English
The Bodhisatta is the first man. Thus, with the Bodhisatta as the beginning, The Khattiya class was established, And gradually, The Brāhmaṇas and other classes were established. Thus, from the appearance of the moon and sun, Until the great cloud that destroys the aeon, This is called the fourth incalculable period, The enduring period of expansion. Therefore, it is said, "The cloud is surrounded by a net, The contraction." It is said, "The enduring period of contraction, Is surrounded by clouds." It is said, "The expansion is surrounded by the sun." It is said, "The enduring period of expansion, Is surrounded by the sun." These four aeons, Are called a great aeon. Buddhas and others arise, Only in the enduring aeon of expansion. For in this very incalculable aeon of expansion, Buddhas, Pacceka Buddhas, disciples, and wheel-turning monarchs arise, Not in the three incalculable aeons. And that is only in a non-empty aeon, Not in an empty aeon. There, because it is not empty, Due to Buddhas, Pacceka Buddhas, disciples, and wheel-turning monarchs, And virtuous individuals, It is called a non-empty aeon. The opposite of that, An empty aeon should be understood. Even among those non-empty aeons, There are five kinds: The essential aeon, The adorned aeon, The excellent aeon, The essential and adorned aeon, And the b. A haddakappa, in which only one Buddha arises, is called a sārakappa. In which kappa two Buddhas arise, that is called a maṇḍakappa. In which kappa three arise, that is called a varakappa. In which kappa four Buddhas arise, that is called a sāramaṇḍakappa. In which kappa five Buddhas arise, that is called a bhaddakappa. These five kappas alone, having been brought together, are the origin of such and such. "Nanda, Sunanda, Pathavī, Maṇḍa, Dharaṇī, Sāgara; Puṇḍarīka, these seven, are declared asaṅkhyeyyas. Five thousand Buddhas, are in Nanda asaṅkhyeyya; Nine thousand Buddhas, in Sunanda asaṅkhyeyya. Ten thousand Buddhas, in Pathavī asaṅkhyeyya; Eleven thousand, in that Maṇḍa asaṅkhyeyya. Twenty thousand Buddhas, in Dharaṇī asaṅkhyeyya; Thirty thousand Buddhas, in Sāgara asaṅkhyeyya. Forty thousand, in Puṇḍarīka asaṅkhyeyya; In the seven asaṅkhyeyyas, so many are said to be. One hundred thousand, and twenty thousand; And the remaining five thousand, adorned by all the Buddhas." It was said. Again it was said. "Bhadda, Sabbaphulla, Sabbaratana, Usabhakkhandha; Mānitabhadda and Paduma, Usabhakkhantuttama indeed; Sabbabhāsa asaṅkhyeyya, is said to be the ninth. Fifty thousand Buddhas, in Sabbabhadda asaṅkhyeyya; Sixty thousand Buddhas, in Sabbaphulla asaṅkhyeyya. Seventy thousand Buddhas, in Sabbaratana asaṅkhyeyya; Eighty thousand Buddhas, in Usabhakkhandha asaṅkhyeyya. Ninety thousand Buddhas, in Mānitabhadda asaṅkhyeyya; Twenty thousand Buddhas, in Paduma asaṅkhyeyya. Ten thousand Buddhas in Usabha asaṅkhyeyya; Five thousand Buddhas, in Khantuttama asaṅkhyeyya. Two thousand Buddhas, in Sabbabhāsa asaṅkhyeyya; In the nine asaṅkhyeyyas, so many are said to be. Three hundred Eighty-seven thousand hassas; And the enumeration of Buddhas, adorned by all Buddhas. All those perfectly enlightened Buddhas, up to the noble Metteyya, having gathered together, "Twenty-eight Buddhas, and twelve thousand; Five hundred thousand, I bow to with my head; Their Dhamma and Sangha, I respectfully venerate. By the power of this salutation, having abandoned all misfortunes; May countless dangers, completely vanish." This verse of salutation is said to have been made with an incomplete number, for our Blessed One, thinking in his mind from the ancient Brahmadeva Buddha up to the ancient Sakyagotta, seven incalculable aeons passed; from the ancient Sakyagotta Buddha up to the middle Dīpaṅkara, nine incalculable aeons passed by mere speech. From the middle Dīpaṅkara up to Padumuttara Buddha, four incalculable aeons passed by bodily and verbal action. From Padumuttara Buddha up to Kakusandha, one incalculable aeon passed. Thus, in these twenty incalculable aeons, between the Brahmadeva and ancient Sakyagotta Buddhas, summing up everything in the seven incalculable aeons, there are one hundred thousand, twenty thousand, and five thousand. Between the ancient Sakyagotta and middle Dīpaṅkara, summing up everything in the nine incalculable aeons, there are three hundred thousand and eighty-seven thousand. From the middle Dīpaṅkara up to Metteyya, gathering together twenty-eight, twelve thousand, and five hundred thousand, therefore it should be known as an incomplete number. Those who desire a complete number should contemplate it. And this consideration of numbers is stated in the Nidāna. Thus, "Seven incalculable aeons by thought, nine incalculable aeons by speech; Four incalculable aeons by body and speech, he attained Buddhahood." In the twenty incalculable aeons mentioned, it was made only according to the aeons that passed. But in reality, the essence-aeon, the maṇḍa-aeon, the vara-aeon, and