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Kappas

Aeon, age, epoch, long period of time

4 main kappas

  • āyukappa: lifespan of beings in each realm
  • antara- / cūḷa / manvantara- kappa: period it takes for the human lifespan to vary from asaṅkheyya to 10 years and back
  • asaṅkheyyakappa: 1/4 of a mahākappa
  • mahākappa: a world cycle

Āyukappa

Lifespan relative to each realm.

  • human lifespan fluctuates between asaṅkheyya and 10 years during an antarakappa
  • lifespan at the Buddha’s time: 100 years
    • AN: etarahi, bhikkhave, yo ciraṃ jīvati so vassasataṃ appaṃ vā bhiyyo

lifespan of Buddhas

  • normally, 4/5th of the lifespan of the period in which they appear, but they can extend it to 5/5th or even 6/5th if they are requested.
    • so ākaṅkhamāno, ānanda, tathāgato kappaṃ vā tiṭṭheyya kappāvasesaṃ vā
  • notes:
    • saṅghabhedakamma leads to niraya for a kappa, while uniting the saṅgha leads to sagga for a kappa: here, āyukappa of those destinations

Antara- / Cūḷa- / Manvantara-kappa

reason for being called manvantara

  • due to there being a king named Manu at the beginning of each antarakappa
    • prmdpn: antarakappo nāma ekassa vivaṭṭhaṭṭhāyi-asaṅkheyyassa abbhantare manussānaṃ āyukappassa hāyana-vaḍḍhana-vasena dissamānantarā catusaṭṭhippabhedā cūḷakappā vuccanti
    • Prd.: … ye loke manvantara-kappā’ti vuccanti. Ekamekena manunāmakena mahāsammatarājena upalakkhitā antarakappā’ti vuttaṃ hoti

3 antarakappas (sattavināsa)

  • satthantarakappa (the interstice of weapons; our present antarakappa)
  • rogantarakappa (the interstice of disease)

  • dubbhikkhantarakappa (the interstice of famine)

  • satthantarakappa – cause, common destination

    • cause: occurs due to excess dosa

    • common destination: most beings end up in niraya since they die with strong hatred in the mind

    • how it happens

      • there is a rainfall
      • those who are not in strict seclusion get in contact with it and become infuriated
      • weapons appear in their hands (or whatever object they take becomes a weapon)
      • most beings kill each other

      • those in strict seclusion survive and develop saṁvega and begin to abstain from killing; due to that, the lifespan gradually increases

      • rainfalls related to the topic of kappas

        • sattavināsa’s rainfall which happens before the sattavināsa at the end of each antarakappa (confirm whether it happens in all 3 or only in sattha)
        • vipattikara mahāmegha: the rainfall that marks the beginning of the great destruction
        • sampattikara mahāmegha: the rainfall that marks the beginning of the period of genesis

  • rogantarakappa – cause, common destination

    • cause: occurs due to excess rāga
      • overindulgence in food and sense pleasures;
      • cakkavattisutta: due to moha
    • common destination: most beings end up in sagga since they die with a benevolent mind that tend to occur when experiencing suffering thinking, “may others not experience such suffering!”

  • dubbhikkhantarakappa – cause, common destination

    • cause: occurs due to excess moha, causing the destruction of natural resources leading to severe shortages of food and wate
      • cakkavattisutta: due to rāga
    • common destination: most beings are reborn in pettivisaya since they die with strong desire for food and drinks
    • notes:
      • cakkavattisutta-a: dosa, moha, and rāga, respectively
        • tattha lobhussadāya pajāya dubbhikkhantarakappo hoti. mohussadāya rogantarakappo. dosussadāya satthantarakappo

