法苑珠林 1.35

1.35

Relying on the *Sūtra on the Origin of the World* (Qishi jing), it says: At that time, after the passage of an immeasurable, distant, and innumerable [period of] suns and moons, heavily laden clouds then arose, ultimately spreading over and covering the world of the Brahmā Heaven. Having completely covered it, they poured down torrential rains. The drops were extremely coarse, some like cart axles and some like pestles. After hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of years, the accumulation of that rainwater gradually increased until the worlds where the devas dwell were filled with water. Yet that accumulation of water was upheld by four wind-mandalas. What are the four? The first is named Abiding; the second is named Firm Abiding; the third is named Non-Falling; the fourth is named Solid Master. When that rain ceased, it receded again of itself, dropping down by immeasurable hundreds of thousands of koṭis of yojanas. At that time, a great wind arose simultaneously from the four directions. That wind was named Anabila. It blew upon that accumulation of water, churning it without stopping. A great mass of foam naturally arose within the water. The great wind blew the foam and cast it into the air, creating from above the palaces of the Brahmā Heaven, subtle, lovely, and formed of the seven treasures, namely: gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, red pearls, carnelian, and agate. Thus this Brahmā Heaven world came forth and arose. That great accumulation of water receded further down by immeasurable hundreds of thousands of koṭis of yojanas. As before, a wind named Anabila arose from the four directions. From this great wind blowing and casting up the water foam, palaces were again formed. The walls and dwellings of the Devas of the Māra Body were no different from those of the Devas of the Brahmā Body; there was only a difference in the fineness or coarseness of the colors of the treasures. In this way, next were created the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven, and so on progressively down to the Yāma Heaven. The six heavens were completely provided in sequence, no different from the Brahmā Heaven, differing only in fineness and coarseness. At that time, that accumulation of water decreased further, receding even further down by immeasurable hundreds of thousands of koṭis of myriads of yojanas, settling and standing clear and still. In that accumulation of water, floating foam from the four directions lay upon the water to a thickness of sixty-eight hundred million yojanas, its circumference and breadth immeasurable. The great wind blew the foam and further created Mount Sumeru, formed of the four treasures. It again blew the floating foam upon the water to make the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, formed of the seven treasures. It also blew the water foam at the mid-slope of Mount Sumeru, at forty-two thousand yojanas, to make the palaces of the sun and moon devaputras, all formed of the seven treasures. Due to these causes and conditions, the world then had seven sun palaces securely abiding and existing. It also blew the water foam ten thousand yojanas high above the ocean water to make crystal palaces and city walls for the space-dwelling yakṣas in the same way. It also blew the water foam on the four sides of Mount Sumeru, each one thousand yojanas away from the mountain, beneath the great ocean, to make the four-sided asura cities, adorned with the seven treasures. Furthermore, the great wind blew the accumulated foam of the water to create the other great treasure mountains. Progressively blowing the water foam in this manner, past the four great continents, the eighty thousand small continents, and Sumeru the king of mountains, and outside all the other great mountains, it established all around what is named the Great Cakravāla Mountain, six million eight hundred thousand koṭis of yojanas in height and breadth, firm and real, formed of adamantine diamond and difficult to destroy. In this way, the great wind blew and scooped out the great earth, gradually going deeper, and then placed within it a great accumulation of water, settling and collecting still and clear. Due to these causes and conditions, there came to be the great ocean. Further, the *Sūtra on the Origin of the World* says: For what cause and condition is the water of this great ocean so salty and bitter, unfit for drinking? There are three causes and conditions for this. What are the three? First: after the disaster of fire, after an immeasurable time, heavily laden clouds arose, spreading over and condensing, and afterward dropped rain that poured down and filled the world. That great rainwater juice washed all the palaces of the Devas of the Brahmā Body; next, it washed the palaces of the Expansive Heaven; next, it washed the palaces of the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven, the Nirmāṇarati Heaven, the Tuṣita Heaven, and the Yāma Heaven. Having washed them, when it washed those palaces, all the salty, pungent, and bitter flavors flowed downward. Next, it washed Mount Sumeru, the four great continents, the eighty thousand small continents, and the other various great mountains. As it washed in this manner, it soaked and washed down among them. Due to these causes and conditions, the great ocean was made salty and unfit for drinking. Second: in this ocean water dwell sentient beings of great divine power and great bodies; all their feces and urine flow out into the ocean. Due to these causes and conditions, its water is salty, bitter, and unfit for drinking. Third: this ocean water was cursed in ancient times by various ṛṣis, who wished that the ocean become a salty flavor, unfit for drinking. Due to these causes and conditions, the great ocean was made salty and unfit for drinking. Further, relying on the *Nyāyānusāra-śāstra*, it says: What is called the kalpa of formation refers to the period from the arising of the wind up to when sentient beings first arise in the hells. That is to say, after this world is destroyed by the calamities, for twenty intermediate kalpas there is only empty space. Past this long time, next there should again be an equal abiding world. When the kalpa of formation arrives, through the predominant power of the karma of all sentient beings, a subtle wind gradually arises in the air. This is the omen of the imminent formation of the receptacle world. The wind gradually increases and flourishes, establishing the wind-mandala, water-mandala, gold-mandala, and so forth as explained previously. However, first the palace of Mahābrahmā is established, and down to the Yāma Heaven palaces, the wind-mandalas and so forth arise again. This is called establishing the external receptacle world. Due to the power of sentient beings—that is, sentient beings have long gathered in the [Ābhāsvara Heaven of] Pure Radiance, and since the heavenly host is numerous, their dwelling places become cramped; those whose merits decrease should scatter and dwell below. The very first sentient being of this receptacle world dies in the Heaven of Ultimate Pure Radiance and is born in the empty palace of the Mahābrahmā realm. Later sentient beings also die from there and some are born as the Retinue of Brahmā (Brahmapurohita), some are born in the Brahmā Heaven, and some are born in the palace of the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven, gradually taking rebirth downward even to the human destiny, and later taking rebirth as hungry ghosts, animals, and in the hells. By the nature of things, that which is formed last must be destroyed first. If the first sentient being is born in the Avīci Hell, one should know that the twenty intermediate kalpas of formation are already complete. After this, there are again twenty intermediate kalpas named 'Abiding After Formation,' which arise in sequence. The *Lokasthitābhidharma-śāstra* says: When the entire receptacle world has arisen and finished forming, at that time two elements arise and grow, namely the earth and fire elements. The wind element arises to blow upon them, and the fire element steams and smelts the earth element. The wind element constantly arises to blow upon all things, making them firm and solid. Once they are firm and solid, all the various kinds of treasures become manifest. In this way, after a long time, sixty small kalpas have completely passed.