經律異相 1.92

1.92

The sun's rampart city is exactly square, two thousand and forty li on each side, and its height is the same. Its light strikes people's eyes so that it appears round. The palace city is made of pure gold and the seven treasures, lustrous and free of any flaw. It is supported by five winds: first, holding; second, sustaining; third, receiving; fourth, rotating; fifth, regulating. The throne of the sun king is twenty li square. Light emanates from his body, illuminating the palace; the light of the palace illuminates the rampart city; and the light of the rampart city shines downward upon the earth below. Countless gods precede and follow in his retinue, taking their pleasure in music without rest. The groves, pavilions, and bathing pools are like those of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven. The lifespan of the gods is five hundred years; generation follows generation down to the end of a kalpa. The sun city revolves around Mount Sumeru: when it is sunrise in the east, it is midday in the south, midnight in the west, and sunset in the north. Rotating clockwise in this way, it alternates day and night. There is also variation in length: when the sun travels slightly south, the south gradually grows longer by sixty li, and for one hundred and eighty days the north grows slightly shorter; when it travels slightly north again, the north gradually grows longer, and for one hundred and eighty days the south grows slightly shorter. (From the Dīrgha-āgama, fascicle 22; also from the Loutan jing.)