阿毘達磨俱舍論

Part 12

The preceding section explained the receptacle-world and bodily dimensions on the basis of the yojana, and also explained lifespans on the basis of years, months, and so forth; however, the yojana and the year themselves have not yet been explained. These two matters can be explained only by reference to names (nāman); therefore, let us first discuss the smallest units (paryanta, ultimate minima) of the yojana, names, years, and so forth.

[The atom, the syllable, and the kṣaṇa

Are the smallest units of form, name, and time.]

Treatise: The atom (paramāṇu) is the smallest unit of form (rūpa); likewise, a syllable is the smallest unit of a name, as for example the syllable go, and the kṣaṇa is the smallest unit of time (adhvan).

What is the measure of a kṣaṇa?

(Sautrāntikas) The time in which a dharma arises through the conjunction of conditions is called one kṣaṇa; alternatively, a kṣaṇa is the time in which a dharma moves from one atom to another.

According to the Vaibhāṣika masters, sixty-five kṣaṇas elapse during the snapping of the fingers of a strong man (Madhyamakavṛtti, 547).

[Atom, minute particle, iron-dust, water-dust,

Hare-hair dust, sheep-hair dust, ox-hair dust, mote in a sunbeam;

Nit, louse, barleycorn, finger-joint—

Each in succession increases sevenfold.

Twenty-four fingers make one cubit;

Four cubits make one bow-length;

Five hundred bow-lengths make one krośa;

Eight krośas make one yojana.]

Treatise: Beginning with the atom, each successive unit increases sevenfold, ending with the finger-joint. Thus, seven atoms equal one minute particle (aṇu); seven minute particles equal one iron-dust particle (loharajas); seven iron-dust particles equal one water-dust particle (abrajas); seven water-dust particles equal one hare-hair dust particle (śaśarajas, ḍakarajas); seven hare-hair dust particles equal one sheep-hair dust particle (avirajas); seven sheep-hair dust particles equal one ox-hair dust particle (gorajas); seven ox-hair dust particles equal one mote in a sunbeam (chidrarajas); seven motes in a sunbeam equal one nit (likṣā); seven nits equal one louse (yūka); seven lice equal one barleycorn (yava); and seven barleycorns equal one finger-joint (aṅguliparvan).

It is not stated here that three finger-joints equal one finger (aṅguli), because this is commonly known. Twenty-four fingers equal one cubit (hasta); four cubits equal one bow-length (dhanus); five hundred bow-lengths equal one krośa. A krośa is the distance from a village to a hermit's forest retreat (araṇya, āraṇya); eight krośas equal one yojana.

[One hundred and twenty kṣaṇas

Make one tatkṣaṇa;

Sixty tatkṣaṇas make one lava;

Thirty lavas make one muhūrta;

Thirty muhūrtas make one day and night;

Thirty days and nights make one month;

Twelve months make one year;

From each half-year six days are subtracted.]

Treatise: One hundred and twenty kṣaṇas make one tatkṣaṇa; sixty tatkṣaṇas make one lava; thirty lavas make one muhūrta; and thirty muhūrtas make one day and night. The night may be longer than, shorter than, or equal to the day. Thirty days and nights make one month, and twelve months make one year. In a year there are three seasons—the cold season, the hot season, and the rainy season—each lasting four months. During six months of a year, one day is omitted from each month; this is called a “subtracted” day (ūnarātra). Thus, six days are omitted in the course of a year. Therefore, a verse says: “When one and a half months of the cold, hot, and rainy seasons have elapsed, the wise omit one ūnarātra from the remaining half-month.”

The measures from a kṣaṇa up to a year have now been explained. Next follows the explanation of the various measures of a kalpa.

[There are four kinds of kalpa:

Dissolution, formation, intermediate, and great.

The kalpa of dissolution begins when birth in the hells ceases

And lasts until the receptacle-world is destroyed.

The kalpa of formation begins when winds arise

And lasts until beings are newly born in the hells.

An intermediate kalpa begins when lifespan is immeasurable,

Then decreases to ten years,

Thereafter passing through eighteen cycles of increase and decrease,

And then increases again to eighty thousand.

This period of abiding after formation

Is called twenty intermediate kalpas.

The periods of formation, destruction, and disappearance

Are each equal to the kalpa of abiding.

Eighty intermediate kalpas constitute a great kalpa.

The great kalpa constitutes three incalculable kalpas.]

Treatise: There are four different kinds of kalpa: the intermediate kalpa (antarakalpa), the kalpa of dissolution (saṃvartakalpa), the kalpa of formation (vivartakalpa), and the great kalpa (mahākalpa).

The kalpa of dissolution is the period beginning when beings cease to be reborn in the hells and ending when the receptacle-world is completely destroyed.

Dissolution is of two kinds: dissolution of the destinies (gatisaṃvartanī) and dissolution of the realms (dhātusaṃvartanī). It is also of two kinds: dissolution of sentient beings (sattvasaṃvartanī) and dissolution of the receptacle-world (bhājanasaṃvartanī).

At the time when no more beings are born in the hells—although beings already there continue to die—the world's period of abiding (vivṛtta) for twenty intermediate kalpas comes to an end (niṣṭhita), and the period of dissolution begins.

When not a single being remains in the hells, the dissolution of the hells (nārakasaṃvartanī) is regarded as complete, and this is also the time when this world undergoes dissolution. If a being in this world has created karma that entails falling into hell, the force of that karma will lead the being to rebirth in the hells of another world-system that has not entered a period of dissolution (sa lokadhātvantaranarakeṣu kṣipyate).

The dissolution of animals and hungry ghosts (tiryaksaṃvartanī, pretasaṃvartanī) occurs in the same way. Animals dwelling in the great ocean are destroyed first, while those living together with humans are destroyed along with them.

