Eastern Videha or
Purvavideha
has the shape of a half-moon; it
has three sides of two thousand yojanas, thus of the same dimension as the long side of Jambu, and one side of three hundred fifty yojanas.
has three sides of two thousand yojanas, thus of the same dimension as the long side of Jambu, and one side of three hundred fifty yojanas.
Abhidharmakosabhasyam-Vol-2-Vasubandhu-Poussin-Pruden-1991
" What does the expression "jambusandagata prthagjana" mean?
[Three opinions in the Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 678a26] 1. According to 338
the first opinion,jambusanda signifyingJambudvlpa, so this signifies, 339
"All beings inhabiting Jambudvlpa who have a stomach. "
This explanation is inadmissable; for the expression "a Prthag-
jana . . . " cannot designate "all beings. . . " Were it to have such a value, we do not see why the Sutra would teach that a gift made to an infinite number of Prthagjanas is more meritorious that one made to a smaller number, to one hundred Rsis: for such would stand of itself, and there
34 would be nothing surprising about it. ?
2. According to the second opinion, the Prthagjana in question is the Bodhisattva close to Bodhi.
3. According to followers of the third opinion, the second opinion is unsustainable: in fact a gift made to such a Bodhisattva is of incalculable merit, and is of a merit superior to a gift made to one hundred kotis of Arhats. The terms of the comparison would be much too low. Thus, say the Vaibhasikas, this Prthagjana is the person who has obtained the
341 so-called nirvedhabhagiya roots of good.
In our opinion, the expression jambusandagata does not ety- mologicallysignify"possessorofthenirvedhabhagtyas\ theusagedoes not give that sense to this expression; neither the Sutra nor the Sastra uses it in this sense: the wotdjambusandagata, "seated under theJambu tree," refers to but one Bodhisattva, [as it is said, "The Bodhisattva Sarvarthasiddha, having left in order to go see Kr? igramaka, sat at the
342
foot of a jambu tree, and entered into the First Dhyana. "] The
Bodhisattva is a Prthagjana, detached from Kamadhatu: one can thus compare him with the non-Buddhist Rsis detached from Kamadhatu and say that a gift made to him is more meritorious that a gift made to Rsis.
Without doubt, a gift made to this Bodhisattva is more meritorious than a gift made to an infinite number of Rsis: and if the Sutra says that it is more meritorious than a gift made to one hundred Rsis, it is because the Sutra explains the gradation of merit by multiples of one hundred: "to feed one hundred animals, to feed one immoral person, to feed one hundred immoral persons. . . " we observe that, to proceed with these
? comparisons, the Sutra does not further speak of a jambusandagata. It does not say, "A gift made to a candidate for the results of Srotaapanna is incomparable greater than a gift made to ajambusandagata*--which it would say if jambusandagata were to signify "a possessor of the nirvedhabhagtyas"--but rather, taking up again the Rsis as the term of comparison, "A gift made to a candidate for the results of Srotaapanna is incomparably greater than a gift made to one hundred non-Buddhist Rsis.
***
We have seen what the pratityasamutpada of beings is, and how beings last. We have seen also how death results from the exhaustion of life (ayus), etc. (ii. 45a, trans, p. 269). It remains for us to say which consciousness is present at the moments of death and birth.
42a-c. Breaking, taking up again, detachment, loss of detach-
ment, death and birth are regarded as proper to the mind
343 consciousness.
It is through a single mental consciousness that the breaking and the
taking up again of the roots of good take place; the detachment either
from a Dhatu, or from a bhilmi (First DhySna, etc. ), and the loss of this
detachment; and death and birth. What is true of birth is evidently true
of the beginning of the intermediate existence: it is useless to speak of
344 it.
42d Death and birth, with the sensation of indifference.
The term cyuta is the equivalent of cyuti or death; the term udbhava is the equivalent of upapatti, arising.
The mind consciousness, at death and at birth, is associated with the sensation of indifference, upeksd, that is, with the sensation that is neither agreeable nor disagreeable. This sensation is not active; the other sensations are active and, as a consequence, an arising and a dying consciousness cannot be associated with them, for, in this hypothesis, it would itself be active.
43a. Neither the one nor the other in "absorption," nor for "one
345 without thought. "
The World AA1
? 448 Chapter Three
Death and birth take place in the mind consciousness (mano- vijndna), [for and by the manovijndna]. But death cannot take place in a
346
person whose mind (citta = manovijndna) is absorbed. An absorbed
mind is found in a sphere--First Dhyana, etc--dissimilar to Kama- dhatu where we suppose the one dying and the one being born is found On the other hand, if we consider a being who dies or who is born in a sphere of absorption, then his mind is certainly not absorbed, for an absorbed mind is only absorbed through effort; it is dbhisamskdrika: thus it is always active (patu). Finally, an absorbed mind is anugrdhaka: that is to say, by its nature, it tends to last, to cause to last; hence it is not suitable to a cutting off of the series.
There is no longer any death or birth for "one without thought," [a person who has entered into nirodhasamdpa&ti and asamjnisamdpatti, ii. 41d]. One who is without thought cannot be killed: when his body (asraya = the sense apparatus, iii. 41) begins to decay--either by the action of the sword or of fire, or by the exhaustion of retribution of the absorptions--then, of necessity, the mind bound to the body [and
347 exisiting as a seed in the body] becomes present and dies.
The state of non-thought is also incompatible with birth, for it is
lacking any cause for the cutting off of the mind, and because there
348 cannot be a birth without defilement.
***
Existence at death (maranabhava) can be good, bad, or neutral. Concerning the death of the Arhat,
349 43b. He obtains Nirvana in two neutral minds.
Namely, in an airyapathika mind or in a vipdkaja mind. At least according to the masters who believe that, in Kamadhatu, a vipdkaja mind can be indifferent (upeksdjv. 4&)\ but, for the masters of an opposing opinion (iv. 47), one cannot obtain Nirvana in an airyapathika mind.
Why is the last mind of the Arhat necessarily neutral?
Because this type of mind, being very weak, is suitable to the cutting
35 off of the mind, that is, to the definitive cutting off of the mind. ?
? In which part of the body does the consciousness perish at death?
When death or "falling" (cyuti) takes place at once, the kayendriya (organ of the body or of touch) perishes at the same time as does the manas.
43c-44a. When death is gradual, the manas dies in the feet, at the navel, in the heart, accordingly as the being goes below, among
351 humans, among the Suras, or is not reborn.
Adhoga, "who goes below," is one who should be reborn in the painful
should be reborn in the human realms of rebirth; suraga, "who goes among the gods," is one who should be reborn in a heavenly realm of rebirth. The consciousness of these beings dies respectively, in the feet, the navel, or in the heart.
Aja, "who is not reborn," is the Arhat: his consciousness also dies in 352
the heart; but according to another opinion, in the head
How does the consciousness die in a certain part of the body?
Because it is in such a part that the destruction of the organ of touch
353
takes place. [The activity of the consciousness which is nonmaterial
and outside of space, is bound to this organ--which alone remains as its support or asraya, iii. 44]. The consciousness dies through the de- struction of the organ of touch, which takes place in a certain place. Towards the end of life, the organ of touch perishes bit by bit; at the end it remains only in a certain part of the body where it finishes by disappearing; in the same way water placed on a hot rock diminishes gradually and finishes by disappearing in a certain place.
***
It is thus that gradual death takes place; in general, the dying person is afflicted by some sensations which break the vital parts.
354 44b. The vital parts are split by water, etc.
355
Marmdni, or vital parts, are those parts of the body which cannot
be damaged without death ensuing.
The World 449
? 450 Chapter Three
When one of the elements,--water, fire or wind,--is extremely troubled, the vital parts are as if they were split by terrible sensations which are like sharp knives. By saying that the vital parts are split, we do not mean to say that they are split like wood. Rather one should understand that they are henceforth incapable of aaivity quite as if they were split.
Why are the vital parts not split by trouble of the earth element?
Because there are only three dosas, namely bile, phlegm, and wind, which are in order the elements of water, fire, and wind.
According to another opinion, since the world perishes by these
three elements (iiilOOa), death also takes place by these three
356 elements.
