhyāna, to a small chiliocosm; the third dhyāna, to a medium chiliocosm; and the fourth dhyāna, to a great chiliocosm. Still other masters say that the first three dhyānas correspond respectively to a small, medium, and great chiliocosm, while the fourth dhyāna is immeasurable.

(Question) What are the small, medium, and great chiliocosms?

The stanza answers:

[The four great continents, the sun, the moon,

Mount Meru, the heavens of the Desire Realm,

And the world of Brahmā—a thousand of each of these

Constitute a small chiliocosm.

A thousand small chiliocosms

Constitute a medium chiliocosm;

A thousand medium chiliocosms constitute a great chiliocosm.

Their periods of destruction and formation are equal.]

Treatise: A small chiliocosm (sāhasra cūḍika lokadhātu) comprises one thousand Jambudvīpas, one thousand Pūrvavidehas, one thousand Avaragodānīyas, one thousand Uttarakurus, one thousand moons, one thousand suns, one thousand Mount Merus, one thousand of each heaven of the Desire Realm, and one thousand of each world of Brahmā. One thousand small chiliocosms constitute a medium chiliocosm (dvisāhasro madhyamo lokadhātu). One thousand medium chiliocosms constitute a great chiliocosm (trisāhasramahāsāhasro lokadhātu).

The period of destruction and the period of formation are equal. Here the stanza uses the word saṃbhava (arising) in the sense of vivarta (formation).

(Question) These worlds differ, but do the beings inhabiting them also differ?

The stanza answers:

[The people of Jambudvīpa

Are four or three and a half cubits tall;

The people of the eastern, western, and northern continents

Are successively twice as tall.

The gods of the Desire Realm

Are from one-quarter to one and a half krośas tall.

Among the gods of the Form Realm, the first four increase by one-half,

And thereafter their stature doubles.

For the No-Cloud Heaven, subtract three yojanas.]

Treatise: The people of Jambudvīpa are generally about three and a half cubits tall—a cubit extending from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger—and sometimes four cubits tall. The people of Pūrvavideha, Avaragodānīya, and Uttarakuru are respectively about eight, sixteen, and thirty-two cubits tall. The gods of the Four Great Kings are one-quarter of a krośa tall. In each successive heaven of the Desire Realm, their stature increases by one-quarter of a krośa: the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three are one-half krośa tall; the Yāma gods, three-quarters of a krośa; the Tuṣita gods, one krośa; the gods of Delight in Creation, one and one-quarter krośas; and the gods of Mastery over Others’ Creations, one and a half krośas.

The gods of the Assembly of Brahmā, the first gods of the Form Realm, are one-half yojana tall; the Ministers of Brahmā are one yojana tall; the Great Brahmās are one and a half yojanas tall; and the gods of Lesser Light are two yojanas tall. Above the Heaven of Lesser Light, their stature successively doubles: the gods of Immeasurable Light are four yojanas tall, the gods of Radiant Purity are eight yojanas tall, and so on, up to the gods of Pervasive Purity, who are sixty-four yojanas tall.

The stature of the gods of the No-Cloud Heaven is also twice this amount, but three yojanas are subtracted, leaving only one hundred and twenty-five yojanas. Their stature then continues to double, from the gods of the Birth of Merit, who are two hundred and fifty yojanas tall, up to the gods of Akaniṣṭha, who are sixteen thousand yojanas tall.

The lifespans of the beings in these realms also differ.

[On the northern continent, one thousand years;

On the western and eastern continents, successively reduced by half;

On this continent, the lifespan is not fixed:

At the end it is ten years, while at the beginning it cannot be known.

Fifty human years

Equal one day and night in the lowest heaven of the Desire Realm;

The lifespan there is five hundred years.

In the five higher heavens, the day and lifespan each double.

In the Form Realm there are neither days nor nights;

The number of kalpas equals the measure of the body.

In the Formless Realm, the first realm has a lifespan of twenty thousand,

And thereafter it increases successively by that same amount.

Above and below the Heaven of Lesser Light,

The lifespans are one great kalpa and one-half of a great kalpa.]

Treatise: The lifespan in Uttarakuru is one thousand years; in Godānīya, five hundred years; and in Pūrvavideha, two hundred and fifty years.

The lifespan in Jambudvīpa is not fixed, being sometimes long and sometimes short. At the end of a kalpa, the shortest lifespan is ten years; but at the beginning of a kalpa (prāthamakalpika), it is incalculable: it cannot be reckoned in hundreds, thousands, and so forth.

As for the gods of the Desire Realm, their lifespans are calculated according to the length of their days.

Fifty human years constitute one day in the Heaven of the Four Great Kings; the lifespan in that heaven is five hundred years, with each year consisting of twelve months and each month of thirty days. In the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, one day equals one hundred human years, and the lifespan is one thousand years. In the Yāma Heaven, one day equals two hundred human years, and the lifespan is two thousand years; and so it continues.

(Question) Since there is neither sun nor moon above Mount Yugandhara, how are day and night determined in these heavens, and how do the gods obtain light?

