法苑珠林 1.27

1.27

依奘法師西國傳云。陰陽歷運日月旋璣。稱謂雖殊。時候無異。隨其星建以標月名。時極短者謂之剎那也。如新婆沙論云。彼剎那量。云何可知。有作是言。依施設論說。如中年女緝績毳時。抖擻細毛不長不短。齊此說為怛剎那量。彼不欲說毛縷短長。但說毳毛從指開出。隨所出量是怛剎那。問前問剎那。何緣乃引施。設說怛剎那量。答此中舉麁以顯於細。以細難知不可顯故。謂百二十剎那成一怛剎那。六十怛剎那成一臘縛。此有七千二百剎那。三十臘縛成一牟呼栗多。此有二百一十六千剎那。三十牟呼栗多成一晝夜。此有少二十不滿。六十五百千剎那。此五蘊一晝一夜。經於爾所生滅無常。有說。此麁非剎那量。如我義者如壯士彈指頃。經六十四剎那有說不然。如我義者如二壯夫掣斷眾多迦尸細縷。隨爾所縷斷。經爾所剎那。有說不然。如我義者。如二壯夫執挽眾多迦尸細縷。有一壯夫以至那國百練剛刀捷疾而斷。隨爾所縷斷。經爾所剎那。有說。猶麁非剎那量。實剎那量世尊不說。如世尊說。譬如四善射夫。各執弓箭相背攢立欲射四方。有一捷夫。來語之曰。汝等今可一時放箭。我能遍接俱令不墮。於意云何。此捷疾不。苾芻白佛。甚疾世尊。佛言。彼人不及地行藥叉。地行捷疾不及空行藥叉。空行捷疾不及四大王眾天。彼天捷疾不及日月二輪。二輪捷疾不及堅行天子。此薄日月輪車者。此等諸天展轉捷疾。壽行生滅捷疾於彼。剎那流轉無有暫停。由此故知。世尊不說實剎那量。問何故世尊不為他說實剎那量。答無有有情堪能知故。又依安般經云。於一彈指頃心有九百六十。又仁王經云。一念有九十剎那。一一剎那中復有九百生滅。又菩薩處胎經云。一彈指頃有三十二億百千念。念念成形形形皆有識。佛之威神入微識中皆令得度。又毘曇論。合有十二重。一名剎那。二名怛剎那。三名羅婆。四名摩睺羅。五名日夜。六名半月。七名一月。八名時。九名行。十名年。十一名雙。十二名劫。一剎那者翻為一念。百二十剎那為一怛剎那翻為一瞬。六十怛剎那為一息。一息為一羅婆。三十羅婆為一摩睺羅。翻為一須臾。三十摩睺羅為一日夜。計有六百三十八萬剎那。僧祇律云。二十念為一瞬。二十瞬名一彈指。二十彈指名一羅預。二十羅預名一須臾。一日一夜有三十須臾。日極長時晝有十八夜有十二。極短時晝有十二夜有十八春秋分便等。又智度論云。晝夜六分有三十時。春秋分時晝夜各十五時。餘時增減。五月晝時有十八夜有十二。十月夜時有十八晝有十二。依奘法師西國傳云。居俗日夜分為八時（晝四夜四於一一時各有四分）月盈至滿謂之白分。月虧至晦謂之黑分。或十四日十五日。月有大小故也。白前黑後合為一月。六月合為一行。日游在內北行也。日游在外南行也。總此二行合為一歲。又分一歲以為六時。正月十五日至三月十五日漸熱也。三月十六日至五月十五日盛熱也。五月十六日至七月十五日雨時也。七月十六日至九月十五日茂時也。九月十六日至十一月十五日漸寒也。十一月十六日至正月十五日盛寒也。如來聖教。歲為三時。正月十六日至五月十五日熱時。五月十六日至九月十五日雨時也。九月十六日至正月十五日寒時也。或為四時。春夏秋冬也。依論計之。十五夜為半月。兩半月為一月。三月為一時。兩時為一行。一行即半年六月也。兩行為一年。二年半為一雙。此由閏故。以閏月兼本月。此謂月雙非閏雙也。若以五年兩閏雙者。二年半有一閏。豈立隻乎。積此時數明劫有四種。一別劫。二成劫。三壞劫。四大劫。從人壽十歲漸至八萬歲。經多時八萬歲。又漸減至十歲。為一別劫。對餘總故名為別也。若以事格量。依雜阿含經云。一由旬城高下亦爾。滿中芥子百年取一。芥盡劫猶不盡。案此即為別劫也。若據大劫。即以八十由旬城為量也。樓炭經云。以二事論劫。一云有一大城東西千里南北四千里。滿中芥子百歲諸天來下。取一芥子盡劫猶未盡。二云有一大石方四十里。百歲諸天來下。取羅縠衣拂石盡劫猶未窮。此亦應是別劫也。第二有成劫四十壞劫亦爾。所以然者。世間成時二十別劫。住時二十別劫。壞時二十別劫。空時二十別劫。此中以住合成以空合壞。故各四十別劫。總此成壞合有八十別劫。為一大劫。若更舒之別有六劫。一別。二成。三住。四壞。五空。六大。若更來之則有三劫。一小劫。二中劫。三大劫。小則別劫。中則成壞隨一。大則總成與壞。欲界中壽一劫是小劫。初禪三天壽劫是中劫。二禪已去壽劫是大劫。外國俗算有六十位。過此已後不可數故。名阿僧祇。此數年為劫數。一至六十位名阿僧祇劫。此是大劫量也。故智度論經云。以百由旬城為量。百年取一芥。故喻以迦尸羅天衣。百年一拂。百由旬石為量者。此並格量大劫也。即案索訶世界（舊云娑婆世界）一大劫中千佛出世。尋夫劫波之號。不可以時數之。故以假石芥城等。准為一期之候。即約前中具含成住壞空等四劫也。如前從十歲增至八萬。復從八萬還至十歲。經二十返一小劫。二十小劫為一成劫。以年算之則經八千萬萬億百千八百萬歲也。止一為小劫矣。今成劫已過入住劫來。復經八小劫。釋迦牟尼如來於住劫中當第四佛。尚餘九百九十六佛。於後續次而出。

According to Master Xuanzang’s *Record of the Western Regions*, "The workings of yin and yang revolve, and the sun and moon turn like an armillary sphere. Although their designations differ, their seasons are identical. The months are named according to the asterisms under which they are established. The shortest unit of time is called a kṣaṇa." As the *New Vibhāṣā* states: "How may the measure of that kṣaṇa be known? Some say: According to the *Kāraṇaprajñapti-śāstra*, it is like a middle-aged woman spinning downy hair, shaking fine down that is neither long nor short; this point is stated to be the measure of a tatkṣaṇa. That does not mean to state the length or shortness of the thread of hair, but only that when the down emerges from between the fingers, the amount that emerges is a tatkṣaṇa. Question: The previous question asked about the kṣaṇa; for what reason was the *Prajñapti* cited to explain the measure of a tatkṣaṇa? Answer: Here the coarse is adduced to reveal the subtle, because the subtle is difficult to know and cannot be directly revealed. That is to say, one hundred and twenty kṣaṇas make one tatkṣaṇa; sixty tatkṣaṇas make one lava, which contains seven thousand two hundred kṣaṇas; thirty lavas make one muhūrta, which contains two hundred and sixteen thousand kṣaṇas; thirty muhūrtas make one day and night, which contains twenty short of sixty-five hundred thousand kṣaṇas [i.e., 6,479,980 kṣaṇas]. In one day and one night, these five aggregates undergo that many arising and perishing impermanences." Some say: "This is coarse and is not the true measure of a kṣaṇa. In my view, in the time it takes a strong man to snap his fingers, sixty-four kṣaṇas pass." Some say this is not so: "In my view, it