The vital parts of the gods are not split. But five premonitory signs appear to a god being approached by death: 1. some of his clothes and some of his ornaments give off unpleasant sounds; 2. the light of his body diminishes; 3. some drops of water remain attached to his body after his bath; 4. in spite of his natural mobility, his mind is fixed on an object; and 5. his eyes, naturally fixed, are troubled, opening and closing. And there are five signs of death: 1. his clothes become dirty; 2. his aura fades; 3. sweat appears in his armpits; 4. his body emits a bad odor; and
357 5. the god no longer enjoys his seat.
###
358
The Blessed One classified beings who arise, last, and die, into
three categories: those predestined to health, predestined to loss, and not predestined
44c-d An Aryan and one guilty of anantarya transgressions are 359
predestined, the first to health, the second to loss.
60 What is "health," samyaktva? *
According to the Sutra, the complete abandoning of affection, hatred, error, and all of the defilements, [that is, Nirvana].
What is an Aryan?
One in whom the Path arises, that is, the Pure Path. He is an Aryan
361 disconnection (visamyoga, ii. 55d, p. ) from the defilements.
because he "has gone far" {aradyatah) from evil,
since he possesses
? How is the Aryan predestined to health?
Because he will certainly obtain Nirvana.
But a person who acquires the moksabhagiyas (vi. 24c) will also
certainly obtain Nirvana. Why not consider him predestined to health? Because he can commit transgressions which make him "pre- destined to loss;" or rather because, if he is in fact predestined for
Nirvana, the moment of his arrival at Nirvana is not fixed, as is the case for the Aryans beginning with "he who, at a maximum, will be reborn seven times" (saptakrtvahparama, vi. 34a).
What is loss, mithydtva?
The hellish, animal, and Preta realms of rebirth. A person who commits dnantarya transgressions (iv. 96) will cerainly be reborn in hell; he is thus predestined to loss.
One who is not predestined (aniyata) is one who is not predestined to health or loss. Whether he becomes predestined to one or the other, or whether he continues to not be predestined, depends in fact on his future aaions.
#*#
We have described the world of human beings; let us pass to a
362 description of the receptacle or physical world {bhdjanaloka).
45. Here is how it is thought that the receptable world is
arranged: at the bottom there is a circle of wind, immeasurable,
363 with a height of sixteen hundred thousand leagues.
The great chiliocosm (iii. 73) is arranged as we shall explain. At its
bottom there arises, through the force of the predominent aaions of
beings (adbipatiphala, ii. 58, iv. 85), a circle of wind which rests on 364
space. Itissixteenthousandyojanas (iii. 88)thick;itisimmeasurable 65
in circumference; and it is solid: a mahanagna* could strike at it with his vajra and his vajra would break without the circle of wind being scratched.
46a-b. The circle of water, eleven hundred twenty thousand high.
By the predominate aaions of beings, there falls from massed
The World 451
? 452 Chapter Three
clouds, upon the circle of wind, a rain the drops of which are like the
366
shafts of a carriage. This water forms a circle of water, with a
thickness of eleven hundred twenty thousand yojanas. 367
How do these waters not flow over the edge?
Some say that the waters are sustained by the force of the actions of beings, as food and drink which do not fall in the intestines before being digested
According to another opinion, the waters are sustained by the wind, like grain in aJbasket.
Then the water, agitated by a wind which the force of actions gives
rise to, becomes gold in its upper part, as churned milk becomes
368 cream:
46c-d Then, the circle of waters is no more than eight hundred
369
Then there is above the circle of water now reduced to eight hundred thousand yojanas, a sphere of gold, three hundred twenty thousand
yojanas thick
47a-48a. The circle of water and gold have a diameter of twelve
hundred three thousand four hundred and fifty leagues; triple for
370 its perimeter.
These two circles have the same dimensions.
On the circular sphere of gold which thus rests on the water,
48b-49c. There are Meru, Yugandhara, Isadhara, Khadiraka,
Mount Sudarsana, Asvakarna, Vinataka, and Mount Nimin-
371 dhara; beyond are the continents; on the edge is Cakravada.
Nine great mountains rest on the sphere of gold In the center there is Meru; concentrically, the other seven are arranged around Meru; Nimindhara forms the exterior rim that envelops Meru and the six
372
inner wall-mountains --whence its name. Beyond [Nimindhara] lie
the four continents. Enveloping all is Cakravada, thus named because it encircles the universe with its four continent and also because it has the form of a wheel.
49d-50a. Seven mountains are made of gold; the last is made of iron; and Meru is made of four jewels.
thousand leagues in height; the rest becomes gold
? Yugandhara and the six mountains that surround it are made of
gold; Cakravada is made of iron; Meru has four faces which are
respectively, from north to west, made of gold, silver, lapis and crista!
Each of these substances gives its own color to the part of space which
373
faces it
made of lapis, our heaven is thus similar in color to lapis.
Since the face of Metu. which is turned towardsJambudvlpa is What is the origin of the different substances that make up Meru?
The waters which have fallen on the sphere of gold are rich in
374
different potentialities; under the action of the winds which possess
different efficacies, they disappear and make room for different jewels. It
is thus that the waters are transformed into jewels: the water is the
cause, the jewels are a result different from the cause, and there is no
simultaneity. This is quite different from the concept of transformation 375
(parindma) that the Samkhyas imagine.
What do the Samkhyas understand by parindma?
They admit that dharmas arise and disappear within a permanent
substance (a dharmin or dravyd).
How is this incorrect?
One cannot admit the simultaneous existence of a permanent
376 dharmin, and of dharmas arising and disappearing.
But the Samkhyas do not hold that there is a dharmin separate from the dharmas^ they say that a dharma, when it is transformed (parinam), becomes the support of different characteristics: this dharma they call dharmin. In other words, transformation (parindma) is only the modification (anyathdbhavamdtra) of a substance {dravyd).
This thesis is not correct.
Why is it not correct?
Because there is a contradiction in terms: you admit that that (the
377 cause) is identical to this (the result), but that this is not like that.
The gold, silver, jewels and the land thus formed are brought together and piled in heaps by the winds which are produced by the force of actions. They make up the mountains and the continents.
50b. -51b. Meru is immersed in the water to a depth of twenty-
four thousand leagues and rises above the water some eighty
thousand leagues. The immersion of the eight other mountains
diminishes each by a half. The mountains have equal width and
378 height.
The World 453
? 454 Chapter Three
The mountains rest on the sphere of gold and are in the water to a depth of eighty thousand yojanas. Meru rises out of the water for the same number ofyojanas\ and is thus, both in and out of the water, one hundred sixty thousand yojanas in height. Yugandhara rises out of the
water for forty thousandyojanas, Isadhara for twenty thousandyojanas and thus following until GJcravada which rises out of the water for three
379
hundred twelveyojanas and a half. The mountains are as wide as they
extend out of the water. [For example, if a mountain extends out of the water to a height of twenty thous&ndyojanas, it is then twenty thousand
yojanas wide]. [The word dhana, in the Karika, has the sense of "wide". ] ***
5 lc-52c. The seven Sitas, of which the first is of eighty thousand leagues, form the interval between the mountains. This is the inner ocean, triple in circumference. The other Sitas diminish by a half. The rest is the great outer sea, of three hundred twenty-
38 two thousand leagues. ?
381
The Sitas are located between the mountains, from Meru to
Nimindhara: the Sitas are full of water endowed with the eight qualities:
cold, dear, light, tasty, sweet, not fetid, and harming neither the throat
382 nor the stomach.
The first, between Meru and Yugandhara, is eighty thousand leagues in width. In exterior circumferance, to the shore of Yugandhara, it is triple this, thus two hundred forty thousand yojanas.
The size of the other Sitas diminishes by a half: the second Slta,
between Yugandhara and Isadhara, is forty thousand yojanas in width,
and so on to the seventh, between Vinataka and Nimindhara, which is
twelve hundred fiftyyojanas wide. The calculation of the circumferences
presents no difficulty. The seven Sitas are the inner ocean. The rest, that
is, the water between Nimindhara and GJcravada, is the great outer sea;
it is full of salt water, and is three hundred twenty-two thousandyojanas
383 wide.
