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T2122 A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Vol. I

Thông tin: BDK America — English Tripiṭaka

A FOREST OF PEARLS FROM THE DHARMA GARDEN VOLUME I

Front Matters

BDK English Tripiṭaka Series A FOREST OF PEARLS FROM THE

DHARMA GARDEN VOLUME I

(Taishō Volume 53, Number 2122) Translated by

Koichi Shinohara BDK America, Inc. 2019

Copyright © 2019 by Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai and BDK America, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means —electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise— without the prior written permission of the publisher. First Printing, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-886439-71-9

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2019935629 Published by

BDK America, Inc.

1675 School Street

Moraga, California 94556

Printed in the United States of America

A Message on the Publication of the

English Tripiṭaka

The Buddhist canon is said to contain eighty-four thousand different teachings. I believe that this is because the Buddha's basic approach was to prescribe a different treatment for every spiritual ailment, much as a doctor prescribes a different medicine for every medical ailment. Thus his teachings were always appropriate for the particular suffering individual and for the time at which the teaching was given, and over the ages not one of his prescriptions has failed to relieve the suffering to which it was addressed.

Ever since the Buddha's Great Demise over twenty-five hundred years ago, his message of wisdom and compassion has spread throughout the world. Yet no one has ever attempted to translate the entire Buddhist canon into English throughout the history of Japan. It is my greatest wish to see this done and to make the translations available to the many English-speaking people who have never had the opportunity to learn about the Buddha's teachings. Of course, it would be impossible to translate all of the Buddha's eighty-four thousand teachings in a few years. I have, therefore, had one hundred thirty-nine of the scriptural texts in the prodigious Taishō edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon selected for inclusion in the First Series of this translation project. It is in the nature of this undertaking that the results are bound to be criticized. Nonetheless, I am convinced that unless someone takes it upon himself or herself to initiate this project, it will never be done. At the same time, I hope that an improved, revised edition will appear in the future.

It is most gratifying that, thanks to the efforts of more than a hundred Buddhist scholars from the East and the West, this monumental project has finally gotten off the ground. May the rays of the Wisdom of the Compassionate One reach each and every person in the world.

NUMATA Yehan

Founder of the English

August 7, 1991 Tripiṭaka Project

Editorial Foreword

In the long history of Buddhist transmission throughout East Asia, translations of Buddhist texts were often carried out as national projects supported and funded by emperors and political leaders. The BDK English Tripiṭaka project, on the other hand, began as a result of the dream and commitment of one man. In January 1982 Dr. NUMATA Yehan, founder of Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism), initiated the monumental task of translating the complete Taishō shinshū daizōkyō edition of the Chinese Tripiṭaka (Buddhist canon) into the English language. Under his leadership, a special preparatory committee was organized in April 1982. By July of the same year the Translation Committee of the English Tripiṭaka was officially convened. The initial Committee included the following members: (late) HANAYAMA Shōyū (Chairperson), (late) BANDŌ Shōjun, ISHIGAMI Zennō, (late) KAMATA Shigeo, (late) KANAOKA Shūyū, MAYEDA Sengaku, (late) NARA Yasuaki, (late) SAYEKI Shinkō, (late) SHIOIRI Ryōtatsu, TAMARU Noriyoshi, (late) TAMURA Kwansei, (late) URYŪZU Ryūshin, and YUYAMA Akira. Assistant members of the Committee were as follows: KANAZAWA Atsushi, WATANABE Shōgo, Rolf Giebel of New Zealand, and Rudy Smet of Belgium. After holding planning meetings on a monthly basis, the Committee selected one hundred and thirty-nine texts for the First Series of the project, estimated to be one hundred printed volumes in all. The texts selected were not limited to those originally written in India but also included works composed in China and Japan. While the publication of the First Series proceeds, the texts for the Second Series will be selected from among the remaining works; this process will continue until all the texts, in Japanese as well as in Chinese, have been published. Given the huge scope of this project, accomplishing the English translations of all the Chinese and Japanese texts in the Taishō canon may take as long as one hundred years or more. Nevertheless, as Dr. NUMATA wished, it is the sincere hope of the Committee that this project will continue until completion, even after all the present members have passed away.

vii

Publisher’s Foreword

Editorial Foreword

Dr. NUMATA passed away on May 5, 1994, at the age of ninety-seven. He entrusted his son, Mr. NUMATA Toshihide with the continuation and completion of the English Tripiṭaka project. Mr. Numata served for twenty-three years, leading the project forward with enormous progress before his sudden passing on February 16, 2017, at the age of eighty-four. The Committee previously lost its able and devoted first Chairperson, Professor HANAYAMA Shōyū, on June 16, 1995, at the age of sixty-three. In October 1995 the Committee elected Professor MAYEDA Sengaku (then Vice President of Musashino Women's College) as Chairperson, and upon the retirement of Professor Mayeda in July 2016, the torch was passed to me to serve as the third Chairperson. Despite these losses and changes we, the Editorial Committee members, have renewed our determination to carry out the noble ideals set by Dr. NUMATA. Present members of the Committee are Kenneth K. Tanaka (Chairperson), MAYEDA Sengaku, ICHISHIMA Shōshin, ISHIGAMI Zennō, KATSURA Shōryū, MINOWA Kenryō, SAITŌ Akira, SHIMODA Masahiro, WATANABE Shōgo, and YONEZAWA Yoshiyasu.

The Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research was established in November 1984, in Berkeley, California, U.S.A., to assist in the publication of the translated texts. The Publication Committee was organized at the Numata Center in December 1991. In 2010, the Numata Center's operations were merged with Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai America, Inc. (BDK America), and BDK America continues to oversee the publication side of the English Tripiṭaka project in close cooperation with the Editorial Committee in Tokyo.

At the time of this writing, in February 2017, the project has completed about sixty percent of the seven thousand one hundred and eighty-five Taishō pages of texts selected for the First Series. Much work still lies ahead of us but we are committed to the completion of the remaining texts in order to realize the grand vision of Dr. Numata, shared by Mr. Numata and Professor Hanayama, to make the Buddhist canon more readily accessible to the English-speaking world. Kenneth K. Tanaka

Chairperson

Editorial Committee of

the BDK English Tripiṭaka

viii

Publisher's Foreword

On behalf of the members of the Publication Committee, I am happy to present this volume as the latest contribution to the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series. The Publication Committee members have worked to ensure that this volume, as all other volumes in the series, has gone through a rigorous process of editorial efforts. The initial translation and editing of the Buddhist scriptures found in this and other BDK English Tripiṭaka volumes are performed under the direction of the Editorial Committee in Tokyo, Japan. Both the Editorial Committee in Tokyo and the Publication Committee, headquartered in Moraga, California, are dedicated to the production of accurate and readable English translations of the Buddhist canon. In doing so, the members of both committees and associated staff work to honor the deep faith, spirit, and concern of the late Reverend Dr. Yehan Numata, who founded the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series in order to disseminate the Buddhist teachings throughout the world. The long-term goal of our project is the translation and publication of the texts in the one hundred-volume Taishō edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon, along with a number of influential extracanonical Japanese Buddhist texts. The list of texts selected for the First Series of this translation project may be found at the end of each volume in the series.

As Chair of the Publication Committee, I am deeply honored to serve as the fifth person in a post previously held by leading figures in the field of Buddhist studies, most recently by my predecessor, John R. McRae.

In conclusion, I wish to thank the members of the Publication Committee for their dedicated and expert work undertaken in the course of preparing this volume for publication: Managing Editor Marianne Dresser, Dr. Hudaya Kandahjaya, Dr. Carl Bielefeldt, Dr. Robert Sharf, and Rev. Brian Kensho Nagata, Director of the BDK English Tripiṭaka Project.

A. Charles Muller

Chairperson

Publication Committee

A Message on the Publication of the English Tripiṭaka NUMATA Yehan v

Editorial Foreword Kenneth K. Tanaka vii Publisher's Foreword A. Charles Muller ix Translator's Introduction Koichi Shinohara xiii A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I Fascicle 1

Preface to A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden 3 [Topics To Be Discussed] 7 Chapter One. The Measurement of World Ages (Kalpas) 9 Fascicle 2

Chapter Two. The Three Realms 49 Fascicle 3

Chapter Two (continued). The Three Realms (continued) 89 Fascicle 4

Chapter Three. The Sun and Moon 123 Fascicle 5

Chapter Four. The Six Realms of Rebirth 163 Fascicle 6

Chapter Four (continued). The Six Realms of Rebirth (continued) 217 Fascicle 7

Chapter Four (continued). The Six Realms of Rebirth (continued) 273 Bibliography 325

Index 327

A List of the Volumes of the BDK English Tripiṭaka (First Series) 357 xi

Translator's Introduction

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden (Fayuan zhulin, T. 2122) is a large anthology of excerpts from Buddhist canonical sources and historical records, arranged by theme. The scriptural passages, with some exceptions, were taken from Indian Buddhist scriptures translated into Chinese; the settings of the narratives they offer are for the most part Indian. The historical records excerpted in the collection are of Chinese origin, and their settings are Chinese. The collection is attributed to Daoshi, a seventh-century monk based at Xi mingsi Monastery in the capital city, Chang'an. Ximingsi was completed in 658 (Xianqing 3) and the famous Vinaya specialist and historian Daoxuan (598-667) was invited to serve as monastic supervisor (shangzuo). Daoshi had studied under the same teacher as Daoxuan (Fayuan zhulin, T.2122:354b16) and was among the monks who were called to Ximingsi (Song gaoseng zhuan, T.2061:726c15-17). The monastery possessed a collection of canonical works and historical documents. Among the many works attributed to Daoxuan are a catalogue of the Buddhist canon, A Catalogue of Buddhist Scriptures Known in the Great Tang (Datang neidian lu, T. 2149), a collection of historical documents, Extended Collection of Writings for Spreading and Illuminating the Way (Guang hongming ji, T. 2103), and a collection of Buddhist miracle stories, Collected Records of Three Jewels Miracles (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T. 2106), all of which are dated to 664. These works must have been drawn from the manuscript canon and other material preserved at Ximingsi. In compiling A Forest of Pearls Daoshi and his collaborators must also have relied on the same collection of canonical and historical sources at the monastery that Daoxuan had used. Daoxuan's collection of miracle stories includes a set of stories that also appear as a group in a section of A Forest of Pearls, and Daoxuan explicitly refers to this collection for further details.

The thematically grouped collection of scriptural excerpts attributed to Daoshi exists today under two titles, a more extensive Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden that covers one hundred topics, and a shorter Collected Summaries of All xiii

Translator's Introduction

Scriptures (Zhujing yaoji, T. 2123), which covers thirty topics. Virtually identical sets of excerpted scriptural passages appear in corresponding sections. In the preface to the Collected Summaries Daoshi speaks of reading through the entire canon during the Xianqing period (656-660) and preparing summaries (T.2123:1a19-20). This must refer to his compilation of the anthology of canonical sources that appear in both these collections.

In A Forest of Pearls a set of miracle stories is appended at the end of each chapter, devoted to one of the one hundred topics around which the collection is organized. These stories are missing in the Collected Summaries. In A Forest of Pearls these stories of miraculous occurrences (ganying yuan, "stories of cosmic responses") about events reported in China correlate to specific scriptural accounts set in India, and they appear to carry the distinct message that the occurrence of such miraculous events illustrate the efficacy in China of the practices described in scriptures. The principal sources for these miracle stories were collections of monastic biographies and a variety of miracle story collections. Most of the latter are no longer extant and their contents are known only through A Forest of Pearls. This collection offers a comprehensive and distinctive reading of the Buddhist canon. The focus of this reading is practice. An extraordinarily rich account of Buddhist practices is offered, though the rationale for the choice of the one hundred topics around which the discussion is organized is not always clear. The sections on overlapping topics appear in a different order in A Forest of Pearls and the Collected Summaries, suggesting that neither collection followed a rigid rationale in arranging these topics.

