What Holds the World Up

Sentient beings' world has thus been fully discussed. The container world should now be discussed. Verse: in the establishment of the container world, the wind wheel dwells at the very lowest position; its extent is immeasurably vast, and its thickness is 1,600,000 yojanas. Next, above it, the water wheel: its depth is 1,120,000 yojanas. Of this, the lower 800,000 remains water, while the rest congeals into gold. This water-and-gold wheel's breadth, in diameter, is 1,203,450 yojanas; its circumference is three times this. Prose: it is accepted that this great trichiliocosm is established with distinct shapes and measurements in the following way. That is: through the dominant power of sentient beings' karma, first, at the very lowest position, resting upon empty space, a wind wheel arises — immeasurably vast in extent, 1,600,000 yojanas thick. This wind wheel's substance is so solid and dense that, even supposing a great nārāyaṇa deity were to swing a vajra wheel with all his might and strike it, the vajra might shatter while the wind wheel remains undamaged. Furthermore, through the dominant power of sentient beings' karma, great clouds arise and pour rain down upon the wind wheel, the drops as large as cart-axles, accumulating water that forms a wheel. Before it congeals, this water wheel is 1,120,000 yojanas deep. How does the water wheel not disperse and flow away at its sides? Some masters say: it is held together by the karmic power of all sentient beings collectively, preventing it from dispersing — just as food not yet transformed by digestion never flows out and falls into the organ that processes what is already digested. Other schools say: it is held together by wind, preventing it from dispersing — just as a grain-basket holds grain. Sentient beings' karmic power gives rise to a specific wind, which beats upon this water from above, causing it to congeal into gold — just as milk, once boiled and left standing, congeals a skin on its surface. Hence the water wheel is reduced to only 800,000 yojanas thick, and the remainder turns into gold, 320,000 yojanas thick. The breadth of these two wheels is the same in measure — namely, a diameter of 1,203,450 yojanas. Their circumferential measure comes to three times this — namely, a circumference of 3,610,350 yojanas.

Verse: Mount Sumeru dwells at the center; next comes Yugandhara, Mount Īṣadhara, Mount Khadiraka, Sudarśana, Aśvakarṇa, Mount Vinataka, Mount Nimindhara; and beyond the great continents and the rest, there is the Cakravāḍa, the iron encircling mountain range. The first seven are made entirely of gold; Sumeru is composed of four precious substances. All sink 80,000 yojanas into the water; Sumeru's height above the water is likewise 80,000. The remaining eight decrease by half each in succession; each one's breadth equals its own height above the water. Prose: upon the gold wheel there are nine great mountains. King Sumeru dwells at the center, while the remaining eight surround it on all sides. Among these eight, the first seven are called "inner"; outside the seventh mountain lie the great continents and the rest. Beyond these, there is furthermore the Cakravāḍa, encircling the whole like a wheel-rim around a single world-system. Yugandhara and the six mountains after it are made entirely of gold. King Sumeru's substance consists of four precious materials — namely, on its four faces, in order, north, east, south, and west: gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and crystal. In accordance with each jewel's radiant power, its color is reflected in the sky above; hence the sky above Jambudvīpa resembles the color of lapis lazuli.

From where, then, do these jewels and the like arise? This, too, is through the dominant power of sentient beings' karma. Once again, great clouds arise and rain down upon the gold wheel, the drops as large as cart-axles; the accumulated water, surging and churning, becomes itself the very womb and repository of the various jewels' seeds. Through the action of fierce winds possessed of various kinds of majestic power, boring and striking, this water is transformed, giving rise to the various kinds of jewels. In this transformation of water into the production of jewels and the like, the cause ceases as the effect arises — the two essential natures are never simultaneously present — unlike what the Sāṃkhya school's theory of "transformation" holds. How does the Sāṃkhya school maintain its notion of "transformation"? It holds that there is an underlying substrate-dharma whose own essential nature persists permanently, while other dharmas arise and cease upon it. What principle does such a "transformation" actually violate? Namely: there can be no case in which a persisting substrate-dharma is simultaneously held to have some other, distinct dharma cease and arise upon it. Who says there exists, apart from the dharma itself, some further, separate "substrate-dharma"? It is precisely this very same dharma that, at the moment of "transformation," is merely the basis of a different characteristic — and this alone is what gets called the "substrate-dharma." This, too, is unreasonable. Why is it unreasonable? Because saying that this very same thing is not, in fact, this same thing — a statement of this kind has never been heard of before.

Once gold, jewels, and the like have thus been produced through transformation, karmic power further gives rise to a distinct wind, which sorts and separates the jewels and the rest, gathering them together to form mountains and continents, and dividing the water into fresh and salt, thereby separately establishing the inner and outer seas. In this way, the nine mountains, resting upon the gold wheel, each sink into the water to a depth equally of 80,000 yojanas; Mount Sumeru's height above the water is likewise 80,000. The remaining eight mountains rise above the water by half as much again in succession, decreasing in height — that is, the first, Yugandhara, rises 40,000 above the water, and so on, down to the last, the Cakravāḍa, which rises 312.5 yojanas above the water. In this way, each of the nine mountains' breadth is, in each and every case, equal to its own height above the water.