is like two strong men snapping many fine threads of Kāśī cloth; as many threads as are severed, that many kṣaṇas pass." Some say this is not so: "In my view, it is like two strong men pulling taut many fine threads of Kāśī cloth, and another strong man swiftly severing them with a sword of hundred-refined steel from the country of Cīna; as many threads as are severed, that many kṣaṇas pass." Some say: "These are still coarse and are not the measure of a kṣaṇa. The World-Honoured One did not declare the real measure of a kṣaṇa. As the World-Honoured One said: 'Suppose there are four skilled archers, each holding bow and arrow, standing back-to-back, wishing to shoot toward the four quarters. There is a swift man who comes and says to them: "You may all release your arrows at once; I can intercept them all and let none fall to the ground." What do you think? Is this swift or not?' The bhikṣus said to the Buddha, 'Extremely swift, World-Honoured One.' The Buddha said: 'That man cannot equal a terrestrial yakṣa. A terrestrial [yakṣa's] swiftness cannot equal an aerial yakṣa. An aerial [yakṣa's] swiftness cannot equal the devas of the realm of the Cāturmahārājakāyika. That realm's swiftness cannot equal the two discs of the sun and moon. The swiftness of the two discs cannot equal the god Firm-Course (Dṛḍhapratāpa), who drives the chariot of the sun and moon discs. These various devas are successively swifter and swifter, yet the arising and perishing of the lifespan-formations is swifter than they, turning in a kṣaṇa without pausing even for an instant.' From this we know that the World-Honoured One did not speak of the real measure of a kṣaṇa. Question: For what reason did the World-Honoured One not declare the real measure of a kṣaṇa to others? Answer: Because no sentient being is capable of knowing it." Furthermore, according to the *Ānāpāna-sūtra*, within a single finger-snap, the mind has nine hundred and sixty [moments]. Furthermore, the *Humane Kings Sūtra* states that in a single thought there are ninety kṣaṇas, and within each kṣaṇa there are again nine hundred arisings and perishings. Furthermore, the *Bodhisattva Garbhastha Sūtra* states that within a single finger-snap there are thirty-two hundred thousand billion thoughts, thought after thought taking form, and each form possessing consciousness; the Buddha's spiritual power enters into these subtle consciousnesses and causes them all to attain deliverance. Furthermore, the *Abhidharma* has a total of twelve tiers: first is called kṣaṇa; second is called tatkṣaṇa; third is called lava; fourth is called muhūrta; fifth is called day and night; sixth is called half-month; seventh is called one month; eighth is called season (ṛtu); ninth is called course (ayana); tenth is called year (saṃvatsara); eleventh is called pair (yuga); twelfth is called kalpa. One kṣaṇa is translated as "one thought" (yinian). One hundred and twenty kṣaṇas make one tatkṣaṇa, translated as "a blink of an eye" (yishun). Sixty tatkṣaṇas make one breath. One breath makes one lava. Thirty lavas make one muhūrta, translated as "a brief moment" (xuyu). Thirty muhūrtas make one day and night, calculated to have 6,380,000 kṣaṇas. The *Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya* states that twenty thoughts make one blink of an eye; twenty blinks of an eye are called one finger-snap; twenty finger-snaps are called one layu; twenty layus are called one xuyu (muhūrta); one day and one night have thirty muhūrtas. At the time of the longest day, the daytime has eighteen and the night has twelve; at the time of the shortest, the daytime has twelve and the night has eighteen; at the spring and autumn equinoxes, they are equal. Furthermore, the *Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra* states that the six divisions of day and night comprise thirty periods. At the time of the spring and autumn equinoxes, day and night each have fifteen periods, increasing or decreasing at other times. In the fifth month, the daytime has eighteen periods and the night has twelve; in the tenth month, the night has eighteen periods and the day has twelve. According to Master Xuanzang’s *Record of the Western Regions*, secular usage divides day and night into eight periods (four during the day and four at night, each period having four sub-divisions). The waxing of the moon until full is called the white fortnight (śuklapakṣa); the waning of the moon until dark is called the black fortnight (kṛṣṇapakṣa). [They comprise] either fourteen or fifteen days, because the months have large and small [lengths]. The white comes first and the black comes after, combining to form one month. Six months combine to form one course (ayana): when the sun moves on the inner course, it is the northern course (uttarāyaṇa); when the sun moves on the outer course, it is the southern course (dakṣiṇāyana). Combining these two courses forms one year. Furthermore, one year is divided into six seasons: from the fifteenth day of the first month to the fifteenth day of the third month, it gradually grows hot; from the sixteenth day of the third month to the fifteenth day of the fifth month, it is intensely hot; from the sixteenth day of the fifth month to the fifteenth day of the seventh month, it is the rainy season; from the sixteenth day of the seventh month to the fifteenth day of the ninth month, it is the luxuriant season; from the sixteenth day of the ninth month to the fifteenth day of the eleventh month, it gradually grows cold; from the sixteenth day of the eleventh month to the fifteenth day of the first month, it is intensely cold. In the Tathāgata’s holy teaching, the year has three seasons: from the sixteenth day of the first month to the fifteenth day of the fifth month is the hot season; from the sixteenth day of the fifth month to the fifteenth day of the ninth month is the rainy season; from the sixteenth day of the ninth month to the fifteenth day of the first month is the cold season. Alternatively, it is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Calculating according to the treatises: fifteen nights make a half-month; two half-months make one month; three months make one season; two seasons make one course, one course being half a year or six months; two courses make one year; two and a half years make one pair (yuga). This is due to the intercalary month: taking the intercalary month together with the standard months, this refers to a pairing of months, not a pairing of intercalations. If one considers two intercalations in five years as a pair, an intercalation occurs every two and a half years; how could that be established as a single? Accumulating these units of time clarifies that there are four kinds of kalpas: first, the individual kalpa (antara-kalpa); second, the kalpa of formation (vivarta-kalpa); third, the kalpa of destruction (saṃvarta-kalpa); fourth, the great kalpa (mahākalpa). From human lifespan of ten years gradually increasing to eighty thousand years, passing a long time at eighty thousand years, and then gradually decreasing to ten years, constitutes one individual kalpa. Because it stands in contrast to the collective, it is called "individual". If measured by tangible things: according to the *Saṃyuktāgama*, there is a city of one yojana in extent, and its height is the same, filled with mustard seeds; if one takes one seed every hundred years, the mustard seeds will be exhausted while the kalpa is still not exhausted. Considered