| frame | An illustration of our [[world system]] Four continents (Tib. གླིང་བཞི་, ling shyi, Wyl. gling bzhi) — the four island-continents (Skt. dvīpa; Tib. གླིང་, Wyl. gling) which surround Mount Meru according to the cosmology of the Abhidharma. They are:
- Purvavideha in the East, which is semi-circular and white in colour;
- Jambudvipa in the South, which is trapezoidal and blue (this is the continent we human beings live in);
- Aparagodaniya in the West, which is circular and ruby red; and
- Uttarakuru in the North, which is square and green.
Each of the four continents is flanked by two subcontinents (Skt. kṣudradvīpāni; Tib. གླིང་ཕྲན་, ling tren; Wyl. gling phran) of the same shape (see eight subcontinents).
Apart from the Chamara subcontinent of Jambudvipa, which is inhabited by rakshasa demons, all the other island-continents are inhabited by human beings of different characteristics, life styles and life-spans. Each continent also has a specific attribute (see four attributes of the four continents).
Further Reading
- Jamgön Kongtrul, Myriad Worlds (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1995), pages 110-113 & 138-140, ISBN 978-1559391887
Category of Three Realms of Samsara Category of Cosmology Category of Abhidharma Category of Enumerations Category of 04-Four