Still, the principal practice of "paying respect to," or worshiping, the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) occupies an important place in both. A Forest of Pearls begins with an extended explanation of Buddhist cosmology and a large section on the life of the Buddha. This is followed by chapters on paying respect to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha and a separate chapter on the ritual of paying respect. At this point a focused discussion of Buddhist practice begins. The Collected Summaries begins with a section on the Three Jewels that closely matches A Forest of Pearls' sections on paying respect to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Daoxuan's collection of Buddhist miracle stories in China is also organized around the scheme of the Three Jewels. The Three Jewels stood for Buddhism and Buddhist practices are summarized as "paying respect" to them, and their efficacy is demonstrated by Three Jewels-related miracles. xiv

Translator's Introduction

Daoshi's voice is heard throughout the anthology. He introduces each section with a short essay, identifies scriptural passages, frequently explaining their significance in comparative summaries, and concludes the section with a set of verses. It is generally also Daoshi's comments in the interlinear notes within quoted passages, commenting on specific details in light of other scriptural accounts. Note on the Translation

The translation of the complete text of the Fayuan zhulin has been carried out by three translators and will be published in multiple volumes. Volumes I-III have been translated by Koichi Shinohara. The present Volume I includes Fascicles 1-7, Chapters 1-4. Volume II will include Fascicles 8-12, Chapter 5. Volume III will include Fascicles 13-20, Chapters 6 -9. xv

A FOREST OF PEARLS FROM THE DHARMA GARDEN VOLUME I

Fascicle 1

Preface to A Forest of Pearls

from the Dharma Garden

Composed by Li Yan, styled Zhongsi, of Longxi

Grand Master for Court Council and

Gentleman-Attendant of the Orchid Pavilion

From the six lines of divination the arrangements of the eight hexagrams are formed. Then ideograms appear and the illumination of scriptures occurs. Phoenix calligraphy and dragon diagrams, golden tablets and jade letters— one hundred schools have different standards and their ten thousand volumes are divided into many categories. Even though they investigate minutely and discuss the norms of things exhaustively, tracing and ordering human emotions and human nature, they do not go beyond matters of this world. How could any of these apply to otherworldly matters? Furthermore, there is the teaching of Cang Jie, the ancient court historian, and the discourse of [Zhuangzi], a minor country official. Their treasure scriptures are frivolous and their embroidered books are strange. They are like carving ice, which does not produce permanent shapes, or writing in the sky, which leaves no substantive [messages]. If we compare these with the flower garlands of marvelous teachings and the leaves inscribed with mysterious words [containing] the broad teachings of the two vehicles and the eight types of Buddhist scriptures, in terms of their depth and superiority, it would be like comparing a small anthill to the high mountains Mount Song and Mount Hua, or the amount of water collected in a cow's hoofprint to the amount of water in the Jiang or Han Rivers. These Buddhist teachings reveal comprehensive truths, hidden norms, gates of liberation, and a garden of spells. From beginning to end they tally with suchness. From beginners to the advanced, all take refuge in true enlightenment. The Buddhist teachings guide those who are lost, born in the ocean of desires, causing their senses and sense objects, along with their mind and 3

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A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

mental defilements, to disappear; and they draw those who are at a loss to the chamber of compassion. Both the treasure robe and the jewel topknot [of Prince Siddhārtha] arrived [in heaven]. The influence of this teaching reaches as many worlds as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River, and the effects reach an infinite number of world ages. How great are these teachings! How perfect they are! They cannot be adequately praised! Furthermore, [signaling the Buddha's birth] comets fell like rain in the realm of the Zhou. When the Buddha's teaching reached the Han, the image of the sun accompanied [the golden man in Emperor Ming's dream]. Cai Yin traveled the west. Zhu [Fa]lan came to the east. The words from the golden mouth of the Buddha and the teachings of the Jeweled Tower, transposed onto silk and bamboo, have become available in the central region of China. They are contained in numerous scrolls and the accounts are deep and extensive. It is difficult to study in detail the true origins of reality. We are now under the rule of the Tang, and the Emperor, creator of things, reigns and proclaims the profound teaching [of Buddhism]. Monastics gather and transmit the bright teaching, pouring it [like a nourishing] liquid that illuminates and moistens the realm under the [Emperor's] rule. The sounds of reciting scriptures and utterances of praise are heard quietly all over the realm. The prospering of the Buddhist teaching is truly indescribable. The great monastic of Ximingsi Monastery, Dharma Master Daoshi, styled Xuanyun, is a leader of the Buddhist community. Intelligent even as a young child, at a tender age he played with a stupa made of sand; he shaved his head while he was still wearing the colorful clothes of a youth. His great compassion is such that it brings salvation even to ants. Having completed his training he reached the ordination platform, where he received the complete precepts. Each of the precepts is perfect, offering protection equal to [that conferred by] swallowing a gem. Daoshi was well versed in the practice of self-control, taking delight in it in the same way one follows luminous mirrors. He loves the Great Vehicle (Mahayana) and penetrates and illuminates reality. Because of his superior and broad learning he was called to reside at Ximingsi Monastery. In the time outside of the cultivation of the fivefold teaching, he read the Tripi ṭaka extensively. He thought that over many generations, from the ancient past to the present, many authors compiled these works. Though elegant in meaning and beautiful in expression, they are not all worthy of 4

Preface

recording. Thus, Daoshi selected the best flowers from the field of these writings, sniffed out the fragrant blossoms of the great teaching, and organized them in categories. The work is called A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, altogether one hundred fascicles, filling ten boxes. Though its language is economical its content is rich. It strings together the essentials of extensive teachings, comparable to those of [You] Yu (the sage emperor Shun), and the traces collected here proclaim the teaching as a mirror of the Way. Like the Collection for the Propagation and Clarification of Buddhism (T. 2102) of Master Sengyou (445-518), A Forest of Pearls brings to light [the teaching]; its words are beautiful and the Way is presented clearly. None of the profound teachings are left out; all essential teachings are included, without exception. If a text is too long and detailed one soon becomes tired of it, but if the content is too abbreviated the scope of learning is limited. Even though he wished not to fill scrolls with fiction and empty words, Daoshi could not eliminate substantive matters. The writing seems to be extensive; if one studies it over a long period, one gets to know the essential teachings. In the first year of the Zongzhang period (668 C.E.), on the thirtieth day of the third month, the compilation was completed. It is our hope that authors of philosophical writings will find in these fascicles jewels that fit their needs perfectly, and that those who follow the correct path will open this work and drink the sweet dew of immortality. Investigating these pages, one comes to know the subtle; in contemplating reality with the teachings presented here, one comes to see the hidden. Everything that surrounds us is equally illuminated. Circling around the sky one continues to coexist forever with all things. 5

A Forest of Pearls from

the Dharma Garden

Compiled by Shi Daoshi

of Ximingsi Monastery

[Topics To Be Discussed:] Measurement of world ages; the three realms; the sun and moon; the six realms; one thousand buddhas; paying respect to the Buddha; paying respect to the Dharma; paying respect to the Sangha (monastic order); the practice of paying respect; the field of merit; turning to faith; men and women; entering the Way; repentance; providing guidance; preaching and listening to the Dharma; understanding; fate; sincerity; supernatural feats; miraculous response; upholding the teaching; seclusion; anomalies; transformation; dreams; meritorious work; controlling [one's] thoughts; vows; the Dharma robe; the lamp; the banner; incense and flowers; chanting; paying respect to a stupa; temple building; relics; offerings; accepting invitations; the cakravartin king; rulers and ministers; accepting remonstrance; investigating the truth; caution; parsimony; punishments for faults; obedience; admonition; loyalty and filial piety; unfiliality; returning kindness; failing to return kindness; good friends; evil friends; choosing [one's] associates; attendants; measurement; debating skill; stupidity; deception; laziness; refuting wrong views; wealth; poverty; debt; court cases; reviling; magic; sacrifice; divination; praying for rain; the fruits of the garden; fishing and hunting; compassion; releasing living beings; rescue; suffering; karmic causes; retribution; punishment and happiness; desire; the four kinds of birth; the ten dispositions; the ten evil deeds; the six perfections; repentance; receiving precepts; violating precepts; receiving a feast; breaking the rule of offering a feast to monks; reward and punishment; benefit and harm; [consuming] wine and meat; defilement; illness; giving up one's body; sending one to death; destruction of the Dharma; other miscellaneous matters; scriptural records. 7

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Chapter One

The Measurement of

World Ages (Kalpas)

(Note: The calamities of kalpas are of two kinds:) (1) Lesser Calamities and (2) Three Great Calamities.

1. Lesser Calamities

(This has six parts:) (1) Introduction, (2) Epidemics, (3) Warfare, (4) Famine, (5) Successive Generations, and (6) Treatments.

1. Introduction

A kalpa (world age) is the designation for a time period, like the term "year." Though time is not a separate entity, the meaning of this designation becomes clear in the light of the Buddhist Dharma. The holy teaching is preached widely and contains many different kinds of records that include not only the profound norms of principle and contemplation but also the mysterious teachings on reward and punishment. If one roams afar lost in the consciousness of the [infinite] past, it is easy to exhaust the [infinite] number of minute [particles of] dust [and still fail to fathom its depth]. If one returns to the starting point on the path of enlightenment [and follows the path better informed about the progression of time], it is possible [to reach the goal] within the limit of the asaṃkhya period. This may result in the difference between being lost or becoming enlightened. Even in the massive city in the Hell of Incessant Punishment (Avīci) the life span is limited and sinners move on to further rebirths. [Just by donating for a temple pillar base] a rock used for [washing] clothes, people are born in heaven. Here the teaching is illustrated in contrasting cases of good and evil rebirths. In this sahā world one brief moment is experienced as a hundred years; in the land of the monastics an infinitely long world age constitutes one calendrical cycle of ten days. Here is the distinction between the defiled and the pure.

To speak in broad terms, there is nothing beyond the greater and lesser kalpas, and each of them contains three items. In the greater kalpa there are 9

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A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

the calamities of water, fire, and wind. In the lesser kalpa harm comes from warfare, famine, and epidemics. Thus, we know that beautiful buildings [that took six years to build] in the end are burned to ashes. The jewel terrace of a thousand brahmans in the end floats away in a sudden downpour. Furthermore, [at the time of these calamities] divinations will not produce any signs; prayers will have no effect. The shining blades of weapons meet each other, and the pointed swords of starlight cross each other. Living people are harmed and almost entirely destroyed. Yet fear of the three realms does not lead to awakening. Lamenting over the six realms of rebirth, one is filled with sorrow. 2. Epidemics

The Dazhidu lun (T.1509) says:

What is meant by jie (kalpa)?