(Answer) Day and night are determined by the opening and closing of flowers, just as we rely upon the white lotus (kumuda, câu-vật-đà) and the red lotus (padma, bát-đặc-ma); or in some places, by whether birds sing or remain silent, or whether beings sleep or awaken. As for light, the gods themselves emit light from their bodies.

In the Form Realm, gods whose bodies are one-half yojana tall—such as the gods of the Assembly of Brahmā—have a lifespan of one-half kalpa; and so it continues up to the gods of the No-Cloud Heaven, whose bodies are sixteen thousand yojanas tall and whose lifespan is therefore also sixteen thousand kalpas.

In the Sphere of Infinite Space, the lifespan is twenty thousand kalpas; in the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness, forty thousand kalpas; in the Sphere of Nothingness, sixty thousand kalpas; and in the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception, also called the Summit of Existence, eighty thousand kalpas.

(Question) What does “kalpa” mean here? Does it mean an intermediate kalpa (antarakalpa), a kalpa of dissolution (saṃvartakalpa), a kalpa of formation (vivartakalpa), or a great kalpa (mahākalpa)?

(Answer) From the Heaven of Limited Radiance upward—that is, from the lowest heaven of the second dhyana—the measure is a great kalpa; below it—that is, in the Heavens of Brahma’s Assemblies, Brahma’s Ministers, and Great Brahma—the measure is half a great kalpa. This is because twenty intermediate kalpas are required for the world to be formed, during which Great Brahma appears at the very beginning; twenty intermediate kalpas for the world to abide; and twenty intermediate kalpas for the world to be destroyed, during which Great Brahma’s realm is also the last to be destroyed.

Thus, the lifespan of Great Brahma comprises the intervening sixty intermediate kalpas; these sixty intermediate kalpas constitute one and a half kalpas, because half a great kalpa—that is, forty intermediate kalpas—is regarded as one kalpa.

(Question) What are the lifespans in the unfortunate destinies?

The stanza answers:

[In the six upper hells, Reviving and so forth,

The lifespans of the beings in the six heavens of desire,

Taken successively, constitute one day and night;

Their lifespans are calculated accordingly.

In Intense Heat, the lifespan is half an intermediate kalpa;

In Uninterrupted Hell, one intermediate kalpa.

The longest lifespan among animals is one intermediate kalpa;

Ghosts live five hundred years,

With each day as long as a month.

The lifespan in Arbuda

Is like sesame seeds in a basket,

One seed being removed every hundred years until none remain;

Each of the remaining hells is twenty times greater.]

Explanation: One day in each of the six hells—Reviving (Saṃjīva), Black Thread (Kālasūtra), Crushing (Saṃghāta), Wailing (Raurava), Great Wailing (Mahāraurava), and Burning (Tapana)—corresponds successively to the lifespans of the gods in the six heavens of the Desire Realm, beginning with the Four Great Kings.

Beings who fall into the Reviving Hell have a lifespan of five hundred years, like the gods of the Four Great Kings—a year having twelve months and a month thirty days; however, each day there is as long as the lifespan of the gods of the Four Great Kings. The comparison between the Black Thread Hell and the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, and between the Burning Hell and the Heaven of Those Who Control the Enjoyments Magically Created by Others, is made in the same manner.

In the Great Heat Hell (Pratāpana), the lifespan is half an intermediate kalpa; in Uninterrupted Hell, it is one intermediate kalpa. The longest-lived animals live for one intermediate kalpa; this is the case with the great nāga kings such as Nanda, Upananda, Aśvatara, Sāgara, and so forth. The Blessed One said: “Bhikshus, there are eight great nāga kings who live for a kalpa and uphold the great earth…”. (Mahāvyutpatti, 167, 14, 51, 66, 58, 44)

One day for ghosts equals one human month, and they live for five hundred years, with every day of each year being as long as one human month.

Concerning the lifespans in the extremely cold hells, the Blessed One gave only a simile by way of comparison: “Bhikshus, suppose a basket (vāha) of Magadha, used to hold sesame seeds and having a capacity of eighty khāris, were filled with sesame seeds, and one seed were removed every hundred years. Even when all those sesame seeds had been removed from it, the lifespan of beings who have fallen into the Arbuda Hell would still not be exhausted; this is what I declare. And, bhikshus, the lifespan in the Nirarbuda Hell is twenty times the lifespan in the Arbuda Hell;…”. (Saṃyutta, i. 152; Mahāvyutpatti, 215, 1–8)

(Question) Do all beings possessing the lifespans stated above live out their full lifespans?

The stanza answers:

[In every realm there is premature death,

Except in Uttarakuru.]

Explanation: The lifespan of humans on the continent of Uttarakuru is fixed; they live for one thousand years, and all live out their full lifespans. Elsewhere, however, premature death (antarāmṛtyu) may occur. Nevertheless, there are sentient beings who cannot die prematurely: a bodhisattva in the Tushita Heaven who has only one more birth to undergo; those in their final birth, who will not die before attaining the fruit of arhatship; those to whom the Buddha has given a prediction; those appointed by the Buddha as messengers; followers through faith (Śraddhānusārin); followers through Dharma (Dharmānusārin); and a mother pregnant with a bodhisattva or a Wheel-Turning King, and so forth. These are cases in which premature death is impossible.