  • extra notes

    • in the darker periods of humanity, those who kill their parents are praised

aggañña- and cakkavattisīhanāda- suttas

they explain the beginning of the world and how it evolves

  • aggaññasutta
    • humans are born spontaneously from the brahma world; they have no sexual distinction, can move freely, and feed on happiness; with the elapse of time, their glory decreases, and with the increase in defilements, the lifespan gradually reduces down to 10 years; at that time, the sattavināsa occurs (sattha / roga / dubbhikkha); after it, humans reflect on what happened and begin to develop saṁvega and undertake moral precepts of abstaining from killing, etc., and gradually the lifespan increases up to asaṅkheyya, again to decrease, as humanity gradually slacks in virtue
  • cakkavattisutta
    • in the next antarakappa, when the human lifespan drops down to 80,000, the Buddha Metteyya will appear in a Kingdom called Ketumatī in Jambudīpa

period of appearance of Buddhas

  • Na hi buddhā vaḍḍhamāne āyumhi nibbattanti, hāyamāne pana nibbattanti: Buddhas only appear during the declining period of the human lifespan
  • Buddhas always appear in successive antarakappas (tbc)

ratio of drop in human lifespan

  • every 100 years, 1 year drops
  • notes:
    • it seems that it may vary, because if only 1 year drops every 100, during the period in which the lifespan of humans is asaṅkheyya, it would be a too-big difference between generations

when the next sattavināsa will occur

at a ratio of 1 year drop every 100 years, it will happen 9.000 years after the Buddha (~6.400 from now)

Asaṅkheyyakappa

asaṅkheyyakappa vs. asaṅkheyyasaṅkhyā

  • asaṅkheyyakappa:
    • 1/4th of a mahākappa
    • 20 / 64 anatarakappas
  • asaṅkheyyasaṅkhyā:
    • kaccāyana: 10*140
      • 1.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000
    • saddanīti: lower number
    • cariyapiṭaka: “uncountable”
    • note: atoms in the observable universe: 10*70 to 80
    • number of papers to the moon: 10*23

length

measured in antarakappas

  • kathāvatthu: 20 antarakappas
  • most other comm: 64 antarakappas
  • some teachers (prmdpn): 80 antarakappas
  • vedic: 14 antarakappas
  • note: all 4 asaṅkheyyakappas are of equal duration, generally speaking

2 mahāmeghas

  • vipattikara mahāmegha: the great diluge that marks the beginning of the great destruction of the world and the saṁvaṭṭakappa
  • sampattikara mahāmegha: the great diluge that marks the beginning of the genesis of the world and the vivaṭṭakappa
  • …VMM ‒ EX EL ‒ SMM ‒ S & M - VMM…

4 types

  • saṃvaṭṭakappa (the aeon of dissolution, contraction)
  • saṁvaṭṭaṭṭhāyīkappa (the aeon of absence)
  • vivaṭṭakappa (the aeon of generation, expansion, evolution)

  • vivaṭṭaṭṭhāyīkappa (the aeon of existence, persistence)

  • possible forms of life during each period

    • saṃvaṭṭakappa: realms and beings from niraya to the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd brahma realms are gradually destroyed
    • saṁvaṭṭaṭṭhāyīkappa: non-dissolved brahmas and lokantarikaniraya beings
    • vivaṭṭakappa: realms and beings from the dissolved brahma realms down to niraya gradually regenerate
    • vivaṭṭaṭṭhāyīkappa: all forms of life are possible
      • most beings are in apāya or brahma realms

  • saṃvaṭṭakappa

    time period that takes for the great destruction of koṭisatasahassa (1 T) cakkavāḷas

    • beginning: vipattikara mahāmegha
    • end: extinguishment of the element that causes the destruction (tejo, āpo, or vāyo)
    • cause for destruction: evil power (pāpa bala) of current inhabitants
    • notes:
      • different from the destruction at the end of an antarakappa
      • koṭisatasahassa: 10 M x 100 x 1 k = 1 T

    • 3 types

      • tejo saṁvaṭṭo
        • when humans have abundant rāga
      • āpo saṁvaṭṭo
        • khāra udaka: caustic alkaline water that is exceedingly sharp & corrosive
        • when humans have abundant dosa
      • vāyo saṁvaṭṭo
        • when humans have abundant moha
      • notes:
        • above is acc. to srtdpn-ṭ
          • (:q: why does it depend on what humans have?)
        • another opinion:
          • tejo due to hatred, āpo due to rāga