Answer: The Sanksrit term in correct transcription is jiebo batuo (kalpa bhadra). Jiebo (kalpa) means a division of time; batuo means good. The Lishi apitan lun (T.1644:206b29-c11) says:

The Buddha, the World-honored One, said, "One minor kalpa is called one kalpa. Twenty kalpas are also called one kalpa. Forty kalpas are also called one kalpa. Sixty kalpas are also called one kalpa. Eighty minor kalpas are also called one major kalpa. Why is one minor kalpa called one kalpa?" At the time the monk Devadatta was in hell, suffering from karmic retribution, the Buddha said that the period he will remain there is one kalpa. If the Buddha said that the period [of Devadatta's stay in hell] is one kalpa, why are twenty kalpas also called one kalpa? When the Brahmā god is born in heaven, his life span is twenty minor kalpas. The Buddha said that it is one kalpa. Why are forty minor kalpas also called one kalpa? The life span of the Brahmakāyika god is forty minor kalpas. The Buddha said that it is one kalpa. Why are sixty kalpas also called one kalpa? The life span of the Mahābrahmā god is sixty minor kalpas. The Buddha said it is one kalpa. Why are eighty kalpas called one large kalpa? The Foshuo Jiezhong shijie jing says:

[There are] twenty minor kalpas of destruction. Then, when the twenty minor kalpas of destruction are finished, the twenty minor kalpas of arising 10

Fascicle 1

and formation come. These twenty kalpas of arising and formation have already started. How many of them have already passed, and how many are yet to come? Eight minor kalpas have already passed; eleven minor kalpas are yet to come. The ninth minor kalpa is the present kalpa, which has not yet come to an end. In this ninth kalpa how much [time] has already passed and how much is yet to come? There are still six hundred and ninety years to come. (Note: This is calculated taking the last yi-mao year of the Liang [559] as the basis.) In the course of these twenty minor kalpas three kinds of minor calamities occur one after another: first the calamity of epidemics, second the calamity of warfare, and third the calamity of famine. (Note: The names of these three calamities are given differently in different scriptures. The Chang ahan (Dīrghāgama, T. 1), the Zhong ahan (Madhya māgama, T. 26), and the Qishi (T. 24) first list warfare, then famine and epidemics; the Jushe apidamo (Abhidharmakośa, T. 1558) and the Posha lun (Apidamo da piposha lun; Abhidharma-mahāvibhāśa-sāstra, T. 1545) first lists warfare, then epidemics and famine. The Yüqie (Yogacārabhūmi, T. 1579) and the Duifa (Abhidharmasamuccayavyākhyā, T. 1606) list famine and then warfare. As for the length of the years and months and the order, the view of the Yüqie and the Duifa is the correct one.) Following the Lishi apitan lun (T.1644:215b29-217b6): This ninth kalpa is the time for the third calamity. This kalpa comes to an end because of famine. The Buddha [taught] the following. In the course of the twenty kalpas of arising and formation, in the first of these kalpas, when a lesser calamity occurs there will be a great epidemic. All kinds of illnesses will spread everywhere in all the lands of Jambudvīpa. People everywhere will experience a great epidemic. All supernatural beings will become angry and harm the people of the world. Human life span will be shortened to only ten years. People will become short in stature; some will be [only] two hands tall, some three hands. If they measure themselves with their own hands they will be eight hands tall. The best food available will be inferior millet. They will consider clothing made of human hair the best and have only swords and sticks for decoration. At that time people will fail to follow the correct teaching; they will deviate from the teaching and indulge in greed; wrong views and 270b

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

other evil behaviors will increase day and night. Evil ghosts will harm people everywhere.

At that time the lineages of great kings will be terminated and the kingdoms' territories will gradually become abandoned. Only small local government offices, scattered in places at great distances from each other, will remain. In this way people will suffer greatly from epidemics, with no one to offer them medicine, food, and drink. For this reason there will be many who die pointlessly before their life span is exhausted. Each day and night innumerable sentient beings will die from illness. People will receive this result because of having committed evil deeds in previous lives. The disturbance of the kalpa occurs; after death people are reborn in the three inferior realms. At that time local governments will be abandoned; only a small number of families will exist, separated from each other by great distances. When people die of epidemics, there will be no one to bury them. The ground will be covered by white bones. Eventually, more and more houses will be abandoned. During the last seven days of the kalpa an innumerable number of sentient beings will fall victim to the epidemic and die. Those who happen to survive this will be scattered in different places.

Then, someone will gather together all the men and women in Jambudvīpa. There will only be ten thousand people left; these people will become the human race for the coming age. These ten thousand people are capable of good deeds. Supernatural beings, not wishing to let the human race be completely exterminated, will protect them, pouring good nourishment through their hair follicles. Because of karmic conditions the human race will not be exterminated, and after seven days the great epidemic will suddenly disappear. All evil ghosts will be banished. In response to sentient beings' needs, food, drink, and clothing will come down from the sky like rain. The seasons will follow in proper order and a good harvest will be produced. The physical appearance of the people will be attractive, and they will be free of illness. They will be filled with the joy felt by relatives and close friends who have not seen each other for a long time when they are suddenly reunited. They will stay together all the time and be unwilling to be separated from each other. In the previous kalpa the human life span was ten years. These people will give birth to those who are born in the 12

Fascicle 1

following kalpa, whose life span may be as long as twenty thousand years. Such benefits are obtained spontaneously, without any effort. In accordance with good teachings their actions of body, speech, and mind will be good, and after their life span is completed they will be reborn in superior realms of existence. Then, after finishing their lives as gods, they will be reborn among human beings. Without any effort they will be naturally good and observe the precepts fully. After their life span as human beings is over they will be reborn as gods. This will go on forever and ever. In the transitional period following the first kalpa epidemics and illnesses will be completely absent. This period that connects with the subsequent second kalpa will last for twenty thousand years. During the transitional period people have the same life span as the first kalpa; people then are born from the people of the previous first kalpa with a life span of twenty thousand years.

In the subsequent kalpa people have supernatural powers at their command and are supplied with everything they need. Their life span is forty thousand years. Sentient beings are reborn as human beings and as gods, over and over. This is called the second kalpa. In the following transitional period people have the second kalpa's life span of forty thousand years. In the following kalpa people will be provided with everything they need, and their life span will be sixty thousand years. They will be reborn as humans and gods, over and over. This is called the third kalpa. In the following transitional period people have the third kalpa's life span of sixty thousand years.

During the periods with sixty thousand- to eighty thousand-year life spans, women marry at the age of five hundred years. People have only seven kinds of discomfort, namely excreting, urinating, feeling cold, heat, sexual desire, hunger, and old age. In these periods all kingdoms are wealthy and are well provisioned. Robbers, rebels, and thieves are absent. Neighboring villages [are close enough that the inhabitants can] hear each others' roosters crow. Though they cultivate little the harvest is great. Supplies of clothing and other property and treasures are sufficient. Sitting in peace, people enjoy pleasures and do not have to run around in search of anything. The period when the life span is eighty thousand years lasts for an infinite number of years; sentient beings then will not commit any of the ten 13

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evil deeds. When they begin committing the ten evil deeds, after one hundred years their life spans will be reduced by ten years. In the subsequent one hundred years the life span will again be reduced by ten years. Human life span is thus gradually reduced until it is only about ten years. At the last stage, when it becomes ten years, the life span will no longer be reduced. From the maximum of eighty thousand to the minimum of ten years, the life span will change if the Buddha does not appear in the world. If the Buddha appears, the true Dharma will stay, and the reduction of sentient beings' life span will stop for a while. As the true Dharma begins to disappear, the life span will also begin to be reduced. 3. Warfare

The Lishi apitan lun (T.1644:217b8-219a26) says:

The Buddha said, "One minor kalpa is called one kalpa." The text continues in this way similar to the above, up to the point of saying that "eighty minor kalpas are called a large kalpa." This large kalpa begins with the first twenty minor kalpas of arising. In the subsequent twenty kalpas of abiding the second lesser calamity occurs due to great warfare. When the human life span is ten years the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance, as well as evil views, grow day and night. Parents, children, siblings, and relatives fight with each other; how much more so do people who are strangers to each other. At this time people repeatedly treat each other with contempt; they threaten each other with bricks and stones or with swords and sticks. Kingdoms in all four directions send expeditions to conquer each other. An uncountable number of deaths occur in the course of a single day and night. Such faults occur spontaneously. People behave in evil ways, and their karmic consequences are born in the midst of this period, when the pollutions of the kalpa arise. At this time people's houses collapse, and even those who survive are scattered in different directions. This period of the end of the kalpa lasts for a little over seven days. In the last seven days, when people take hold of grasses and trees they all turn into swords and sticks. With these weapons they harm each other; afraid, they die in distress. At this time the people, fearing [being attacked with] swords and sticks, flee into the bushes or cross rivers to hide on remote islands. Some go into caves to avoid disaster. Sometimes 14

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they see another person and they run away from each other, overcome with fear. Sometimes they fall to the ground, like a deer confronted by a hunter. After seven days of this, countless people lie dead, killed by swords and soldiers. Even those who survive are scattered in different places. Then, someone will gather together all the men and women in Jambudvīpa. There will only be ten thousand people left; these people will become the human race for the coming age. These ten thousand people are capable of good deeds. Supernatural beings, not wishing to let the human race be completely exterminated, will protect these people, pouring good nourishment through their hair follicles. Because of karmic conditions, in the intermediate period between the kalpas the seeds of the human race will be preserved and not allowed to be exterminated. After seven days the great warfare will suddenly cease. All the evil ghosts will be banished. In response to sentient beings' needs food, drink, and clothing will come down from the sky like rain. The seasons will follow in proper order and a good harvest will be produced. These people's physical appearance will be attractive, and their features will be restored to their original condition. All good dharmas will spontaneously arise. There will be comfort in coolness, quietude, happiness, and freedom from illness. People will be compassionate and free from harmful intentions. They will be delighted when they see each other, just as those who have not seen their loved ones for a long time and are suddenly reunited are delighted, stay together, and cannot be separated from each other. The evolution continues, as people perform good deeds and are born in heaven and then again among humans, from the period when the life span is ten years through the period of the life span of twenty thousand years, eventually to that of the life span of eighty thousand years, which lasts for an uncountable number of years. The rest of the passage is identical to what is given above. I will not bother to reproduce it here again.

