Four continents: Difference between revisions
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#[[Purvavideha]] in the East, which is semi-circular and white in colour; | #[[Purvavideha]] in the East, which is semi-circular and white in colour; | ||
#[[Jambudvipa]] in the South, which is trapezoidal and blue (this is the continent we human beings live in); | #[[Jambudvipa]] in the South, which is trapezoidal and blue (this is the continent we human beings live in); | ||
#[[Aparagodaniya]] | #[[Aparagodaniya]] in the West, which is circular and ruby red; and | ||
#[[Uttarakuru]] | #[[Uttarakuru]] in the North, which is square and green. | ||
Each of the four continents is flanked by two subcontinents (Skt. ''kṣudradvīpāni''; Tib. གླིང་ཕྲན་, ling tren; Wyl. ''gling phran'') of the same shape (see [[eight subcontinents]]). | Each of the four continents is flanked by two subcontinents (Skt. ''kṣudradvīpāni''; Tib. གླིང་ཕྲན་, ling tren; Wyl. ''gling phran'') of the same shape (see [[eight subcontinents]]). | ||
Latest revision as of 10:54, 9 September 2023
Four continents (Tib. གླིང་བཞི་, ling shyi, Wyl. gling bzhi) — the four island-continents (Skt. dvīpa; Tib. གླིང་, Wyl. gling) which surround Mount Meru according to the cosmology of the Abhidharma. They are:
- Purvavideha in the East, which is semi-circular and white in colour;
- Jambudvipa in the South, which is trapezoidal and blue (this is the continent we human beings live in);
- Aparagodaniya in the West, which is circular and ruby red; and
- Uttarakuru in the North, which is square and green.
Each of the four continents is flanked by two subcontinents (Skt. kṣudradvīpāni; Tib. གླིང་ཕྲན་, ling tren; Wyl. gling phran) of the same shape (see eight subcontinents).
Apart from the Chamara subcontinent of Jambudvipa, which is inhabited by rakshasa demons, all the other island-continents are inhabited by human beings of different characteristics, life styles and life-spans. Each continent also has a specific attribute (see four attributes of the four continents).
Further Reading
- Jamgön Kongtrul, Myriad Worlds (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1995), pages 110-113 & 138-140, ISBN 978-1559391887