***
? 53b-55d There is Jambudvipa, three sides of two thousand, in the form of a carriage, and one side of three and a half; eastern Videha, like a half-moon, three sides likeJambu, and one side of three hundred fifty; Godaniya, of seven thousand five hundred, round, with a diameter of two thousand five hundred; and Kuru, of eight thousand, square, parallel
In the outer sea, corresponding to the four sides of Mem, there are four continents (dvtpas):
1. Jambudvipa has three sides of two thousandyojanas in length, one 384
side of three yojanas and a half: it thus has the shape of a carriage. In 385
its center, resting on the sphere of gold, is the "diamond throne" where the Bodhisattva sits to attain vajropamasamddhi (vi. 44d) and so to become an Arhat and a Buddha: no other place, and no other
person can support the vajropamasamddhi of the Bodhisattva.
2.
Eastern Videha or Purvavideha has the shape of a half-moon; it
has three sides of two thousand yojanas, thus of the same dimension as the long side of Jambu, and one side of three hundred fifty yojanas.
3. Godaniya, which faces the western side of Meru, is round like the
moon; it is seven thousand five hundtedyojanas [in circumference], and 386
two thousand five hundred through the center.
4. Facing the northern side of Meru is Kuru or Uttarakuru which has
the shape of a seat; it is square: its sides, of two thousand yojanas each, form a circumferance of eight thousand yojanas. To say that Kuru is
387 "parallel" means that its four sides are of the same dimension.
Such is the shape of the continents, and such is the shape of the faces
388 of the persons who reside in them.
56. There are eight intermediate continents: Dehas, Videhas,
Kurus, Kauravas, Camaras, and Avaracamaras, Sathas and
389 Uttaramantrins.
These continents are designated by the name of their inhabitants. Dehas and Videhas are located on both sides of Purvavideha; Kurus and Kauravas on the sides of Uttarakuru; Camaras and Avaracamaras on the sides of Jambudvipa; and Sathas and Uttaramantrins on the sides of Godaniya.
All of these continents are inhabited by human beings. Never-
The World 455
? 456 Chapter Three
390
theless, according to one opinion, one of them [namely Camara] is
reserved for Rak? asas.
#*#
57. Here, to the north of the nine ant-Mountains, lie the
Himavat; beyond it, but on this side of the Mountain of Perfume,
391 is a lake deep and wide by fifty leagues.
By going toward the north in this Jambudvipa, one encounters three
392 ant-Mountains, [so called because they have the shape of an ant];
then three other ant-Mountains; then three other again; and finally the Himavat (= the Himalayas).
Beyond that, this side of the Gandhamadana ("the Mountain of
Perfume"), lies Lake Anavatapta from whence there flows out four great
393
rivers, the Ganga, the Sindhu, the Vaksu and the Slta. This lake, fifty
yojanas wide and deep, is full of a water endowed with the eight 394
qualities. Only persons who possess magical powers can go there. The Jambu tree is located near this lake. Our continent receives its name of Jambudvipa, either from the tree, or from the fruit of the tree which is
also called Jambu.
395
Where are the hells , and what are their dimensions?
58. At the bottom, at twenty thousand leagues, is Avici, of this same dimension; above, the seven hells; all eight have sixteen utsodas.
Beneath Jambudvipa, at a distance of twenty thousandyojanas, lies the great hell Avici. It is twenty thousandyojanas high and wide; its sun
396 is thus found forty thousand yojanas below the sun of Jambudvipa.
397 Why is this hell named Avici?
Two explanations: 1. because there is not, in this hell, any interruption {vici) of suffering. Suffering is interrupted in the other hells. In Sarhjlva, for example, bodies are first crushed and reduced to dust; then a cold wind revives them and gives them feeling: from
? whence the name of Samjiva; 2. because there is no agreeable (via) state 398
there. In the other hells all agreeable sensation which arises from retribution is absent; but here there is some agreeable sensations which are "an outflowing" (nisyanda, ii. 56c).
Above Avici are seven hells one above the other: Pratapana, Tapana, Mah&raurava, Raurava, Samghata, Kalasutra, and Samjiva. According to another opinion, these seven hells are placed at the same level as Avici.
Each of the eight hells has sixteen utsadas (See p. 458, line 15). This results from a declaration of the Blessed One,". . . There are eight hells there that I have revealed, difficult to get out of, full of cruel beings, each having sixteen utsadas\ they have four walls and four gates; they are as high as they are wide; they are encircled by walls of fire; their ceiling is fire; their sun is burning, sparkling fire; and they are filled with flames
3 hundreds of yojanas high. " "
***
What are the sixteen utsadas}
59a-c. Kukula, Kunapa, Ksuramarga, etc. , and the River are
400 located at the four cardinal points of these hells.
At each gate of these hells there is found:
1. The Kukula, a fire where one is pushed down to ones knees. When beings put their feet in there, they lose their skin,fleshand blood,
401 which rearises when they take their feet out.
2. The Kunapa, a mire of excrements, where there are water beasts
called Sharp-mouthes, whose bodies are white and heads black, which
402 can bite the damned through to their bones.
3. The Ksuramarga, or Ksuradharamarga, the great road of razor
blades; here beings lose their skin,flesh,and blood when they put their
403 feet on it.
Asipattravana, the forest whose leaves are swords; when these
swords fall, they cut off major and minor parts of the body, which are
404 then devoured by the Syamasabala dogs.
405
AyahSalmallvana, the forests of thorns, thorns sixteen digits in
length. When beings climb these trees, the thorns turn downwards, but they turn upward when they descend the tree.
The World A51
? 458 Chapter Three
Birds, Iron-beaks, tear out and eat the eyes of the damned
These three places of suffering constitute a single utsada because they have in common punishment through injury.
406
4. The fourth utsada is the river Vaitarani, of boiling water loaded
with burning ashes. On both sides there are persons (purusa) armed with swords, lances and javelins, who push back the damned who would get out. Whether they plunge into the water or emerge, whether they go up or down the current, whether they travers in the two directions or are tossed about, the damned are boiled and cooked, as the grains of sesame or corn poured into a cauldron placed over the fire.
The river encircles the great hell like a moat.
The four utsodas are sixteen in number by reason of their difference of place, since they are located at the four gates to the great hell.
***
407 What is the meaning of the word utsada?
They are called utsadas because they are places of supplementary torment: in the hells the damned are tormented, but they are additionally so in the utsadas.
According to Manoratha (above, note 170), after having been shut
m up in the hells, the damned then fall into the utsodas.
***
One question leads to another. We have just spoken of the "persons"
(narakapdla) beings?
They are not beings.
Then how do they move?
Through the actions of beings, like the wind of creation.
Then how do you explain what the Venerable Dharmasubhuti said,
"Those who are angry, who take pleasure in cruel actions and
transgressions, who rejoice in the sufferings of others, are reborn as
411 Yamaraksasas? "
The demons who torment the beings in hell are not termed Yamaraksasas, the "guardians of hell" as you think; but rather the servants of Yama who, on the order of Yama, throw the damned into
who stand on the banks of the Vaitarani. Are the "guardians of hell" 409
410
? hell.
According to another opinion, the "guardians of hell" are beings. Where does the retribution of the cruel acts take place that these
guardians commit in the hells?
In the same hells. Since the retribution of anantarya transgressions
(iv. 97) takes place in these hells, why would the retribution of the actions of the guardians not be possible here?
But why are not the guardians, who are found in the midst of fire, burned?
Because the force of action marks a boundary to the fire and prevents
it from reaching the guardians, or rather because this same force causes
the bodies of the guardians to be made up of primary elements of a
412 special nature.
#**
413 59c-d. There are eight other hells, the cold hells, Arbuda, etc.
These hells are called Arbuda, Nirarbuda, Atata, Hahava, Huhuva, Utpala, Padma, and Mahapadma. Among these names, some (Arbuda, Nirarbuda, Utpala, Padma, and Mahapadma) indicate the form that the beings in hell take: they take the form of an arbuda, a lotus. . . ; the others indicate the noise that the damned make under the bite of the cold: atata
These cold hells are located under Jambudvlpa, on a level with the great hells.
***
How is there place, under a single Jambudvlpa, for the hells which
414 are indeed wider than Jambudvlpa?
The continents, like piles of grain, are wider at their bases. The great ocean does not sink into a deep, steep cavity around the continents. (Vibhasa, TD 27, p. 866a21; Cullavagga, 9,1. 3).
The sixteen hells are created through the force of the actions of beings (ii. 56b, iii. 90c, 101c, iv. 85a); there are hells,--the prdde/ika hells,--created through the force of individual actions, the actions of one
The World 459
? 460 Chapter Three
being, of two beings, of many beings. Their variety is great; their place is
415 not determined: river, mountain, desert, and elsewhere
The principal place of the hells is below. As for the animals, they
have three places, the land, the water, and the air. Their principal place
is the Great Ocean; the animals that are elsewhere are the surplus of the
416 animals.
