Buddhism In
Buddhism, like other Indian religions, there is no ultimate beginning nor final end to the universe. It considers all existence as eternal, and believes there is no creator god. Buddhism views the universe as impermanent and always in flux. This cosmology is the foundation of its
Samsara theory, that evolved over time the mechanistic details on how the wheel of mundane existence works over the endless cycles of rebirth and redeath. In early Buddhist traditions,
Saṃsāra cosmology consisted of five realms through which wheel of existence recycled. In latter traditions, this list grew to a list of six realms of rebirth, adding demi-gods (
asuras). The "hungry ghost, heavenly, hellish realms" respectively formulate the ritual, literary and moral spheres of many contemporary Buddhist traditions. It also shares many ideas and concepts, such as those about Mount Meru. The Buddhist thought holds that the six cosmological realms are interconnected, and everyone cycles life after life, through these realms, because of a combination of ignorance, desires and purposeful
karma, or ethical and unethical actions. With its ancient roots, Hindu texts propose and discuss numerous cosmological theories. Hindu culture accepts this diversity in cosmological ideas and has lacked a single mandatory view point even in its oldest known Vedic scriptures, the
Rigveda. Alternate theories include a universe cyclically created and destroyed by god, or goddess, or no creator at all, or a golden egg or womb (
Hiranyagarbha), or self-created multitude of universes with enormous lengths and time scales. The Vedic literature includes a number of cosmology speculations, one of which questions the origin of the cosmos and is called the
Nasadiya sukta: {{quote| Neither being (sat) nor non-being was as yet. What was concealed? And where? And in whose protection? ... Who really knows? Who can declare it? Whence was it born, and whence came this creation? The devas (gods) were born later than this world's creation, so who knows from where it came into existence? None can know from where creation has arisen, and whether he has or has not produced it. He who surveys it in the highest heavens, He alone knows or perhaps He does not know. Time is conceptualized as a cyclic
Yuga with trillions of years. In some models,
Mount Meru plays a central role. Beyond its creation, Hindu cosmology posits divergent theories on the structure of the universe, from being 3 lokas to 12 lokas (worlds) which play a part in its theories about rebirth,
samsara and
karma. The complex cosmological speculations found in Hinduism and other
Indian religions, states Bolton, is not unique and are also found in Greek, Roman, Irish and Babylonian mythologies, where each age becomes more sinful and of suffering.
Jain Jain cosmology considers the
loka, or universe, as an uncreated entity, existing since infinity, having no beginning or an end.
Jain texts describe the shape of the universe as similar to a man standing with legs apart and arm resting on his waist. This Universe, according to Jainism, is narrow at the top, broad at the middle and once again becomes broad at the bottom. Mahapurana (Jainism)| of Ācārya
Jinasena is famous for this quote: ==Chinese==