4. Famine

The Lishi apitan lun (T.1644:219b6-221a22) says:

In the course of the evolution from the first minor kalpa to the eightieth minor kalpa, in the middle of the kalpa of abiding the third lesser calamity occurs due to a great famine. When this calamity is about to occur there 15

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will be drought and people will suffer from a great epidemic. All supernatural beings will become angry and harm the people of the world. Human life span will be shortened to only ten years. People will become short in stature; some will be two hands tall, some three hands. They will eat inferior millet. They will make clothing with human hair and consider it superior. Having only swords and sticks for decoration, they will not treat each other respectfully. They will suffer from poverty and ignorance, and wrong views will grow day and night among them. When those who are more powerful see others with food, they will immediately seize it and eat it themselves. For this reason countless people will die of hunger. When sentient beings are born at this time, in the midst of the kalpa of defilements, they automatically commit evil deeds. When there is no rain for four or five years in a row, a great drought will occur. Even when people search they will not find weeds and trees, much less rice or other kinds of grain. All sorts of animals will have already eaten them. In the course of a single day and night an innumerable number of people will die from hunger, leaving commanderies and districts empty. Only a small number of houses will remain but these will be separated from each other by great distances. No one will practice the true Dharma and the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance will flourish. While people suffer in great poverty, the days and nights are filled with evil. Then for six or seven years there will be no rain, and because of the great drought people will long to see water, but it cannot be found. How much less so [could they find] cooked rice? The intermediate period following this kalpa lasts only for seven days. Each day and night innumerable people die. Even those who survive will be scattered in many different places. Then, someone will gather together all the remaining men and women in Jambudvīpa, adults and children, altogether ten thousand people, who become the human race for the coming age. They are capable of good deeds. Supernatural beings, not wishing to let the human race be completely exterminated, will protect these people, pouring good nourishment through their hair follicles. Because of karmic conditions the seeds of the human race will not be exterminated. After seven days the famine will suddenly disappear. All the evil ghosts will be banished. In response to sentient beings' needs, food and clothing will come down from the sky like rain. 16

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The seasons will follow in proper order and a good harvest will be produced. The people's physical appearance will be attractive and their features will be restored to their original condition. All good dharmas will spontaneously arise. There will be comfort in coolness, quietude, happiness, and freedom from illnesses. People will be compassionate and free from harmful intentions. They will be delighted when they see each other, just as those who have not seen their loved ones for a long time and are suddenly reunited are delighted, stay together, and cannot be separated from each other. The evolution continues as people perform good deeds and are born in heaven and then again among humans. Their life span will grow longer, to twenty thousand years and eventually to eighty thousand years. Other developments are similar to those described above for other calamities. (Note: according to the description in the Lishi apitan lun the three calamities last for seven days each. According to other scriptures and treatises famine lasts for seven years, seven months, and seven days; epidemics last for seven months and seven days, and warfare lasts for seven days.) The Yüqie lun (T.1579:285c18-286a6) says:

[The calamities] begin at the time when the human life span is thirty years. At that time good food and drink are no longer obtainable. Only fried and cooked dried bones are served at banquets. If a grain of rice, wheat, or millet is found, it is valued like a maṇi jewel, placed in a box, and guarded carefully. Sentient beings are weakened; if they fall to the ground they cannot get up. Because of hunger sentient beings almost completely disappear. This calamity of famine lasts for seven years, seven months, seven days, and seven nights. Sentient beings gather together and begin the activity of lesser renunciation. For this reason the life span is no longer reduced and the calamity of famine ceases.

At the time human life span is twenty years the activity of renunciation undertaken earlier is abandoned. Then many kinds of epidemics spread wildly. People are struck by these diseases and most die. This calamity of illness lasts for seven months, seven days, and seven nights. Sentient beings gather together and begin the activity of middle renunciation. For this reason the life span is no longer reduced and the calamity of illness ceases. 17

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Then at the time when human life span is ten years the activity of renunciation undertaken earlier is again abandoned. Then, sentient beings constantly feel a fierce impulse to harm each other. For this reason, they take a blade of grass, a tree branch, bricks, or stones and turn them into sharp swords, and with these they kill each other. This calamity of warfare lasts for seven days.

5. Successive Generations

The Zhong ahan jing (T.26:522a27-524c6) says:

In the past a wheel-turning king (cakravartin) appeared in the world. His name was Mūrdhajarāja. He upheld the rules of purity and cultivated the virtue of giving. To the poor in his kingdom he gave from his wealth so that their needs were met. After a long while, though there were still poor people in his kingdom, he could no longer give from his wealth to provide for their needs. One person was then greatly distressed and consequently stole from someone else. His master captured him and sent him to the kṣatriya king Mūrdhajarāja, saying, "Heavenly king, this man stole my property. Please pass judgment." The king asked the accused man, "Did you in fact steal?" He said, "Yes, in fact I did steal. The reason I did so was because I was in dire straits and I could not survive without stealing." The king then brought out his own possessions and gave them to the thief, saying, "You may go but do not steal again." Because of this turn of events others thought, "We should also steal from others." Then everyone stole [from others] as if in competition. Consequently, people became poorer and had nothing to give out of compassion. The result was that people became even more impoverished and stole more frequently. This caused human life span to be reduced and people's appearances to become unattractive. The father's life span was eighty thousand years, while the son's life span was forty thousand years.

At the time when human life span was forty thousand years, another man stole and was sent to the king. Having heard about this, the king thought, "If people in my kingdom steal from others, and if I give to them everything that I own, then my storehouse will become empty and theft will become even more frequent. Instead I should now make a very sharp sword and if there is a thief in my kingdom, I should capture him and, 18

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placing him under a tall platform, chop off his head." Having thought this, [the king] issued an edict to this effect. From then on, people made copies of the sharp sword and carried it around with them to rob others of their possessions. They captured the owners of these possessions and cut their heads off. Consequently, poverty became intense and murder by the sword increased. This caused human life span to be reduced and people's appearances worsened. The father's life span was forty thousand years, while the son's life span was twenty thousand years. At the time when human life span was tewenty thousand years, a thief thought, "If the king knew the truth, he would bind me with a rope, or fine me, or line me up on a platform. I would rather lie to the king." Having thought this, he said to the king [when asked if he had stolen], "I did not steal." For this reason, people became impoverished and their possessions disappeared. They were not able to provide for others out of compassion. Theft and murder became more frequent and people lied to each other. This caused human life span to be reduced and people's appearances worsened. The father's life span was twenty thousand years, while the son's life span was ten thousand years.

At the time when human life span was ten thousand years, some became jealous of virtuous people and slept with their wives. This caused human life span to be reduced and people's appearances worsened. The father's life span was ten thousand years, while the son's life span was five thousand years.

At the time when human life span was five thousand years, three things increased—deviation from the teaching, desire for evil, and greedy attachment to evil teachings. Therefore, while the father's life span was five thousand years, the son's life span became two thousand five hundred years. At the time when human life span was two thousand five hundred years, again three things increased: lying, harsh speech, and frivolous speech. This caused human life span to be reduced and people's appearances worsened. Therefore, while the father's life span was two thousand five hundred years, the son's life span became one thousand years. At the time when human life span was one thousand years, one thing increased, namely, following wrong views. Because this one thing increased, people's life spans were reduced and their appearance worsened. 19

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Therefore, while the father's life span was one thousand years, the son's life span became five hundred years.

At the time when human life span was five hundred years, people were unfilial to their parents and failed to respect monks and brahmans. They were not obedient, did not perform meritorious deeds, and failed to see the punishment they would receive in later lives. Therefore, while the father's life span was five hundred years, the son's life span became two hundred and fifty or two hundred years.

Today those who enjoy longevity live as long as one hundred years or so. The Buddha said to the monks, "Sometime far in the future human life span will be ten years. Women will marry five months after birth. At the time when human life span is ten years, millet will be considered the tastiest food and unpolished grain the greatest delicacy. Ghee, oil, salt, honey, and sugarcane will all have disappeared. Only those who commit the ten kinds of evil deeds will be respected by others, none of whom has ever performed a good deed. Mothers will vehemently wish to harm their children, and children will vehemently wish to harm their mothers. Fathers and sons, brothers, sisters, and relatives in their turn will wish to harm each other, in the same way that hunters who see a deer vehemently wish to harm it. "During the time when the human life span is ten years, for seven days the activities of the soldiers with swords will become intense. Whenever they take hold of a blade of grass it immediately becomes a sword. When they grasp a dead branch, it also immediately becomes a sword. With these swords soldiers murder each other. After seven days the activities of the soldiers with swords will come to an end.

"At that time, when soldiers harm each other, there will also be those who know embarrassment and shame, who dislike worldly life and are free from attachment; these people will go into the mountains or fields and hide there for those seven days. After the seven days are over they will come out of hiding and, on seeing each other, they will feel compassionate and affectionate toward them, in the way that mothers love their only child, or those who have been separated for a long time feel happiness when they find each other again. With great affection for each other, they will say to each other: 'Wise ones, we now see each other. We have now obtained peace. We sat and gave rise to intentions that were not good and 20

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let all of our relatives die. We should together perform good deeds and reject all murderous deeds.' As they perform good deeds, human life span will begin to increase and appearances improve. People with a life span of ten years will give birth to children with a life span of twenty years. "Those with a life span of twenty years will think, 'If we seek to perform good deeds our life span will be lengthened and our appearance will improve. We should do more good deeds and together refrain from the act of taking without giving.' They will do this good deed and their life span and appearance will improve. People will give birth to children with a life span of forty years. These then will refrain from licentious deeds; they will do this good deed and their life span and appearance will improve. People will give birth to children with a life span of eighty years. They then will refrain from telling lies; they will do this good deed and their life span and appearance will improve. People will give birth to children with a life span of one hundred and sixty years. With the life span extended to one hundred and sixty years, they then will refrain from telling divisive lies; they will do this good deed and their life span and appearance will improve. People will give birth to children with a life span of three hundred and twenty years. They then will refrain from harsh speech; they will do this good deed and their life span and appearance will improve. People will give birth to children with a life span of six hundred and forty years. They then will refrain from frivolous speech, and doing this good deed their life span and appearance will improve, and they will give birth to children with the life span of two thousand five hundred years. They then also will refrain from jealousy; they will do this good deed and their life span and appearance will improve. People will give birth to children with a life span of five thousand years. They then again will refrain from anger; they will do this good deed and their life span and appearance will improve. People will give birth to children with the life span of ten thousand years. They then again will refrain from evil views; they will do this good deed and their life span and appearance will improve. People will give birth to children with a life span of twenty thousand years. They then will again refrain from deviating from the teaching, desire for evil, and greedy attachment to evil teachings. [They will think,] 'We will refrain from these three [kinds of] evil conduct.' They will do this good deed and their life span 21

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and appearance will improve. People will give birth to children with a life span of forty thousand years.

"At the time human life span is forty thousand years, people will become obedient to their parents, and they will honor and treat with respect the monks and brahmans. Respectfully following their orders, they will cultivate meritorious deeds, anticipating the possibilities of punishments in future lives. Having done these good deeds, people will give birth to children with a life span of eighty thousand years. "At the time human life span is eighty thousand years, this Jambudvīpa will become prosperous, with a large population. Villages will be close to each other, at a distance that a pheasant can cross in one flight. Women will marry at the age of five hundred. There will be seven kinds of discomfort, namely, cold, heat, excreting, urinating, sexual desire, hunger and thirst, and old age. There will not be any other kind of trouble. At that time there will be a king called Śaṅkha, who will become a universal monarch (cakravartin). He will be intelligent and wise and will govern the four realms under heaven with four kinds of orderly armies. The seven jewels will be abundant and he will have a thousand sons. Handsome and ferocious, he will be fearless and conquer other groups. He will govern the great earth all the way to the great ocean. He will rule not by the sword but by moral teachings and ordinances. There will be peace." (Note: epidemics and famine serve to encourage people to follow the Dharma in the same way as above.) 6. Treatments

According to the new translation of the Apidamo da piposha lun (Abhi dharma-mahāvibhāṣa-śāstra, T.1545:693b7-16): There is a holy teaching that serves as the treatment to this problem. If a person can uphold the precept of not killing for a single day and night, in future lives this person will not encounter the calamity of soldiers with swords (i.e., warfare). If the person can present one piece of harītakī fruit, that is, if someone takes one harītakī fruit and, with a truly pure mind, offers it to the sangha, in future lives [he or she] will not encounter the calamity of pestilence (i.e., epidemics). If a person gives one portion of food to another sentient being, in future lives he or she will not encounter the calamity of famine.

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Question: Do these three calamities exist on other continents? Answer: They are absent in their basic forms but similar phenomena do exist. These are increasing anger, the decline of physical powers, and frequent hunger and thirst. These apply to two of the continents. In the continent of Uttarakuru such similar phenomena are also absent, because no sins are committed there and there is no increase of anger there. [Daoshi's Comment:] Sentient beings by nature form attachments and lack the will to reform. They are greedy, jealous, and increasingly indulge in evil deeds. Thus, human emotions become intense and the evil poisons follow them. Once we are into the last stage of the decline of the teaching, all people and everything else become evil. Both primary and secondary karmic retributions, or one's body and mind as well as the environment in which one is born, decline day and night.