Among the humans of Jambudvīpa, someone who, despite having no teacher, enters the first dhyāna by virtue of the nature of things (dharmatā), upon emerging from meditation exclaims: “How blissful is the joy born of seclusion! How peaceful is the joy born of seclusion!” When others hear these words, they too are able to enter meditative absorption and, after death, are reborn in the Brahmā world. This process continues until no human beings remain in Jambudvīpa, at which point the dissolution of that continent is regarded as complete.

The same occurs with beings dwelling on the continents of Pūrvavideha and Avaragodānīya. In Uttarakuru, however, because the beings there are unable to renounce the Desire Realm and therefore cannot enter meditative absorption, they are reborn in the heavens of the Desire Realm rather than in the Brahmā world.

When no human beings remain, the dissolution of humanity is regarded as complete, and this is also the time when this world undergoes dissolution.

The same applies to the heavens of the Desire Realm. From the heavens of the Four Great Kings up to the Heaven of Those Who Exercise Power over Others' Creations, the devas enter meditative absorption, are reborn in the Brahmā world, and their heavens are successively dissolved. When no beings remain in the heavens of the Desire Realm, the dissolution of the Desire Realm is regarded as complete.

The same applies to the Brahma world. Through the inherent nature of phenomena, a being enters the second dhyana; upon emerging from that dhyana, he exclaims: “How blissful is the joy born of seclusion! How peaceful is the joy born of seclusion!” When the other devas in the Brahma world hear these words, they too enter the second dhyana, and after death they are reborn among the Abhasvara devas.

When not a single being remains in the Brahma world, the destruction of beings (sattvasaṃvartanī) is regarded as complete; this is also when the world is destroyed. Then, because the collective karma that formed the receptacle world has been exhausted, and because the world is empty, seven suns appear one after another, and the world is utterly consumed by fire, from the great continents up to Mount Meru. From this burning world, flames driven by the wind consume all the palaces in the Brahma world.

Here it should be understood that the fire consuming these palaces is a fire belonging to the Form Realm, because the calamities (apakṣāla) of the Desire Realm cannot harm the Form Realm. Nevertheless, it may still be said that the fire from this world burned the Brahma world, because this fire also arose from the continuum of the first fire.

The destruction caused by the other two kinds of calamity, water and wind (apsaṃvartanī, vāyusaṃvartanī), occurs in the same manner as the destruction caused by fire (tejaḥsaṃvartanī), but they extend to higher levels. Thus, the period from the time beings cease to be reborn in the hells until the receptacle world is destroyed is called the kalpa of dissolution (saṃvartakalpa), that is, the kalpa of destruction.

The kalpa of formation is the period extending from the first arising of wind (prāgvāyu) until beings are born in the hells.

After the world has been destroyed as described above, it remains in that state for a long period of twenty minor kalpas. Throughout this period the world is nothing but empty space—the state of emptiness following dissolution—until, through the collective karma of beings, the first signs of a future receptacle world begin to appear and very gentle winds (mandamanda) begin to arise in space (ākāśa). This marks both the end of the twenty minor kalpas during which the world remained in a state of dissolution (saṃvṛtto’sthāt) and the beginning of another period of twenty minor kalpas during which the world is to be formed (vivartamānāvasthā). (Vibhāṣā, 133, 12)

The initially gentle winds gradually grow stronger and finally form the wind disk. Thereafter, the entire receptacle world arises in succession as previously described: the water disk, the golden disk, and Mount Meru appear. The palace of Brahma, however, is formed first, followed successively by the palaces of the other heavenly realms down to the realm of the Yama devas; that is, these places appear immediately after the wind disk.

Just as the receptacle world is formed, so too is the world of sentient beings formed.

At that time, a being who dies among the Abhasvara devas is born in an as-yet empty palace of Brahma (brāhma vimāna). Thereafter, beings who successively die among the Abhasvara devas are born in the realms of the Brahma-purohita devas, the Brahma-kayika devas, the Paranirmita-vashavartin devas, and the other heavenly realms of the Desire Realm; on the continents of Uttarakuru, Godānīya, Videha, and Jambudvīpa; among the destinies of pretas and animals; and in the hells. These rebirths occur in such an order that the beings who were destroyed last are the first to be reborn.

When a being is born in a hell, the twenty-minor-kalpa period of formation has ended, and the period of abiding (vivṛttāvasthā) then begins.

[The first minor kalpa of the kalpa of formation is the period during which the receptacle world, the palace of Brahma, and so forth are formed.] Throughout the remaining nineteen minor kalpas of this period, until beings appear in the hells, the lifespan of human beings is immeasurable.

Human beings have immeasurable lifespans until the end of the kalpa of formation. When the kalpa of formation has ended, their lifespan begins gradually to decrease until only ten years remain. The period during which the human lifespan gradually declines constitutes the first minor kalpa of the period of abiding.

When the human lifespan has declined to only ten years, it begins to increase again until it reaches eighty thousand years; it then gradually decreases once more until only ten years remain. The period encompassing this increase and decrease constitutes the second minor kalpa. This minor kalpa is followed by seventeen other minor kalpas, each having the same pattern of increase and decrease.

The twentieth minor kalpa has only an increase and no decrease; that is, the human lifespan then increases from ten years to eighty thousand years.

(Question) To what extent can the increases in lifespan reach?

(Answer) Only eighty thousand years, and no more. The time occupied by the increase and decrease in each of these eighteen minor kalpas is equal to the duration of the decline in lifespan during the first minor kalpa and to that of the increase in lifespan during the final minor kalpa.

The world abides after its formation for twenty minor kalpas calculated as above. This period of abiding lasts for precisely that length of time.

The periods of formation, destruction, and disappearance—the state of emptiness following dissolution—also each comprise twenty minor kalpas. During these three periods, there are no stages in which lifespans increase or decrease, but each period lasts for a duration equal to that of the period in which the world abides, the kalpa of abiding.

The receptacle world is formed during one minor kalpa, and during the following nineteen minor kalpas the various kinds of beings successively come to dwell in it. The receptacle world also gradually becomes empty over nineteen minor kalpas and is completely destroyed during one minor kalpa.

