Wednesday, October 24, 2018

The five world Cycles that Buddhas Appear (Buddha Kappa)



Kappa or aeon is an incalculable time period that can generally be taken as world cycles. Once Buddha discoursed few similes to show the longevity of an aeon, two such similes are;   
  • Suppose there was a solid mass, of rock or hill, one yojana (sixteen miles) in length, width and height. Once every hundred years, a man will come and stroke it once with a piece of silk cloth. That mass of rock would be worn away and ended sooner than would an aeon.
  • Suppose there was a perimeter of iron walls, one yojana in length, width and height, & filled with mustard-seeds to the brim. Every hundred years a man will come and remove a one mustard-seed.  That great pile of mustard-seed would be emptied and ended sooner than would an aeon.

Sometimes Buddhas will appear & exist in an aeon or some aeons are can be there without Buddhas, such aeons are called suñña kappa (empty or void aeon). An aeon in which one or more Buddhas appear is called a Buddha kappa. There are five types of Buddha kappas or aeons based on the appearing of Buddhas, namely:

• Sara kappa - in which only one Buddha appears
• Manda kappa - in which two Buddhas appear
• Vara kappa - in which three Buddhas appear
• Saramanda kappa - in which four Buddhas appear
• Bhadda kappa - in which five Buddhas appear

The present kappa is a Bhadda (auspicious) kappa; of its five Buddhas, four have already appeared, namely: Kakusada, Konagamana, Kassapa and Gotama, the fifth Mettaya has yet to appear. The interval of time that elapses between one Buddha kappa and the next can vary from one kappa to one asankheyya of kappas. ‘Asankheyya’ literally means ‘innumerable’, 1 is followed by 140 zeros!

May all beings be well and happy & attain the fruit of Nibbana.

Suranda Weediyage
BA, Tripitakachariya, Dip in Pali/ Buddhism (Pali & Buddhist University of Sri Lanka), HNDBF,
surandalk@gmail.com
http://www.thebuddhadhamma.wordpress.com

No comments:

Post a Comment