View source for Trichiliocosm

'''Trichiliocosm''' (Tib. སྟོང་གསུམ་, ''tong sum''; [[Wyl.]] ''stong gsum'') — following ancient Indian cosmology, the Buddhist [[Abhidharma]] literature explains that there are an infinite number of [[world]]s. 

Each world has at its centre a [[Mount Meru]] surrounded by seven oceans and [[seven mountain ranges|seven rings of golden mountains]] separating them. Outside are the [[four continents]] and [[eight subcontinents]] (two out at sea, left and right of each of the continents). We humans live on the southern continent called “[[Jambudvipa]]”. This entire world is then surrounded by the outer iron mountains. 

One thousand of such worlds constitute a 'thousandfold world system' (Skt. ''sāhasracūḍikalokadhātu''). A thousand of these makes up a 'second-order thousandfold world system' (Skt. ''dvitīyamadhyama sāhasralokadhātu''). Then, when multiplied a thousand times further, this makes a 'third-order world system' or ''''trichiliocosm'''', a universe of a billion worlds (Skt. ''trisāhasra mahāssāhasralokadhātu'';  Tib. སྟོང་གསུམ་གྱི་འཇིག་རྟེན་ཁམས་, Wyl. ''stong gsum gyi 'jig rten khams''). It is said that a single [[supreme nirmanakaya]] [[buddha]] has mastery over such a world system. 

==Alternative Terms/Translations==
*a billion-fold universe
*a third-order thousand world system
*a third-order great universal system of one thousand million worlds
*a cosmos of a billion universes
*a billion-fold world-system

==Internal Links==
*[[Saha world]]

==Further Reading==
*[[Jamgön Kongtrul]], ''Myriad Worlds'' (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1995), pages 102-3, ISBN 978-1559391887

[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Abhidharma]]