These four sets of twenty minor kalpas make eighty minor kalpas, and these eighty minor kalpas are called one great kalpa.

(Question) What is the intrinsic nature of a kalpa?

(Answer) The intrinsic nature of a kalpa is precisely the five skandhas.

(Question) The sutra states that one must diligently cultivate for three incalculable kalpas (asaṃkhyeyas kalpa) before one can attain Buddhahood. To which of the four kinds mentioned above do the kalpas spoken of here belong?

(Answer) The statement that “the attainment of Buddhahood requires passing through three incalculable kalpas” refers to the great kalpas described above.

(Question) Since “incalculable” implies “impossible to count,” why is it said that there are three “incalculables”?

(Answer) That is not what it implies here. An independent sutra (muktaka) states that numerical reckoning (saṃkhyā) comprises sixty places or positions (sthānāntara).

(Question) What are these sixty places?

(Answer) One alone, not two, is the first place; ten times one (ten) is the second place; ten times ten (one hundred) is the third place; ten times one hundred (one thousand) is the fourth place; …; and so it continues, each succeeding place being ten times the preceding one: prabheda (10,000), lakṣa (100,000), atilakṣa (1,000,000), koṭi (10,000,000), madhya (100,000,000), ayuta (1,000,000,000), mahāyuta (10,000,000,000), nayuta (100,000,000,000), mahānayuta (1,000,000,000,000), prayuta (10,000,000,000,000), mahāprayuta (100,000,000,000,000), kaṃkara, mahākaṃkara, bimkara, mahābimkara, akṣobhya, mahākṣobhya, vivāha, mahāvivāha, utsanga, mahotsanga, vāhana, mahāvāhana, ṭitibha, mahāṭitibha, hetu, mahāhetu, karabha, mahākarabha, indra, mahāindra, samāpta (=samāptam),

mahāsamāpta (mahāsamāptam), gati, mahāgati, nimbarajas, mahānimbarajas, mūdrā, mahāmūdrā, bala, mahābala, saṃjñā, mahāsaṃjñā, vibhūta, mahāvibhūta, balākṣa, mahābalākṣa, asaṃkhya.

Eight numbers are missing from the list given above.

A great kalpa is successively multiplied until the sixtieth place, which is reckoned as one asaṃkhya. If the sequence is begun anew, there will be a second asaṃkhya and a third asaṃkhya; therefore, “asaṃkhya” here does not mean innumerable.

(Question) Why, when bodhisattvas resolve to attain Buddhahood, do they establish such a long period for their cultivation?

(Answer) Because unsurpassed Buddhahood is exceedingly difficult to attain. It is necessary to accumulate abundant merit, abundant wisdom, and innumerable virtuous practices over three asaṃkhyeya kalpas.

(Question) If the Buddhahood that bodhisattvas strive to attain is so difficult to reach, while Buddhahood is not the sole means of attaining liberation, why must bodhisattvas choose a path involving so many austerities and taking so long?

(Answer) For the benefit of sentient beings, because bodhisattvas wish to possess sufficient power to deliver sentient beings from the great river of suffering.

(Question) What benefit does delivering sentient beings bring to bodhisattvas themselves?

(Answer) The benefit of sentient beings is itself the benefit of bodhisattvas, because they have made such a vow.

(Question) How can this be believed?

(Answer) For sentient beings who lack compassion and know only themselves, it is difficult to believe that such bodhisattvas exist in the world. For sentient beings endowed with compassion, however, there is nothing astonishing about these vows and practices of a bodhisattva. There is no lack in the world of those who, being devoid of compassion, seek pleasure in the suffering of others even when it sometimes brings no benefit to themselves.

Bodhisattvas, by contrast, through their cultivation of compassion, find joy in benefiting sentient beings without thinking of themselves at all. Moreover, there are sentient beings who, driven by the power of habitual conditioning, become deluded concerning the true nature of conditioned dharmas and imagine them to constitute a real self. They therefore remain attached to these dharmas and consequently undergo much suffering.

Bodhisattvas, by contrast, through the power of cultivation, relinquish those dharmas that appear to constitute a real self and no longer regard them as “self” or “belonging to self.” They thereby increase their compassionate concern (apekṣā) for others and willingly endure innumerable sufferings for the sake of sentient beings.

In brief, there are people who pay no heed whatsoever to themselves, but feel joy at the happiness of others and sorrow at the suffering of others. For them, the benefit of others is itself their own benefit. A verse says: “The inferior person seeks by every means to benefit himself; the ordinary person wishes to destroy suffering but does not seek happiness, because happiness is a cause of suffering; the superior person endures suffering and does not seek happiness for others, but seeks to eliminate the suffering of others, because the suffering of others is his own suffering.”

During which periods do the Buddhas appear in the world?

The verse answers:

[When the lifespan decreases to one hundred years,

The Buddhas appear in the world.

Pratyekabuddhas appear during periods of increase and decrease;

Those likened to a rhinoceros horn cultivate for one hundred great kalpas.]

Treatise: The Buddhas appear during the period when the lifespan is declining, after it has decreased from eighty thousand years to only one hundred years.

(Question) Why do the Buddhas not appear during a period when the lifespan is increasing?

(Answer) Because during that period human beings are very difficult to frighten and very difficult to cause to become disenchanted with this existence.

(Question) Why do the Buddhas not appear during the period when the lifespan decreases from one hundred years to ten years?

(Answer) Because at that time the five corruptions—the corruption of lifespan (āyuḥkaṣāya), the corruption of the kalpa (kalpakaṣāya), the corruption of afflictions (kleśakaṣāya), the corruption of views (dṛṣṭikaṣāya), and the corruption of sentient beings (sattvakaṣāya)—become excessively powerful (abhyutasada = abhyadhika).

