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'''Kalpa''' (Skt.; [[Wyl.]]'' bskal pa'') — an aeon, a vast period of time related to the different phases of a great universe (or [[trichiliocosm]]), according to [[Abhidharma]] literature.  
'''Kalpa''' (Skt.; Tib. [[བསྐལ་པ་]], [[Wyl.]]'' bskal pa'') — an aeon, a vast period of time related to the different phases of a great universe (or [[trichiliocosm]]), according to [[Abhidharma]] literature. There are many different types of kalpas corresponding to different lengths of time such as [[great kalpa]]s, [[intermediary kalpa]]s, [[small kalpa]]s, [[incalculable kalpa]]s, [[bright kalpa]]s, [[dark kalpa]]s, [[kalpa of formation]], [[kalpa of duration]], etc.  
 
A '''great kalpa''' (Skt. ''mahākalpa''; Wyl. ''bskal chen'') is the period of time during which the universe passes through the four periods (or '''medium kalpas''') of  
#formation (Wyl. ''chags pa'i bskal pa''),  
#duration (Wyl. ''gnas pa'i bskal pa''),  
#destruction (Wyl. '' 'jig pa'i bskalpa'') and
#voidness (Wyl. ''stong pa'i bskalpa'').
 
Each of these four periods is made up of twenty '''[[intermediate kalpa]]s''', which are also sometimes subdivided into periods of increase and decrease (of the [[merit]] and life-span of beings living during that period).


==Further Reading==
*[[Kangyur Rinpoche]], ''Treasury of Precious Qualities'' (Boston & London: Shambhala, 2001), 'Appendix I'.
*[[Patrul Rinpoche]], ''[[The Words of My Perfect Teacher]]'' (Boston: Shambhala, Revised edition, 1998), pages 25-26.
*[[Khenpo Ngawang Palzang]], ''[[A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher]]'', Shambhala, 2004, pages 55-57.


[[Category:Key Terms]]
[[Category:Key Terms]]
[[Category:Abhidharma]]
[[Category:Abhidharma]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Sanskrit Terms]]

Latest revision as of 11:01, 5 October 2021

Kalpa (Skt.; Tib. བསྐལ་པ་, Wyl. bskal pa) — an aeon, a vast period of time related to the different phases of a great universe (or trichiliocosm), according to Abhidharma literature. There are many different types of kalpas corresponding to different lengths of time such as great kalpas, intermediary kalpas, small kalpas, incalculable kalpas, bright kalpas, dark kalpas, kalpa of formation, kalpa of duration, etc.

Further Reading