ABSTRACT
For early Buddhists the defining feature of the universe is its impermanence. This view was enlarged by adding two pervasive South Asian notions about the nature of the universe and its construction. First, after a vast period of time (a mahākalpa) the universe dies and then slowly arises again. This process is repeated endlessly. Second, Mt. Meru is at the center of the world surrounded by a great ocean and large islands. The earth is a mysterious and magical place populated or visited by many kinds of mythic beings, such as yakṣīs, nāgas, apśaras, ghosts, ghouls, demons, deities, and so on. Such a worldview allows for the existence of mythic lands hidden in the mountains or on islands in uncharted seas. Additionally, Buddhists developed an elaborate cosmology that has a threefold division between the realms (dhātus) of desire (kāma), form (rūpa), and formlessness (arūpa). 1