During the final decline of the lifespan (apakarṣasya adhastāt), the lifespan (āyus) also deteriorates (kīdṛgbhūta) and becomes inferior (pratyavara). Because it is thus impaired, it is called a corruption; the same applies to the other corruptions. The first two corruptions impair life itself (jīvitavipatti) and the requisites that sustain life (upakaraṇa).

The next two impair the wholesome side (kuśalapakṣa): the corruption of afflictions causes impairment through indulgence in sensual pleasure (kāmasukhallikā), while the corruption of views causes impairment through attachment to ascetic mortification (ātamaklamatha). Alternatively, the corruption of afflictions impairs the wholesome qualities of householders, while the corruption of views impairs the wholesome qualities of renunciants.

The corruption of sentient beings causes sentient beings to deteriorate in mind, body, beauty, health, power, wisdom, memory, capability, and vigor.

(Question) During which periods do pratyekabuddhas appear?

(Answer) Pratyekabuddhas appear during periods when the lifespan increases and then decreases. There are, however, two cases: pratyekabuddhas who live in groups (vargacārin) [and appear together during the period when the lifespan is increasing]; and pratyekabuddhas who are “like the rhinoceros” (those likened to a rhinoceros horn) (khaḍgaviṣāṇakalpa).

The former case consists of those who were originally śrāvakas (śrāvakapūrvin) [having attained the first or second fruit of the śrāvaka path during the lifetime of a Buddha]. Some masters maintain that these persons were originally ordinary beings but had previously cultivated the factors conducive to penetration (nirvedhabhāgīyas) of the Śrāvaka Vehicle; in their present life, they attain the noble path by themselves.

The Pūrvakatha states: “Five hundred seers were practicing austerities together on a mountain. At that time, a monkey that had once lived near a pratyekabuddha came to them and, before them, performed gestures it had imitated from that pratyekabuddha. Seeing this, the five hundred seers also imitated these gestures, and it is said that thereby they attained the bodhi of pratyekabuddhas.

According to the above masters, these five hundred seers were clearly not noble ones—that is, they were not śrāvakas—because if they had previously attained a śrāvaka fruit, they would necessarily have abandoned attachment to rites and observances, and could not later have relinquished that attainment and resumed the practice of austerities.”

The latter case consists of pratyekabuddhas who live alone. They must spend one hundred great kalpas cultivating the qualities necessary for the attainment of bodhi—the provisions for bodhi [namely, morality, concentration, and wisdom]. They attain bodhi by themselves without relying upon the sacred teachings, and because they can discipline only themselves and cannot transform sentient beings, they are called pratyekabuddhas, “solitary realizers.”

(Question) Why is it said that they cannot transform sentient beings? Surely they are capable of expounding the true Dharma, since they also attain the unobstructed knowledges (pratisaṃvids); [even if they did not attain the unobstructed knowledges], they could still recollect the true Dharma formerly proclaimed by past Buddhas. Nor can they be devoid of compassion, for they have manifested supernatural powers to benefit sentient beings.

It cannot be said that, at the time when these pratyekabuddhas appear in the world, all the beings of that age are incapable of being transformed, because in this period—the period during which the human lifespan is declining—beings are able to become detached from the Desire Realm by means of the mundane path. Why, then, can they not proclaim the true Dharma?

(Answer) Because they have become accustomed to a solitary life in the past. They delight in ease and avoid every trouble (alpotsukatā); they lack the courage (na utsahate) to help sentient beings comprehend the profound teaching. They would have to gather disciples and lead them against the current that most beings follow; this, however, is too difficult for them, since they fear that their meditative concentration will be disturbed (vyākṣepa) and that they will have to associate (saṃsarga) with sentient beings.

[Wheel-turning kings appear when the lifespan is above eighty thousand years;

They comprise the gold-, silver-, copper-, and iron-wheel kings.

They rule one, two, three, and four continents,

In reverse order;

And Buddhas, too, appear only one at a time.

Welcomed, or upon arrival, they bring beings under discipline.

There is resistance, and armies are arrayed, yet they always prevail without causing harm;

Their marks are neither straight, complete, nor radiant,

And thus they do not resemble a Buddha.]

Treatise: Wheel-turning kings appear during the period when the human lifespan is still immeasurable, down to the time when it decreases to eighty thousand years. They do not appear once the human lifespan has become shorter because the physical world is then no longer a place suited to their magnificent prosperity. They are called Wheel-turning Kings (Cakravartins) because it is their nature to lead and subdue.

There are four kinds: the Gold-Wheel King (Suvarṇacakravartin), the Silver-Wheel King (Rūpyacakravartin), the Copper-Wheel King (Tāmracakravartin), and the Iron-Wheel King (Ayaścakravartin). They are so named according to whether their wheel is made of gold, silver, copper, or iron. The gold-wheel king is the highest, followed by the silver-wheel king; the copper-wheel king is of intermediate rank, and the iron-wheel king is the lowest. A wheel-turning king with an iron wheel governs one great continent; one with a copper wheel governs two great continents; one with a silver wheel governs three great continents; and the remaining king governs all four great continents.

The foregoing is the explanation given in the Prajñaptiśāstra. In fact, the sutra mentions only the Gold-Wheel King because of his great importance: “When a king of the kṣatriya lineage, on the full-moon day, has bathed, undertaken the fasting precepts, and ascended with his ministers to the high terrace of the palace, and at that time a precious wheel suddenly appears in the east, with a thousand rays, complete with rim, complete with spokes, perfect in every respect, beautiful, not fashioned by artisans, and made entirely of gold—then that king is a Wheel-turning King.” (Dīgha, 18, 19; Saṃyukta, 27, 11)

Just as with Buddhas, two Wheel-turning Kings never appear in the world at the same time. The sutra states: “At present or in the future, it is impossible for two Tathagatas, arhats, perfectly and completely awakened Buddhas, to appear in the world simultaneously rather than successively. This cannot occur. Only one ever appears in the world at a time. The same is true of Wheel-turning Kings.” (Madhyama, 18, 16, 17, 19; Dharmaskandhas, 9, 14).

