Buddhist Cosmic Connundrum

By Dr Gautam Chatterjee


Is the world or the self eternal? Is the world finite or infinite? After attaining
Nirvana does one exist or only dwell in deathlessness? These are a few
Questions which haunt man while addressing the cosmic speculation within
The framework of Buddhist philosophy.





Renowned scholar, Dr.W.Randolph Kloetzli in his recent research Buddhist Cosmology writes “The Buddha refused to answer these questions because they were vain and had no significance for salvation.” However, denying the importance of these cosmic speculations could “not prevent his followers from accepting the general cosmological beliefs of their time, modified by conclusions drawn from his specific moral and religious teachings,” says Encyclopedia Britannica. It further states that the cosmic phenomenon of creation, destruction and recreation are an inevitable process. Nothing is permanent within the scope of the concept called “realm of desire” wherein gods, human and other creatures are nothing but embodiments of impermanence.

One cosmic speculation states that the world system has four stages of becoming – the first layer is heaven wherein there are six tiers. Those are occupied by gods who are also impermanent but have longer duration of life. Then come the four tiered dvipas around Mount Meru wherein the top is occupied by gods followed by jambudvipa where humans and other creatures share that space. Below this there are hells or places for the evil.





With these speculations the concept of heaven, earth and hell is promulgated which are interwoven with conditions or rebirth and, by Karma (previous deeds), one courses through the positions and layers to finally attain nirvana. Encyclopedia Britannica sums up by saying “depending upon their actions men are reborn in any of these five conditions as gods, men, animals, tormented spirits or in the hells. Later a sixth condition, that of Titans, was added. These five or six states represent the ever-revolving wheel of life. When the world system comes to an end, the combined potency of previous actions (Karma) restarts the whole process, just as present individual actions (which become Karma in the future) result in a continuous series (sanatana) of apparently personal existence. Thus, for practical purposes, the process of existence appears as infinite and only the practice of Buddhist teaching can bring it to an absolute end which is the deathless state of enlightenment.”

Karma remains the basic essence of Buddhist cosmic speculations. However, the karmic manifestation is yet to be fathomed by us. In Mahayanic practice we get some indication of cosmic Buddha based on his karma philosophy. Dr.Nalinaksha Dutt wrote in his article Emergence of Mahayanic Buddhism in Cultural Heritage of India that “the higher Mahayanic practices commence after adhiprajna-vihara. Henceforth the bodhisattva continues the practice of the four brahma viharas viz., friendliness, compassion, joy at other’s success and equanimity and tries to realize the substancelessness and non-duality of all objective existence which appear to him as an echo or mirage and strives to visualize the cosmic body of Buddha. He follows the ways of the world but remains disassociated from them. He now goes beyond the pratlyeka Buddha – stages.”

Most scholars restrict their quest to the idea of single world. However, Dr.W.Rndolph Kloetzli has done some pioneering research and come up with four-tiered cosmic symbolism – single world system, cosmology of thousands, cosmology of innumerable and the cosmologies of pure land sects.

Dr.Kloetzli says that the single world system or “the Cakravala is represented as a disc ringed with a series of seven circular golden mountain ranges. These ranges are arranged concentrically with Mt. Meru at the center and the Cakravala wall of iron at the perimeter. Proceeding outward from the center, the mountains are known as Meru, Yugandhara, Isadhara, Khadisika, Sundarasana, Avakarana, Vintaka, Nimindhara and Cakravala… Mt. Meru has a height of 80,000 yojans (1 yojana approx. 9 miles) and each of these ranges is one-half the height of the preceding range. All the mountain rings, except the Cakravala, are excrescences of the golden ranges. The mountains penetrate these waters which possess the following eight equalities: cold, clear, swiftly flowing, pleasant to the taste, fresh, inoffensive in smell, offensive to neither throat nor the stomach.”


However, Dr.L.A. Waddell has sketched the Lamaist view of Cakravala, which is somewhat different. He wrote, “Each universe rests upon a wrap and woof of ‘blue air’ or wind like crossed thunderbolts hard and imperishable as diamonds upon which is set ‘the body of the waters’ upon which is set the earth from the axis of which towers up the great Olympus-Mt.Meru 84,000 miles high surmounted by heaven and overlaying the hills.

In the ocean around this central mountain, the axis of the universe is set…four great continents with their satellite, all with bases of gold in the form of a tortoise… and the continents are separated from Mt. Meru by seven concentric rings of golden mountains… The yoke alternating with seven oceans of fragrance, milk, curds, butter, blood or sugar juice, poison or wine, fresh water and salt water…the whole system is girdled externally by a double iron wall 312 and a half miles high and 3,602,625 miles in circumference…This will shut out the light of the sun and moon whose orbit is the summit of the inmost ring of mountains, along with the sun composed of ‘glazed water’ in a silver shrive drawn by seven horses and, between these two, stand the bejeweled umbrella of royalty and the banner of victory…And inhabiting the air, on a level with these, are the eight angelic mothers.”

With the single concept there are cosmic variations and interpretations though all Buddhist ideas revolve around Mt. Meru.

The ‘Cosmology of thousands” is another important aspect of Buddhist cosmological speculation. Dr.Kloetzli informs there are thousands of worlds within the definition of Brahmolaka ‘the realm of the dhyana heavens’. The Majjhimankya gives us a stiking example of these various worlds. He says, “We find a distinction between a shassobrahma governing a sahassi lokadhatu and equivalent realms governed by a dvishasso-brahma trisahasso-brahma, a catusshasso-brahma… - gods which rule up to 1000 worlds.

Moreover, we find the Buddhakshetra is an embodiment of sixty-one triple chiliocosms. A further expression we find in La Valle Poussin’s translation of Avatamsakasutra which goes:

“On whirlwinds rests the fragrant ocean which carries an infinite number of world gems (lokabija); from it there issues lotuses infinite in number – very far removed indeed from each other. From each of these lotuses is born a universe (great chiliocosm) above which (separated by whirlwinds) there are three, then five and so on up to the twentieth tier, where there are 39 great chiliocosm…”

Further the Anguttara-nikaya explains there are 1,000,000,000 universe smaller and bigger thus giving birth to the concept of innumerable universe. The Pali texts of Buddhaghasa’s Atthasalini say four things are infinite – space, the number of universe, number of living beings and the wisdom of Buddha.

Thus the indication of infinite cosmology is found which denotes the manifestation of Buddha in 10 regional directions. In these directions the eternal light of Cosmic Buddha spreads all around Buddhakshetra within the concept of time and space. In Buddhist philosophy the soul is replaced with these eternal lights, which are embodiments of knowledge. To attain this knowledge one has to course through Karma then nirvana dawns upon which is the state of deathlessness or moksha.

One wornders why Gautama Buddha only talked about nirvana and not the cosmic world. Perhaps he realized that it was useless to discuss cosmology rather, one should get engaged in attaining nirvana, which is the state of realization, and becoming. Does all this indicate that Buddhist cosmic theory is hidden in nirvana, which is a state of experiencing the eternal truth without any doubt or dilemma?