Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (231)

The Superior Environment of Jambudvīpa in the Age of the Cakravartin King

Original text: 大王。此阎浮提。大地纵广。一万八千。踰缮那量。复有六十俱胝。诸大城郭。中有一城。名宝庄严。纵广正等。十二踰缮那。四面平正。妙巧成就。于其城外。有多罗树。七重行列。四宝所成。金银琉璃。玻胝迦宝。装校严饰。甚可爱乐。

彼金树者。其叶花果。悉皆是银。彼银树者。其叶花果。皆是黄金。吠琉璃树。其叶花果。皆玻胝迦。彼玻璃树。其叶花果。悉是琉璃。其城七重。宝网宝铃。诸妙珍琦。弥覆其上。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, this land of Jambudvīpa extends eighteen thousand yojanas in length and breadth, and there are sixty koṭis of great cities. Among them there is a city named Precious Adornment, twelve yojanas square, level and even on all four sides, wonderfully and skillfully constructed. Outside this city there are rows of tāla trees arranged in seven layers, made of the four treasures—gold, silver, vaiḍūrya, and sphaṭika gems—adorned and decorated so beautifully that they are most delightful. The leaves, flowers, and fruits of those gold trees are all made of silver; the leaves, flowers, and fruits of those silver trees are all made of gold; the leaves, flowers, and fruits of those vaiḍūrya trees are all made of sphaṭika; the leaves, flowers, and fruits of those sphaṭika trees are all made of vaiḍūrya. This city is covered over with seven layers of precious nets, precious bells, and many wondrous rare treasures.

We should be quite familiar with those wondrous realms described above through reciting the Amitābha Sūtra—the Land of Bliss is just like this. Southern Jambudvīpa in the age of the Cakravartin King was just as wondrous, showing that the humans of that time had great merit. We now do not have much merit, so we cannot attract such superior living environments.

Original text: 城外复有。七重宝堑。皆以七宝。所共合成。一一宝堑。深半由旬。广一由旬。金沙布底。八功德水。澄湛盈满。诸妙音鸟。翔集其中。优钵罗花。拘没那花。钵讷摩花。分陀利花。普遍开发。周匝阶陛。四宝合成。黄金为阶。白银成陛。白银为阶。黄金成陛。琉璃为阶。玻璃成陛。玻璃为阶。琉璃成陛。一一阶道。七宝所成。其傍皆植。金色芭蕉。复于道首。置诸宝座。巧妙装校。甚可爱乐。

Explanation: Outside the city there were also seven layers of precious moats, all formed together from the seven treasures. Each precious moat was half a yojana deep—that is, twenty li deep—and one yojana wide, forty li across, with gold sand spread on the bottom, filled to the brim with clear, limpid water of the eight virtues. Many birds with wonderful voices flew and gathered within them, singing harmonious, beautiful, and pleasing sounds. There were also utpala flowers, kumuda flowers, padma flowers, and puṇḍarīka flowers blooming everywhere. The surrounding steps were formed from the four treasures: gold steps with silver stairways; silver steps with gold stairways; vaiḍūrya steps with sphaṭika stairways; sphaṭika steps with vaiḍūrya stairways. Every stairway was made of the seven treasures, and alongside each stairway were planted golden banana trees. At the head of the stairways, precious seats were placed, adorned and arranged with great skill, most delightful and endearing.

One large yojana in India equals forty li in our Chinese measurement, and one small yojana equals twenty li. The seven-jeweled ponds of the Land of Bliss are also spread with gold sand, and the water in those jeweled ponds possesses the eight virtues. The Sūtra of Immeasurable Life describes it thus: the water of the eight virtues follows the thoughts of sentient beings—if one wishes it to reach the knees, it reaches the knees; if one wishes it to reach the waist, it reaches the waist—clear, limpid, and soft, filling the jeweled ponds. Many buddha-lands in the worlds of the ten directions are inhabited by beings with blessings, while beings without the retribution of merit attract buddha-lands that are filthy, defiled, and impoverished. The nature of sentient beings' living environment is determined by their good roots and merit.