![]() In China, the idea that China was the center of geography began to merge with the Buddhist concept of the Anavatapta Lake around the time when numerous Buddhist texts were translated into Chinese. In the process of dissemination of Buddhism, the Anavatapta Lake was perceived through the lens of local cultures. 8 The excerpt summarizes these lines with a note that “It is like a sentient being’s desire having no satisfaction.” It is worth noting that Xindiguan jing contains several lines that use the Anavatapta Lake as a metaphor of the superiority of “bodhisattva monks” to the laity, by comparing the laity’s limitless desire to the ocean that is never satisfied with the water flowing out from the Anavatapta Lake. ![]() It is distinctive of this description that the Nāga kings are placed in the intercardinal directions. They exhibit some variations regarding the geography surrounding the Anavatapta Lake, however.įor instance, the excerpt from Xindiguan jing states that four Nāga (dragon or mythical serpent) kings reside in the Anavatapta Lake that the Ganges flows from the mouth of the Nāga king on the southeast of the lake, who has the head of the White Elephant that the Indus flows from the mouth of the Nāga king on the southwest with the head of the Water Buffalo that the Sītā flows from the mouth of the Nāga king on the northwest with the head of the Lion and that the Oxus flows from the mouth of the Nāga king on the northeast with the head of the Horse. Jūjū danketsu kyō) 7, Dazhidulun 大智度論 (Jp. Bussetsukōkigyō kyō), 6 Shizhu duanjie jing 十住断結經 (Jp. Daijō honjō shinjikan gyō), (Foshuo) Xingqixing jing (佛說)興起行經 (Jp. Other passages, which also mention the Anavatapta Lake and the four animals, cite various other Buddhist texts: ( Dachengbensheng) Xindiguan jing (大乗本生)心地観經 (Jp. The last part, “no one who has not mastered the dharma can reach it”, is seen in the fascicle 11 of Jushelun 倶舎論 (Jp. This passage places the four animals in the same directions as in Xiyuji. The commentary says: since the Anavatapta Lake is the adobe of a Nāga king, no one who has not mastered the way can reach it. The abridged verse says: the Silver Ox to the east, the Ganges the Golden Elephant to the south, the Indus the Crystal Lion to the north, the Sītā and the Lapis Lazuli Horse to the west, the Oxus. The Anavatapta Lake in the Picture of the Buddhist Cosmology in the Harvard Art Museums These descriptions show that the Anavatapta Lake was a geographical concept that connected the imaginary Buddhist cosmology to reality, and in the course of time, it became so prevalent that it often appeared in various works of literature. ![]() I will later expand on this supposed connection between the lake and the Yellow River. The account also states that the Sītā River is the headstream of China’s Yellow River. On each side of the lake, a river flows out of the mouth of the animal. The four sides of the lake are flanked by the four animals associated with the four cardinal directions. The Anavatapta Lake occupies a particularly important place in this geography. The geography this account illustrates is clearly a fusion of the Buddhist worldview or cosmology and the real topography. Thus from the mouth of the Silver Ox at the east side of the lake flows out the Ganges, which after going round the lake once enters the Southeast Sea from the mouth of the Golden Elephant at the south side of the lake flows out the Indus, which after winding round the lake once enters the Southwest Sea from the mouth of the Lapis Lazuli Horse at the west side of the lake flows the Oxus, which after meandering round the lake once enters the Northwest Sea and from the mouth of the Crystal Lion at the north side of the lake flows out the Sītā, which after encircling the lake once enters the Northeast Sea, or it is said that it flows by a subterranean course to the Jishi Mountain, where the water reappears as a tributary of the Sītā and becomes the source of the Yellow River in China. A Bodhisattva of the eighth stage, having transformed himself into a Nāga king by the power of his resolute will, makes his abode at the bottom of the lake and supplies water for the Jambu continent. It is full of golden sand, and its water is as pure and clean as a mirror. Its banks are adorned with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and crystal. In the center of the Jambu continent is the Anavatapta Lake, meaning “No Trouble of Heat”, which is south of the Fragrant Mountain and north of the Great Snow Mountains, with a circuit of eight hundred li.
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