釋迦氏譜 1.82

1.82

二以里數約量明之。剡浮洲者。須彌山南一域之都名也。按聖論云。水時所經東西二十四萬里。南北二十八萬里。若依人物所居。東西十一萬六千里。南北略同。今以中天為正。四方相拒各五萬八千里。此方東拒海隅三方彌遠。即事以求安得比乎。又剡浮洲者是樹名也。須彌山王大海正中。四方四洲洲即一天下也。此樹生於南洲之北。枝臨大海。海底有金。金名閻浮。光浮水上。故此洲名從金受稱。若據唐譯。閻浮者上勝金也。提者洲也。此上勝洲大夏天竺居其心矣。

Second, clarifying it by estimating measurements in li: Jambūdvīpa is the general name for the region south of Mount Sumeru. According to the sacred treatises, when traversed by water, it is two hundred and forty thousand li from east to west, and two hundred and eighty thousand li from south to north. If calculated by the habitation of people and creatures, it is one hundred and sixteen thousand li from east to west, and roughly the same from south to north. Now taking Central India as the center, the distance to the four directions is fifty-eight thousand li each. This land [of China] is blocked by the ocean's corner in the east, while the other three directions are far more distant. Seeking from facts, how can it compare? Furthermore, Jambūdvīpa is the name of a tree. Mount Sumeru, the king of mountains, is in the very center of the great ocean; the four directions have four continents, and each continent is a world. This tree grows in the north of the southern continent, its branches overlooking the great ocean. At the bottom of the ocean there is gold, and the gold is named Jambu, whose light floats upon the water; hence this continent receives its name from the gold. According to the Tang translation, jambu means supremely superior gold, and dvīpa means continent. Of this supremely superior continent, Daxia and Tianzhu occupy its heart.