Verse: among the mountains there are eight seas; the first seven are called "inner." The very first is 80,000 wide, with each of its four sides three times this in circumference. The remaining six narrow by half each in succession. The eighth is called "outer," measuring 322,000 yojanas wide. Prose: with Sumeru first and the Cakravāḍa last, there are eight seas in between; the first seven are called "inner." All seven possess water endowed with eight excellent qualities: first, sweet; second, cool; third, soft; fourth, light; fifth, clear and pure; sixth, odorless; seventh, does not harm the throat when drunk; eighth, does not injure the stomach once drunk. These seven seas: the first is 80,000 wide, reckoned along Yugandhara's inner edge, and, on each of its four sides, three times this figure — that is, each side comes to 240,000 yojanas. The remaining six seas narrow by half each in succession — that is, the second sea measures 40,000 in width, and so on down to the seventh, which measures 1,250 in width. For these, the circumferential measure is not given, since it would be overly elaborate. The eighth is called "outer"; filled with salt water, it measures 322,000 yojanas in width.

Verse: among these, the great continents' shapes: the southern, Jambudvīpa, is shaped like a cart, its three sides each 2,000 yojanas, its southern side 3.5. The eastern, Videha, is shaped like a half-moon; its three sides are as Jambudvīpa's, its eastern side 350. The western, Godānīya, is perfectly round without any gap, 2,500 in diameter, its circumference three times this. The northern, Kuru, is square, each face equally 2,000. There are, besides, eight intermediate continents, two beside each of the four great continents. Prose: within the outer sea there are four great continents, situated facing Mount Sumeru on its four sides. Jambudvīpa in the south is broad in the north and narrow in the south; its three equal sides are of equal measure, and its shape resembles a cart. Its southern side alone is only 3.5 yojanas wide; its other three sides are each 2,000 yojanas. Only within this continent is there the Vajrāsana, the Diamond Seat — reaching upward to the very limit of the earth's surface and resting below upon the gold wheel — upon which every bodhisattva, when about to attain complete awakening, sits to enter the vajra-like concentration, since nowhere else has ground with sufficient firm supporting power to hold it. Pūrvavideha in the east is narrow in the east and broad in the west; its three sides are of equal measure, its shape like a half-moon. Its eastern side is 350; its other three sides are each 2,000. Aparagodānīya in the west is round like a full moon, 2,500 in diameter, with a circumference of 7,500. Uttarakuru in the north is shaped like a square seat, its four sides of equal measure, each face 2,000. The word "equally" is meant to clarify that there is not the slightest increase or decrease among the four faces. The inhabitants' faces, in each continent, correspondingly resemble the shape of their own continent. There are, moreover, eight intermediate continents, satellite to the great continents — that is, beside each of the four great continents there are two intermediate continents.

The two intermediate continents beside Jambudvīpa are: first, Cāmara; second, Aparacāmara. The two intermediate continents beside Videha are: first, Deha; second, Videha. The two intermediate continents beside Godānīya are: first, Śāṭha; second, Uttaramantriṇa. The two intermediate continents beside Kuru are: first, Kurava; second, Kaurava. All of these continents are inhabited by human beings. There is a further view: that only one of these is inhabited, and solely by rākṣasas.

Verse: to the north of this are nine black mountains; within the snow and fragrant-intoxicating mountains lies the Lake Without Heat, its length and breadth each fifty yojanas. Prose: from the center of Jambudvīpa going north, there are three places, each with three layers of black mountains. Beyond these black mountains to the north lies the Great Snow Mountain; north of the Great Snow Mountain lies the Fragrant-Intoxicating Mountain. North of the snow and south of the fragrance lies a great lake, called Anavatapta, the Lake Without Heat, from which flow four great rivers: first, the Gaṅgā; second, the Sindhu; third, the Sītā; fourth, the Vakṣu. Lake Anavatapta's length and breadth are perfectly equal, each face measuring fifty yojanas, filled with water endowed with the eight excellent qualities — one who has not attained supernormal penetration has no way to reach it. Beside this lake there is a Jambu forest, its trees tall and great, their fruit sweet and delicious; it is on account of this forest that the continent is called Jambudvīpa, or, alternatively, it is on account of this fruit that the continent's name was established.