      • what happens to beings during this period

        • kāmaduggati beings
          • most are born in kāmasugati, attain jhānas, and are reborn in the brahma realms
          • those who have strong wrong views go to lokantarikaniraya, where they spend the saṁvaṭṭa-, saṁvaṭṭaṭṭhāyī-, and vivaṭṭa-kappas
        • kāmasugati beings
          • most develop jhāna before the great destruction and are born in brahma realms, where they spend the saṁvaṭṭa-, saṁvaṭṭaṭṭhāyī-, and vivaṭṭa-kappas
        • rūpāvacara beings
          • those in realms that are to be destroyed attain higher jhānas and are reborn in higher realms
          • those in other realms remain there

    • 3 saṁvaṭṭasīmās

      saṁvaṭṭasīmā: vertical boundaries of the destruction

      • ābhassarā (tejo saṁvaṭṭo): kāmabhūmi and 1st jhāna realms are destroyed by fire
      • subhakiṇhā (āpo saṁvaṭṭo): kāmabhūmi, 1st and 2nd jhāna realms are destroyed by water
      • vehapphalā (vāyo saṁvaṭṭo): kāmabhūmi, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd jhāna realms are destroyed by wind
      • notes:
        • saṃvaṭṭana mariyādā: boundary demarcating destruction extent
        • the sīmā itself is not included in the respective destruction
        • these are vertical boundaries, but in the horizontal plane, an entire āṇākkhetta is destroyed simultaneously
          • vitthārato pana sadāpi ekaṃ (āṇā) buddhakkhettaṃ vinassati
        • srtdpn:
          • eteneva upāyena yāva paṭhamajjhānabhūmiṃ gaṇhāti, tattha tayo’pi brahmaloke jhāpetvā ābhassare āhacca tiṭṭhati
          • upari pana cha’pi brahmaloke vilīyāpetvā subhakiṇhe āhacca tiṭṭhati
          • paṭhavito yāva tatiyajjhānabhūmi vāto gaṇhāti, nava’pi brahmaloke vināsetvā vehapphale āhacca tiṭṭhati

      • 3 buddhakkhettas

        • jātikkhettaṃ (birth field): 10.000 cakkavāḷas which tremble at such occasions as the birth of the bodhisatta
          • tattha jātikkhettaṃ dasasahassacakkavāḷapariyantaṃ hoti, yaṃ tathāgatassa paṭisandhiādīsu kampati
          • modern parallel: multiple solar systems
        • āṇākkhettaṃ (command field): 1 T cakkavāḷas in which the parittas are effective and that originate and are destroyed simultaneously
          • koṭisatasahassacakkavāḷapariyantaṃ hoti. yattha ratanaparittaṃ, khandhaparittaṃ, dhajaggaparittaṃ, āṭānāṭiyaparittaṃ, moraparittanti imesaṃ parittānaṃ ānubhāvo pavattati
          • modern parallel: galaxy
        • visayakkhettaṁ (objective field): limitless
          • visayakkhettaṃ pana anantaṃ aparimāṇaṃ

    • frequency of each saṁvaṭṭakappa

      • 7 x by fire
      • every 8th by water
      • on the 64th time, once by wind
      • TTTTTTTĀ TTTTTTTĀ TTTTTTTĀ TTTTTTTĀ TTTTTTTĀ TTTTTTTĀ TTTTTTTĀ TTTTTTTV
      • 7(7T + Ā) + (7T + V) = 64
      • *sattasattagginā vārā, aṭṭhame aṭṭhame dakā

      catusaṭṭhi yadā puṇṇā, eko vāyuvāro siyā* agginābhassarā heṭṭhā, āpena subhakiṇhato vehapphalato vātena, evaṃ loko vinassati

    • notes on cessation

      • cessations that does not require cause
        • sarasanirodha: natural cessation of saṅkhāras that does not require cause
      • being’s continuum ceases through causes/conditions
      • bhājana loka (material world): okāsaloka
        • must cease through causal conditions’