***
The king of the Pretas is called Yama; his residence, which is the principal dwelling of the Pretas, is located five hundred leagues under Jambudvipa; it is five hundred leagues deep and wide. The Pretas that are found elsewhere are the surplus of the Pretas. The Pretas differ much one from another; certain of them possess supernatural powers
and enjoy a glory similar to that of the gods; see the Avaddnas of the 417
Pretas.
***
Upon what do the sun and the moon rest?
Upon the wind The collective force of the actions of beings
produces the winds which create (nirma) the moon, the sun and the 418
stars in heaven. A11 these astral bodies revolve around Meru as if transported by a whirlpool.
What is the distance from here to the moon and the sun? 60a. At mid-Meru lie the moon and the sua
The moon and the sun move at a level with the summit of Yugandhara.
What are their dimensions? Respectively.
419 60b. Fifty and fifty and one leagues.
The disk of the moon is of fifty yojanas\ the disk of the sun is of fifty-one yojanas.
The smallest among the "houses" (vimdna) of the stars is of one 420
krosa (iii. 87c); [the largest is of sixteenyojanas].
The force of the actions of beings forms, smaller than and external
? 421 422
to the house of the sun, a disk of fire-stone, hot and luminous; and,
for the house of the moon, a disk of water-stone, cold and luminous. Their function, according to circumstances, is to cause to arise and last the eye, the body, fruits, flowers, crops, and herbs; and to destroy them.
In a universe with its four continents (iii. 73) there is a single sun and a single moon. Yet the sun does not fulfill its function at the same time in the four continents.
61a-b. Midnight it sets, midday it rises at the same moment
When it is midnight in Uttarakuru, the sun sets in Purvavideha, it is midday inJambudvipa, and it rises in Godaniya, and so on. (Dtrgha, TD 1, p. I47c6-14).
By reason of the variety of the progress of the sun, the days and nights grow longer and shorter.
61c-62b. The nights grow longer after the ninth day of the second quarter of the second month of the rains, and they grow shorter after the ninth day of the second quarter of the fourth month of winter. Reverse for the days. The days and the nights grow longer little by little accordingly as the sun goes towards the south or towards the north.
The nights grow longer from the ninth day of the clear quarter of Bhadrapada on, and grow shorter from the ninth day of the clear quarter of Phalguna on. Reverse for the days: when the nights become longer, the days become shorter, and vice versa. The days and the nights grow longer and shorter gradually, in proportion to the sun going towards the
423 south or towards the north of Jambudvipa.
##*
Why does the disk of the moon not appear completely full at the beginning of the bright quarter?
62c-d The moon is covered by its shadow by reason of its proximity to the sun, and one sees it incompletely.
This is the teaching of the Prajnapti, "When the house of the moon moves in the vicinity of the house of the sun, then the light of the sun
The World 461
? 462 Chapter Three
falls on the house of the moon. Consequently, the shadow falls on the
424 opposite side, and the disk appears incomplete. "
But, according to the ancient masters, the Yogacarins, the manner of
its moving is such that the moon appears sometimes complete,
425 sometimes incomplete.
***
To what class of beings do the inhabitants of the houses of the sun, the moon and the stars belong?
426
These are the Caturmaharajakayikas, and the only ones among
these gods who inhabit houses; but there is a great number of Caturmaharajakayikas who inhabit the earth, in the parisandds--the stages or terraces--of Mem and elsewhere.
##*
63-64. There are four terraces, the distance between them being
ten thousand leagues, extending out sixteen, eight, four and two
thousand leagues. They are the Karotapanis, the Maladharas,
the Sadamattas and the two Maharajikas; and also on the seven
427 mountains.
The first terrace is ten thousand leagues above the water, the second ten thousand leagues above the first and so on. They thus reach up to the middle of Mem. The first terrace extends out from Mem sixteen thousand leagues; the others, in their order extend out eight, four, two
428
thousand leagues. On the first terrace reside the Yaksas "Pitcher in
429
their Hand": on the second, the "Wearers of Crowns;" on the third
the "Always Intoxicated" (saddmatta, which the Karika calls soda- m
mada): all these gods belong to the Caturmaharajakayikas. At the 431
fourth terrace are the Four Kings in person with their attendants: these gods are called the Caturmaharajakayikas, the Four Great Kings. As the Caturmaharajakayikas inhabit Mem, so too they have villages
and towns on the seven mountains of gold, Yugandhara, etc Also the gods of this class are the most numerous of the gods.
? 65-68. The Thirty-three Gods are at the summit of Meru, the sides of which are eighty thousand (leagues). At the corners, four peaks which the Vajrapanis inhabit. In the middle, with sides of two thousand five hundred, with a height of one and a half, is a village called Sudar&ana, of gold, with a varigated and smooth sun. There is Vaijayanta, with sides of two hundred fifty. On the outside, this village is adorned with Caitraratha, Parusya, MiSra and Nandana (Parks); at a distance of twenty thousand leagues from these Parks, at the four sides, there are excellent fields. At the northeast Parijata, in the southwest Sudharma.
432
1. The Trayastrimsas or Thirty-three Gods
Meru; the sides of this summit are of eighty thousand yojanas. According to other masters, the sides of each are twenty thousand, and
433 the circumference is eighty thousand.
2. At the corners, there are peaks (kuta), five hundredyojanas high and wide, where the Yaksas called Vajrapanis reside.
3. In the middle of the plateau of Meru there is the royal city of Sakra,
the chief of the gods, a city called "Beautiful to Look At" (Sudar- 434
6ana). Its sides are two thousand five hundred yojanas; its cir- 435
cumference is ten thousand; its height oneyojana and a half; it is of gold; it is adorned with one hundred and one types of colors; and the same for its sun. This sun is soft to the touch, like the leaf of the cotton tree; it rises and falls to facilitate its progress.
4. In the middle of this city there is the palace of Sakra, the chief of the gods, called Vaijayanta: it makes all the other residences blush by its richness and its gems. Its sides are two hundred fifty yojanas.
Such are the adornments of the city itself.
436
5. Ornaments outside of the city are the four Parks: Caitraratha,
Parusyaka, MiSraka, and Nandana, fields of play for the gods.
437
6. At the four sides of these Parks, from a distance of twenty
438 yojanas on, there are four fields of play with a marvellous sun,
delightful and which appears to rival them.
7. The magnolia tree called Parijataka is, for the Thirty-three
439
Gods, the place par excellence for pleasure and for love; its roots go
The World 465
inhabit the summit of
? 464 Chapter Three
m
down fiftyyojanas\ it is one hundredyojanas high; with its branches,
leaves and petals, it covers fifty yojanas.
The fragrance of its flowers spreads one hundredyojanas away with
the wind, fifty against the wind.
So be it, it can spread to one hundredyojanas with the wind, but how
can it go against the wind?
According to one opinion, one says that it spreads to fifty yojanas
against the wind, because it does not go beyond the tree [which covers in fact fifty yojanas],
[But this explanation does not hold: for] the text says that it goes against the wind
We say then that the fragrance does not go against the wind, that it perishes where it arises: but such is the quality of this fragrance that, even though it would be arrested by the lightest divine wind, it gives birth to a new "series" of identical fragrances. Nevertheless, the fragrances become weak, weaker, entirely weak and are completely arrested, incapable of going as far as it does when the wind is favorable.
Does the series of this fragrance have for its support only its own primary elements which constitute the fragrance? Or rather should one suppose that the wind becomes perfumed? [In the same way as, when the grains of sesame are perfumed byflowers,there arises a new odor which is no longer the fragrance of the flowers. ]
The opinion of the masters is not fixed on this.
441
Yet the Blessed One said, "The fragrance offlowersdoes not go
against the wind, neither does the fragrance of good go against the wind; but the satpurusa goes in all directions. " How do you reconcile this statement with the theory that fragrance "goes against the wind? "
This statement refers to odors of the world of humans, which, it is
quite evident, does not go against the wind
442
The MahlSasakas read, "The fragrance [of the flowers of the
Parijataka tree] go with the wind for a hundredyojanas; in the absence of wind, to fifty. "
443
8. In the southeast lies Sudharma, the room where the gods come
together {devasabha) in order to examine the good and the evil deeds committed by human beings.