Where, then, are the hells and the great hells located? What are their measurements, and how many are there? Verse: below this, past 20,000 yojanas, lies Avīci, equal in depth and breadth; above it are seven more hells. The eight hells each have sixteen surrounding torments — namely, the ember-pit, the corpse-mire, the blade, and the scalding-river torments, each situated on its own of the four sides. There are, besides, eight further cold hells. Prose: below this Jambudvīpa, past 20,000 yojanas, lies the great hell Avīci. Its depth and breadth are the same as stated before — that is, each 20,000. Its bottom lies 40,000 yojanas from here. Because suffering within it is uninterrupted — unlike the other seven great hells, where suffering is not constant — it is called "Uninterrupted." Consider, for instance, the Reviving Hell: although the sentient beings there have their bodies chopped, stabbed, ground, and pounded in various ways, they briefly encounter a cooling wind and are revived exactly as before — hence, by this logic, it is named "Reviving." In Avīci, no such thing occurs. There is a further view: in Avīci, there is no pleasure interspersed with suffering, hence it is called "Uninterrupted"; in the other hells, pleasure does arise interspersed with suffering — though not as a karmic ripening, it does occur as a karmic outflow. The seven other hells are stacked, layer upon layer, above Avīci. What are these seven? First, Great Scorching; second, Scorching; third, Great Wailing; fourth, Wailing; fifth, Crushing-Together; sixth, Black-Rope; seventh, Reviving. There is a further view: that these seven lie beside Avīci, not stacked directly above it.

There is a further view: that these seven lie beside Avīci. The eight hells each have sixteen surrounding torments; hence the Bhagavān spoke this verse: "These eight hells, I declare, are exceedingly difficult to escape — their ground is made of heated iron, surrounded on all sides by iron walls; on the four sides are four gates, sealed shut with iron doors; skillfully arranged and measured out, each has sixteen surrounding torments, extending over many hundreds of yojanas, filled with evildoers, pervaded through and through by intermingling flames, where a fierce fire perpetually blazes." As for the sixteen surrounding torments: outside the four gates on the four sides of each of the eight hells, there are four such places. First, the ember-pit torment: within this torment, embers bury one to the knees; the moment a being walks there and sets foot down, the skin, flesh, and blood all scorch, decay, and fall away — yet the moment the foot is lifted, it is restored exactly as before. Second, the corpse-mire torment: within this torment, corpses and filth fill the mire, in which there are many nyaṅku worms, sharp as needles, white-bodied with black heads; beings who walk there are all bored through the skin, their bones broken, by these worms, which suck and devour their marrow.

Third, the blade torment: within this torment there are, further, three kinds. First, the blade-road: within this, upturned blades are laid out to form a great road; the moment a being walks there and sets foot down, the skin, flesh, and blood are all severed, shredded, and fall away — yet the moment the foot is lifted, it is restored exactly as before. Second, the sword-leaf forest: in this forest, sharp sword-blades alone serve as leaves; as beings walk there, the wind blows and the leaves fall, slashing and piercing their limbs until flesh and bone scatter, whereupon black-and-white dogs seize and devour them. Third, the iron-thorn forest: in this forest there are sharp iron thorns, sixteen finger-widths long; when beings are forced to climb up and down the trees, these sharp-pointed thorns pierce them from below and above, and iron-beaked birds probe and peck at the beings' eyes, competing to devour their hearts and livers. Although the blade-road and the other two kinds differ, since they share the common feature of iron implements, they are subsumed together as a single torment. Fourth, the scalding-river torment: this torment is vast in extent, filled entirely with hot, salty water; beings who enter it either float or sink, move against or with the current, drift sideways or spin around, steamed and boiled until their flesh and bones turn to mush. It is just as when a great cauldron, filled with lye-water, has hemp and rice grains placed within it, and a fierce fire burns beneath — the hemp and the rest churn up and down within, their whole substance turning to mush; so too it is with these beings. Should they wish to flee, hell-guardians stand on both banks, wielding blades and spears to block and drive them back, leaving no way to escape. This river is like a moat; the preceding three torments resemble a garden surrounding the hell; on each of the four sides there are four such torments, hence it is said there are sixteen in all. These are called "surrounding" torments because they are places of additional punishment and harm — within the main hell, one has only just suffered harm, and here suffers harm yet again. There is a further view: that beings, upon emerging from the hell itself, encounter this further suffering, and it is for this reason called a "surrounding increment."

Now, on this occasion, a further discussion arises out of the foregoing discussion. Are the hell-guardians themselves sentient beings, or not? There is a view: they are not sentient beings. How, then, do they move and act? Through the power of sentient beings' collective karma — just as the wind that forms the eon. If this is so, then how is this to be reconciled with what the Venerable Elder Dharmasubhūti stated? As his verse says: "One whose mind constantly harbors resentment and malice, who delights in accumulating various evil deeds, who rejoices at seeing others suffer — at death, becomes a servant of Yama." It is only those whom King Yama employs — rākṣasas who fling sentient beings into hell — who are called "servants of Yama"; these are indeed real sentient beings, but they are not the ones who inflict harm within the hells themselves. Hence the hell-guardians within the hells are not real sentient beings. There is a further view: they are sentient beings. If this is so, then where does the evil karma that produced them receive its ripened result? Precisely within the hell itself — since even Avīci is capable of accommodating the karmic ripening it produces, what principle would forbid this? If this is so, then why does the fire not burn them? This is certainly because they are shielded by the power of their own karma, or else because they have acquired great elements of a different kind, and are therefore not burned.