The Fu fazang jing (T.2058:308c26-309a4) says:

At the time King Aśoka was personally making offerings of alms to the monks, [he saw] Piṇḍola-Bhāradvāja pouring ghee over rice. The king said, "Great Sage, ghee is hard to digest. Does it not make one ill?" The Honored One said, "Do not worry. Why? When the Buddha was present, water and ghee were identical. Therefore, one does not become ill by eating it." Then, wishing to demonstrate the truth of the matter, Piṇḍola-Bhāradvāja put his hand into the ground, to a depth of over forty-two thousand li, and scooping up the rich soil showed it to the king. "The king should now know that because sentient beings lack merit, rich and nourishing tastes have all flowed into the ground. Consequently, the merits and fortunes of the world have declined." Having finished making the offering, the king was delighted and withdrew.

Even less than a hundred years after the appearance of the Buddha there was already such a sign of decline. Today, almost two thousand years after the Buddha's appearance, how could such nourishing tastes still exist? The Yüqie lun (T.1579:286a6-13) says:

[At the time the three calamities occur] sentient beings also experience three kinds of extreme decline: the decline of life span, the decline of primary and secondary karmic retributions, and the decline of material resources. 23

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The decline of life span leads ultimately to a life span of ten years. The decline of primary and secondary karmic retributions leads to the size of the body being reduced to the measure of one hand or one knuckle. When the reduction of material resources occurs, people take millet as the best kind of food, human hair as the best clothing, and iron as the best material for decoration. The five kinds of delicacies all disappear, namely such delicacies as ghee, honey, oil, salt, and the unusual taste of sugarcane. 2. Three Great

Calamities

(Note: This contains four parts:) (1) Length of Time, (2) Units of Time, (3) The Kalpa of Destruction, and (4) The Kalpa of Formation. 1. Length of Time

According to new translation of the Apidamo da piposha lun (Abhi dharmamahāvibhyāṣā-śāstra, T.1545:700c11-21): There are three kinds of kalpas: first, the antarakalpa; second, kalpa of formation and destruction; and third, the major kalpa. There are also three kinds of antarakalpas: the kalpa of decrease, the kalpa of increase, and the kalpa of increase and decrease. During the kalpa of decrease the human life span decreases from infinite to ten years. During the kalpa of increase the human life span increases from ten years to eighty thousand years. During the kalpa of increase and decrease the human life span increases from ten years to eighty thousand years and then decreases from eighty thousand years to ten years. One kalpa of decrease, one kalpa of increase, and eighteen kalpas of increase and decrease constitute twenty antarakalpas. Having passed through twenty antarakalpas, the world is formed. Having been formed, it remains for twenty antarakalpas. Together these two periods are called the kalpa of formation. Having passed through twenty antarakalpas, the world is destroyed. Having been destroyed, it remains empty for twenty antara kalpas. Together these two periods are called the kalpa of destruction. Altogether these forty antarakalpas are called the major kalpa. During the twenty antarakalpas of abiding that follows the antarakalpa of formation, the first kalpa is simply of decrease and the last simply of increase; the eighteen kalpas between these are of both increase and decrease. 24

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Therefore, the Duifa lun (Dasheng apidamo zajilun, T.1606:720b17-18) says, "On the basis of this calculation of kalpa numbers the life spans of gods in the realm of form and the formless realm are shown." 2. Units of Time

According to the Xiguo zhuan (Record of the Western Regions) by Dharma Master [Xuan]zang (Datang xiyu ji, T.2087:875c15-17): The progression of yin and yang (the movement of stars) and the turning of the sun and the moon are called by different names, even though the conditions of the yearly changes remain the same [in India as in China]. The names of the months [in India] are established by lunar stations. The shortest unit of time is called a kṣaṇa.

According to new translation of the Apidamo da piposha lun (Abhi dharmamahāvibhāṣā-śāstra, T.1545:701b2-c6): How does one know the duration of a kṣaṇa? The following is said. According to the Prajñapti-śāstra (T. 1538), when a middle-aged woman weaves wool she shakes off the fine threads and evens out the material so that it is not too long or too short. The time she takes to do this is called a tat-kṣaṇa. It does not matter whether the piece of wool thread is long or short, simply the time it takes to draw the thread out between the fingers is a tat-kṣaṇa. Question: I asked earlier about a kṣaṇa. Why do you quote the Prajñaptiśāstra passage on tat-kṣaṇa? Answer: Here I used the coarse to explain the fine, because the fine is difficult to know about and cannot be made tangible. One hundred and twenty kṣaṇas is one tat-kṣaṇa. Sixty tat-kṣaṇas forms one lava, which contains seven thousand two hundred kṣaṇas. Thirty lavas forms one muhūrta, which contains two hundred and sixteen thousand kṣaṇas. Thirty muhūrtas forms one day and night, which contains twenty thousand less than six million five hundred thousand kṣaṇas. Each day and night this body of five skandhas undergoes a certain series of ceaseless coming into being and going out of being.

According to one opinion, this is too broad and does not describe a kṣaṇa. According to what it holds, when a strong man snaps a finger the duration of sixty-four kṣaṇas has passed.

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According to another opinion, this again is not right. According to what it holds, when two strong men pull and cut a bundle of fine Kāśī threads, as so many of them have been cut, so many kṣaṇas have passed. According to another opinion, this again is not right. According to this opinion, when two strong men grab a bundle of Kāśī threads and one man cuts it with a sharp sword from the kingdom of Cīna (China); as many threads as are cut, so many kṣaṇas have passed.

According to another opinion, this is still too broad and does not describe a kṣaṇa. The World-honored One did not describe the true duration of a kṣaṇa. The World-honored One said, "Imagine that four archers, each holding a bow and arrow and standing back to back, were to shoot in the four directions and a fast runner came up to them and said, 'You should now shoot simultaneously. I can run and catch all the arrows without letting any of them fall to the ground.' Would this not be quick?" The monks replied to the Buddha, "That is very quick, World-honored One." The Buddha said, "That man is not as quick as a ground-traveling yakṣa. The ground-traveling yakṣa is not as quick as the flying yakṣa. The flying yakṣa is not as quick as the four heavenly king deities. These deities do not travel as quickly as the sun and moon. The two wheels of the sun and moon do not travel as quickly as the gods who guide the sun and moon. These deities move around quickly, but not as quickly as the coming into being and going out of being caused by the later-life-producing power (ayuḥ-saṃskāra). The succession of kṣaṇas does not stop even for a moment." From this we know that the World-honored One did not describe the true duration of a kṣaṇa.

Question: Why did the World-honored One not describe the true duration of a kṣaṇa for the benefit of others? Answer: Because no sentient beings would be able to understand it. The Anpan jing (T.602:163a14-15) says, "In the period of time it takes to snap a finger the mind undergoes nine hundred and sixty [transformations]." The Renwang jing (T.245:826a10-12; T.246:835c15-16) says, "One thought moment contains ninety kṣaṇas. One kṣaṇa in turn contains nine hundred comings into being and goings out of being." 26

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The Pusa chutai jing (Pusa cong doushutian jiangshen mutai shuo guangpu jing, T.384:1024b21-24) says:

The period of time it takes to snap a finger contains three billion two hundred million and one hundred thousand thought moments. The succeeding thoughts produce material forms, and succeeding material forms produce consciousnesses. The power of the Buddha enters each of the fine consciousnesses and lets them achieve salvation. The Abhidharma-śāstra (ref. Za apitanxin lun, T.1552:887b7-15) says: There are twelve items. The first is called kṣaṇa. The second is called tatkṣaṇa. The third is called lava. The fourth is called muhūrta. The fifth is called day and night. The sixth is called half-month. The seventh is called month. The eighth is called season. The ninth is called ayana ("course," half-year), The tenth is called year. The eleventh is called pair. The twelfth is called kalpa.

One kṣaṇa is translated as "one thought moment." One hundred and twenty kṣaṇas is called one tat-kṣaṇa, which is translated as one moment. Sixty tat-kṣaṇas is one breath. One breath is one lava. Thirty lavas is one muhūrta, which is translated as one short period. Thirty muhūrtas is one day and night, which consists altogether of six million three hundred and eighty thousand kṣaṇas.

The Sengqi lü (T.1425:360a12-16) says:

Twenty thought moments constitute one moment. Twenty moments constitute one period of time in which it takes to snap a finger. Twenty such periods of time constitute one lava. Twenty lavas constitute one short period. One day and night contains thirty short periods. During the time when the day is longest there are eighteen short periods during the day and twelve during the night. When the day is shortest, there are twelve short periods during the day and eighteen during the night. During the spring and fall equinoxes day and night are equal in length. The Zhidu lun (T.1509:409b26-29) says:

One day and night is divided into six divisions and thirty time periods 27

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(muhūrtas). At the spring and fall equinoxes the day and the night each have fifteen time periods. At other times there are increases and decreases. In the fifth month the day has eighteen time periods and the night twelve. In the eleventh month the night has eighteen time periods and the day twelve. According to the Xiguo zhuan (Record of the Western Regions) by Dharma Master [Xuan]zang (Datang xiyu ji, T.2087:875c19-876a5): Among ordinary people the day is divided into eight time periods (kālas). (Note in the original: four in the day and four in the night; each time period is further divided into four segments.) The period of the moon's waxing up till the full moon is called the white portion (śukla-pakṣa), and the period of the moon's waning up till the disappearance of the moon is called the black portion (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa). The black portion may be fourteen days or fifteen days. This is because the length of a month varies. The black portion followed by a white portion constitutes one month (māsa). Six months together form one ayana. The period when the course of the sun remains inside to the north of the equator is the uttarāyaṇa; the period when the course of the sun is outside to the south of the equator is the dakṣnāyana. The two ayanas together form one year (vatsara). The year is also divided into six seasons (ṛtus). From the sixteenth day of the first month to the fifteenth day of the third month is the season of "increasing warmth." From the sixteenth of the third month to the fifteenth of the fifth month is the season of "excessive heat." From the sixteenth of the fifth month to the fifteenth of the seventh month is the rainy season. From the sixteenth of the seventh month to the fifteenth of the ninth month is the season of "rich growth." From the sixteenth of the ninth month to the fifteenth of the eleventh month is the season of "increasing cold." From the sixteenth of the eleventh month to the fifteenth of the first month is the season of "excessive cold."

In the holy teaching of the Tathāgata the year is divided into three parts. From the sixteenth of the first month to the fifteenth of the fifth month is the hot season. From the sixteenth of the fifth month to the fifteenth of the ninth month is the rainy season. From the sixteenth of the ninth month to the fifteenth of the first month is the cold season. 28

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The year is also sometimes divided into four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter.

[Daoshi's Comment:] To summarize all these explanations, fifteen [days and] nights form a half-month. Two half-months form a month. Three months form a season. Two seasons form an ayana. One ayana is six months or a half-year. Two ayanas form one year. Two and a half years form a pair. This is because of intercalary months. When the intercalary month is added to the original month there is a pairing of months, not a pairing of intercalary months. If a pair of intercalary months occurs every five years, this would mean that one intercalary month occurs every two and a half years. How could we posit a pair of intercalary months in this same period? The matter becomes clear once we make this calculation of the time duration. There are four kinds of kalpas: the antarakalpa, the kalpa of formation, the kalpa of destruction, and the major kalpa. A long time passes between the time when the human life span is ten years and the time when it is eighty thousand. Add to this the time it takes for human life span to decrease to ten years. The total is called the antarakalpa. In contrast to other sums of time periods it is called the antarakalpa. The calculation is made on the basis of the facts. According to the Za ahan jing (T.99:242b22-24):

If a city, one yojana on all sides and in height, were filled with dust and one particle of dust taken out every one hundred years, when all the particles of dust had been taken out in this way a kalpa would still not yet be over.

