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'''Four continents''' (Tib. ''gling bzhi'') - the four continents which surround [[Mount Meru]] according to the cosmology of the [[Abhidharma]] are:
[[Image:Four Continents.jpg|frame|An illustration of our [[world]] system]]
'''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:


*Purva Videha (Lüpakpo) in the East, which is semi-circular
#[[Purvavideha]] in the East, which is semi-circular and white in colour;
*[[Jambudvipa]] (Dzambuling) in the South, which is trapezoidal
#[[Jambudvipa]] in the South, which is trapezoidal and blue (this is the continent we human beings live in);
*Aparagodaniya (Balangchö) in the West, which is circular
#[[Aparagodaniya]] in the West, which is circular and ruby red; and
*Uttarakura (Draminyen) in the North, which is square
#[[Uttarakuru]] in the North, which is square and green.


Each of the four continents is flanked by two subcontinents of the same shape.
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
[[Category:Three Realms of Samsara]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Abhidharma]]
[[Category:Enumerations]]
[[Category:Enumerations]]
[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:04-Four]]

Latest revision as of 10:54, 9 September 2023

An illustration of our world system

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:

  1. Purvavideha in the East, which is semi-circular and white in colour;
  2. Jambudvipa in the South, which is trapezoidal and blue (this is the continent we human beings live in);
  3. Aparagodaniya in the West, which is circular and ruby red; and
  4. 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