Jewels from the treasury vasubandhus ( (58)

YOUTHFUL PLAY * AREA III Additionally, the way the three individuals a p p e a r This has three topics: How buddhas arise, How self-buddhas arise, and How wheel-wielding emperors arise B H o w Buddhas arise This has two points a The cause o f the buddhas 93d 94a Then after three uncountable O f these appears a Buddha T hen after three uncountable o f these great aeons of gathering accumulations appears a Buddha Here so-called uncountable is a novemdecillion (io6°), a num ber described in Short Discourses; it is the name o f a num ber that exists, not something that cannot be counted Well, what are the numbers? you ask They are: One, ten, hundred, thousand, Ten thousand, hundred thousand, Million, ten and hundred million, These are the com m on numbers Billion, ten and hundred billion, Trillion, ten and hundred trillion, Quadrillion, ten and hundred quadrillion, Quintillion, ten and hundred quintillion, Sextillion, ten and hundred sextillion, Septillion, ten and hundred septillion, Octillion, ten and hundred octillion, Nonillion, ten and hundred nonillion, Decillion, ten and hundred decillion, Undecillion, ten and hundred undecillion, Duodecillion, ten and hundred duodecillion, Tredecillion, ten and hundred tredecillion, Quattuordecillion, ten and hundred quattuordecillion, Quindecillion, ten and hundred quindecillion, Sexdecillion, ten and hundred sexdecillion, Septendecillion, ten and hundred septendecillion, Octodecillion, ten and hundred octodecillion, And novemdecillion: that is one uncountable 284 THE b WORLD THAT CONTAINS BEINGS The tim e w hen they ap pear 94ab during The decrease to one hundred years The Buddhas appear during the decrease of beings’ life spans to one hundred years They not appear during the period of increase or when the life span is less then one hundred years, because it is difficult for beings to develop weariness during the former, and because the latter is a bad and lowly time of the five degenerations o f life, time, afflictions, views, and sentient beings H o w self-buddhas arise This has two points a The tim e w hen self-buddhas ap pear 94c In both, self-buddhas In both times when the life span is increasing and when it is decreasing, selfbuddhas appear The eighty thousand attendants of King Given by Fire be­ came self-buddhas during a period o f increase, and Excellent W hite Tip appeared on earth during a period of decrease, at which time there were five hundred self-buddhas who appeared in the Deer Park of the Fallen Sages b Their cause 94cd Following One hundred aeons, a rhino appears Following one hundred aeons o f the three trainings, the accumulations of en­ lightenment, as the cause o f awakening, a rhinoceros-like self-buddha attains self-enlightenment and appears H o w w h e e l-w ie ld in g em perors arise This has three topics: a The time they appear, b Classifications o f their types, and c Distinctions in qualities a The tim e they ap pear 95ab Wheel-wielding emperors appear W hen life is not less than eighty thousand W heel-wielding emperors, who wield political power through their all-pow­ erful weapons, wheels, appear during a time w hen hum an life ranges from 285 YOUTHFUL PLAY * AREA III uncountable to n o t less than eighty thousand years W hen the life span is shorter than that, there is not sufficient wealth for one to appear b Classifications o f their types This has four points (1) Actual classification 95c W ith wheels of gold, silver, copper, iron, They have wheels o f gold, silver, copper, and iron: the supreme, nearly supreme, middle, and least (2) W hich continents they have p o w e r over 95d 96a They rule over one, two, three, or else Four continents, in reverse order T hey rule over one continent, two continents, three continents, or else four continents, in reverse order (3) Elaboration 96b At once, there are never two, like buddhas There is only one wheel-wielding emperor at a time: at one time, there are never two It is like buddhas, for example, of whom there are never two that appear in the world at the same time (4) H o w they achieve victory c -f W hen their opponents welcome them, O r they themselves advance or gird For battle or just brandish weapons, They trium ph without causing harm The way the four wheel-wielding emperors are victorious over all is respectively when their opponents welcome them , or they themselves advance, or merely gird for battle, or after preparing just brandish their weapons They trium ph w ithout taking life or causing any other harm 286 THE WORLD THAT CONTAINS BEINGS c D istinctions in qualities 97ab The Sage’s marks remain in place, Clear and complete, so they’re superior Wheel-wielding emperors also have the major marks, so what is the difference between their marks and the Sage’s? you ask T he Sages marks remain in their place w ithout moving They are more radiant and their parts are clear and complete with a thousand spokes and so on, so they are superior (2) The way the long beginning diminishes This has three topics: (a) The particulars o f the first aeon, (b) How it diminishes, and (c) W hat happens at the end o f the diminishing (a) The particulars of the first aeon 97c The earliest beings are like Form gods Just after the formation o f the world, the earliest hum an beings are born miraculously, not eat food, have radiant bodies, perform miracles, and live for incalculable numbers o f years, like the Form realm’s gods (b) How it diminishes This has three points (i) How the Age of Threefold Qualities arose168 97d They gradually feel greed for tastes, T hen they gradually ate the three foods o f honey-like nectar o f the earth, yel­ low dust, and the grove of reeds, so their bodies became heavy and their radi­ ance weakened and became dark By the force of karma, the sun, moon, and so forth then provided light Those who ate a lot of those foods developed a bad color, and those who ate a little had good color Because of this, those with good color scorned those with bad, and acted nonvirtuously, so those foods disappeared Then they began to feel greed for the taste of the salu rice crops that grew w ithout toil, so filth and so forth appears They developed male and female faculties, and their shapes and colors became different W hen they saw each other, desire arose, and they acted indecently Others criticized this, and they built houses and such for propriety 287 YOUTHFUL PLAY ?f A R E A III (ii) How the Age of Twofold Qualities and the Age of Strife arose169 98ab Grow lazy, and then gather and hoard Land holders then appoint field chieftains W hen they wanted to take the salu rice, they grew lazy, and then some started to gather and hoard, so they began threshing the rice and also reaping it W hen that happened, it did not grow, so then those beings became unfriendly Each took full possession o f his own, and they divided the fields The land holders stole from each other, and a man who was good by nature was then appointed and installed as the field chieftain He was granted a sixth o f the crop and called the King Respected by Many (iii) How the life span becomes ten years 98cd Because o f their strong karmic paths, Their life span shortens to ten years Because o f acting out o f their strong nonvirtuous karmic paths, their life span shortens to ten years for humans, and they are not able to live any longer than that (c) W hat happens at the end of the diminishing This has two points (i) Teaching how the three ages of calamities happen 99ab It’s weapons, pestilence, and famine That bring an aeon to its end, W hen the hum an life span is ten years, it is ages of weapons, pestilence, and famine th at bring an intermediate aeon to its end (ii) The duration of those three 99cd For seven days, then seven months, Then seven years respectively Those sentient beings are killed by weapons for seven days, then by pestilence for seven m onths and seven days, and then by famine for seven years, seven months, and seven days in succession The plural o f the word days in the root indicates that the seven days also follow the latter two W hen these happen in the Rose-Apple Land, something somewhat similar also happens on the other two continents 288 ... o f the first aeon, (b) How it diminishes, and (c) W hat happens at the end o f the diminishing (a) The particulars of the first aeon 97c The earliest beings are like Form gods Just after the. .. appear in the world at the same time (4 ) H o w they achieve victory c -f W hen their opponents welcome them, O r they themselves advance or gird For battle or just brandish weapons, They trium... succession The plural o f the word days in the root indicates that the seven days also follow the latter two W hen these happen in the Rose-Apple Land, something somewhat similar also happens on the other