Here there is a matter that must be considered. To what does the phrase “in the world” refer? Does it mean “in one great cosmos consisting of three thousand worlds” (trisāhasra), or “in all worlds”?

Some maintain that Buddhas do not appear in other places [that is, in two great cosmoi at the same time], on the grounds that the simultaneous appearance of two Buddhas would obstruct the power (prabhāva) of the Blessed One. A single Blessed One is sufficient to teach throughout the ten directions. If there were some place that one Blessed One could not teach, other Blessed Ones could do nothing more there.

Moreover, the sutra says: “Śāriputra, if someone were to approach and ask you, ‘Could there now be some bhikṣu or brahmin equal to Gautama in perfect and complete awakening?’ how would you answer?—Blessed One, if someone asked me this, I would reply that there is now no bhikṣu or brahmin equal to the Blessed One. And why would I answer thus? Because from the Blessed One’s teaching I have heard and understood that, at present or in the future, it is never possible for two Tathagatas, arhats, perfectly and completely awakened Buddhas, to appear in the world simultaneously rather than successively.” (Dīrgha, 12, 22; Dīgha, iii. 113)

(Objection) If so, why does the Blessed One say in the Brahmasūtra: “I can exercise my influence over three thousand worlds (Trisāhasra)”?

(Explanation) This passage of scripture should not be understood literally. Its actual meaning is that, without making a special effort (anabhisaṃskāreṇa), the Blessed One sees only within this limit; but when he wishes, he can see immeasurable worlds. (Vibhāṣā, 150, 11).

According to other schools (the Mahāsaṃghikas), Buddhas appear at the same time, but in different worlds. They maintain that, because there are presently many bodhisattvas cultivating the factors conducive to enlightenment (the provisions for enlightenment), it would certainly be inappropriate for many Buddhas to appear simultaneously in the same place; nevertheless, nothing prevents Buddhas from appearing at the same time.

Therefore, Buddhas do appear in different worlds. The worlds are limitless. Even if the Blessed One were to live for an entire kalpa, he still could not guide the measureless worlds as he has guided this world, much less when he manifested for only the span of a human lifetime (puruṣāyuṣaṃ vihar).

Sentient beings dwell in innumerable different worlds, and therefore their times, places, and faculties also differ. If they are to be taught not to commit evils they have not yet committed, to abandon evils they have already committed, to perform wholesome deeds they have not yet performed, and to perfect wholesome deeds they have already performed, how could a single Buddha swiftly accomplish all these tasks? Therefore, many Buddhas must certainly appear at the same time.

(Objection) The passages from the sutras cited above are clear: “It is impossible for two Tathagatas, Worthy Ones, Perfectly and Completely Enlightened Ones, to appear in the world unless at two different times and in two different places.”

(Explanation) It must be considered whether this passage refers only to one world—namely, a world of four great continents, or the great trichiliocosm—or whether it refers to all worlds. If it refers to all worlds, then wheel-turning kings should likewise be unable to exist in other worlds, because it was stated above that wheel-turning kings cannot appear simultaneously, just as Buddhas cannot. If it is accepted that wheel-turning kings nevertheless exist in other worlds, why should the same not be accepted of Buddhas, who are the foundation of all merit when they manifest in the world?

If measureless Buddhas appear throughout measureless worlds, what fault is there that would require this to be denied? When many Buddhas appear, measureless sentient beings attain supreme benefit and the excellent noble path.

(Objection) If that is so, why do two Tathagatas not appear simultaneously in a single world?

(Explanation) Because (1) their simultaneous appearance would be useless; (2) the bodhisattva’s vow is “to become a Buddha in order to liberate beings who have not been liberated, in a darkened world without refuge”; (3) reverence for a single, unique Buddha is greater; and (4) the urgency to cultivate the true Dharma is also greater, because sentient beings know that it is exceedingly difficult to encounter a Buddha appearing in the world and that they will have no refuge when the Buddha enters nirvana or goes elsewhere.

As for wheel-turning kings, the manner in which they bring various places under their rule also differs according to the nature of each kind of wheel-turning king.

In the case of a Gold Wheel-Turning King, the kings of the lesser states come of their own accord to welcome him and say that their lands are very wealthy, prosperous, and peaceful, with large populations and many worthy and talented people. They therefore wish to invite the wheel-turning king to govern their lands, and all vow to become subjects of this divine lord (devādhideva).

In the case of a Silver Wheel-Turning King, the king personally travels (svayaṃyāna) to the lesser states; when he arrives, all their subjects submit to him.

A Copper Wheel-Turning King also personally goes to the lesser states. At first, however, they intend to resist him, and only afterward do they submit.

An Iron Wheel-Turning King also personally goes to the lesser states. At first they brandish swords and weapons (śastrāṇy āvahanti = utkṣipanti), and only afterward do they surrender.

There is no case in which wheel-turning kings are killed. They all exhort sentient beings to cultivate the ten wholesome courses of karma (karmapatha), and therefore they are all reborn in the heavenly realms.

(Question) The sutras (Madhyama, 11, 1; Ekottara, 33, 11; Saṃyukta, 27, 12) state: “When a wheel-turning king appears in the world, seven precious treasures (ratna) also appear: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the jewel, the woman, the minister who oversees the royal treasury, and the military commander.” Does this mean that the five animate treasures among these seven—the elephant, horse, and so forth—are born through another person’s karma?

(Answer) It is not so. Those sentient beings have themselves already accumulated karma that produces the kinds of ripened results requiring them to arise together with a wheel-turning king and become the precious elephant, precious horse, and so forth. Therefore, when a wheel-turning king appears, this karma itself causes those sentient beings to arise.

Besides the seven precious treasures described above, there are still many other differences between wheel-turning kings and ordinary people. In particular, these wheel-turning kings also possess the thirty-two marks of a great person (mahāpuruṣas), as does the Buddha. The Buddha’s marks, however, shine more brilliantly, are more complete, and are situated in more proper positions.

