三千大千世界【英】

A Great Chiliocosm (tri-sahasra-mahā-sahasra-loka-dhātu)

定义

古代印度人的宇宙观，“世”指时间，“界”指空间。古代印度以四大洲及日月诸天为“一小世界”，合一千个小世界为“小千世界”，合一千个小千世界为“中千世界”，合一千个中千世界为“大千世界”。

A concept in ancient Indian cosmology. In the Chinese word for “world”—“世界（shijie）”—the character 世 (shi) means “time” and the character 界 (jie) means “space”. The ancient Indians viewed catur-dvīpa (the four continents), sūrya (the sun), candra (the moon) and all the devas (divine beings) as a“small world”. A thousand small worlds constitute a “small chiliocosm”, a thousand small chiliocosms constitute a “medium chiliocosm”, and a thousand medium chiliocosms constitute a “great chiliocosm”.