Such is the arrangement of the receptacle or physical world of the Thirty-three Gods.
? 444 69a-b.
[Three opinions in the Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 678a26] 1. According to 338
the first opinion,jambusanda signifyingJambudvlpa, so this signifies, 339
"All beings inhabiting Jambudvlpa who have a stomach. "
This explanation is inadmissable; for the expression "a Prthag-
jana . . . " cannot designate "all beings. . . " Were it to have such a value, we do not see why the Sutra would teach that a gift made to an infinite number of Prthagjanas is more meritorious that one made to a smaller number, to one hundred Rsis: for such would stand of itself, and there
34 would be nothing surprising about it. ?
2. According to the second opinion, the Prthagjana in question is the Bodhisattva close to Bodhi.
3. According to followers of the third opinion, the second opinion is unsustainable: in fact a gift made to such a Bodhisattva is of incalculable merit, and is of a merit superior to a gift made to one hundred kotis of Arhats. The terms of the comparison would be much too low. Thus, say the Vaibhasikas, this Prthagjana is the person who has obtained the
341 so-called nirvedhabhagiya roots of good.
In our opinion, the expression jambusandagata does not ety- mologicallysignify"possessorofthenirvedhabhagtyas\ theusagedoes not give that sense to this expression; neither the Sutra nor the Sastra uses it in this sense: the wotdjambusandagata, "seated under theJambu tree," refers to but one Bodhisattva, [as it is said, "The Bodhisattva Sarvarthasiddha, having left in order to go see Kr? igramaka, sat at the
342
foot of a jambu tree, and entered into the First Dhyana. "] The
Bodhisattva is a Prthagjana, detached from Kamadhatu: one can thus compare him with the non-Buddhist Rsis detached from Kamadhatu and say that a gift made to him is more meritorious that a gift made to Rsis.
Without doubt, a gift made to this Bodhisattva is more meritorious than a gift made to an infinite number of Rsis: and if the Sutra says that it is more meritorious than a gift made to one hundred Rsis, it is because the Sutra explains the gradation of merit by multiples of one hundred: "to feed one hundred animals, to feed one immoral person, to feed one hundred immoral persons. . . " we observe that, to proceed with these
? comparisons, the Sutra does not further speak of a jambusandagata. It does not say, "A gift made to a candidate for the results of Srotaapanna is incomparable greater than a gift made to ajambusandagata*--which it would say if jambusandagata were to signify "a possessor of the nirvedhabhagtyas"--but rather, taking up again the Rsis as the term of comparison, "A gift made to a candidate for the results of Srotaapanna is incomparably greater than a gift made to one hundred non-Buddhist Rsis.
***
We have seen what the pratityasamutpada of beings is, and how beings last. We have seen also how death results from the exhaustion of life (ayus), etc. (ii. 45a, trans, p. 269). It remains for us to say which consciousness is present at the moments of death and birth.
42a-c. Breaking, taking up again, detachment, loss of detach-
ment, death and birth are regarded as proper to the mind
343 consciousness.
It is through a single mental consciousness that the breaking and the
taking up again of the roots of good take place; the detachment either
from a Dhatu, or from a bhilmi (First DhySna, etc. ), and the loss of this
detachment; and death and birth. What is true of birth is evidently true
of the beginning of the intermediate existence: it is useless to speak of
344 it.
42d Death and birth, with the sensation of indifference.
The term cyuta is the equivalent of cyuti or death; the term udbhava is the equivalent of upapatti, arising.
The mind consciousness, at death and at birth, is associated with the sensation of indifference, upeksd, that is, with the sensation that is neither agreeable nor disagreeable. This sensation is not active; the other sensations are active and, as a consequence, an arising and a dying consciousness cannot be associated with them, for, in this hypothesis, it would itself be active.
43a. Neither the one nor the other in "absorption," nor for "one
345 without thought. "
The World AA1
? 448 Chapter Three
Death and birth take place in the mind consciousness (mano- vijndna), [for and by the manovijndna]. But death cannot take place in a
346
person whose mind (citta = manovijndna) is absorbed. An absorbed
mind is found in a sphere--First Dhyana, etc--dissimilar to Kama- dhatu where we suppose the one dying and the one being born is found On the other hand, if we consider a being who dies or who is born in a sphere of absorption, then his mind is certainly not absorbed, for an absorbed mind is only absorbed through effort; it is dbhisamskdrika: thus it is always active (patu). Finally, an absorbed mind is anugrdhaka: that is to say, by its nature, it tends to last, to cause to last; hence it is not suitable to a cutting off of the series.
There is no longer any death or birth for "one without thought," [a person who has entered into nirodhasamdpa&ti and asamjnisamdpatti, ii. 41d]. One who is without thought cannot be killed: when his body (asraya = the sense apparatus, iii. 41) begins to decay--either by the action of the sword or of fire, or by the exhaustion of retribution of the absorptions--then, of necessity, the mind bound to the body [and
347 exisiting as a seed in the body] becomes present and dies.
The state of non-thought is also incompatible with birth, for it is
lacking any cause for the cutting off of the mind, and because there
348 cannot be a birth without defilement.
***
Existence at death (maranabhava) can be good, bad, or neutral. Concerning the death of the Arhat,
349 43b. He obtains Nirvana in two neutral minds.
Namely, in an airyapathika mind or in a vipdkaja mind. At least according to the masters who believe that, in Kamadhatu, a vipdkaja mind can be indifferent (upeksdjv. 4&)\ but, for the masters of an opposing opinion (iv. 47), one cannot obtain Nirvana in an airyapathika mind.
Why is the last mind of the Arhat necessarily neutral?
Because this type of mind, being very weak, is suitable to the cutting
35 off of the mind, that is, to the definitive cutting off of the mind. ?
? In which part of the body does the consciousness perish at death?
When death or "falling" (cyuti) takes place at once, the kayendriya (organ of the body or of touch) perishes at the same time as does the manas.
43c-44a. When death is gradual, the manas dies in the feet, at the navel, in the heart, accordingly as the being goes below, among
351 humans, among the Suras, or is not reborn.
Adhoga, "who goes below," is one who should be reborn in the painful
should be reborn in the human realms of rebirth; suraga, "who goes among the gods," is one who should be reborn in a heavenly realm of rebirth. The consciousness of these beings dies respectively, in the feet, the navel, or in the heart.
Aja, "who is not reborn," is the Arhat: his consciousness also dies in 352
the heart; but according to another opinion, in the head
How does the consciousness die in a certain part of the body?
Because it is in such a part that the destruction of the organ of touch
353
takes place. [The activity of the consciousness which is nonmaterial
and outside of space, is bound to this organ--which alone remains as its support or asraya, iii. 44]. The consciousness dies through the de- struction of the organ of touch, which takes place in a certain place. Towards the end of life, the organ of touch perishes bit by bit; at the end it remains only in a certain part of the body where it finishes by disappearing; in the same way water placed on a hot rock diminishes gradually and finishes by disappearing in a certain place.
***
It is thus that gradual death takes place; in general, the dying person is afflicted by some sensations which break the vital parts.
354 44b. The vital parts are split by water, etc.
355
Marmdni, or vital parts, are those parts of the body which cannot
be damaged without death ensuing.
The World 449
? 450 Chapter Three
When one of the elements,--water, fire or wind,--is extremely troubled, the vital parts are as if they were split by terrible sensations which are like sharp knives. By saying that the vital parts are split, we do not mean to say that they are split like wood. Rather one should understand that they are henceforth incapable of aaivity quite as if they were split.
Why are the vital parts not split by trouble of the earth element?
Because there are only three dosas, namely bile, phlegm, and wind, which are in order the elements of water, fire, and wind.
According to another opinion, since the world perishes by these
three elements (iiilOOa), death also takes place by these three
356 elements.
The vital parts of the gods are not split. But five premonitory signs appear to a god being approached by death: 1. some of his clothes and some of his ornaments give off unpleasant sounds; 2. the light of his body diminishes; 3. some drops of water remain attached to his body after his bath; 4. in spite of his natural mobility, his mind is fixed on an object; and 5. his eyes, naturally fixed, are troubled, opening and closing. And there are five signs of death: 1. his clothes become dirty; 2. his aura fades; 3. sweat appears in his armpits; 4. his body emits a bad odor; and
357 5. the god no longer enjoys his seat.