The hot hells have thus been described as eight in number. There are, besides, eight further cold hells. What are these eight? First, Arbuda; second, Nirarbuda; third, Aṭaṭa; fourth, Hahava; fifth, Huhuva; sixth, Utpala; seventh, Padma; eighth, Mahāpadma. In these, sentient beings, pressed by severe cold, have their names established according to the sounds their bodies make. These eight are likewise situated beneath Jambudvīpa, alongside the great hells already described above. But Jambudvīpa's own extent is not very great — how, then, could it possibly accommodate Avīci and the rest underneath it? The continent is like a heap of grain, pointed at the top and broad at the bottom; this is likewise why the great ocean grows gradually narrower and deeper as it descends.

As discussed above, the sixteen hells are brought about by the dominant karma of sentient beings collectively. The remaining solitary hells are each individually invited by separate karma, some housing many beings, some two, some only one; they differ greatly in kind, and their locations are not fixed — some are near rivers, mountains, or open wilderness, some are underground, in open space, or in other locations. The various hell-realms are arranged in this way: their fundamental location is below, though their branches and offshoots are not fixed. As for the animal realm's dwelling places — water, land, and air — its fundamental location is the great ocean, from which it has subsequently spread to other places. As for ghosts, their fundamental location is King Yama's kingdom; 500 yojanas beneath this Jambudvīpa lies King Yama's kingdom, equal in length and breadth to Jambudvīpa itself, from which they have, in turn, scattered to dwell in other places. Some are dignified and possessed of great majestic power, enjoying wealth and pleasure, free and unrestrained like the gods; others are starving and emaciated, their faces ugly — such various kinds are described at length, as in the sūtras.

As for the matter of where the sun and moon dwell, and their measurements: Verse: the sun and moon are level with Sumeru's midpoint; their diameters are fifty-one and fifty; when it is midnight in one place, the sun is setting in another; noon and sunrise are likewise so across the four continents. From the second month of the rainy season, for nine half-months afterward, the night gradually lengthens; from the fourth month of the cold season, likewise; when night decreases, day does the reverse. Prose: on what do the sun, moon, and the many stars rest? They rest upon wind. That is, through the dominant power of sentient beings' collective karma, a wind is jointly drawn forth, circling around Mount Sumeru through the sky, carrying the sun and the rest so that they never stop or fall. How many yojanas away from here do they dwell? Level with half of Sumeru's height, at the same elevation as the summit of Yugandhara. What are the diameters of the sun and moon, in yojanas? The sun is fifty-one; the moon is only fifty. The smallest stars are only one krośa across; the largest are sixteen yojanas. The sun disk's underside is composed of crystal fire-gems, capable of both heating and illuminating; the moon disk's underside is composed of crystal water-gems, capable of both cooling and illuminating. In accordance with what is generated by the dominant power of sentient beings' karma, these bodies are able, as is appropriate, to either benefit or harm the eyes, the body, fruit, flowers, crops, medicinal herbs, and the like.

There is only a single sun and moon, yet they universally accomplish their function for all four continents — does a single sun accomplish its function for all four continents simultaneously? No. How, then? When it is midnight in the northern continent, the sun is setting in the eastern continent; it is noon in the southern continent, and the sun is rising in the western continent. These four moments are simultaneous with one another; the remaining cases should be understood by analogy. The sun's path across this continent has variations, and this is what causes day and night to lengthen and shorten. Beginning from the ninth day of the second half of the second month of the rainy season, night gradually lengthens; beginning from the ninth day of the second half of the fourth month of the cold season, night gradually shortens; the lengthening and shortening of day runs in the opposite direction to this. When night is gradually lengthening, day correspondingly shortens; when night gradually shortens, day correspondingly lengthens. When day and night lengthen, by how much does a full day-and-night lengthen? It lengthens by one lava. When day and night shorten, the same applies. As the sun travels across this continent southward or northward, night lengthens or day lengthens, respectively, in that same order.

Why does the moon's disk appear to wane during the end of the dark half of the lunar month and the beginning of the bright half? The Prajñaptiśāstra offers this explanation: because the moon's palace, in its course, draws near to the sun's disk, the moon is encroached upon and illuminated by the sun disk's light, and a shadow is cast on its far side, covering the moon's own disk, causing it to appear less than full at that time. The old masters explain it differently: because the sun's and moon's disks travel at different rates, the moon appears now full and now waning. What sort of beings inhabit the sun and other such palaces? The multitude of gods under the jurisdiction of the Four Great Heavenly Kings. Do these gods dwell only here? Sky-dwelling gods dwell only in palaces such as the sun and the rest; earth-dwelling gods dwell on the various terraces of Mount Sumeru, and so forth.