(Question) Did human beings have a king during the earliest period of a kalpa?

The stanza answers:

[At first, they resembled the devas of the Form Realm;

Later, they gradually became attached to flavors.

Through degeneration arose accumulation and thievery;

For protection, they appointed a guardian of the fields.]

Exposition: Human beings at the beginning of the kalpa were like the beings of the Form Realm. The sutra states: “There were sentient beings, corporeal (rūpin), mind-born, complete in their limbs, endowed with all faculties, majestic in appearance, brilliant in color, self-luminous, moving through the sky, delighting in food and drink, and possessing long lives.” (Dīrgha, 23, 4).

Later, a kind of “essence flowing from the earth” (pṛathivīrasa) gradually appeared, with a delicious taste as sweet as honey (madhusvādurasa). At that time, a person naturally fond of flavors smelled the fragrance of this substance, tasted it, found it delicious, and consumed it. Others saw this and did likewise. This was when human beings first began to consume nutriment taken in morsels. This food made their bodies coarse and heavy, and they no longer emitted light as before. Darkness then arose. Afterward, however, the sun and moon appeared.

Because of beings’ attachment to taste, the water that flowed from the earth gradually dried up. Thereafter, another kind of food appeared, called “earth-skin cakes” (pṛthivīparpaṭaka); beings became attached to these as well, and therefore they soon disappeared. After that, forest creepers appeared, but they did not last long, because beings also contended with one another to eat them.

Finally, a kind of rice that required neither sowing nor cultivation sprang from the earth. When this coarse and heavy food was eaten, it left impure waste within the body. Because beings needed to expel it, distinct organs of excretion and generation subsequently appeared; from that time onward, the different forms of male and female began to exist.

Through the force of previous conditioning, beings of different sexes were seized and driven by a kind of “crocodile,” namely, improper mental attention (ayoniśomanasikāragrāhagrāsagata), and thus sought one another out to enjoy sensual pleasure. From then onward, beings of the Desire Realm came under the dominion of the “demon” of sensual desire (kāma).

At that time, beings harvested rice in the morning to prepare their morning meal and harvested rice in the afternoon to prepare their evening meal, without ever thinking of storing it. Later, because someone was exceedingly lazy, he began storing rice for future meals; when others saw this, they followed his example. From this storing of rice arose the ideas of “mine” and “my private property.” Consequently, they harvested as much as they pleased and competed with one another until the rice no longer had enough time to grow back. Only then did they begin dividing the fields. Once there were privately owned fields, they had to think about guarding their own land, while also conceiving the intention to seize the land of others. This was the period when human beings first came to know theft.

To prevent theft, beings assembled and agreed to give one-sixth of the rice they harvested to a person of talent and virtue (manuṣyaviśeṣa), who would undertake to protect the crops. They called this person the “guardian of the fields” (kṣetrapa), and from then onward the designation kṣatriya came into existence. Because this person could please (rañj) those whom he governed and was esteemed and revered (saṃmata) by all the people (mahājana), he was honored as Rāja Mahāsaṃmata, “King Greatly Esteemed.” From then onward, royal dynasties began to arise.

Those who renounced household life were called brāhmaṇas.

Later, there was a king who, because he was greedy and miserly with wealth, was unable to safeguard the livelihood of his people. Consequently, some who were impoverished and starving resorted to theft. To prohibit such conduct, the king established punishments with which to penalize offenders; from then onward, the karma of killing began. At that time, a criminal, fearing punishment, sought to conceal his offense and said that he had committed no crime; from then onward, false speech began.

(Question) During the period when the lifespan declines, three minor calamities appear; what are these three?

The stanza answers:

[As the courses of karma increase, the lifespan declines.

When it reaches ten years, the three calamities appear;

They are warfare, disease, and famine,

Ending after seven days, seven months, and seven years.]

Treatise: From the time beings first began to tell lies, unwholesome courses of karma gradually increased and the human lifespan grew shorter, until ultimately it was reduced to only ten years. Thus, the two dharmas that are the roots of this decline are attachment to delicious flavors (rasarāga) and laziness.

(Question) The minor kalpa ends when the lifespan has been reduced to only ten years; what will happen at that time?

(Answer) The end of the minor kalpa is marked by three kinds of calamity.

(1) In the final period of this kalpa, when the lifespan has declined to only ten years, people are filled with unlawful sensual desire, enslaved by various inequitable cravings, and proclaim only false doctrines. Because their minds give rise solely to malicious thoughts, when they see one another they are like hunters who have sighted their prey (maggasañña). Because their minds harbor only thoughts of hatred, whatever falls into their hands—whether a piece of wood or a branch of the aconite plant—turns into a sharp knife with which they slaughter one another.

(2) During that same period, when the human lifespan is only ten years, people’s hearts are filled with unlawful sensual desire, and they willingly become slaves to all kinds of improper cravings; therefore, they know only how to proclaim false doctrines. At that time, nonhuman beings (amanuṣya), such as Piśācas and others, produce disease-causing influences (yams kyi nad), causing many kinds of epidemic to spread, and those who contract them cannot be cured.

(3) During that same period, when the human lifespan is reduced to only ten years and all kinds of greed and hatred arise in people’s minds as they place their faith in false doctrines, the heavens cease to send rain and three kinds of famine appear: gathering (cañcu), white bones (śvetāsthi), and living by counting sticks (śalākāvṛtti).

The first is called gathering because, at that time, people lack food and their bodies are emaciated and weak, so they must gather together to die; and because they set aside a small quantity of seed and placed it in a tiny casket so that later generations could use it for planting.

The second is called white bones because, at that time, people’s bodies are dried out, so their bones turn white soon after they die; and because others gather these bones and boil them to make water for drinking.

The third is called “living by counting sticks” because, at that time, there is insufficient food, so the members of each household must take turns eating, with their turns marked by sticks. “Today it is the master of the household’s turn to eat; tomorrow it is the mistress of the household’s turn to eat, and so forth”; and because they frequently use sticks to pick out grains remaining in the earth, then boil them to obtain water for drinking.

