Here’s a 62-min recorded video (208MB .mp4 - Tip: tap-and-hold to “Download link”, or right click to “Save Link As…“).

Topics:

  • Buddhist cosmology, devas, heavens, heavenly lifespans, planes of existence, Mount Sineru, Mount Meru, Mount Kailasa, Luanti, VoxeLibre


Sutta References:

  • Ajahn Punnadhammo’s ebook “The Buddhist Cosmos” has a list of suttas from the Early Buddhist Texts, which give a sense of the role of devas, heavens, and other unseen beings:

    • Dīgha Nikāya 26 & 27, the Aggañña and Cakkavatti-Sīhanāda suttas which deal with cosmic time; origins, evolution and destruction.

    • Dīgha Nikāya 20, the Mahāsamaya Sutta recounts a visit of many devas and brahmās to the Buddha and includes a long list of their names. DN 32 is similar.

    • Dīgha Nikāya 18 recounts a visit of a brahmā being to the deva world.

    • Aṅguttara Nikāya 7:66 which deals with the end of the world-system

    • Aṅguttara Nikāya 3: 81 which is the best canonical description of the multiple world-systems

    • The Saṃyutta Nikāya has several sections dealing with specific types of beings; Devas (SN 1), Brahmās (6), Yakkhas (10), Nāgas (29), Supaṇṇas (30) and Gandhabbas (31)

    • The Majjhima Nikāya includes a few suttas with narrative portions relating to various aspects of the cosmological background. For example, MN 50 is a very interesting encounter between Māra and Moggallāna and MN 37 one between Moggallāna and Sakka.

    This list is very incomplete but should be sufficient to demonstrate that the basic framework of the cosmology is found in the canon itself, even if many details are added by the commentaries.

Other References:

  • Mount Kailash - called “Mount Sineru” (also “Mount Meru”) in Buddhist cosmology

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