How many terraces are there? What are their measurements? Which gods dwell on which terrace? Verse: Sumeru's terraces number four, each spaced ten thousand yojanas apart; they project outward sixteen thousand, eight thousand, four thousand, and two thousand. Karoṭapāṇi, Mālādhāra, and the Ever-Intoxicated hosts, in that order, dwell on the four terraces; gods also dwell on the other seven mountains. Prose: Mount Sumeru has four terraces. Starting from the water's edge up to the first terrace, the distance is ten thousand yojanas; likewise, from the third terrace up to the fourth terrace, it is also ten thousand. These four terraces project outward from Sumeru's flank, encircling it, occupying its lower half; the first terrace projects out sixteen thousand yojanas, while the second, third, and fourth terraces project, in order, eight thousand, four thousand, and two thousand. There is a yaksha spirit named Karoṭapāṇi who dwells on the first terrace; one named Mālādhāra who dwells on the second terrace; one named Sadāmada who dwells on the third terrace. These three are all hosts of gods under the jurisdiction of the Four Great Heavenly Kings. The fourth terrace is where the Four Great Heavenly Kings themselves, along with their retinues, dwell together; hence the sūtras, on this basis, speak of the "Heaven of the Four Great Kings." Just as the four outer terraces of Mount Sumeru are inhabited by the Four Great Kings' hosts and retinues, so too, upon the seven gold mountains — Yugandhara and the rest — gods likewise dwell, these being fiefs under the Four Great Kings' jurisdiction; this is what is called the earth-dwelling Heaven of the Four Great Kings. Among the desire-realm heavens, this heaven is the most extensive.

Where does the Heaven of the Thirty-Three dwell? Verse: at Sumeru's summit, eighty thousand yojanas wide, dwells the Heaven of the Thirty-Three; at its four corners are four peaks, where Vajrapāṇi dwells. In the center is the city called Sudarśana, with a circumference of ten thousand yojanas, its golden walls one and a half yojanas high, its ground adorned with various colors and soft to the touch. Within is the Vaijayanta Palace, with a circumference of a thousand yojanas. Prose: the Heaven of the Thirty-Three dwells at Sumeru's summit, whose four sides each measure eighty thousand yojanas — no different in measure from the four sides below. There is a further view: that the circumference is eighty thousand, while the four sides are separately said to be only twenty thousand each. At the summit's four corners there is, at each, a single peak, its height and breadth each measuring five hundred. There is a yaksha spirit named Vajrapāṇi who dwells there, guarding the gods. At the center of the summit there is a city called Sudarśana, its face two thousand five hundred yojanas, its circumference ten thousand yojanas; its golden walls measure one and a half yojanas in height; its ground is level, likewise made of true gold, adorned throughout with one hundred and one kinds of mixed jewels, its surface soft to the touch like kācilindika cotton, yielding beneath the foot with every step — this is the great city that is Śakra, Lord of the Gods', capital. Within this city there is the Vaijayanta Palace, fully adorned with every kind of wondrous jewel, surpassing all other divine palaces — hence its name, "Surpassing" — its face two hundred fifty yojanas, its circumference a thousand yojanas. These are the delightful features found within the city.

Outside the city, on its four sides, are four adorning parks, where these gods together disport themselves in play: first, the Park of Various Chariots; second, the Park of Coarse Things; third, the Mixed-Forest Park; fourth, the Park of Joyous Groves — these serve as the outer adornment of the great city. At the four sides of the four parks are four wondrous ponds, each twenty yojanas distant from its park; these are the gods' foremost places of play, where the gods compete and take delight together. Outside the city, to the northeast, is the Pārijāta tree, the foremost place where the Thirty-Three enjoy the pleasures of desire. Its coiled roots extend fifty yojanas in depth and breadth; its trunk rises upward, its branches spreading out to the sides, its height and breadth each measuring a hundred yojanas; its unfurled leaves and blossoming flowers give off a wondrous, fragrant scent — with the wind, this fragrance permeates a full hundred yojanas; against the wind, it still reaches fifty.

With the wind, this is understandable — but how can it be carried against the wind? There is a further view: fragrance has, properly speaking, no capacity to be carried against the wind at all; what is called "against the wind" here simply means that it does not go beyond the tree's own boundary. In truth, however, the Pārijāta genuinely possesses this quality: the fragrance it emits is able to be carried even against the wind, although it is still held back and impeded by the force of the gods' gentle breeze. Nevertheless, it is able to continue flowing onward to other places, growing gradually weaker and fainter until, near its limit, it ceases entirely — unable to reach as far as it does when carried with the wind. As for flowers' fragrance of this kind: does it depend on its own substrate, continuing to be carried by the wind onward to other places, or does it merely infuse the wind itself, which then separately generates a scent of its own? This question has no fixed answer; the various master-teachers all permit both approaches here without fault. If this is so, then why does the Bhagavān say: "The fragrance of flowers cannot be carried against the wind; the fragrance of roots and stems is likewise so; but the fragrance of the good person's virtue is fragrant indeed — carried against the wind, it flows sweetly to every direction"? This is said with reference to fragrance in the human world, since it is commonly known and understood that no such capacity exists for ordinary flowers. The Mahīśāsaka school's sūtra states that this fragrance, with the wind, permeates a full hundred yojanas; when there is no wind at all, it still reaches fifty.