[Daoshi's Comment:] I take this to refer to one antarakalpa. In the case of the major kalpa the comparison would be with a city that is eighty yojanas in all directions.

The Loutan jing (T.23?) says:

To discuss kalpas with two comparisons, first, take a large city one thousand li from east to west and four thousand li from north and south. If this city were filled with dust, and every one hundred years gods were to come and take a single particle of dust, even when all the particles of dust had been taken away [in this manner], a kalpa would still not have been 29

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exhausted. Second, take a large rock, [measuring] forty li on all four sides. If every hundred years gods were to come down and touch this rock with their fine clothes, even when the rock has been worn down due to this repeated contact, a kalpa would still not have been exhausted. This too [illustrates] an antarakalpa.

The Loutan jing continues:

Second, the kalpa of formation consists of forty kalpas; the kalpa of destruction likewise consists of forty kalpas. This is because when the world comes into being it takes twenty kalpas, it stays in existence for twenty more kalpas. The period of destruction is twenty kalpas, and the period of absence is twenty kalpas. Here the period of abiding is combined with that of formation and the period of absence with that of destruction, and each of these two periods consists of forty kalpas. The periods of formation and destruction combined last eighty kalpas, and this is called a major kalpa.

To describe the matter yet again, there are six kinds of kalpas: (1) antarakalpa, (2) kalpa of formation, (3) kalpa of abiding, (4) kalpa of destruction, (5) kalpa of absence, and (6) major kalpa. Or, there are three kinds of kalpas: (1) minor kalpa,(2) medium kalpa, (3) major kalpa. The minor kalpa refers to an antarakalpa. The medium kalpa refers to those of formation and destruction [separately]. The major kalpa refers to those of formation and destruction together. In the heavens in the realm of desire (kāmadhātu) the life span is one minor kalpa. In the three heavens of the first meditation (dhyāna) [in the realm of form (rūpadhātu)] the kalpa of the life span is the medium kalpa. In the heavens of the second meditations and above the kalpa of the life span is [counted by] major kalpas.

The worldly arithmetic in foreign countries speaks of sixty ranks. Beyond these ranks counting is not possible and such numbers are called asaṃkhya ("infinite"). One to sixty ranks may be used to count the number of kalpas; the asaṃkhya kalpa refers to the major kalpa.

Thus, when the Dazhidu lun (T.1509:339b21-24) uses the city of one hundred yojanas as the measure, speaking of taking one particle of dust once in each one hundred years, or takes as a measure the metaphor of the light 30

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heavenly cloth of Kāśī brushing a rock measuring a hundred yojanas on each side once every hundred years, all of these refer to the major kalpa. In the sahā world (Note: There is a different transcription in older sources.) in the course of a one major kalpa a thousand buddhas appear. Since what is called a kalpa cannot be calculated in finite numbers, the metaphors of the rock, dust, and the city are used to describe its duration. As described above, there are four kalpas of formation, abiding, destruction, and absence. As noted above, the life span increases from ten years to eighty thousand years, and then decreases from eighty thousand years to ten years. Twenty repetitions of this constitute one minor kalpa. Twenty minor kalpas constitute one kalpa of formation. If we are to calculate this in years eight trillion one hundred billion and eight million years corresponds to one minor kalpa. At present the kalpa of formation has been completed and we are now in the kalpa of abiding and have finished eight minor kalpas there. Śākyamuni Tathāgata is the fourth buddha in the kalpa of abiding. Another nine hundred and ninetysix buddhas will appear successively after him. According to the Xiguo zhuan (Record of the Western Regions) by Dharma Master [Xuan]zang (Datang xiyu ji, T.2087:875c4-7):

The unit of measurement of distance is a yojana (note on other transcriptions). One yojana is the distance that a sage king's army can travel in one day. According to an old tradition one yojana is forty li. In the customary usage in India it is thirty li. In the opinion of holy scriptures it is only sixteen li.

The Abhidharma-śāstra says, "Four hastaka (zhou, "elbow") is one dhanu (gong, "bow"). Five hundred dhanus is one krośa. Eight krośas is one yojana." [If we base our calculation on the fact that] one dhanu is equivalent in length to eight [Chinese] chi, [thus, since ten chi is one Chinese zhang,] five hundred dhanus is equivalent in length to four hundred zhang. [Consequently], four hundred zhang is one krośa. One li, on the other hand, is three hundred and sixty [Chinese] bu ("steps"). One bu is six chi. [Since ten chi is one zhang, altogether two hundred and sixteen zhang is one li. Two li will be four hundred and thirty-two zhang. If we calculate on the basis of the equation that] five hundred dhanus is four hundred zhang, one krośa is still thirty-two 31

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zhang short of two li. Thus, we conclude that one krośa is less than two li, and that eight krośas, which is identical to one yojana, is less than sixteen li. According to the Zabaozang jing (T.203:452c5), "One krośa is five li." If we combine this with the Abhidharma's thesis that eight krośas is one yojana, then the latter will be forty li.

3. The Kalpa of Destruction

According to the Chang ahan jing (T.1:137b13-c10):

How far do the effects of the three calamities reach upward into the heavens? When the calamity of fire occurs its effects reach as far as Ābhāsvara Heaven. When the calamity of water occurs its effects reach as far as Śubha kṛtsna Heaven. When the calamity of wind occurs its effects reach as far as Bṛhatphala Heaven.

When the three calamities are about to occur, all the people of the world are practicing the correct teaching, following the correct view, and cultivating the ten good deeds. In this way a person achieves the second state of meditation (dhyāna). Immediately he jumps up into the sky, and dwelling in the realm of holy ones, or of a deity, or of Brahmā, he says loudly, "Wise men and women, you should know the delight of the second state of meditation, which is free of sensation and viewing." People, hearing this, cultivate the state free of sensation and viewing, and when their bodies are destroyed they achieve rebirth in Ābhāsvara Heaven [among the heavens of the second state of meditation]. At that time the sentient beings in hell, having finished their punishment, their bodies there having been destroyed, are reborn among human beings. They also cultivate the state free of sensation and viewing and obtain rebirth in Ābhāsvara Heaven. Animals, hungry ghosts, asuras (demigods), and other beings in the heavens of the six realms of desire all attain rebirth in Ābhāsvara Heaven. At this time hell is emptied first, then the realm of animals is emptied. Subsequently the realms of hungry ghosts (pretas) and asuras and further the heavens in the realm of desire, up to Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven, are emptied. And then the human realm is emptied, leaving no traces. This world is destroyed and the calamity then occurs.

The Shunzhengli lun (T.1562:522c13-523a11) says:

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And so there will be no sentient beings left in hell. At this point it is said that the hell is destroyed. Those who are meant to receive karmic consequences in hell will, by the power of karma, be placed elsewhere. The cases of the realms of animals and of [hungry] ghosts may be inferred from this. At that point no living being is found in a human body and human bodies are identical to the Buddha's body.

At that time, in the human realm in this continent a person without a teacher but who is in accord with the teaching can attain the first state of meditation. Coming out of this meditative state, he says loudly, "Leaving life produces delight and pleasure, which is very enjoyable and calming." On hearing this, other human beings all go into meditation, and when their lives end they all are reborn in the world of Brahmā. Consequently, in this continent sentient beings disappear. This is said to be "the disappearance of people from the Jambudvīpa continent." The case of the eastern and western continents can be inferred from this. In the northern continent, when their lives are finished beings are reborn in the heavens of the realm of desire. Because their sense organs are inferior they cannot abandon desires, and they are reborn in the heavens of the realm of desire. There they realize a meditative state and, achieving superior karmic conditions, they transcend desires. After this no sentient beings are left in the human realm and the human realm is destroyed.

If in the heavenly realm, in the six heavens of the realm of desire, gods follow the teaching and achieve the first state of meditation, they will be reborn in the world of Brahmā [in the realm of form]. Then it is said that the six heavens of the realm of desire have been destroyed. In this way no sentient beings will be left in the realm of desire, and it is said that sentient beings in the realm of desire have been destroyed. In the world of Brahmā, if a sentient being without a teacher but who is in accord with the teaching attains the second state of meditation and coming out of this meditative state he says, "Meditative concentration produces delight and pleasure, which is greatly enjoyable and calming." Hearing this, other gods all go into meditation, and when their lives end they are reborn in Ābhāsvara Heaven [in the realm of form]. Consequently, in the Brahmā world [in the realm of desire] sentient beings disappear. 33

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This is said to be "the disappearance of the world of sentient beings." Only the insentient world of the environment is left; this world is vast and empty. In universes elsewhere all sentient beings sense that karmic processes have ceased in this world-system of threefold one thousand worlds. Then seven suns appear. All the oceans dry up and the mountains become empty. Continents and islands and the three cosmic wheels on which they stand are all burned. Ferocious winds and flames rise up to the heavenly palaces, turning the Brahmā palace into ashes. [Normally,] flames that rise in a given realm burn the palaces of that realm. [But here] calamities that are not of that realm wreak destruction on that realm. This is caused by the interaction between the realms. Thus, it is said, "Lower fire, driven by wind, burns up a higher realm." Thus, the fire of the realm of desire rises and causes fire in the realm of form, which proves calamitous. One should thus know that the development that begins with the gradual disappearance of the hells results in the disappearance of the insentient world of the environment. This entire development is called the kalpa of destruction. The Guanfo sanmei jing says:

The period from the beginning of heaven and earth to its end is called one kalpa. When a kalpa is about to end the calamity of fire occurs. All people turn against the correct [teaching] and turn to evil [teachings], rushing toward the ten evil deeds. Rain will stop coming from the sky and plants will not grow. Beginning with the spring where the streams originate down to the four great rivers, all water sources dry up. After a long time the wind goes into the bottom of the ocean, bringing the sun palace up and placing it in its original location on top of Mount Sumeru. (Note: The Chang ahan jing, T.1:137c14-138b16, says:

After a very long time a great black wind blows over the ocean, causing the ocean to a depth of eighty-four thousand yojanas to separate into two banks. The wind takes the sun palace [from the bottom of the ocean] and places it halfway up Mount Sumeru, forty-two thousand yojanas above the ground and securely in the orbit of the sun. [In this way the second sun appears. . . .]

Fascicle 1

In a similar way the appearance of the seven suns is explained one by one. The Zaxin lun [Za apitanxin lun, T.1552:960a9-13] says: At the time a kalpa is destroyed, seven suns, like wheels, appear [from behind] Mount Yugaṃdhara. According to another opinion one sun is divided into seven suns. According to yet another opinion the suns come from Avīci Hell, brought out by the karma of sentient beings.) [The Guanfo sanmai jing continues:]

When one sun comes out, a hundred plants and trees suddenly die. When two suns come out the water of the four great oceans, to a depth of one hundred to seven hundred yojanas, spontaneously dries up. When three suns come out the water of the four great oceans, to the depth one thousand to seven thousand yojanas, begins to decrease. When four suns appear the water of the four great oceans, to the depth of one thousand yojanas, is completely exhausted, and when the five suns appear the water of the four great oceans, seven thousand yojanas long and wide, is completely exhausted. (Note: The Chang ahan jing, T.1:138a10-b1, says that it after five suns come out the water in the ocean begins to change depth. The ocean water becomes like cows' hoofprints after a spring rain. In the end the ocean dries up so that not even a finger can be dipped in it.)