the sā They should be understood as fivefold: ramaṇḍakappa, bhaddakappa, and so on. These five names are obtained only in a kappa when a Buddha arises. But in a kappa when no Buddha arises, it only gets the name "suññakappa." Thus, at the time of kappa formation, first, in the place of the Great Bodhi seat, a paduminigabbha arises. When a Buddha will arise, one paduminigabbha arises with the eight requisites. Seeing that, pure abode Brahmās, arahants who are interpreters of omens, with joy and gladness, knowing that a Buddha will arise in this kappa, take the eight requisites and place them in the Brahma world, saying, "When a Buddha arises, we will give them." Thus, when two, three, four, five Buddhas arise, then two, three, four, five paduminigabbhas arise with the eight requisites. And they arise bound to a single stalk each. Thus, from the time of kappa formation, these five names are obtained. So it should be understood. In this very vivaṭṭaṭṭhāyīasaṅkhyeyyakappa, Buddhas and other mighty ones, meritorious ones, and universal monarchs arise, as well as āyukappas and antarakappas. There, āyukappa is the lifespan limit of those beings. Antarakappa is when, due to the destruction by one of the plagues of weapons, disease, or famine, when many have perished, the remaining beings, due to the influence of non-arising wholesome deeds, from ten years onwards, gradually, in beings with a lifespan of asaṅkhyeyyakappas, then, due to the adoption of unrighteousness, gradually declining, when they are born with a lifespan of ten years, the attainment of the destruction of beings by one of the diseases and so on, this is one antarakappa. Thus, with a defined antarakappa, sixty-four antarakappas are one asaṅkhyeyyakappa; some say it is twenty antarakappas. These four asaṅkhyeyyakappas are called one mahākappa. Thus, up to the end of the mahākappas due to the destruction by fire. It perishes by fire. But when the aeon perishes by water, then the great aeon-destroying cloud arises, and should be expanded in the manner previously stated. But this is the difference: just as there was a second sun there, so here, the aeon-destroying saline water cloud arises, and at first raining lightly, gradually with great torrents, it rains, filling a hundred thousand million world-systems. The earth, mountains, and so on, touched by the saline water, dissolve. That water, carried by the wind on all sides, from the earth up to the Realm of Streaming Radiance, the Realm of Unbounded Radiance, and the Realm of Splendor, these three, the second jhana realm, the water engulfs. There, having dissolved those three Brahma-worlds, striking the Realm of All-Lovely, it remains, until there is an atom of conditioned things, it does not cease. But having overcome all conditioned things, following the water, it suddenly ceases, disappears. Below, with the sky, above, the sky becomes one, a great darkness, all is just as said before. Only here, the appearance of the world should be understood, with the Realm of Streaming Radiance as the beginning, in the descending water. Having passed away from the Realm of All-Lovely, beings are reborn in the Realm of Streaming Radiance and so on. Here also, from the great aeon-destroying cloud up to the limit of the aeon-destroying water, the contraction is called the first incalculable aeon, and the forty incalculable aeons are as previously stated. Thus, seven great aeons, having been destroyed seven times by fire, in the eighth great aeon, destruction and stability are to be understood by water also. Thus, the seven-seventh great aeon, having been destroyed seven-seven times by fire, in the eighth-eighth turn, having been destroyed by water, gradually sixty-three great aeons are completed. Then, having repelled the turn of water, in the sixty-fourth great aeon, it perishes by wind. Then, from the beginning, the great aeon-destroying wind arises, and all is in the manner previously stated. But this is the difference: just as in the aeon of destruction by fire there was a second sun, so here also, the aeon-destroying... The wind arises and first lifts fine dust, then coarse dust, fine sand, and gravel, even stones the size of a pavilion, and large trees standing in uneven places. These rise from the earth to the sky and do not fall back down; they are crushed to powder there and vanish. In due order, the wind arises from the great earth below, overturns the earth, throws it upside down into the sky. Even regions of the earth a hundred yojanas in extent, or two, three, four, five, six, or seven yojanas in size, are broken apart and, hurled by the force, are crushed to powder in the sky and vanish. The wind even lifts the Cakkavāḷa mountains and throws them into the sky; colliding with each other, they are crushed to powder and destroyed. In this way, destroying earthly and aerial mansions, annihilating the six sensual heavens, it destroys hundreds of thousands of millions of world-systems.