Outside the city, at its southwest corner, is the Sudharmā Hall, where the Thirty-Three periodically gather to deliberate in detail on matters of what accords with the Dharma and what does not. The container-world dwelling of the Thirty-Three has thus been explained — what, then, is the container-world dwelling of the remaining form-possessing gods? Verse: above this, the form-possessing gods dwell resting upon palaces suspended in empty space. Prose: the form-possessing gods above the Thirty-Three just described dwell resting upon palaces suspended in empty space. Which gods are called the "form-possessing gods above"? Namely, the Yāma Heaven, the Tuṣita Heaven, the Heaven of Enjoying Transformations, and the Heaven of Mastery over Others' Transformations. Together with the sixteen places of the Heaven of Brahmā's Retinue and the rest already discussed earlier, combined with those already mentioned, there are twenty-two heavens in total, all of which depend upon the external container-world.

Among the various hosts of gods thus described, verse: the six that experience desire unite through intercourse, embrace, holding hands, smiling, and gazing. Prose: only the six desire-realm heavens experience the objects of exquisite desire. Among these, the first two are earth-dwelling heavens, where physical union constitutes sexual intercourse no different from that of human beings — except that, for them, the release of wind dispels the heat of passion, unlike the human world, where there remains additional impurity. Among the Yāma Heaven's hosts, a mere embrace constitutes intercourse; for the Tuṣita Heaven, it is accomplished simply by holding hands; for the Heaven of Enjoying Transformations, merely by smiling at one another; for the Heaven of Mastery over Others' Transformations, by gazing at one another. The Vaibhāṣikas offer this explanation: all six heavens accomplish intercourse through physical union; what the Prajñaptiśāstra states about embracing and the rest is meant only to indicate differences in the duration of that union. This is because, in the higher heavens, the objects of desire become progressively more refined and the mind's craving becomes progressively swifter, and this is what brings it about. Upon the laps of these gods and goddesses, boy and girl children are spontaneously born through transformation — these are then said to be the sons and daughters born to that heaven.

What is the bodily size of these gods at the moment of their birth? Verse: at first, like human children from age five up to ten; in the form realm, their form is instantly complete, and they are clothed. Prose: as for the six desire-realm heavens, at the moment of birth, their bodily size resembles, respectively, that of a human child aged five, six, seven, eight, nine, or ten years; once born, their bodily form swiftly reaches full maturity. The form-realm gods, at the moment of birth, have bodies that are immediately complete and fully formed, and are already clothed in wondrous garments. All the hosts of gods, without exception, speak the noble language — that is, their speech is identical to that of Central India.

How should the distinctions among "desire-birth" and "bliss-birth" be understood? Verse: desire-birth is threefold, spanning humans and gods; bliss-birth is threefold, spanning nine places. Prose: as for the three kinds of desire-birth: there are sentient beings who take pleasure in the present, exquisite objects of desire directly before them, exercising free mastery within these very present objects of desire — this refers to the entirety of the human destiny together with the four lower heavens. There are sentient beings who take pleasure in exquisite objects of desire that they themselves transform, exercising free mastery within these self-transformed exquisite objects of desire — this refers solely to the fifth heaven, the Heaven of Enjoying Transformations. There are sentient beings who take pleasure in exquisite objects of desire transformed by others, exercising free mastery within these other-transformed exquisite objects of desire — this refers to the sixth heaven, the Heaven of Mastery over Others' Transformations. On the basis of experiencing present objects of desire as they naturally arise, on the basis of experiencing self-transformed objects of desire as a source of pleasure, and on the basis of experiencing other-transformed objects of desire as a source of pleasure, three distinct kinds of desire-birth are distinguished within the desire realm. As for the three kinds of bliss-birth: within the three dhyānas, across nine places of birth, three kinds of bliss are experienced — namely, abiding in the joy and bliss born of seclusion, the joy and bliss born of concentration, and, having become free of joy, a further bliss — abiding for a long duration, remaining free of suffering for a long duration, experiencing bliss for a long duration; hence it is called "bliss-birth." One should consider: in the intermediate dhyāna, there is no joy or bliss at all present — why, then, is it too called a heaven of "bliss-birth"?

Among the twenty-two heavens described, what is the measure of the vertical distance separating them, upper from lower? Verse: as is a heaven's distance down to the ocean, so too is its distance up the same. Prose: the exact number of yojanas between any two adjacent heavens is not easily enumerated one by one; but, in general terms, one may state that a heaven's distance up to the one above it always equals its own distance down to the great ocean below. That is: Mount Sumeru's fourth terrace lies 40,000 yojanas above the great ocean, and this is the original dwelling-place of the Four Great Kings; from there upward to the Thirty-Three, the distance is likewise equal to that terrace's own distance down to the ocean. Just as the Thirty-Three's distance down to the great ocean is what it is, so too its distance up to the Yāma Heaven is the same amount. And so it continues, up to the point where, whatever a given heaven's distance down to the great ocean in yojanas may be, its distance up to the heaven above — all the way up to Akaniṣṭha — is likewise equal to that same heaven's own distance down to the ocean. Beyond this point upward there is no further dwelling-place; this is the highest place, called Akaniṣṭha, "Ultimate Form." There is a further view: that it should be called "Ultimate Obstruction Heaven" — on this reading, "obstruction" refers to the accumulation of form; when one reaches the point where this accumulation of obstruction is exhausted, it earns the name "ultimate."