The sutra says that if someone observes the precept against killing for one day and one night, or offers a single wild jujube fruit or a morsel of food to the Sangha (saṃgha), that person will not be reborn during these periods of warfare, disease, and famine.

(Question) How long do these three calamities last?

(Answer) The calamity of warfare lasts only seven days; the calamity of epidemic disease lasts seven months and seven days; the calamity of famine lasts seven years, seven months, and seven days. The conjunction ka in the stanza indicates that these different periods of time must be added.

The continents of Videha and Godānīya do not experience these three calamities. Nevertheless, when Jambudvīpa is ravaged by warfare, epidemic disease, and famine, malice, ugliness of complexion and debility, hunger, and thirst still occur there.

(Question) Previously, when describing the calamity of fire that burns the world, it was said that the other calamities cause similar devastation; what are these other calamities?

The stanza answers:

[The three calamities are fire, water, and wind,

Whose highest limits are the summits of the three higher dhyānas;

The internal calamities and so forth correspond to these in order.

The fourth dhyāna is not destroyed because it is unmoving;

Yet it is not eternal,

For it perishes together with its beings.

After seven conflagrations, there is one destruction by water;

After seven destructions by water and fire, there is a destruction by wind.]

Treatise: When sentient beings abandon the world-container of the lower realms and gather together (saṃvart) in the heavens of meditative absorption (dhyāna), destruction occurs. This destruction may be caused by fire, because as many as seven suns appear; by water, because there are torrential rains; or by wind, because the wind element is violently agitated through mutual impact. As a result of these destructions, nothing remains in existence; even the smallest atom of the world-container is destroyed.

[Here the question arises whether it is the whole (avayavin) that is destroyed or only its parts (avayava), and whether the destruction is of the substance (guṇin) or of its qualities (guṇa).]

Certain non-Buddhist masters maintain that atoms are eternal and therefore continue to exist after the world-container has disappeared. According to them, if this were not so, gross, manifest things (sthūla) would arise without a cause (ahetuka).

(The Author of the Treatise) It has already been explained that the seed (bīja) of a new world is wind, a wind endowed with a special potency produced by the karmic power of sentient beings; and the condition (nimitta) for this wind is the wind of the Form Realm that has not been destroyed. Moreover, scriptures of the Mahīśāsaka school state that winds coming from another world carry seeds with them.

(Vaiśeṣika) Although we admit that seeds are carried along, we still do not accept that gross, manifest things such as sprouts, stalks, and so forth arise directly from seeds, sprouts, and so forth, [because seeds, sprouts, and so forth are merely efficient causes (nimittakāraṇa), not inherent causes (samavāyikāraṇa)]. We say that sprouts and so forth arise from their parts (avayava), that these parts in turn arise from their own parts, and that this continues until the smallest parts are reached, which arise from atoms.

(The Author of the Treatise) If so, what function does a seed perform with respect to a sprout?

(Vaiśeṣika) Apart from its capacity to draw together the atoms of the sprout, the seed has no function whatsoever in producing (janana) the sprout; for it would be utterly unreasonable to maintain that one thing is produced from something wholly different in kind (vijātīka). If such cases could indeed occur, there would be no law governing production. [One could weave a mat (kaṭa) from cotton threads (tantu).]

(The Author of the Treatise) That is not so. Something may arise from what is different in kind, but according to other principles, as in the arising of sound and of things produced through cooking, and so forth. [Sound arises from impact, and although impact is not sound, it is not wholly unrelated to sound.] Therefore, the activity of all things is not devoid of determinate characteristics.

(Vaiśeṣika) This example is invalid. We admit that what we call a quality (guṇadharma), or an “attribute,” such as sound and so forth, may arise from something similar or dissimilar (saṃyoga); but this cannot be the case with a substance (dravyadharma), for a substance always arises from something similar to itself. Thus only reeds of a particular kind—and not other kinds of reeds—can produce a mat (kaṭa), and only cotton threads (tantu) can produce a cotton cloth (paṭa).

(The Author of the Treatise) The preceding analogy proves nothing, because it cannot be sustained. You say that every thing arises only from something similar to itself, just as a mat arises only from vīraṇa reeds. Yet the mat is nothing other than vīraṇa reeds arranged in a certain manner and designated by the name “mat”; likewise, a cloth is merely another name for cotton threads arranged in a certain manner, just as a swarm of ants is nothing other than ants.

(Vaiśeṣika) How can it be established that a cloth is not something different from its threads?

(The Author of the Treatise) When a sense faculty—whether sight or touch—comes into contact with a single thread, the entire cloth is not perceived. If the cloth existed in each thread—that is, if it were constituted by every thread—why would it not be perceived? If you reply that the whole cloth does not exist in a single thread (akṛtsnavṛtti), then you must acknowledge that the cloth is merely an aggregate of its parts and that each of these parts consists of a thread; for how could you argue that the parts of the cloth are different from the threads?

If you reply that the entire cloth truly exists in each thread but cannot be perceived in an individual thread because such perception requires the sense faculty to come into contact with the cloth in a particular manner so as to perceive the innumerable elements composing it, then only the fringe of the cloth could be seen, not the cloth itself. If you reply that the cloth is not seen when one looks at its fringe because the middle parts and so forth are then not in contact with the sense faculty, this means that you have admitted that the cloth can never be seen, since the middle portions and the two ends—which are regarded as the parts constituting the cloth—are not perceived simultaneously.

If you say that these parts are perceived successively, then you have thereby admitted that the entire cloth, the whole that possesses parts, cannot be perceived, and that the notion of a cloth or a mat is merely a notion of the parts of that cloth or mat. This is like the notion that a circle of fire truly exists when one sees the circular motion of a partially burning brand. Moreover, the cloth cannot be something different from its threads; for if it were different from them, then when the threads differed in color, material, or manner of weaving, one could not say that the cloth has this color, is made of this material, or is woven in this manner, and so forth.

