【院生ゼミ】12月7日
【大学院】
This week, we discuss the Buddhist cosmology and the Six Realms of Existence by looking at some of the traditional Buddhist paintings from different parts of Asia.
The Buddhist cosmology is characterized by Mount Sumeru (須弥山) towering at the center, surrounded by seven concentric mountain ranges and seas, which are in turn surrounded by the vast ocean. In the ocean, there are four continents in the four cardinal directions. The southern continent, called Jambudvipa (閻浮提), is resided by the people, as we know as Indians.
On the summit of the mountain are the thirty-three residences of gods, with that of the head of the gods, Indra, located at the center. The sun and the moon rotate around in the middle of Mount Sumeru, creating day and night for the people living on the continent. The residences of the higher beings float above the summit of the mountain, producing an impression of layers of space stations.
Six realms of existence are located in this cosmological space. They are:
In Tibetan paintings of the wheel of life, we can observe the gods residing at the top of Mout Meru, defending themselves from the attack of asuras from below. A person will transmigrate from one realm to another as he or she dies and is re-born endlessly until ultimately getting released from this wheel of life through the attainment of enlightenment. The realm of existence is determined by the person's past actions, which are often negatively motivated by greed, hatred, and ignorance.
Next week, we will discuss Borobudur's mandala arrangement of the Buddha statues before turning into Hindu narratives.