###
358
The Blessed One classified beings who arise, last, and die, into
three categories: those predestined to health, predestined to loss, and not predestined
44c-d An Aryan and one guilty of anantarya transgressions are 359
predestined, the first to health, the second to loss.
60 What is "health," samyaktva? *
According to the Sutra, the complete abandoning of affection, hatred, error, and all of the defilements, [that is, Nirvana].
What is an Aryan?
One in whom the Path arises, that is, the Pure Path. He is an Aryan
361 disconnection (visamyoga, ii. 55d, p. ) from the defilements.
because he "has gone far" {aradyatah) from evil,
since he possesses
? How is the Aryan predestined to health?
Because he will certainly obtain Nirvana.
But a person who acquires the moksabhagiyas (vi. 24c) will also
certainly obtain Nirvana. Why not consider him predestined to health? Because he can commit transgressions which make him "pre- destined to loss;" or rather because, if he is in fact predestined for
Nirvana, the moment of his arrival at Nirvana is not fixed, as is the case for the Aryans beginning with "he who, at a maximum, will be reborn seven times" (saptakrtvahparama, vi. 34a).
What is loss, mithydtva?
The hellish, animal, and Preta realms of rebirth. A person who commits dnantarya transgressions (iv. 96) will cerainly be reborn in hell; he is thus predestined to loss.
One who is not predestined (aniyata) is one who is not predestined to health or loss. Whether he becomes predestined to one or the other, or whether he continues to not be predestined, depends in fact on his future aaions.
#*#
We have described the world of human beings; let us pass to a
362 description of the receptacle or physical world {bhdjanaloka).
45. Here is how it is thought that the receptable world is
arranged: at the bottom there is a circle of wind, immeasurable,
363 with a height of sixteen hundred thousand leagues.
The great chiliocosm (iii. 73) is arranged as we shall explain. At its
bottom there arises, through the force of the predominent aaions of
beings (adbipatiphala, ii. 58, iv. 85), a circle of wind which rests on 364
space. Itissixteenthousandyojanas (iii. 88)thick;itisimmeasurable 65
in circumference; and it is solid: a mahanagna* could strike at it with his vajra and his vajra would break without the circle of wind being scratched.
46a-b. The circle of water, eleven hundred twenty thousand high.
By the predominate aaions of beings, there falls from massed
The World 451
? 452 Chapter Three
clouds, upon the circle of wind, a rain the drops of which are like the
366
shafts of a carriage. This water forms a circle of water, with a
thickness of eleven hundred twenty thousand yojanas. 367
How do these waters not flow over the edge?
Some say that the waters are sustained by the force of the actions of beings, as food and drink which do not fall in the intestines before being digested
According to another opinion, the waters are sustained by the wind, like grain in aJbasket.
Then the water, agitated by a wind which the force of actions gives
rise to, becomes gold in its upper part, as churned milk becomes
368 cream:
46c-d Then, the circle of waters is no more than eight hundred
369
Then there is above the circle of water now reduced to eight hundred thousand yojanas, a sphere of gold, three hundred twenty thousand
yojanas thick
47a-48a. The circle of water and gold have a diameter of twelve
hundred three thousand four hundred and fifty leagues; triple for
370 its perimeter.
These two circles have the same dimensions.
On the circular sphere of gold which thus rests on the water,
48b-49c. There are Meru, Yugandhara, Isadhara, Khadiraka,
Mount Sudarsana, Asvakarna, Vinataka, and Mount Nimin-
371 dhara; beyond are the continents; on the edge is Cakravada.
Nine great mountains rest on the sphere of gold In the center there is Meru; concentrically, the other seven are arranged around Meru; Nimindhara forms the exterior rim that envelops Meru and the six
372
inner wall-mountains --whence its name. Beyond [Nimindhara] lie
the four continents. Enveloping all is Cakravada, thus named because it encircles the universe with its four continent and also because it has the form of a wheel.
49d-50a. Seven mountains are made of gold; the last is made of iron; and Meru is made of four jewels.
thousand leagues in height; the rest becomes gold
? Yugandhara and the six mountains that surround it are made of
gold; Cakravada is made of iron; Meru has four faces which are
respectively, from north to west, made of gold, silver, lapis and crista!
Each of these substances gives its own color to the part of space which
373
faces it
made of lapis, our heaven is thus similar in color to lapis.
Since the face of Metu. which is turned towardsJambudvlpa is What is the origin of the different substances that make up Meru?
The waters which have fallen on the sphere of gold are rich in
374
different potentialities; under the action of the winds which possess
different efficacies, they disappear and make room for different jewels. It
is thus that the waters are transformed into jewels: the water is the
cause, the jewels are a result different from the cause, and there is no
simultaneity. This is quite different from the concept of transformation 375
(parindma) that the Samkhyas imagine.
What do the Samkhyas understand by parindma?
They admit that dharmas arise and disappear within a permanent
substance (a dharmin or dravyd).
How is this incorrect?
One cannot admit the simultaneous existence of a permanent
376 dharmin, and of dharmas arising and disappearing.
But the Samkhyas do not hold that there is a dharmin separate from the dharmas^ they say that a dharma, when it is transformed (parinam), becomes the support of different characteristics: this dharma they call dharmin. In other words, transformation (parindma) is only the modification (anyathdbhavamdtra) of a substance {dravyd).
This thesis is not correct.
Why is it not correct?
Because there is a contradiction in terms: you admit that that (the
377 cause) is identical to this (the result), but that this is not like that.
The gold, silver, jewels and the land thus formed are brought together and piled in heaps by the winds which are produced by the force of actions. They make up the mountains and the continents.
50b. -51b. Meru is immersed in the water to a depth of twenty-
four thousand leagues and rises above the water some eighty
thousand leagues. The immersion of the eight other mountains
diminishes each by a half. The mountains have equal width and
378 height.
The World 453
? 454 Chapter Three
The mountains rest on the sphere of gold and are in the water to a depth of eighty thousand yojanas. Meru rises out of the water for the same number ofyojanas\ and is thus, both in and out of the water, one hundred sixty thousand yojanas in height. Yugandhara rises out of the
water for forty thousandyojanas, Isadhara for twenty thousandyojanas and thus following until GJcravada which rises out of the water for three
379
hundred twelveyojanas and a half. The mountains are as wide as they
extend out of the water. [For example, if a mountain extends out of the water to a height of twenty thous&ndyojanas, it is then twenty thousand
yojanas wide]. [The word dhana, in the Karika, has the sense of "wide". ] ***
5 lc-52c. The seven Sitas, of which the first is of eighty thousand leagues, form the interval between the mountains. This is the inner ocean, triple in circumference. The other Sitas diminish by a half. The rest is the great outer sea, of three hundred twenty-
38 two thousand leagues. ?
381
The Sitas are located between the mountains, from Meru to
Nimindhara: the Sitas are full of water endowed with the eight qualities:
cold, dear, light, tasty, sweet, not fetid, and harming neither the throat
382 nor the stomach.
The first, between Meru and Yugandhara, is eighty thousand leagues in width. In exterior circumferance, to the shore of Yugandhara, it is triple this, thus two hundred forty thousand yojanas.
The size of the other Sitas diminishes by a half: the second Slta,
between Yugandhara and Isadhara, is forty thousand yojanas in width,
and so on to the seventh, between Vinataka and Nimindhara, which is
twelve hundred fiftyyojanas wide. The calculation of the circumferences
presents no difficulty. The seven Sitas are the inner ocean. The rest, that
is, the water between Nimindhara and GJcravada, is the great outer sea;
it is full of salt water, and is three hundred twenty-two thousandyojanas
383 wide.
***
? 53b-55d There is Jambudvipa, three sides of two thousand, in the form of a carriage, and one side of three and a half; eastern Videha, like a half-moon, three sides likeJambu, and one side of three hundred fifty; Godaniya, of seven thousand five hundred, round, with a diameter of two thousand five hundred; and Kuru, of eight thousand, square, parallel
In the outer sea, corresponding to the four sides of Mem, there are four continents (dvtpas):
1. Jambudvipa has three sides of two thousandyojanas in length, one 384
side of three yojanas and a half: it thus has the shape of a carriage. In 385
its center, resting on the sphere of gold, is the "diamond throne" where the Bodhisattva sits to attain vajropamasamddhi (vi. 44d) and so to become an Arhat and a Buddha: no other place, and no other
person can support the vajropamasamddhi of the Bodhisattva.