In this case, if you say that the cloth nevertheless has different colors, you have thereby admitted that one thing can produce another thing different in kind. Furthermore, suppose a cloth were dyed on only one side: when looking at that side, one would either fail to see the cloth or would see the cloth as dyed. You might nevertheless boldly assert that, because the cloth is made of threads woven along different courses, it may possess different modes of weaving; but then the cloth would no longer be a single substance, because it would be too internally diverse.

Consider further another supposed whole (avayavin), the ray of light from a flame (agniprabhā): its capacity to emit heat and light changes continuously from beginning to end, and one would be unable to discern either its color or its tangible qualities.

[(Vaiśeṣika) However, if the whole cloth is not different from its constituent parts, and if the atoms—which cannot be apprehended by the faculties—cannot produce (ārambh) a gross effect that can be apprehended by the faculties (aindriyaka), that is, a gross effect different from the atoms, then this world could not be seen; yet people do see a cow.]

(Treatise Master) According to us, although atoms cannot be apprehended individually, they can be apprehended when they come together. This is like the Vaiśeṣikas’ own assertion that atoms, when assembled, are capable of forming gross effects; like the factors of visual consciousness coming together to produce consciousness; and like a person with diseased eyes who can see tufts of hair but cannot see each individual strand.

[The Treatise Master has now finished refuting the views that the whole is different from its parts and that substance is different from its qualities.]

(Treatise Master) An atom (paramāṇu) is itself color and form (rūpa), and so forth; therefore, when the world is destroyed, the atoms necessarily perish as well.

(Vaiśeṣika) An atom is a substance (dravya); and since it is a substance, it is different from color and form, and so forth, which are qualities. Therefore, color and form may perish, but the atom does not perish.

(Treatise Master) The distinction between a thing and its qualities cannot be accepted, because people do not make the division: “This is earth, water, and fire; and these are the qualities of earth—namely, the color of earth, the taste of earth, and so forth.” Yet you assert that substances such as earth can be apprehended by the eye and the other faculties. [Thus you cannot say that earth is not apprehended because it belongs to the class of imperceptible things.] Moreover, when wool, cotton, opium paste, or incense is burned, people no longer conceive of wool, cotton, and so forth when looking at their ashes.

Therefore, this conception does not take as its object a substance possessing such qualities as color and form, but takes as its object only the qualities of color, taste, and so forth. If you maintain that there is a difference between an earthen jar before it is fired and after it has been fired, we reply that it remains the same jar as before. Even if the jar were different from its color, it would still be the former jar despite the change in color.

In reality, however, if we can recognize the unfired jar in the fired jar, it is precisely because its shape remains similar, just as one recognizes a colony of ants. Indeed, who could recognize the jar without seeing the characteristics previously observed?

Let us end here this discussion of such childish doctrines.

(Question) What is the highest limit of this destruction (saṃvartanī)?

(Answer) The second dhyāna is the highest limit (sīmā) of destruction caused by the calamity of fire, and everything below it is burned. The third dhyāna is the final limit of destruction caused by the calamity of water, and everything below it is dissolved and disintegrated. The fourth dhyāna is the highest limit of destruction caused by the calamity of wind, and everything below it is disintegrated or dispersed. What remains after these destructions is called the “crest of the calamity” (the summit of destruction).

Thus, the first dhyāna is destroyed by fire. Indeed, the defilements (apakṣāla) of the first dhyāna are initial and sustained thought (vitarkavicāra); they burn the mind much like fire. The second dhyāna is destroyed by water. Indeed, here the feeling of joy is the defilement; when this defilement is associated with pliancy (praśrabdhi), it makes the body soft and yielding, much like water. Therefore, the Sutra (Madhyama, 58) teaches that painful feeling (duḥkhendriya, the faculty of pain) ceases through the elimination of the body’s grossness and heaviness. The third dhyāna is destroyed by wind because the defilements pertaining to the movement of inhalation and exhalation (āśvāsa, praśavāsa) are wind.

The external (bāhya) defilements of a dhyāna—that is, the calamities that destroy a heavenly realm of meditative concentration—occur in the same order as the internal (ādhyātmika) defilements that affect those who enter that dhyāna.

(Question) Why is there no destruction caused by the earth element, as there is by the fire element and the others?

(Answer) What is called the receptacle-world is itself earth. Therefore, the receptacle-world can be opposed by fire, water, and wind, but it cannot be opposed by earth.

The fourth dhyāna does not undergo destruction because it is intrinsically immovable (aniñjana). The Buddha said that because this dhyāna is free from internal defilements (ādhyātmikāpakṣātarahita), it is unshakable (ānejya). External defilements therefore do not affect this dhyāna either, and consequently it does not undergo destruction.

Some masters maintain that the fourth dhyāna is not destroyed because of the power of the beings of the Pure Abodes who dwell in this dhyāna. These heavenly beings are unable to enter the Formless Realm and also cannot go elsewhere [to a lower plane].

Nevertheless, the receptacle-world belonging to the fourth dhyāna is not permanent and therefore does not constitute a single “ground”; it is like the stars. This dhyāna is divided into many different dwelling places; the various palaces serving as the abodes of those heavenly beings arise and perish together with them.

(Question) In what order do these three destructions occur?

(Answer) Each series of fire calamities comprises seven successive destructions. After each series of fire calamities, one water calamity occurs. After the eighth series—that is, the final series—of fire calamities comes the single destruction by the wind calamity. Those portions of the receptacle-world that continue to exist do so because heavenly beings are reborn there through the power of meditative concentration. Thus, there are altogether fifty-six destructions caused by fire calamities, seven caused by water calamities, and one caused by a wind calamity. This proves that the Prajñaptiśāstra is correct in saying that the heavenly beings of the All-Pervading Purity realm (Śubhakṛtsṇas) live for sixty-four kalpas.