This is another mechanism that might explains, why most of the celestial objects including planets in general, are tend to be round in shape. Since the rotating pattern ( just like a wheel ) is the fundamental mechanism of the Universe, these planets previously were the parts of the mass of nebular gas which being thrown off by this rotating mechanism, in which, the main part of the mass of the nebula, forming the Sun in the center, but the mass which are throwned off then each one rotates and then forms the round planets. This is because, the gravity pulls the mass equally from all sides. Gravity pulls from the center to the edges like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. This makes the overall shape of a planet a sphere, which is a three-dimensional circle. The mechanism might be almost the same as that of the pottery makers, only by the difference that, the rounded pottery are made with the help of hands, but on the planets it is due to the gravitational pressureā¦
Buddhism says about the rounded shape of the earth. You can see it from this explanation about the continents in Earth which says the first continent is connected to the last continent.
These are the four main continents on earth according to Buddhism which are connected to the next continent as a circle:
1.) JambudvÄ«pa (Sanskrit) or JambudÄ«pa (PÄli)
2.) PÅ«rvavideha or Pubbavideha
3.) AparagodÄnÄ«ya or AparagoyÄna
4.) Uttarakuru
Jambudvīpa is connected to Pūrvavideha,
PÅ«rvavideha is connected to Uttarakuru,
AparagodÄnÄ«ya is connected to Uttarakuru,
Uttarakuru is connected to Jambudvīpa too.
The rounded shape of the earth made the connection between Uttarakuru and Jambudvīpa. So those four continents in Buddhism indirectly says the rounded shape of the Earth.
When it is midday on the continent of JambudvÄ«pa, the sun is setting on the continent of PÅ«rvavideha in the east and rising above the continent of [Apara]godÄnÄ«ya in the west, while it is midnight on the continent of Uttarakuru in the north. When it is midday in [Apara]godÄnÄ«ya, the sun is setting in JambudvÄ«pa and rising in Uttarakuru, while it is midnight in [PÅ«rva]videha. When it is midday in Uttarakuru, the sun is setting in [Apara]godÄnÄ«ya and rising in [PÅ«rva]videha, while it is midnight in JambudvÄ«pa. When it is midday in [PÅ«rva]videha, the sun is setting in Uttarakuru and rising in JambudvÄ«pa, while it is midnight in [Apara]-godÄnÄ«ya. Here when JambudvÄ«pa is in the east [at sunrise], [PÅ«rva]videha is in the west. If JambudvÄ«pa is in the west [at sunset], [PÅ«rva]videha is in the east. If [Apara]godÄnÄ«ya is in the west, Uttarakuru is in the east. If Uttarakuru is in the west, [Apara]godÄnÄ«ya is in the east. (Page #: 295-296 https://www.bdkamerica.org/system/files/pdf/dBET_T0001_LengthyDiscourses3_2018.pdf)
Uttarakuru is the highest continent of the three continents [besides Jambudvīpa], this
land surpasses the others and so is called UttarÄ, which in the Indian language means āhighest.ā
- Suresh
Itās funny really isnāt it - in the time of the Buddha it was generally accepted that the world was flat but if you claim it now youāre branded an extremist.
Oceans have a floor, js 
So core is floor of Earth perhaps?
I think there is a solution that everyone might agree to.
If the Buddha knew the world was round, he didnāt say, because your salvation is not dependent on sacred geography.
Howās that? 
What if the Buddha didnāt know about the earth being round?
Would that put in questions everything else we learn about spiritual progress?
It does!
And it is not a must to explain everything. As the blessed one said, (discussed above). The blessed one is omniscient, there is no doubt about it.
I respectfully have doubt about it. But I guess we see what we want to see.
I thought that was a Jaina concept (kevala Ʊana), not something the Tathagatha would claim?
By reading MN14 and MN76 we learn that the claims of omniscience by niganthas were just not trueā¦
The Buddha in EBTs is nevertheless adamant about his fruition of the three supreme knowledges (tevijja), one of which was the enabler of his discovery of the four Noble truths and the associated eightfold path.
Then the king said to the Buddha,
Atha kho rÄjÄ pasenadi kosalo bhagavantaį¹ etadavoca:
āI have heard, sir, that the ascetic Gotama says this:
āsutaį¹ metaį¹, bhante, samaį¹o gotamo evamÄha:
āThere is no ascetic or brahmin who will claim to be all-knowing and all-seeing, to know and see everything without exception: that is not possible.ā
ānatthi so samaį¹o vÄ brÄhmaį¹o vÄ yo sabbaĆ±Ć±Å« sabbadassÄvÄ« aparisesaį¹ ƱÄį¹adassanaį¹ paį¹ijÄnissati, netaį¹ į¹hÄnaį¹ vijjatÄ«āti.
