སྟོང་གསུམ་གྱི་སྟོང་ཆེན་པོ། | Glossary of Terms

A series of parallel universes containing one billion worlds, according to traditional Indian cosmology.

The largest universe spoken of in Buddhist cosmology, consisting of one billion smaller world systems.

A “thrice thousandfold universe,” i.e., a billionfold universe, sometimes called a “third-order great chiliocosm” (tṛtīya­mahā­sāhasra­loka­dhātu), consisting of a billion worlds, i.e. a million chiliocosms (q.v.), or a thousand dichiliocosms (q.v.). Explained in UT22084-047-001-291.

A very large universe.

A universe comprised of a thousand groups of a thousand groups of a thousand worlds, each being a flat disk with its own sun and moon and central mountain.

A universe composed of a thousand groups of a thousand groups of a thousand worlds, each being a flat disk with its own sun and moon and central mountain.

The largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology. This term, in Abhidharma cosmology, refers to 1,000³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvi­sāhasra­mahā­sāhasra­loka­dhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems, each with its own Mount Meru, continents, sun, and moon, as well as desire, form, and formless realms, heavens of gods, etc.

The largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology. This term, in Abhidharma cosmology, refers to 1,000³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvisāhasra­mahā­sāhasra­loka­dhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems.

A term from Abhidharma cosmology referring to one thousand dichiliocosms, or one billion world systems.

The largest universe spoken of in Buddhist cosmology, consisting of one billion smaller world systems.

The largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology. This term, in Abhidharma cosmology, refers to 1,000³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvi­sāhasra­mahā­sāhasra­loka­dhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems, each with its own Mount Meru, continents, sun, and moon, as well as desire, form and formless realms, heavens of gods, etc.

This term in Abhidharma cosmology refers to 1,000³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms,” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvi­sāhasra­mahā­sāhasra­loka­dhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems, each with its own Mt. Meru, continents, sun, and moon, as well as desire, form, and formless realms, heavens of gods, etc.

A term from Abhidharma cosmology referring to one thousand dichiliocosms, or one billion world systems.

The world system of a thousand million (10 to the power of 3) worlds.

A universe containing one billion world systems.

A “thrice thousandfold universe,” i.e. a billionfold universe, sometimes called a “third-order great chiliocosm” (tṛtīya­mahā­sāhasra­loka­dhātu), consisting of a billion worlds, i.e. a million chiliocosms (q.v.), or a thousand dichiliocosms (q.v.). In the verse of the Tibetan source the term has been abbreviated to stong gsum.

The largest universe spoken of in Buddhist cosmology, consisting of one billion worlds.

The largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology. This term, in Abhidharma cosmology, refers to 1,000³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvi­sāhasra­mahā­sāhasra­loka­dhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems, each with its own Mount Meru, continents, sun, and moon, as well as desire, form and formless realms, heavens of gods, etc.

A “thrice thousandfold universe,” i.e. a billionfold universe, sometimes called a “third-order great chiliocosm” (tṛtīya­mahā­sāhasra­loka­dhātu), consisting of a billion worlds, i.e. a million chiliocosms (q.v.), or a thousand dichiliocosms (q.v.).

Sometimes translated as a billionfold universe. A “great, third order thousandfold” universe (i.e. 1,000³ fold), consisting of a thousand “middle order thousandfold” (1,000² fold) universes, each of which consists of a thousand “first order thousandfold” (1,000 fold) universes, each containing a thousand world systems each with their own Mount Meru, sun and moon, four continents, eight subcontinents, peripheral ring of mountains, etc.

“The great thousand, three thousand-fold universe,” a cosmological term that signifies the entire universe.

A universe containing one billion worlds.

A thousand groups of a thousand groups of a thousand four-continent worlds, which makes one universe that can be the field of activity of a buddha.

A thousand groups of a thousand groups of a thousand four-continent worlds, which makes one universe that can be the field of activity of a buddha.

A vast third-order universe comprising one thousand dichiliocosms, i.e., one billion world systems according to traditional Indian cosmology. See also UT22084-026-001-2676.

A universe containing one billion worlds.

The largest universe spoken of in Buddhist cosmology, consisting of one billion worlds.

The largest universe spoken of in Abhidharma cosmology. Each great trichiliocosm is composed of one thousand worlds, each of which contains one thousand worlds, each of which contains one thousand worlds, therefore totaling one billion worlds.

The largest universe spoken of in Buddhist cosmology, consisting of one billion smaller world systems.

The largest universe spoken of in Buddhist cosmology, consisting of one billion smaller world systems.

The largest universe spoken of in Buddhist cosmology, consisting of one billion smaller world systems.

The largest universe spoken of in Buddhist cosmology, consisting of one billion smaller world systems.

The largest universe spoken of in Buddhist cosmology, consisting of one billion smaller world systems.

Lit. “three-thousand-great-thousand-world realm.” Each of these is composed of one thousand realms, each of which contains one thousand realms, each of which contains one thousand realms = one thousand to the third power = one billion worlds.

Sometimes rendered “trichiliocosm,” this term refers to a container (dhātu) of worlds (loka) numbering one thousand to the third power, which equals one billion. It is sometimes contrasted with smaller groups of worlds translated herein as “a galaxy of a thousand worlds” and “a galaxy of a hundred thousand worlds.” While in English, the cosmos refers to the entire universe of many billions of galaxies, in present usage following Buddhist cosmology, it may represent only one of many universes.

The largest measure of the universe as comprised of a billion smaller world-systems.

In this translation of the term trisāha­sramahā­sāha­sraloka­dhātu, Paul Harrison (2006, p. 145, n. 45) uses the word “galaxy” to “represent a group of a thousand systems,” and understands a “trigalactic system (trisāhasra)” as a “system which consists not of three galaxies but of a galaxy of galaxies of galaxies of worlds, that is to say, as a galaxy cubed (1,000³ worlds),” which, he says “is also known as a megagalaxy (mahāsāhasra).”