Can one born in a lower place ascend to, or see, what is above? Verse: apart from supernormal power or reliance on another, one born below cannot ascend to or see what is above. Prose: the Thirty-Three, through their own supernormal power, are able to ascend from their original place to the Yāma Heaven; or else, by relying on another — that is, one who has attained supernormal power, or the higher gods themselves, may receive and carry them up to the Yāma Heaven. The remaining heavens' ascent follows this same pattern, whether coming or going. However, the eyes of a lower being cannot perceive the higher realm or higher ground, since this does not fall within their sensory domain — just as one does not feel that subtler being's touch. For this reason, when a being from a higher ground comes down to a lower ground, it does not come in its own actual body, but must instead create a transformation-body suited to the lower ground. There is a further school's view: that gods of the lower ground, according to their wish, are also able to see the form of the higher ground — just as, being born in this desire realm, one can see the heavens below.

How large are the palaces of the Yāma Heaven and the heavens above it? There is a further view: that the dwelling-places of these four heavens above are equal in size to the summit of Mount Sumeru. There is a further view: that each successive heaven doubles in size. There is a further view: that the first dhyāna's palace-dwellings are equal in extent to a single set of four continents; the second dhyāna's, equal to a small chiliocosm; the third dhyāna's, equal to a medium chiliocosm; the fourth dhyāna's, equal to a great chiliocosm. There is a further view: that the lower three dhyānas are, respectively, equal in measure to a small, medium, and great chiliocosm, while the fourth dhyāna's measure is without any boundary at all. By what measure are "small," "medium," and "great" chiliocosms defined? Verse: four continents, a sun and moon, Sumeru, and the desire-realm heavens, together with a Brahmā-world, each taken a thousandfold — this is called a small chiliocosm. This small chiliocosm, taken a thousandfold, is called a medium chiliocosm. This, taken a thousandfold, is a great chiliocosm — all of it undergoing one shared formation and one shared destruction. Prose: a thousand sets of four continents, up through a thousand Brahmā-worlds — this is, in sum, called one small chiliocosm; a thousand small chiliocosms is called one medium chiliocosm; a thousand medium chiliocosms is, in total, called one great chiliocosm — and such a great chiliocosm undergoes one shared formation and one shared destruction together. The specific characteristics of this shared formation and destruction will be discussed at length later.

Just as the container world's own measurements differ from place to place, do bodily sizes differ too? They do. How so? Verse: Jambudvīpa people's height is 3.5 cubits, or 4 cubits; the eastern, western, and northern continents' people double in succession. The desire heavens, in krośa, increase by one-quarter at each level. The form heavens, in yojanas, increase by half at first; above this they double, except that Anabhraka decreases by three. Prose: Jambudvīpa people's bodies are mostly 3.5 cubits long; among them, a small portion reach 4 cubits. Pūrvavideha people are 8 cubits tall; Aparagodānīya people, 16 cubits; Uttarakuru people, 32 cubits. The desire realm's six heavens: the lowest body-size is one-quarter krośa; thereafter, each successive heaven increases by one quarter, up to the sixth heaven, whose body is one and a half krośa. The form realm's body sizes: the first, Brahmakāyika, is half a yojana; Brahmapurohita, a full one; Mahābrahmā, one and a half; Parīttābha, a full two. Above this, the remaining heavens all double in succession; only Anabhraka decreases by three yojanas from what doubling would otherwise give. That is: Apramāṇābha doubles from two to four; and so on, up to Akaniṣṭha, which reaches a full 16,000.

Since bodily size differs, do lifespans differ too? They do. How so? Verse: the northern continent's lifespan is fixed at a thousand years; the western and eastern continents decrease by half each in succession; this continent's lifespan is not fixed — at a declining eon's end, it drops to ten years; at the eon's beginning, it is beyond calculation. Fifty human years equal one day-and-night for the lowest heaven; multiplying this, their lifespan is five hundred years; the five heavens above successively double. Prose: Uttarakuru people have a fixed lifespan of a thousand years; Aparagodānīya people, five hundred years; Pūrvavideha people, two hundred fifty years; Jambudvīpa people have no fixed lifespan limit. At a declining eon's very end, the maximal lifespan is ten years; at the eon's very beginning, human lifespan is immeasurable, a span that cannot be calculated even in the hundreds of thousands. The length of human lifespans has thus been discussed. One must first establish how day-and-night is reckoned in the heavens before one can calculate the length of heavenly lifespans. How is day-and-night established in the heavens? Fifty human years equal a single day-and-night for the lowest of the six desire heavens; multiplying this day-and-night, thirty make a month, twelve months make a year, and their lifespan is five hundred such years. The five desire heavens above gradually double in turn: that is, one hundred human years equal a single day-and-night for the second heaven; multiplying this day-and-night into months and years, their lifespan is a thousand such years. For the Yāma Heaven and the three above it, in succession, two hundred, four hundred, eight hundred, and sixteen hundred human years, respectively, equal a single day-and-night; multiplying this day-and-night into months and years, their lifespans are, respectively, two thousand, four thousand, eight thousand, and sixteen thousand years.