accordingly, this is an individual kalpa. If based on the great kalpa, a city of eighty yojanas is taken as the measure. The *Loutan jing* states that kalpas are discussed in terms of two things: first, it says there is a great city one thousand li from east to west and four thousand li from north to south, filled with mustard seeds; every hundred years the devas descend to take one mustard seed; when they are exhausted, the kalpa is still not exhausted. Second, it says there is a great rock forty li square; every hundred years the devas descend to brush the rock with a robe of gossamer silk; when it is worn away, the kalpa is still not exhausted. These also should be individual kalpas. Second, there are forty [individual kalpas] for the kalpa of formation, and the kalpa of destruction is likewise. Why is this? When the world forms, it takes twenty individual kalpas; when it endures, it takes twenty individual kalpas; when it is destroyed, it takes twenty individual kalpas; when it is empty, it takes twenty individual kalpas. Here, endurance is combined with formation, and emptiness is combined with destruction, so each comprises forty individual kalpas. In total, these formations and destructions combine to have eighty individual kalpas, making one great kalpa. If one further expands them, there are separately six kalpas: first, the individual; second, formation; third, endurance; fourth, destruction; fifth, emptiness; sixth, the great. If one further summarizes them, there are three kalpas: first, the small kalpa; second, the medium kalpa; third, the great kalpa. "Small" refers to the individual kalpa; "medium" refers to either formation or destruction; "great" combines formation and destruction. In the desire realm, a lifespan of one kalpa is a small kalpa; the lifespan-kalpa of the three heavens of the first dhyāna is a medium kalpa; the lifespan-kalpa of the second dhyāna and above is a great kalpa. In the secular mathematics of foreign countries, there are sixty decimal places; beyond this, numbers cannot be counted, hence called asaṃkhyeya. These counted years serve as the measure of kalpas; progressing through the sixty positions is called an asaṃkhyeya-kalpa. This is the measure of a great kalpa. Therefore, the *Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra* states taking a city of one hundred yojanas as the measure, taking one mustard seed every hundred years; thus it uses the metaphor of brushing a stone of one hundred yojanas once every hundred years with a heavenly robe of Kāśī silk; these are all measures of the great kalpa. Thus, considering that within one great kalpa in the Sahā world (formerly called Suopo world) one thousand Buddhas appear, when inquiring into the designation of "kalpa", it cannot be counted by ordinary units of time. Therefore, the metaphors of rocks and mustard cities are adopted to gauge the duration of a single period. That is to say, based on the aforementioned, it fully encompasses the four kalpas of formation, endurance, destruction, and emptiness. As stated before, increasing from ten years to eighty thousand, and returning from eighty thousand down to ten years, passing through twenty cycles, constitutes one small kalpa. Twenty small kalpas make one kalpa of formation. Calculating by years, it spans eighty thousand million billion hundred thousand eight million years [80,000,000,000,000,800,000 years]; this is merely one small kalpa. Now the kalpa of formation has already passed and entered into the kalpa of endurance, which has already passed through eight small kalpas. Śākyamuni Tathāgata is the fourth Buddha during this kalpa of endurance; there still remain nine hundred and ninety-six Buddhas who will successively appear hereafter.