2.
Eastern Videha or Purvavideha has the shape of a half-moon; it
has three sides of two thousand yojanas, thus of the same dimension as the long side of Jambu, and one side of three hundred fifty yojanas.
3. Godaniya, which faces the western side of Meru, is round like the
moon; it is seven thousand five hundtedyojanas [in circumference], and 386
two thousand five hundred through the center.
4. Facing the northern side of Meru is Kuru or Uttarakuru which has
the shape of a seat; it is square: its sides, of two thousand yojanas each, form a circumferance of eight thousand yojanas. To say that Kuru is
387 "parallel" means that its four sides are of the same dimension.
Such is the shape of the continents, and such is the shape of the faces
388 of the persons who reside in them.
56. There are eight intermediate continents: Dehas, Videhas,
Kurus, Kauravas, Camaras, and Avaracamaras, Sathas and
389 Uttaramantrins.
These continents are designated by the name of their inhabitants. Dehas and Videhas are located on both sides of Purvavideha; Kurus and Kauravas on the sides of Uttarakuru; Camaras and Avaracamaras on the sides of Jambudvipa; and Sathas and Uttaramantrins on the sides of Godaniya.
All of these continents are inhabited by human beings. Never-
The World 455
? 456 Chapter Three
390
theless, according to one opinion, one of them [namely Camara] is
reserved for Rak? asas.
#*#
57. Here, to the north of the nine ant-Mountains, lie the
Himavat; beyond it, but on this side of the Mountain of Perfume,
391 is a lake deep and wide by fifty leagues.
By going toward the north in this Jambudvipa, one encounters three
392 ant-Mountains, [so called because they have the shape of an ant];
then three other ant-Mountains; then three other again; and finally the Himavat (= the Himalayas).
Beyond that, this side of the Gandhamadana ("the Mountain of
Perfume"), lies Lake Anavatapta from whence there flows out four great
393
rivers, the Ganga, the Sindhu, the Vaksu and the Slta. This lake, fifty
yojanas wide and deep, is full of a water endowed with the eight 394
qualities. Only persons who possess magical powers can go there. The Jambu tree is located near this lake. Our continent receives its name of Jambudvipa, either from the tree, or from the fruit of the tree which is
also called Jambu.
395
Where are the hells , and what are their dimensions?
58. At the bottom, at twenty thousand leagues, is Avici, of this same dimension; above, the seven hells; all eight have sixteen utsodas.
Beneath Jambudvipa, at a distance of twenty thousandyojanas, lies the great hell Avici. It is twenty thousandyojanas high and wide; its sun
396 is thus found forty thousand yojanas below the sun of Jambudvipa.
397 Why is this hell named Avici?
Two explanations: 1. because there is not, in this hell, any interruption {vici) of suffering. Suffering is interrupted in the other hells. In Sarhjlva, for example, bodies are first crushed and reduced to dust; then a cold wind revives them and gives them feeling: from
? whence the name of Samjiva; 2. because there is no agreeable (via) state 398
there. In the other hells all agreeable sensation which arises from retribution is absent; but here there is some agreeable sensations which are "an outflowing" (nisyanda, ii. 56c).
Above Avici are seven hells one above the other: Pratapana, Tapana, Mah&raurava, Raurava, Samghata, Kalasutra, and Samjiva. According to another opinion, these seven hells are placed at the same level as Avici.
Each of the eight hells has sixteen utsadas (See p. 458, line 15). This results from a declaration of the Blessed One,". . . There are eight hells there that I have revealed, difficult to get out of, full of cruel beings, each having sixteen utsadas\ they have four walls and four gates; they are as high as they are wide; they are encircled by walls of fire; their ceiling is fire; their sun is burning, sparkling fire; and they are filled with flames
3 hundreds of yojanas high. " "
***
What are the sixteen utsadas}
59a-c. Kukula, Kunapa, Ksuramarga, etc. , and the River are
400 located at the four cardinal points of these hells.
At each gate of these hells there is found:
1. The Kukula, a fire where one is pushed down to ones knees. When beings put their feet in there, they lose their skin,fleshand blood,
401 which rearises when they take their feet out.
2. The Kunapa, a mire of excrements, where there are water beasts
called Sharp-mouthes, whose bodies are white and heads black, which
402 can bite the damned through to their bones.
3. The Ksuramarga, or Ksuradharamarga, the great road of razor
blades; here beings lose their skin,flesh,and blood when they put their
403 feet on it.
Asipattravana, the forest whose leaves are swords; when these
swords fall, they cut off major and minor parts of the body, which are
404 then devoured by the Syamasabala dogs.
405
AyahSalmallvana, the forests of thorns, thorns sixteen digits in
length. When beings climb these trees, the thorns turn downwards, but they turn upward when they descend the tree.
The World A51
? 458 Chapter Three
Birds, Iron-beaks, tear out and eat the eyes of the damned
These three places of suffering constitute a single utsada because they have in common punishment through injury.
406
4. The fourth utsada is the river Vaitarani, of boiling water loaded
with burning ashes. On both sides there are persons (purusa) armed with swords, lances and javelins, who push back the damned who would get out. Whether they plunge into the water or emerge, whether they go up or down the current, whether they travers in the two directions or are tossed about, the damned are boiled and cooked, as the grains of sesame or corn poured into a cauldron placed over the fire.
The river encircles the great hell like a moat.
The four utsodas are sixteen in number by reason of their difference of place, since they are located at the four gates to the great hell.
***
407 What is the meaning of the word utsada?
They are called utsadas because they are places of supplementary torment: in the hells the damned are tormented, but they are additionally so in the utsadas.
According to Manoratha (above, note 170), after having been shut
m up in the hells, the damned then fall into the utsodas.
***
One question leads to another. We have just spoken of the "persons"
(narakapdla) beings?
They are not beings.
Then how do they move?
Through the actions of beings, like the wind of creation.
Then how do you explain what the Venerable Dharmasubhuti said,
"Those who are angry, who take pleasure in cruel actions and
transgressions, who rejoice in the sufferings of others, are reborn as
411 Yamaraksasas? "
The demons who torment the beings in hell are not termed Yamaraksasas, the "guardians of hell" as you think; but rather the servants of Yama who, on the order of Yama, throw the damned into
who stand on the banks of the Vaitarani. Are the "guardians of hell" 409
410
? hell.
According to another opinion, the "guardians of hell" are beings. Where does the retribution of the cruel acts take place that these
guardians commit in the hells?
In the same hells. Since the retribution of anantarya transgressions
(iv. 97) takes place in these hells, why would the retribution of the actions of the guardians not be possible here?
But why are not the guardians, who are found in the midst of fire, burned?
Because the force of action marks a boundary to the fire and prevents
it from reaching the guardians, or rather because this same force causes
the bodies of the guardians to be made up of primary elements of a
412 special nature.
#**
413 59c-d. There are eight other hells, the cold hells, Arbuda, etc.
These hells are called Arbuda, Nirarbuda, Atata, Hahava, Huhuva, Utpala, Padma, and Mahapadma. Among these names, some (Arbuda, Nirarbuda, Utpala, Padma, and Mahapadma) indicate the form that the beings in hell take: they take the form of an arbuda, a lotus. . . ; the others indicate the noise that the damned make under the bite of the cold: atata
These cold hells are located under Jambudvlpa, on a level with the great hells.
***
How is there place, under a single Jambudvlpa, for the hells which
414 are indeed wider than Jambudvlpa?
The continents, like piles of grain, are wider at their bases. The great ocean does not sink into a deep, steep cavity around the continents. (Vibhasa, TD 27, p. 866a21; Cullavagga, 9,1. 3).
The sixteen hells are created through the force of the actions of beings (ii. 56b, iii. 90c, 101c, iv. 85a); there are hells,--the prdde/ika hells,--created through the force of individual actions, the actions of one
The World 459
? 460 Chapter Three
being, of two beings, of many beings. Their variety is great; their place is
415 not determined: river, mountain, desert, and elsewhere
The principal place of the hells is below. As for the animals, they
have three places, the land, the water, and the air. Their principal place
is the Great Ocean; the animals that are elsewhere are the surplus of the
416 animals.
