53.
All good and bad men are distinguished even by their attributes; in the eyes of those wanting in discrimination no difference is seen.
54.
Seven times is the destruction by fire for one by water; on the sixty-fourth occasion the time for destruction by air arrives.[1]
55.
Destruction by fire is below the Âbhassara heaven, by water below the Subhakiṇha; destruction by air below
- ↑ The Buddhistic doctrine of the world's destruction and reproduction is peculiar. The moral causes which destroy the world are lust, anger, and ignorance, and the physical forces they give rise to in bringing about the result are fire, water, and wind. Intimation is given of the approaching dissolution a hundred thousand years before the event by angels from one or other of the Devalokas. At the same time they urge upon mankind to practise virtue and do such deeds as will ensure their safety in the Rupa and Arupa worlds, which will not be involved in the destruction of the earth. When destruction by fire is to take place, all plants and vegetables will perish from drought, the sun and moon will cease to shine, other suns will make their appearance and dry up everything. When the sixth sun appears, some millions of islands will open and send forth smoke and flames. Eventually Mount Meru, with all the deva worlds, will be consumed. The fire will cease only when all matter is completely devoured by the flames. Periodically, heavy and continuous showers of rain will fall and destroy the world, and the destruction may also be brought about by wind according to a certain routine. After the destruction of the world takes place six-four times, the series will begin again. The following is the general plan:—
I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. Destruction by fire, 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 = 56 = 64 times Destruction by water, 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 7 Destruction by wind, · · · · · 1 = 1 For every seven times the world is destroyed by fire, destruction by water takes place once until the eighth occasion of the destruction by fire occurs. It is then destroyed by wind. For details regarding the periodic destruction and renovation of the world, see Hardy's "Manual of Buddhism," i. 12; Bigandet's "The Legend of the Burmese Buddha," vol. i. p. 22; and Sangermano's "Burmese Empire," v.
