Commentary on the Sutra of the Compendium of Fathers and Sons: Part XIV

From where does the hardness of the three thousand great thousand worlds originate?

Original Text: Then the great earth was formed, eighty-four thousand yojanas in thickness and sixty thousand yojanas in breadth and length. Then the encircling mountains, the great encircling mountains, were produced, firmly established like vajra. Then Mount Sumeru, Mount Yugandhara, Mount Nimindhara, Mount Isadhara, and even the Black Mountain were produced. Thus, the three thousand great thousand worlds were formed in sequence, firmly established. If there were no earth element, from where could that hardness come?

Explanation: After transforming the heavenly palaces, the Earth was then formed. The Earth's thickness is eighty-four thousand yojanas; 'yojana' is an Indian term. It represents an immense quantity, a number so vast it becomes uncountable, for which Indian language uses 'eighty-four thousand'. This signifies the great thickness of the entire Earth, while its breadth and length are sixty thousand yojanas each. The thickness being greater than the breadth indicates that the Earth is not perfectly round but oval-shaped. After the Earth was formed, the surrounding iron-encircling mountains beneath it were created, along with Mount Sumeru, Mount Yugandhara, Mount Nimindhara, Mount Isadhara, and even the Black Mountain.

Mount Sumeru stands half within the great ocean and half above it. The midway point of Mount Sumeru above the ocean is the realm of the Four Heavenly Kings, where the Four Great Heavenly Kings, the great Dharma protectors, reside guarding the four directions (east, south, west, north). Mount Sumeru is primarily formed from the earth element. The seven golden mountains beneath the four great oceans were also established, primarily composed of the earth element. Thus, the three thousand great thousand worlds gradually formed in sequence, extremely firm, like vajra, all possessing hardness, all formed from the earth element. If there were no earth great seed, no earth element, where could the hardness of those material things come from?