Do those who say this repeat what the Buddha has said, and not misrepresent him with an untruth? Is their explanation in line with the teaching? Are there any legitimate grounds for rebuke and criticism?ā
Ye te, bhante, evamÄhaį¹su: āsamaį¹o gotamo evamÄhaānatthi so samaį¹o vÄ brÄhmaį¹o vÄ yo sabbaĆ±Ć±Å« sabbadassÄvÄ« aparisesaį¹ ƱÄį¹adassanaį¹ paį¹ijÄnissati, netaį¹ į¹hÄnaį¹ vijjatÄ«āti; kacci te, bhante, bhagavato vuttavÄdino, na ca bhagavantaį¹ abhÅ«tena abbhÄcikkhanti, dhammassa cÄnudhammaį¹ byÄkaronti, na ca koci sahadhammiko vÄdÄnuvÄdo gÄrayhaį¹ į¹hÄnaį¹ ÄgacchatÄ«āti?
āGreat king, those who say this do not repeat what I have said. They misrepresent me with what is false and untrue.ā
āYe te, mahÄrÄja, evamÄhaį¹su: āsamaį¹o gotamo evamÄhaānatthi so samaį¹o vÄ brÄhmaį¹o vÄ yo sabbaĆ±Ć±Å« sabbadassÄvÄ« aparisesaį¹ ƱÄį¹adassanaį¹ paį¹ijÄnissati, netaį¹ į¹hÄnaį¹ vijjatÄ«āti; na me te vuttavÄdino, abbhÄcikkhanti ca pana maį¹ te asatÄ abhÅ«tenÄāti.
(MN 90)
Recently, a monk from Sri Lanka brought the idea of flat earth to the surface, again.
I was just reading through some books and found some intereting read which is claimed to be in āaitareya brahmana.ā.
And as qouted by Radhakrishnan,
"We may quote a passage which is certainly not less than 2,000 years before the birth of Copernicus, from the Aitareya Brahmana: āThe sun never sets nor rises. When people think to themselves the sun is setting. he only changes about after reaching the end of the day, and makes night below and day to what is on the other side. Then when people think he rises in the morning. he only shifts himself about after reaching the end of the night, and makes day below and night to what is on the other side. In fact he never does set at all.ā( Haugās Edition, iii . 44.)
Radhakrishnan, S., (1923). Indian Philosophy. vol 1. p. 29.
circumnavigation does not confirm that something is a sphere, tori can also be circumnavigated, as can cubes, so it only ruled out a Euclidian plane.
Also it is widely understood now that Eratosthenes measurements where meant to confirm the already widely held opinion that the earth was a sphere, so he didnāt ādiscoverā the fact, it pre-dated him, and for all we know was believed by some people in ancient India as well, we simply donāt know.
We āknowā no such thing, we āreadā it in a text, the status of which is totally indeterminate, if you believe it out of faith and then make naturalistic stories about what the historical Buddha believed about cosmology then by all means, but the argument rests entirely on the assumption that the text reports a true event, which you have no reason to believe, and in fact plenty of reason to doubt.
Again, we donāt know what terms he used, we just know what terms the texts used. Also the earth is an island in space i.e not contiguous with other planetary bodies, and the quantum vacuum may be considered analogous to a liquid.
The meanings and scope of words are not fixed, you need more than āDIpaā to infer that the Buddha thought or taught that the earth was a literal island like hawaii, what would that even mean? all the islands are on an island?
ummmā¦ from the exact same sutta, literally the next paragraph:
āGreat king, I recall making this statement:
āEvaį¹ kho ahaį¹, mahÄrÄja, abhijÄnÄmi vÄcaį¹ bhÄsitÄ:
āThere is no ascetic or brahmin who knows all and sees all simultaneously: that is not possible.āā
ānatthi so samaį¹o vÄ brÄhmaį¹o vÄ yo sakideva sabbaį¹ Ʊassati, sabbaį¹ dakkhiti, netaį¹ į¹hÄnaį¹ vijjatÄ«āāti.āWhat the Buddha says appears reasonable.
āHeturÅ«paį¹, bhante, bhagavÄ Äha; saheturÅ«paį¹, bhante, bhagavÄ Äha:
ānatthi so samaį¹o vÄ brÄhmaį¹o vÄ yo sakideva sabbaį¹ Ʊassati, sabbaį¹ dakkhiti, netaį¹ į¹hÄnaį¹ vijjatÄ«āti.
@Amatabhani did yo uread the next paragraph? in fact did you even read the first paragraph?
āThere is no ascetic or brahmin who will claim to be all-knowing and all-seeing, to know and see everything without exception: that is not possible.ā
Metta
What I wonder is how the dabbacakkhu / divine eye works in relation to the reality of the Earth being spherical and whatnot.
It is always described as if being in a tower, watching over the world system(s) and seeing beings pass away and reappear. I canāt quite wrap my head around how this would work with the Earth as a sphere, or how it one with the ability wouldnāt see the spherical shape of the Earth and the solar system and whatnot.
I imagine it may be different in some way from a form of physical observation, or perhaps one can see the physical universe but it simply isnāt discussed in much detail because it was something people debated a lot back then uselessly, and so they felt no need. Just a curious thought though.
I also wonder if it is related to seeing where a being appears almost from more from their POV. For instance, seeing someone pass away and then kind of seeing where they ālandā in the mindās eye without necessarily seeing where that place is physically situatedāif that makes any sense. Perhaps one sees someone pass away getting an image of where they reappear, essentially. And this I imagine also entails seeing different layers of reality or ādimensionsā / planes of existence which are not necessarily spatial but may be over-layed into our conception of space.
MettÄ!