Jewels from the treasury vasubandhus ( (52)

YOUTHFUL PLAY # AREA III The explanation of sentient beings is thus completed A few words: In the full-knowing m irror o f my mind, The characters o f what there is to know From abhidharma are distinct, Like brilliant stars, or gems in clear lake waters Alas! The teachings of this ages buddha Are convoluted by those with evil minds! Deceitfully they’ve criticized, Sowing dissension, so I’ve tired myself But then, when I remember the great kindness O f the translators, scholars, kings, and aides O f olden times, my m ind is seized W ith excitement for the methods o f this dharma! II The world that contains them This has three topics: A The nature o f the supporting container, B Additionally, the sizes o f sentient beings, and C Units o f measure A The nature of the supporting container This has four topics: A general teaching o f the container’s nature, An explanation o f particular places, Identifying the world o f three thousands, and Teaching that the three thousands arise and are destroyed together A general teaching of the container's nature This has two topics: a An explanation o f the three supporting mandalas, and b An explanation o f the m ountains and seas they support a An explanation of the three supporting mandalas This has two topics: i The size of the mandala of wind, and ii The size o f the other two mandalas i The size of the mandala of wind 43 254 Now the container world is said To have below a mandala O f wind one million and six hundred Thousands in depth, uncountable THE WORLD THAT CONTAINS BEINGS To explain the container, the world: in general, according to sutras o f the Foundation and Great Vehicles, some world realms are upside down, some are sideways, some have no cover above, some have no sun and moon, in some a single sun and m oon orbit the entire three thousands,149 and in some the entire three thousands is the size of the Bodhi tree M any such worlds that are said to exist, but in this presentation it is time to explain the Unbearable World Realm o f our Teacher the Buddha Shakyamuni.150 N ow the container, this w orld realm of three great thousands, is said to exist as follows: Through the power of sentient beings’ karma, in the space that is the foun­ dation below it, this world, there is a m andala o f wind T hat is one million and six hundred thousand leagues151 in depth and uncountable leagues across in diameter It is so hard that even a vajra o f great power cannot destroy it ii The size of the other two mandalas This has two topics: (1) Explaining their depth individually, and (2) Explaining their diameter together (1) Explaining their depth individually This has two topics: (a) Water, and (b) Gold (a) Water This has two points (i) Its size at the time it coalesces 46ab Then water to a depth of one Million one hundred twenty thousand By the power o f the karma o f sentient beings, sheets of rain the drops of which are the size o f yokes then fail in space from clouds with golden essences T hat becomes a mandala of w ater to a depth o f one million one hundred tw enty thousand leagues The water does not immediately spill away because of the force of karma (ii) Its size when it abides 46cd Then it becomes eight hundred thousand In depth T hen a wind that arises from the karma of sentient beings churns all the water, and it becomes eight hundred thousand leagues in-depth ¿55 YOUTHFUL (b) PLAY * AREA III Gold 46d The rest turns into gold Just as when milk boils curd forms, the rest turns into the earth itself with a nature o f gold and a depth o f three hundred twenty thousand leagues (2) Explaining their diameter together This has two points (a) Their diameter 47 The mandalas of water and gold Are in diameter one million Two hundred and three thousand and Four hundred fifty leagues across; T he mandalas o f w ater and gold that lie under each o f the hundred million worlds o f four continents are in diameter o f one m illion two hundred and three thousand four hundred fifty leagues across The diameters of these two mandalas are equal (b) Their circumference 48a They’re thrice that in circumference T hey are thrice th at in circumference, it is said, which means that their cir­ cumferences are 3,610,350 leagues b An explanation of the mountains and seas they support This has two topics: i An explanation o f the nine mountains, and ii An explanation o f the eight seas i An explanation of the nine mountains This has three topics: (1) Where they are, (2) W hat cause they are created from, and (3) Explaining their sizes (1) W here they are b -d 256 O n that are Meru, the Yoke Holder, Plow Holder, and Acacia Tree, And likewise Lovely to Behold, THE WORLD THAT CONTAINS BEINGS 49 a-c And Horses Ear and Bowing Down, Rim Holder Mounts, then continents Outside there is the O uter Ring The mandala o f golden earth is supported above the water, and on th at in the middle there is M ount Meru It is surrounded by the seven remaining m oun­ tain ranges: Yoke Holder, Plow Holder, and Acacia Tree, and likewise the Lovely to Behold, and Horse s Ear and Bowing Down, and the Rim H older M ountains T hen there are the four continents Outside the continents there is the O uter Ring, which surrounds it in a ring (2) W h at cause they are created from 49d Seven are gold That one is iron 50a M ount M eru is four precious ores The seven m ountain ranges of Yoke Holder and so forth are gold T h at one Outside Ring of mountains is iron M ou nt M eru is created o f four precious ores: its east is silver, the south vaidurya,152 the west red crystal, and the north is gold The color o f the four faces o f the Supreme M ountain153 and the color o f the sky of their corresponding continents appear similarly The reason for this is that the sheets of rain that fell from space and formed the mandala of water below the golden earth contained the elements of gold, various jewels, and so forth W hen churned by the wind, these elements be­ came the Supreme M ountain and the rest (3) Explaining their sizes This has two topics: (a) Explaining how far they descend into the water together, and (b) Explaining how high each ascends above the water individually (a) Explaining how far they descend into the water together 50bc Down eighty thousand into water Plunges M ount Meru; D ow n eighty thousand leagues into the w ater that is on the golden earth plunge M ou nt M eru and the other eight m ountain ranges (b) Explaining how high each ascends above the water individually This has two topics: (i) The size o f M ount Meru, and (ii) The sizes o f the others 57 YOUTHFUL PLAY * AREA III (i) The size of M ou n t Meru 50cd above as well It lofts to eighty thousand leagues Just as it descends into the water, above as well, it lofts to eighty thousand leagues Com bining the two, the height of the Supreme M ountain is 160,000 leagues (ii) The sizes of the others This has two points (A) W idth 51a The eight are each half less in width T he eight including the seven m ountain ranges and the Perimeter Circle are each half less than the previous m ountain range in width The Yoke Holder is the largest with a width o f 40,000 leagues, and Plow Holder is half that width, or 20,0 00 , and so on until the iron mountains which are 3i2y2 leagues in width (B) H eig ht 51b Their heights are equal to their widths Their, the m ountains in these ranges, heights are equal to their widths i An explanations of eight seas This has two topics: (1) An explanation of the seven Playful Seas, and (2) An explanation of the O uter Ocean (1) An explanation of the seven Playful Seas This has three points (a) The way the seven Playful Seas are 51c Between them, seven Playful Seas; In the areas between them , the m ountain ranges, are the seven Playful Seas Their waters have the eight qualities.154 258 ... cannot destroy it ii The size of the other two mandalas This has two topics: (1 ) Explaining their depth individually, and (2 ) Explaining their diameter together (1 ) Explaining their depth individually... mountains This has three topics: (1 ) Where they are, (2 ) W hat cause they are created from, and (3 ) Explaining their sizes (1 ) W here they are b -d 256 O n that are Meru, the Yoke Holder, Plow Holder,... bining the two, the height of the Supreme M ountain is 160,000 leagues (ii) The sizes of the others This has two points (A) W idth 51a The eight are each half less in width T he eight including the