[5] “Sumeru is probably Elburz, an isolated mountain of the Caucasus range, 18,000 feet in height, and surrounded by low ground.”—Chinese Buddhism. Edkins.
“But when they brought the painted palanquin
To fetch him home, the bearers of the poles
Were the four Regents of the Earth, come down
From Mount Sumeru.”
—The Light of Asia. Sir Edwin Arnold.
[6] “The modification which Buddhism introduced into the idea of transmigration was necessitated by the early Buddhist theories of the nature of sentient beings; according to which, man consists of an assemblage of different properties or qualities ... these are Material qualities, Sensations, abstract Ideas, Tendencies of mind, and mental Powers.... The first group, Material Qualities, are like a mass of foam, that gradually forms, and then vanishes. The second group, the Sensations, are like a bubble dancing on the face of the water. The third group, the Ideas, are like the uncertain mirage that appears in the sunshine. The fourth group, the mental and moral Predispositions, are like the plantain stalk, without firmness or solidity. And the last group, the Thoughts, are like a spectre or magical illusion. The body itself is constantly changing, ... man is never the same for two consecutive moments.” (Compare Rhys Davids’ Buddhism, and Spence Hardy’s Manual.
“For instance, Subhuti, a man might have a body and a large body, so that his size should be as large as the king, of mountains, Sumeru. Do you think then, O Subhuti, that his selfhood would be large? Subhuti said, Yes! his selfhood would be large. And why? Because, when the Tathagata preached ‘selfhood,’ selfhood indeed! it was preached by him as no selfhood. Therefore it is called selfhood.”—The Vagrakkhedika. Max Müller.
[Chapter 11]