[The Guanfo sanmai jing continues:]

When six suns come out the ground, as deep as sixty-eight thousand yojanas, is covered with smoke. From Mount Sumeru through the entire cosmic world-system numbering one thousand to the power of three, as well as the eight great hells—everything is burned up. When the smoke settles nothing is left. The lives of all people have ended. For all beings on Mount Sumeru and in the six heavens of the realm of desire life comes to an end, and their palaces are emptied. All is impermanent and cannot remain forever.

When the seven suns come out the great ground and Mount Sumeru will gradually begin to crumble in an area measuring one hundred thousand yojanas wide, and in the end there wil be nothing left. Everywhere in the mountains jewels explode and smoke and flames reach Brahmā's heavens. 35

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All realms of inferior births will disappear. There will be no more punishments; only merits arise. All will gather in the fifteenth heaven and above. Everything below the fourteenth heaven is destroyed. Newly born gods have not seen this and are afraid. Gods born earlier come to console them, saying, "Don't be afraid. [The destruction] does not reach here." When people's lives are finished they are reborn in Ābhāsvara Heaven. Thought is their food, light shines spontaneously, and they have the supernatural power to fly. Some are reborn elsewhere. If they are reborn in hell, when their punishment in hell is completed they are reborn in heaven. If their punishment is not finished they are born elsewhere. There is no sun, moon, or stars; there are also no day or night. There is only great darkness. This is called the fire kalpa. The karmic retribution of the fire kalpa brings this destruction. When the kalpa is about to completed the fire goes out by itself. A great cloud forms and gradually drops rain. Each drop is shaped like the axle of a chariot. At that time the entire cosmic world-system numbering one thousand to the power of three will be filled with water, up to Brahmā's heavens.

The Yüqie lun (T.1579:286a28-b26) says:

Because sentient beings respond to the karmic powers that produce phenomenal appearances, and because there is the matter of the six kinds of burning, six suns also gradually appear. Compared with the earlier suns, the heat of these suns is four times stronger. When they become seven, the heat is increased seven times.

What are the objects of the six kinds of burning? (1) Canals and moats of different sizes. These are dried up by the second sun. (2) Smaller and larger rivers. These are dried up by the third sun. (3) The Great Pond Free of Heat, which is dried up by the fourth sun. (4) The great ocean. It is dried by the fifth and a part of the sixth sun. (5) Mount Sumeru and the ground are firm and solid; they are burned up by a part of the sixth and the seventh sun. The flames of these fires are intensified by wind and spread with increasing strength, reaching as far as Brahmā's heavens. In this way the world is burned up and reduced to ashes and charcoal. Nothing else is left, even in shadowy forms. This is called the destruction 36

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of the environment world. This process takes twenty kalpas; the condition [of destruction] lasts for another twenty kalpas.

What is called the calamity of water? After the calamity of fires has taken place seven times, in the heavenly realms of the second meditative state a calamity occurs spontaneously from the water element. It destroys the world in the way water melts away salt. The water and the environment world disappear simultaneously. After the destruction the condition lasts for another twenty kalpas.

What is called the calamity of wind? After the calamity of water has taken place seven times, the calamity of fire again occurs seven times. Then, immediately in the heavenly realms of the third meditative state, a calamity occurs from the wind element. It destroys the world in the way wind dries out the joints of limbs and makes them disappear. This wind and the environment world disappear simultaneously. After the destruction the condition lasts for twenty kalpas. Here the destruction of the world is described briefly. The Shunzhengli lun (T.1562:526c11-527b18) says:

These three major calamities of water, fire, and wind oppress sentient beings, making them abandon the lower ground of earth and gather together in the heavens. The calamity of fire is caused by the appearance of seven suns. According to one opinion the seven suns travel in a way similar to the way geese travel, following their separate paths in a circular motion. According to another opinion the seven suns travel at different heights following their respective paths in a circular motion. The distance between these paths is five thousand yojanas.

Then the calamity of water is caused by a torrential rainfall. Some explain this as follows: In the sky, in the region corresponding to the third state of meditation, rain heats up and congeals into water. Another explains that the cosmic waterwheel comes up from below and shoots up water, which in turn floods everything. What is certain is that it occurs in this world. Later, the calamity of wind is caused by a strong, striking wind. Some explain this as follows: In the sky, in the region corresponding to the fourth state of meditation, wind suddenly arises. Another explains that the cosmic wind wheel shoots up air, which causes a windstorm. What is 37

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certain is that wind calamities work in the same way as the above case [of the water calamity].

What is the sequence of the three calamities? First, the seven calamities of fire occur one after another. Then one calamity of water occurs. Immediately after that the seven calamities of fire occur again. After these seven calamities of fire one calamity of water takes place again. In this way seven calamities of water occur. Then the seven calamities of fire take place and then a calamity of wind occurs. In this way eight sets of seven calamities of fire, one set of seven calamities of water, and one calamity of wind occurs. Each occurrence of a calamity of water or wind follows a calamity of fire. After the calamity of water or wind there is always a calamity of fire. In this way there is a principled order in the occurrences of calamities. Why must the seven calamities of fire occur before one calamity of water occurs? This pattern is determined by the life span of the gods in Ābhāsvara Heaven, which is as long as eight major kalpas. So it is in the eight [major] kalpas that the calamity of water occurs. The reason why seven calamities of water and eight sets of seven calamities of fire must occur before one calamity of wind occurs is because this pattern is determined by the life span of gods in Śubhakṛtsna Heaven, which is sixty-four [major] kalpas long. Therefore, it is only after eight times eight calamities that the calamity of wind occurs. Depending on how high the level of meditation that is cultivated by sentient beings, karmic effects mature at different times and their life spans become longer. Thus, the places where they reside become more permanent. Thus, verses from the Abhidharma-śāstra (Za apitanxin lun, T.1552:959c22-23) say: Seven calamities of fire pass in order,

And then one calamity of water.

Seven times seven calamities of fire and seven calamities of water, And again seven calamities of fire, and after that the calamity of wind. The Duifa lun (Dasheng apidamo zaji lun, T.1606:719b25-c1) says: Thus, in the eastern direction, one after another, without interruption, an infinite number of worlds exists: some are about to be destroyed and some 38

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are about to come into being; some are in the process of being destroyed and some remain in the state of having been destroyed; some are in the process of coming into being and some remain in the state of having come into being. As in the eastern direction, so too in all ten directions is the situation the same. In this way, whether it is the world of sentient beings or the world of their environments, all have been produced by the power of karma and desires. They have resulted from the increase of the karmic power of desire. For this reason they are all called the truth of suffering The Zaxin lun (Za apitanxin lun, T.1552:959c10-21) says: Question: Why does the kalpa of destruction not affect [the heavenly realm corresponding to] the fourth meditative state?

Answer: This realm consists of the Śuddhāvāsa Heavens. These are the highest [five] heavens [in the realm of form]. If beings are born there, they are bound to achieve nirvana there. They will not be reborn in any of the lower realms. The cessation of things [in the Śuddhāvāsa Heavens] is not achieved through wisdom; it is only due to the lack of causal conditions that things do not arise there (apratisaṃkyā-nirodhā). The situation for those beings who dwell [in the lower levels of the realm of form] and experience the kalpa of destruction is different, because they are reborn there through the power of increased merits. Because internal (mental) disturbance is bad, in these [lower] levels internal disturbances lead to external calamities. In [the heavenly realms corresponding to] the first meditative state, coarser and finer mental disturbances of fire occur internally, and for that reason the calamity of fire results externally. In [the heavenly realms corresponding to] the second meditative state, internal disturbances of taking delight in water occur, and for that reason the calamity of water takes place externally. In [the heavenly realms corresponding to] the third meditative state, internal disturbances of the wind of the exhalation and inhalation of breath occur, and for that reason the calamity of wind takes place externally.

Question: If mental disturbances are absent in [the heavenly realms corresponding to] the fourth meditative state, how could it be not permanent? Answer: [Even such a small unit of time as a] kṣaṇa is affected by impermanence. Therefore, [the heavenly realms corresponding to] the 39

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fourth meditative state lack the fixed character of continuity. The moment a being is born in that heaven a heavenly palace also appears simultaneously. When the being's life span ends there, the heaven also disappears. 4. The Kalpa of Formation

The Qishi jing (T.24:355c20-357a2) says:

Then, again after infinite and incalculable days and months, a great cloud appears and covers the entire Brahmā world. Having covered it, it pours down a floodlike rain. The raindrops are large, some are like a chariot's shaft, others are shaped like a hammer. After hundreds of thousands of millions of years the rainwater gradually accumulates and all the places where the gods reside are filled with it. This body of water is supported by four wheels of wind. What are these called? The first is called "holding," the second "safely holding," the third "not falling," and the fourth "firmly holding."

After the rain stops the water recedes spontaneously and its level goes down by an infinite number of hundreds of thousands of millions of yojanas. Then great winds appear simultaneously in the four directions. The name of the wind is Anapiluo. It blows into the body of water and agitates it incessantly. Great bubbles appear spontaneously in the water and the great wind blows it up into the sky, and above this the palace of Brahmā Heaven is built. It is beautiful and attractive, filled with the seven jewels of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, red pearls, musāragalva shells, and agate. Into this world Brahmā gods are born.

That water recedes further and the water level goes down by an infinite number of hundreds of thousands of millions of yojanas. As before, the winds called Anapiluo arise in the four directions. This great wind blows up bubbles and forms a heavenly palace. Māra gods appear and live around the walls, in the same way as do the Brahmā gods. Only the degree of refinement of the jewels is different. In the same way, other heavens, from Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven to Yama Heaven, are formed one after another. The six heavens [of the realm of desire] are completed one after another in the same way as Brahmā Heaven; only the degrees of refinement are different. Then the water again decreases and the water level goes down further by an infinite number of hundreds of thousands of millions of yojanas. The 40

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water then remains calm. From the body of water bubbles go up in the four directions to a distance of sixty-eight myriad yojanas. The circumference [of this body of bubbles] is infinitely vast. A great wind blows up bubbles and forms Mount Sumeru, made of four jewels. The wind blows bubbles again and forms the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods (Trāyastriṃśa), made of seven jewels. Again, the wind blows up bubbles and in the middle of Mount Sumeru, at the height of forty-two thousand yojanas, they form the palaces of the sun and the moon gods, made of seven jewels. It is for this reason that there are seven sun palaces in a single palace, securely kept even today; these palaces are all made of seven jewels. The wind again blows up bubbles from the ocean water to the height of a myriad yojanas to form a similar crystal palace and city for the sky-dwelling yakṣas. The wind also blows up bubbles on the four sides of Mount Sumeru, each at the distance of one thousand yojanas from the mountain. Under the great ocean, on the four sides, asura cities, decorated with seven jewels, are formed. Again the wind blows up bubbles to form other great jewel mountains.

Continuing in this way, the wind blows up bubbles, passing through the four great continents and the eight myriad smaller continents outside of Mount Sumeru and the other great mountains, and securely stations a boundary there called the Great Surrounding Mountain Range. Its height and width are both six hundred eighty myriad millions of yojanas. The boundary range is solidly formed out of diamond and can only be destroyed with the greatest difficulty. In a similar way, the great wind digs into the ground to an increasing depth and places the great body of water inside it. The water remains calm and unmoving. Thus, the great ocean is brought into existence.

