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It is widely known that Buddhism emphasizes the concept of emptiness. Conversion to Buddhism is often described as "entering the gate of emptiness." Since it is termed the "gate of emptiness," does that mean there is no such thing as a cosmology in Buddhism? Actually, this reflects a misunderstanding of Buddhist philosophy. For Buddhist practitioners or scholars studying Buddhism, understanding Buddhist cosmology is of great importance.
The Diagram of the Movements of the Sun, Moon, and Stars was drawn based on The White Beryl, a comprehensive Tibetan scientific text compiled by Desi Sangye Gyatso. The White Beryl is a significant document in the field of Tibetan astronomy and calendar calculations, and it is the largest work among Tibetan calendrical texts. The book details the specifications, projects, and contents of calendar-making, with fixed tables illustrated for each month. The White Beryl also incorporates elements from Chinese calendrical texts, and its appendix preserves The Five Element Prognostication, a text introduced to Tibet during the Tang dynasty.
Buddhist Scriptures on Cosmology
The “Chapter on the Accomplishment of the World” in the Avatamsaka Sutra discusses Buddhist views of the universe. In the sutra, the term "seas" is used to describe the interstellar spaces where matter is sparse. It states, “In every world-sea, there are as many worlds as dust particles,” implying that the universe contains countless worlds like dust particles. Additionally, these world-seas have various shapes. The sutra says, “World-seas differ in forms: some are round, some square, some neither round nor square, and they are of countless other varieties. Some resemble whirlpools, others like flames of mountains, some like trees, flowers, palaces, living beings, or Buddhas.”
The Milky Way, where humans reside, is described as being among the "ten inexpressible numbers of dust-like Buddha lands." It is divided into twenty layers, with the Saha world ranked as the thirteenth. The reason humans are born into the Saha world is explained through the fundamental Buddhist doctrine of karma and retribution: beings are born here due to their accumulated karma, which results in blessings far inferior to those of the Pure Land. Consequently, perceptions of time and space differ significantly between these worlds. According to the Avatamsaka Sutra, one kalpa in the Saha world is equivalent to just one day and night in the Pure Land, and the spatial distances are also extraordinarily vast.
How long is a kalpa? According to the Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣa Śāstra, human life expectancy begins at ten years and increases by one year every hundred years, reaching a maximum of 84,000 years, which marks the peak of the ascending eon. From that point, life expectancy decreases by one year every hundred years until it returns to ten years, marking the completion of a descending eon. One ascending and one descending eon together constitute 16.8 million years, which is referred to as a "small kalpa." While the maximum time difference on Earth is only 24 hours, the time separating the Saha world from the Pure Land is a full kalpa. A great kalpa, meanwhile, spans 1.2 billion years.
The Buddha's View of the Universe
In Buddhism, the universe is not singular. Each universe contains innumerable celestial bodies, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River. These celestial bodies vary in size and shape and undergo cycles of formation, existence, destruction, and emptiness. Some celestial bodies emit light, while others remain dark; some harbor life, while others are barren.
Buddhism uses the solar system as a unit of measurement: a thousand solar systems form a "small chiliocosm." A thousand small chiliocosms form a "medium chiliocosm," and a thousand medium chiliocosms form a "great chiliocosm," also known as the "Three Thousand Great Chiliocosms." Therefore, in terms of solar systems, a great chiliocosm contains one billion solar systems. In Buddhist teachings, each great chiliocosm is presided over by one Buddha, hence it is referred to as a Buddha-land.
The term "universe" combines two concepts: "yu" (space) refers to the vastness in all directions, while "zhou" (time) refers to eternity through past and future. Together, "universe" implies the infinite continuity of space and time. From a certain perspective, Buddhist cosmology bears some resemblances to the discoveries of modern science, which has led to increased interest in Buddhist thought among contemporary audiences.
Buddhism describes each world as having Mount Sumeru at its center, surrounded by nine mountain ranges, eight seas, four continents, the sun, the moon, and an iron encircling mountain forming its outer boundary. This constitutes a "world."
A thousand such worlds form a small chiliocosm, a thousand small chiliocosms make up a medium chiliocosm, and a thousand medium chiliocosms compose a great chiliocosm. Since a great chiliocosm contains small, medium, and large chiliocosms, it is also referred to as a "Three Thousand Great Chiliocosms."
Countless Three Thousand Great Chiliocosms combine to form a vast and boundless universe. The Avatamsaka Sutra mentions that ten trillion Three Thousand Great Chiliocosms make up the "Flower Store Universe System." However, even the Flower Store Universe System is merely a microscopic dust particle on the hand of Mahāvairocana Buddha, according to Buddhist belief. Moreover, there are countless systems like the Flower Store Universe System, which collectively constitute an even larger cosmic system—the Great Snow Ocean Cosmic System. The sutras further state that even a system as large as the Flower Store Universe is beyond the comprehension of unenlightened beings.
The Saha World in the Universe
In Buddhist cosmology, the Saha world is analogous to the Milky Way as commonly understood. Buddhism posits that the Saha world consists of Three Thousand Great Chiliocosms, meaning it is composed of one thousand great worlds. Each great world contains one thousand medium worlds, and each medium world, in turn, contains one thousand small worlds. This makes the Saha world a composite of one billion small worlds, each containing a sun and a moon.
Buddhism teaches that each great chiliocosm is presided over by one Buddha, making it a Buddha-land. Śākyamuni Buddha is the only Buddha of the Saha world. Meanwhile, Maitreya Buddha resides in the Tuṣita Heaven. After the end of his celestial life, Maitreya will descend to Earth and attain Buddhahood, succeeding Śākyamuni as the next Buddha of the Saha world.
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