Yogacara Treatise Chapter on Kalpas Verses (瑜伽論劫章頌)

The Sequence, Names, and Lengths of Kalpas: Formation, Abiding, Destruction, and Emptiness, with Their Beginnings and Ends The other three are indefinite and cannot be measured, so we discuss the length based on the Abiding Kalpa.

First, all sentient beings are born in Jambudvīpa. At the end of the Formation Kalpa and the beginning of the Abiding Kalpa, human lifespan is immeasurable. It decreases until it reaches ten years at the end of the Decreasing Kalpa. Thereafter, it decreases by one year every hundred years, with 84,000 years being the maximum. From that point, lifespan doubles each generation until it returns to 84,000 years. One increase and one decrease constitute one kalpa. When the count reaches twenty, the Abiding Kalpa ends. This Abiding Kalpa is called the Bhadrakalpa (Auspicious Kalpa). The ninth kalpa among these twenty is when Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kāśyapa arise. At a lifespan of 100 years, Śākyamuni appears. When human lifespan is 300,000 years, famine occurs, lasting for seven years, seven months, and seven days, with many dying and bones piled high. At a lifespan of twenty years, disease spreads, lasting for seven months and seven days before the calamity ends. At ten years, warfare breaks out, with killing and injury for seven days and seven nights. The remaining few people do not perish entirely; terrified by disasters, they create merit and extend their lives. Lifespan then doubles each generation until it reaches 84,000 years. From that Decreasing Kalpa, Maitreya will arise. In the fifteenth Decreasing Kalpa, 994 Buddhas will appear. Later, near the end of the Abiding Kalpa, the Buddha Rucika will arise. In the final phase of the Abiding Kalpa, there is only an Increasing Kalpa. People grow weary of the world and delight in meditation. When no beings are born in the Avīci hell, the Destruction Kalpa begins, starting from the First Dhyāna. The three lower realms—hells, hungry ghosts, and animals—are emptied. The continents of Uttarakuru, Pūrvavideha, and Aparagodānīya, along with Jambudvīpa, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the Trāyastriṃśa heaven, become empty. The six desire heavens are gradually abandoned. From Avīci to Parinirmita-vaśavartin, the time spans nineteen increase-decrease cycles, the same as before. When the lower realms are empty of sentient beings, the sun becomes four times hotter than usual. Ponds and pools dry up, plants wither. With the appearance of two or three suns, rivers and streams dry up. With four or five suns, oceans and springs exhaust. With six or seven suns, mountains and rocks melt. Then the great earth blazes with intense heat, and the three-thousandfold world becomes a mass of fierce fire. The flames surge upward, reaching the Brahma worlds. The gods flee to the Second Dhyāna. The Brahmakāyika and Brahmapurohita gods ascend in sequence. The three-thousandfold world is reduced to ashes. From the emergence of the earth fire until the Brahma gods depart, one increase-decrease cycle passes. Nineteen are called the destruction of beings; one kalpa is discussed briefly as the destruction of the vessel. From this, emptiness is like a black hole, again lasting twenty increase-decrease cycles. After this period of emptiness, the Formation Kalpa arises. Mahābrahmā first establishes it. He dwells alone for one increase-decrease cycle, then from his thoughts arise ministers and beings to assist sentient beings. The desire realm and four formless realms, both beings and vessels, are established in sequence from above. Below, gentle winds gradually arise. Celestial beings proclaim the beginning of the kalpa. Thus, gradually, great winds arise, solid as vajra, unbreakable. Their breadth is beyond calculation, their boundaries like the shape of a disc. Their depth is sixteen lakhs (1,600,000) yojanas. Below this wind circle lies the foundation of the world. From the Ābhāsvara heaven, golden clouds spread, covering the wind circle of the great thousandfold world. Rain falls in torrents like axle rods, pouring water that fills the realm. Below, eight lakhs (800,000) yojanas of water solidify into vajra, three hundred twenty thousand yojanas thick, and four times broader. Twelve thousand three hundred forty and a half yojanas, all measured in yojanas, should be known. The water circle’s breadth is likewise. Again, rain increases the depth and breadth. The celestial abodes are formed from above in sequence. Great winds churn to form mountains and lands. Sumeru, the seven golden mountains, and fresh waters are formed. The other mountains and lands are formed from turbid moisture. The waters within the seven mountains are all sweet. The seas outside the four continents are salty. Mountains and lands have coarse and subtle distinctions. When the vessel world is thus established, beings from the Second Dhyāna, their merit exhausted, are born in Jambudvīpa. Their bodies are a thousand or two thousand feet tall, radiant and luminous, capable of flight. They feed on earth-crust, earth-essence, and cakes, fragrant and flavorful, sustaining the gods. Later, they gradually become greedy, competing to take more. The earth-crust vanishes, and forest vines appear. Later, competing for forest vines, rice appears. Hoarding leads to loss, and fragrant rice grows. As food becomes coarser, waste is produced. At that time, distinctions between male and female arise. Due to indulging in attachment, bodily radiance fades. The world darkens, losing its light. The Bodhisattva, out of compassion, creates the sun and moon. Competing for fragrant rice, greed for land benefits arises. Thus, theft begins. They jointly appoint a landowner and establish boundaries. Knowing the borders, they distribute land equally. The landowner becomes arrogant, oppressing the weak, leading to the emergence of armies and punishments. Killing, lying, sexual misconduct, and frivolous speech increase. The ten unwholesome deeds are fully accumulated. After death, they fall into hungry ghost, animal, and Avīci hell realms. Seeing these evil destinies, wholesome actions do not arise. The northern, eastern, and western continents, the Four Heavenly Kings, Trāyastriṃśa heaven, and celestial abodes—through cultivation, beings gradually are born there. Thus, the Formation Kalpa concludes. From Mahābrahmā to Trāyastriṃśa, both sentient beings and the vessel are established. Formation, Destruction, and Emptiness are equal to the Abiding Kalpa, again lasting twenty increase-decrease cycles. Beings in Avīci experience one increase-decrease cycle. Dragon kings experience retribution similarly. Brahmakāyika gods experience twenty increase-decrease cycles. Brahmapurohita gods are included in forty increase-decrease cycles. Mahābrahmā experiences sixty increase-decrease cycles. Born first and abandoned later, thus it should be known. Days, months, years, and small kalpas are included in the two, four, and six increase-decrease cycles. Eighty are called a great kalpa. Fire, water, and wind disasters occur in sequence. After seven fire disasters, one water disaster occurs. Between seven fires, there are seven waters. The first two dhyānas are burned and flooded. Wind disasters can destroy the third dhyāna. The fourth dhyāna cannot be destroyed. Fire, water, and wind disasters are counted, but their number cannot reach the measure of asaṃkhyeya kalpas. This great kalpa is three asaṃkhyeyas. When the Bodhisattva is about to attain perfect enlightenment.