Again, the Qishi jing (T.24:357a2-25) says:

Why is the water of this great ocean so salty and bitter, unsuitable for drinking? There are three reasons for this. What are the three? First, for an infinite period of time after the calamity of fire, a heavy cloud covers the world and does not move. Then the cloud pours down rain all over the world. This great rain washes over all the palaces in Brahmā Heaven, and then the palaces of Māra's heaven, then the palaces in Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven, Nirmāṇarati Heaven, Tuṣita Heaven, and Yama 41

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Heaven. When these palaces are inundated all kinds of salty, sharp, and bitter tastes flow down from the [heavenly palace buildings]. The rain then washes over Mount Sumeru, the four great continents, the eight myriad smaller continents, and many mountains. When these places are inundated [these tastes] flow into the ocean. For this reason the water of the great ocean is salty, unsuitable for drinking. Second, inside this great ocean live many great deities with massive bodies. All the excrement and urine [they produce] go into the ocean. For this reason the water of the great ocean is salty, unsuitable for drinking. Third, ancient sages cast spells that cursed the water of the ocean, vowing to make it salty and unsuitabl for drinking. For this reason the water of the great ocean is salty, unsuitable for drinking. Also, according to the Shunzhengli lun (T.1562:523a11-b1): The kalpa of formation refers to the period from the rising of wind to the time when sentient beings are born in hell. After this world is destroyed by calamities, for twenty antarakalpas there remains only empty space. After this long period of time another equally long period of time [follows]. When this kalpa of formation arrives, the karmic power of all sentient beings increases. In the sky a breeze gradually arises. This is the sign that the environment world (bhājana-loka?), which forms the container for the world of sentient beings, is about to be formed. The wind gradually becomes stronger and causes, as was said earlier, the wind wheel, the water wheel, and the the metal wheel to be formed. Then the heavenly palace of great Brahmā gods, and so on up to the heavenly palace of the Yama gods, are established. Then the wind rises again. This is how the external environment world is formed.

This is due to the power of sentient beings. In other words, for a long time sentient beings are gathered in Ābhāsvara Heaven. Because of the number of gods there the residence becomes crowded. Those beings whose merits have decreased must spread out into the lower heavens. This is how this environment world works. First one sentient being dies in Ābhā svara Heaven and is reborn in the palace of the highest of the Brahmā heavens, the Mahābrahmā Heaven. Later, other sentient beings die there and are reborn in the second highest of the Brahmā heavens, Brahmā purohita Heaven. Some are born in the [lowest] Brahmā heaven. Others 42

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are born in Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven. Gradually being reborn in lower realms in this way, we get to the human realm, and later beings are born in the realms of hungry ghosts, of animals, and of hell. It is a matter of principle (Dharma) that if there is later destruction, there must be formation before that. When one sentient being is reborn in Avīci Hell, it is known that the twenty antarakalpas of formation has been completed. After this a period of twenty antarakalpas, called "abiding after formation," follows in an orderly fashion.

The Lishi apitan lun (T.1644:225b13-17, c15) says:

When the entire environment world has been formed, two kinds of realms grow, namely the realm of earth and the realm of fire. The realm of wind arises and blows on the realm of fire, which heats and refines the earth realm. The realm of wind constantly blows and make all things become firm. When things have been made firm all kinds of jewels become visible. . . . In this way the long period of sixty kalpas is ultimately completed. The Chang ahan jing (ref. T.1:145a6-148c9) says:

These three plus earth make the four calamities and the four kalpas. Excluding earth, the remaining three are called the major kalpa. [The calamities] do not reach the [heavenly realms corresponding to the] fourth meditative state, because these realms are the Śuddhāvāsa Heavens. These are the highest [five] heavens [in the realm of form]. If beings are born there, they achieve nirvana there. They are not to be reborn in any of the lower realms. The cessation of things [in the Śuddhāvāsa Heavens] is not achieved through wisdom; it is only due to the lack of conditions that they do not arise (apratisaṃkhya-nirodhā).

In the course of the transformation of heaven and earth, when heaven is formed anew, there is nothing in it. The sun and moon are also absent. In the ground a sweet spring opens up, the water of which has the taste of honey. At that time some gods of Ābhāsvara Heaven, having exhausted their merit, are reborn in this newly formed world. Some of them love this new ground and, being frivolous in temperament, dip their finger in the spring to taste the water. After three attempts they taste the sweetness, and as they keep tasting it their skin gradually becomes coarse, losing the 43

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heavenly and miraculous light [emitted from their body]. The world plunges into darkness. Later, a great black wind blows on the ocean water and taking the sun and moon that are floating on it, places them securely on the side of Mount Sumeru in the orbit of the sun. They circle Mount Sumeru and illumine the four realms under heaven. People at that time are delighted when they appear and are frightened when they disappear. From this point on the cycles of day and night, the end and the beginning of the month, the seasons of the year repeat themselves. When the kalpa of formation first begins, gods come down and become people. They are all born by transformation. Their bodies shine as they wish and they have the miraculous ability to fly. There are no distinctions of male and female or of higher and lower social rank. Many are born together. For this reason they are called "many born" (or "sentient beings"). The earth has the natural taste of butter or fresh ghee. It is sweet like honey. Later, sentient beings try to taste it by scooping it in their hands, and eventually they become attached to its taste and make balls of it to eat. The light they emit gradually dims and they lose their supernatural powers. The faces of those who eat a lot of earth look haggard; the faces of those who eat little remain shiny. This leads to the rise of the distinction between winning and losing. Because of the distinction between winning and losing the distinction between right and wrong appears. The taste of the earth gradually disappears and all are distressed, cursing this development as a disaster. Then the earth loses its taste completely and forms a skin (surface), thin like a pancake. This skin also disappears and another surface appears. This thicker surface also disappears. According to the Zengyi jing (T.125:737a6-6), "Also rich earth appears spontaneously. It tastes like sweet wine."

Again, the Loutan jing (T. 23) says:

The sweet earth disappears and a two-branched vine appears. The taste is also sweet. People eat a lot of it over a long period of time and they all begin to look as if they are always laughing. The two-branched vine disappears and rice without husk appears. Without cooking it contains all tasty flavors. Sentient beings eat it and the physical distinction between male and female appears.

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Again, the Zengyi jing (T.125:737a18-29) says:

Then, those among the gods who have stronger sexual desires become female human beings, and in this way the distinction between husbands and wives appears. Later, the sexual desires of sentient beings increase, and so husbands and wives come to live together. After the remaining effects of the merits of sentient beings that support their life spans are exhausted, a god of Ābhāsvara Heaven comes here and stays in a mother's womb. In this way birth from the womb appears in the world. At that time if one goes to the great city of Campā or to any other residential city quarters, one sees rice plants growing spontaneously. If one harvests the rice crop in the morning, another crop is ripe by evening. If one harvests it in the evening, another crop is ripe in the morning. As one crop is harvested, new crops appear immediately.

The Zhong ahan jing (T.26:675c24-676a19; ref. Chang ahan jing, T.1:148c10-29) says:

Rice plants grew four cun long and had no stalks. Sentient beings then harvested what they needed each day. They taught each other to follow this practice. They took five days worth of rice. Then the rice plants that grew back gradually did not revive and became dead stumps. Then people cried in distress. They assigned to each a field, residences, and rice plants, and marked out boundaries. People then hid their own rice and stole grain from other people's fields. Failing to settle such disputes, they voted to establish an unbiased chief, who was to protect people, rewarding the good and punishing the evil. Some people used swords, sticks, and other similar weapons to beat and kill others. [The outcome was] birth, old age, illness, and death. The possession of fields and land led to disputes. Therefore, each took some of his property and provided it [for the common purpose]. Choosing one person of distinguished and elegant appearance, who was endowed with a great deal of property, they asked him to be the ruler. This was how the name "people's ruler" (minzhu) appeared. His fields and residences were called by this name. The realm under heaven prospered in ways that cannot be described in detail here. The ruler honored and practiced the ten good deeds and showed compassion for people in the 45

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way that parents love their children. People respected the ruler just as a son respects his father. Human life span became very long and people enjoyed unsurpassed prosperity.

The Shunzhengli lun (T.1562:526a3-22) says:

From taking the ordinary [human] food their bodies become gradually heavy. The light disappeared and darkness appeared. The sun, moon, and many stars appeared from this point on. As people indulged in consuming it, the tasty earth disappeared. At this point on the thin cakes of earth skin appeared. As they rushed to eat them, the earth cakes disappeared. Then fine rice plants appeared. As they rushed to eat the fine rice plants, these plants [also] disappeared. Then unplanted fragrant rice plants appeared spontaneously. The crowd grabbed these and ate them till they were full. Because this food was coarse residues remained in the body. Because the people wanted to get rid of the residues, the two excretory organs appeared. For this reason male and female organs appeared. Because these organs looked very different in appearance, due to the power of karmic influences, they looked at each other. This is how immorality eventually came into existence. Further developments led to the rise of theft. So, the community chose one moral person, and each person took one-sixth of his income and hired the moral person as the guard, designating him as the ruler of the fields. In this way the name kṣatriya was established. People accepted his rule and his care spread over all the land. For this reason, he was further called the great king. There were no kings [before him]. He was the first king; many kings appeared following him.

The Chang ahan jing (T.1:137b2-11) says:

The Buddha said to the monks, "There are four things that last for an incalculable and infinite period of time. This time period cannot be measured by the sun and moon, or by the annual progress of Jupiter. What are the four? First, as the calamities of the world occur in sequence, the period between the destructions of this world is extremely long, and cannot be measured by the sun and moon, or by the annual progress of Jupiter. Second, when this world is destroyed there will be a period in which it is empty and deserted. For an extremely long time there will be no world. 46

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This period cannot be measured by the sun and moon, or by the annual progress of Jupiter. Third, the period from the time when heaven and earth come into being until the formation of the world is extremely long. This period of time cannot be measured by the sun and moon, or by the annual progress of Jupiter. Fourth, after heaven and earth have been formed, this world will remain for a very long time. This period of time cannot be measured by the sun and moon, or by the annual progress of Jupiter. These four things last for incalculable and infinite periods of time. These time periods cannot be measured by the sun and moon, or by the annual progress of Jupiter."

[Concluding] verses say:

The distance of one hundred yojanas is easily covered by [a number of] mustard seeds.

The three calamities naturally exhausts themselves. The fire struck from a stone does not form a permanent flame. The lightning from thunder does not remain long. When hunger is extreme people eat each other. With swords and weapons they conquer each other. Against pestilence no doctor is effective. Their labor in vain, people cry out in hatred and suffering. Close relatives cannot help each other.

Cruel violence leaves behind its echoes. A boxful of writings left behind is in vain. The enjoyment of plentiful wealth and valuables is pointless. There is a great sigh at the swiftness of the river of waves. And grief at this entanglement of painful karma. With birth and destruction pressing hard, The situation is urgent and no peace has been secured. 47

Nguồn: BDK America — English Tripiṭaka (bdkamerica.org).

T2122 A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Vol. I

A FOREST OF PEARLS FROM THE DHARMA GARDEN VOLUME I

Front Matters

Copyright © 2019 by Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai and BDK America, Inc.

Editorial Foreword

Publisher’s Foreword

Contents

Contents

Fascicle 1

A Forest of Pearls from

Chapter One