***
The king of the Pretas is called Yama; his residence, which is the principal dwelling of the Pretas, is located five hundred leagues under Jambudvipa; it is five hundred leagues deep and wide. The Pretas that are found elsewhere are the surplus of the Pretas. The Pretas differ much one from another; certain of them possess supernatural powers
and enjoy a glory similar to that of the gods; see the Avaddnas of the 417
Pretas.
***
Upon what do the sun and the moon rest?
Upon the wind The collective force of the actions of beings
produces the winds which create (nirma) the moon, the sun and the 418
stars in heaven. A11 these astral bodies revolve around Meru as if transported by a whirlpool.
What is the distance from here to the moon and the sun? 60a. At mid-Meru lie the moon and the sua
The moon and the sun move at a level with the summit of Yugandhara.
What are their dimensions? Respectively.
419 60b. Fifty and fifty and one leagues.
The disk of the moon is of fifty yojanas\ the disk of the sun is of fifty-one yojanas.
The smallest among the "houses" (vimdna) of the stars is of one 420
krosa (iii. 87c); [the largest is of sixteenyojanas].
The force of the actions of beings forms, smaller than and external
? 421 422
to the house of the sun, a disk of fire-stone, hot and luminous; and,
for the house of the moon, a disk of water-stone, cold and luminous. Their function, according to circumstances, is to cause to arise and last the eye, the body, fruits, flowers, crops, and herbs; and to destroy them.
In a universe with its four continents (iii. 73) there is a single sun and a single moon. Yet the sun does not fulfill its function at the same time in the four continents.
61a-b. Midnight it sets, midday it rises at the same moment
When it is midnight in Uttarakuru, the sun sets in Purvavideha, it is midday inJambudvipa, and it rises in Godaniya, and so on. (Dtrgha, TD 1, p. I47c6-14).
By reason of the variety of the progress of the sun, the days and nights grow longer and shorter.
61c-62b. The nights grow longer after the ninth day of the second quarter of the second month of the rains, and they grow shorter after the ninth day of the second quarter of the fourth month of winter. Reverse for the days. The days and the nights grow longer little by little accordingly as the sun goes towards the south or towards the north.
The nights grow longer from the ninth day of the clear quarter of Bhadrapada on, and grow shorter from the ninth day of the clear quarter of Phalguna on. Reverse for the days: when the nights become longer, the days become shorter, and vice versa. The days and the nights grow longer and shorter gradually, in proportion to the sun going towards the
423 south or towards the north of Jambudvipa.
##*
Why does the disk of the moon not appear completely full at the beginning of the bright quarter?
62c-d The moon is covered by its shadow by reason of its proximity to the sun, and one sees it incompletely.
This is the teaching of the Prajnapti, "When the house of the moon moves in the vicinity of the house of the sun, then the light of the sun
The World 461
? 462 Chapter Three
falls on the house of the moon. Consequently, the shadow falls on the
424 opposite side, and the disk appears incomplete. "
But, according to the ancient masters, the Yogacarins, the manner of
its moving is such that the moon appears sometimes complete,
425 sometimes incomplete.
***
To what class of beings do the inhabitants of the houses of the sun, the moon and the stars belong?
426
These are the Caturmaharajakayikas, and the only ones among
these gods who inhabit houses; but there is a great number of Caturmaharajakayikas who inhabit the earth, in the parisandds--the stages or terraces--of Mem and elsewhere.
##*
63-64. There are four terraces, the distance between them being
ten thousand leagues, extending out sixteen, eight, four and two
thousand leagues. They are the Karotapanis, the Maladharas,
the Sadamattas and the two Maharajikas; and also on the seven
427 mountains.
The first terrace is ten thousand leagues above the water, the second ten thousand leagues above the first and so on. They thus reach up to the middle of Mem. The first terrace extends out from Mem sixteen thousand leagues; the others, in their order extend out eight, four, two
428
thousand leagues. On the first terrace reside the Yaksas "Pitcher in
429
their Hand": on the second, the "Wearers of Crowns;" on the third
the "Always Intoxicated" (saddmatta, which the Karika calls soda- m
mada): all these gods belong to the Caturmaharajakayikas. At the 431
fourth terrace are the Four Kings in person with their attendants: these gods are called the Caturmaharajakayikas, the Four Great Kings. As the Caturmaharajakayikas inhabit Mem, so too they have villages
and towns on the seven mountains of gold, Yugandhara, etc Also the gods of this class are the most numerous of the gods.
? 65-68. The Thirty-three Gods are at the summit of Meru, the sides of which are eighty thousand (leagues). At the corners, four peaks which the Vajrapanis inhabit. In the middle, with sides of two thousand five hundred, with a height of one and a half, is a village called Sudar&ana, of gold, with a varigated and smooth sun. There is Vaijayanta, with sides of two hundred fifty. On the outside, this village is adorned with Caitraratha, Parusya, MiSra and Nandana (Parks); at a distance of twenty thousand leagues from these Parks, at the four sides, there are excellent fields. At the northeast Parijata, in the southwest Sudharma.
432
1. The Trayastrimsas or Thirty-three Gods
Meru; the sides of this summit are of eighty thousand yojanas. According to other masters, the sides of each are twenty thousand, and
433 the circumference is eighty thousand.
2. At the corners, there are peaks (kuta), five hundredyojanas high and wide, where the Yaksas called Vajrapanis reside.
3. In the middle of the plateau of Meru there is the royal city of Sakra,
the chief of the gods, a city called "Beautiful to Look At" (Sudar- 434
6ana). Its sides are two thousand five hundred yojanas; its cir- 435
cumference is ten thousand; its height oneyojana and a half; it is of gold; it is adorned with one hundred and one types of colors; and the same for its sun. This sun is soft to the touch, like the leaf of the cotton tree; it rises and falls to facilitate its progress.
4. In the middle of this city there is the palace of Sakra, the chief of the gods, called Vaijayanta: it makes all the other residences blush by its richness and its gems. Its sides are two hundred fifty yojanas.
Such are the adornments of the city itself.
436
5. Ornaments outside of the city are the four Parks: Caitraratha,
Parusyaka, MiSraka, and Nandana, fields of play for the gods.
437
6. At the four sides of these Parks, from a distance of twenty
438 yojanas on, there are four fields of play with a marvellous sun,
delightful and which appears to rival them.
7. The magnolia tree called Parijataka is, for the Thirty-three
439
Gods, the place par excellence for pleasure and for love; its roots go
The World 465
inhabit the summit of
? 464 Chapter Three
m
down fiftyyojanas\ it is one hundredyojanas high; with its branches,
leaves and petals, it covers fifty yojanas.
The fragrance of its flowers spreads one hundredyojanas away with
the wind, fifty against the wind.
So be it, it can spread to one hundredyojanas with the wind, but how
can it go against the wind?
According to one opinion, one says that it spreads to fifty yojanas
against the wind, because it does not go beyond the tree [which covers in fact fifty yojanas],
[But this explanation does not hold: for] the text says that it goes against the wind
We say then that the fragrance does not go against the wind, that it perishes where it arises: but such is the quality of this fragrance that, even though it would be arrested by the lightest divine wind, it gives birth to a new "series" of identical fragrances. Nevertheless, the fragrances become weak, weaker, entirely weak and are completely arrested, incapable of going as far as it does when the wind is favorable.
Does the series of this fragrance have for its support only its own primary elements which constitute the fragrance? Or rather should one suppose that the wind becomes perfumed? [In the same way as, when the grains of sesame are perfumed byflowers,there arises a new odor which is no longer the fragrance of the flowers. ]
The opinion of the masters is not fixed on this.
441
Yet the Blessed One said, "The fragrance offlowersdoes not go
against the wind, neither does the fragrance of good go against the wind; but the satpurusa goes in all directions. " How do you reconcile this statement with the theory that fragrance "goes against the wind? "
This statement refers to odors of the world of humans, which, it is
quite evident, does not go against the wind
442
The MahlSasakas read, "The fragrance [of the flowers of the
Parijataka tree] go with the wind for a hundredyojanas; in the absence of wind, to fifty. "
443
8. In the southeast lies Sudharma, the room where the gods come
together {devasabha) in order to examine the good and the evil deeds committed by human beings.
Such is the arrangement of the receptacle or physical world of the Thirty-three Gods.
? 444 69a-b.