  • saṃvaṭṭaṭṭhāyīkappa

    time period in which the dissolved realms remain so

    • beginning: extinguishment of the respective element that causes the great destruction
    • end: beginning of the sampattikara mahāmegha when the world systems start to regenerate

  • vivaṭṭakappa

    the period that takes for the world systems to regenerate

    • beginning: sampattikara mahāmegha
    • end: appearance of the sun and moon
    • cause for regeneration: meritorious power (puñña bala) of future inhabitants

  • vivaṭṭaṭṭhāyīkappa

    period in which the regenerated realms persist and most type of existences are possible

    • beginning: appearance of the sun and moon
    • end: vipattikara mahāmegha

  • note

    • niyāmadīpanī: book on the topic

Mahākappa

period of time of 4 asaṅkheyyakappas that takes for an āṇakkhetta of cakkavāḷas dissolve and be regenerated

length and similes

  • mahākappa: 4 asaṅkheyyakappas
  • the 1 cubic yojana mountain rubbed by the kāsi cloth once every 100 years
  • sāsapasutta: the 1 cubic yojana iron city (surrounded with an iron wall 1-yojana long, wide and high) filled with mustard seeds; 1 seed is removed every 100 years

# of kappas in the past – 2 similes

  • sāvakasutta: 4 disciples recollecting 100 k mahākappas each every day (400 k kappas a day) for 100 years: they would die before finding a beginning
  • gaṅgāsutta: there are more kappas in the past than grains of sand in the Ganges

5 (+1) types acc. to # of Buddhas

  • (extra) suññakappa (empty aeon): no Buddhas appear; most common
    • presence of paccekabuddhas
      • comm: no
      • Ledi: yes, based on apadāna and cakkavattirājā
  • sārakappa (excellent aeon): 1 Buddha appears
  • maṇḍakappa (decorated aeon): 2 Buddhas appear
  • sāramaṇḍakappa (excellent and decorated aeon): 3 Buddhas appear
  • varakappa (wonderful aeon): 4 Buddhas appear
  • bhaddakappa (auspicious aeon): 5 Buddhas appear
  • notes:
    • other methods:
      • sāra, vara (2 or 3 Buddhas), maṇḍa, bhadda
      • sāra, maṇḍa, vara, sāramaṇḍa, bhadda
    • ap-a: sārakappo maṇḍakappo, sāramaṇḍakappo tathā Varakappo bhaddakappo, kappapañcavidhā siyuṃ Eko dve tayo cattāro, pañca buddhā yathākkamaṃ etesu pañcakappesu, uppajjanti vināyakā

chronicle of the 24 most recent Buddhas

mk ago kappa Buddhas Prophecy
4 asky 100 k vara Taṇhaṅkara Bodhisatta
    Medhaṅkara Sumedha
    Saraṇaṅkara receives
    Dīpaṅkara prophecy
(1 asky) suñña - -
3 asky 100 k sāra Koṇḍañña  
(1 asky) suñña - -
2 asky 100 k vara Maṅgala  
    Sumana  
    Revata  
    Sobhita  
(1 asky) suñña - -
1 asky 100 k sāramaṇḍa Anomadassī aggasāvakas
    Paduma receive
    Narada prophecy
(1 asky) suñña - -
100 k sāra Padumuttara mahāsāvakas
      receive
      prophecy
(70 k) suñña - -
30 k maṇḍa Sumedha  
    Sujāta  
(12 k) suñña - -
18 k sāramaṇḍa Piyadassī  
    Atthadassī  
    Dhammadassī  
(17.906) suñña - -
94 k sāra Siddhattha  
(1) suñña - -
92 k maṇḍa Tissa  
    Phussa  
91 k sāra Vipassī  
(60) suñña - -
31 k maṇḍa Sikhī  
    Vessabhū  
(30) suñña - -
present bhadda Kakusandha  
    Koṇāgamana  
    Kassapa  
    Gotama  
    Metteyya  
  • mem aid:
    • 41, 43, 123, 12, 124
    • suññas: 1, 1, 1, 1, 100 k, 30 k, 18 k, 94, 92, 91, 31