Above Yugandhara, there is no sun or moon at all — how, then, do these heavens establish day-and-night and the matter of illumination? On what basis is this accomplished? Day-and-night is established on the basis of flowers opening and closing, such as the blue lotus and the red lotus; or else on the basis of the difference between birds' calling and falling silent; or else on the basis of the gods' own alternation between waking and sleeping; illumination is accomplished by their own bodily radiance. The length of the desire realm heavens' lifespans has thus been discussed. Among the form realm's heavens, there is no distinction of day and night at all — lifespan-length is known only by counting kalpas. The length of these heavens' kalpa-lifespans corresponds exactly to their body-size figures: that is, if a heaven's body-size is half a yojana, its lifespan is half a kalpa; if that body-size is one yojana, its lifespan is one kalpa; and so on, up to a body-size of 16,000 yojanas, whose lifespan is likewise 16,000 kalpas. The length of the form realm heavens' lifespans has thus been discussed.

The four formless heavens, from the lowest upward, have lifespans, in succession, of twenty thousand, forty thousand, sixty thousand, and eighty thousand kalpas. What is the measure of the "kalpa" spoken of above? Is it a kalpa of destruction, of formation, a medium kalpa, or a great kalpa? From Ābhāsvara upward, it is a full great kalpa; for the heavens below this, it is a "great half" kalpa. It is precisely for this reason that it is said that Mahābrahmā's lifespan exceeds that of Brahmapurohita's heaven by half a kalpa. That is: taking formation, abiding, and destruction as twenty medium kalpas each, sixty medium kalpas make one and a half great kalpas; hence forty medium kalpas — a "great half" — is taken as the kalpa-measure of the lifespan of the lower three heavens. The length of the fortunate destinies' lifespans has thus been discussed.

What of the bad destinies? Verse: for the Reviving Hell and the six above it, in order, the six desire heavens' lifespans serve as a single day-and-night, and their lifespans likewise equal those same heavens' own total lifespans. Great Scorching's lifespan is half a medium kalpa; Avīci's, a full medium kalpa. Animals', at most, one medium kalpa. Ghosts: a month equals a day, and their lifespan is five hundred years. Prose: the lifespans of the Four Great Kings and the other five desire heavens serve, in that same order, as a single day-and-night for the Reviving Hell and the other five hells above; these hells' lifespans, in that same order, likewise equal those same heavens' own total lifespans. That is: the Four Great Kings' lifespan of five hundred years serves as a single day-and-night in the Reviving Hell; multiplying this day-and-night into months and years, by that same reckoning, its lifespan is five hundred such years. And so on, up to the Heaven of Mastery over Others' Transformations' lifespan of sixteen thousand years, which serves as a single day-and-night in the Scorching Hell; multiplying this day-and-night into months and years, its lifespan is likewise sixteen thousand such years. Great Scorching Hell's lifespan is half a medium kalpa; Avīci's lifespan is a full medium kalpa. Animals' lifespans are mostly unfixed; at their very longest, they too reach a full medium kalpa — as with Nanda and the other great nāga kings. Hence the World-Honored One said: there are eight great nāgas, each abiding for a full kalpa, capable of sustaining the great earth. For ghosts, a human month equals a single one of their days; multiplying this into their own months and years, their lifespan is five hundred such years.

What is the lifespan of the cold hells? The World-Honored One conveyed their lifespan by means of a simile: just as, in the human world, twenty khārīs make one māgadha droṇa-measure of Magadha, and were this vessel filled level to the brim with sesame seeds, and further suppose someone were able to remove a single seed once every hundred years — even so, these sesame seeds would eventually reach their end, but one born in Arbuda's lifespan would be difficult to exhaust even then. Twenty times this constitutes the second cold hell's lifespan, and so each subsequent one increases twentyfold again — these are the lifespans of the eight cold hells.

Do all these lifespans admit of untimely death? Verse: every place admits of untimely death, except Uttarakuru. Prose: in every place, lifespans admit of untimely death, except that Uttarakuru alone has a fixed lifespan of a thousand years. This is stated with reference to place in general, not to every individual being, since there are particular individual beings who do not die an untimely death. Namely: the bodhisattva bound to a single more birth dwelling in the Tuṣita Heaven; one in his final existence; a buddha; one who has received a prediction of buddhahood; a buddha's emissary; a faith-follower or dharma-follower; a bodhisattva; a wheel-turning king; and, while a mother is carrying either of these last two — a bodhisattva or a wheel-turning king — in her womb, she too, as is appropriate, is free from untimely death.