新譯華嚴經七處九會頌釋章 1.17

1.17

釋曰：有四洲中南名人中，摩竭提國有三勝處故名三處。何等為三？謂菩提樹下道場處、普光明法堂處、祇樹給孤獨園處。於欲界內有六天中，四名天上，須彌頂上四殊勝處，故名四處。今云頂上者，取頂上方，故名頂上。何等為四？謂須彌頂上忉利天處、自頂上方夜摩天處、兜率陀天處、他化自在天處。此中初一地居、後三空居，人間方處諮知有端，天上方處非通難知，故今隨難說六天相。何等為六？一四天王天、二忉利天、三夜摩天、四兜率陀天、五樂變化天、六他化自在天。初四天王天者，蘇迷盧內第四層級，四大天王及諸眷屬共所居止，各住一面，名四天王。壽量衣等如餘論說。忉利天者，此云三十三天，妙高山四面各有八大天王，帝釋居中，故名三十三天。彼天身長一由旬，衣長二由旬，廣一由旬，重六銖，壽一千歲。夜摩天者，此云時天，以時華開合辨晝夜分，故名時天；又隨時受樂故名時分。此天身長二由旬，衣長四由旬，重三銖，壽二千歲。兜率陀天者，此云喜足。《佛地論》云「後身菩薩於彼教化，多修喜足行，故云喜足。」《長阿含經》云「身長四由旬，衣長八由旬，廣四由旬，衣重一銖半，食甘露，壽四千歲。」樂變化天者，樂自變化作諸樂具以自娛樂，故名樂變化。此天身長八由旬，衣長十六由旬，廣八由旬，衣重一銖，食甘露，壽八千歲。他化自在天者，令他化作諸樂具顯己自在，故名他化自在。此天身衣壽命過前一倍。如是諸天廣如《瑜伽》、《佛地》、《三法度經》、《長阿含經》、《婆沙》、《俱舍》等說。

The commentary states: Among the four continents, the southern one is called the human realm. Because the country of Magadha contains three supreme places, they are called the three places. What are the three? Namely, the place of the bodhimaṇḍa under the bodhi tree, the place of the Dharma Hall of Universal Light, and the place of the Jeta Grove in Anāthapiṇḍada's park. Within the desire realm there are six heavens, four of which are called the celestial realm; because there are four distinctly supreme places atop Mount Sumeru, they are called the four places. Now, stating "atop the summit" refers to taking the space above the summit, and hence it is called "atop the summit". What are the four? Namely, the place of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven atop the summit of Sumeru, the place of the Yāma heaven above its summit, the place of the Tuṣita heaven, and the place of the Paranirmitavaśavartin heaven. Here, the first one is earth-dwelling, and the latter three are space-dwelling. As for human locations and directions, when inquired, their specifics are known; but celestial locations and directions cannot be known without superknowledge. Therefore, we now explain the characteristics of the six heavens according to their difficulty. What are the six? First, the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings; second, the Trāyastriṃśa heaven; third, the Yāma heaven; fourth, the Tuṣita heaven; fifth, the Nirmāṇarati heaven; sixth, the Paranirmitavaśavartin heaven. First, as for the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, it is on the fourth tier within Mount Sumeru, where the four great heavenly kings and their retinues reside together, each dwelling on one side, and hence they are called the Four Heavenly Kings. Their lifespan, garments, and so forth are as explained in the other treatises. As for the Trāyastriṃśa heaven, here translated as the "Thirty-Three Heavens", on each of the four sides of the Sublime High Mountain there are eight great heavenly kings, with Śakra Devānām Indra dwelling in the center; hence it is called the Thirty-Three Heavens. The height of the beings of that heaven is one yojana; their garments are two yojanas long and one yojana wide, weighing six zhu; their lifespan is one thousand years. As for the Yāma heaven, here translated as the "Heaven of Time", because the blooming and closing of seasonal flowers distinguishes the division of day and night, it is therefore called the Heaven of Time; furthermore, because they experience pleasure according to the time, it is called the Time Division. The height of the beings of this heaven is two yojanas; their garments are four yojanas long, weighing three zhu; their lifespan is two thousand years. As for the Tuṣita heaven, here translated as "Contentment", the Fodijing lun states: "Bodhisattvas in their final rebirth instruct and transform beings there, largely cultivating the practice of contentment; hence it is called Contentment." The Dīrgha Āgama states: "Their height is four yojanas; their garments are eight yojanas long and four yojanas wide, weighing one and a half zhu; they feed on nectar; their lifespan is four thousand years." As for the Nirmāṇarati heaven, they take pleasure in magically transforming and creating various objects of pleasure for their own entertainment, and are therefore called "Taking Pleasure in Transformations". The height of the beings of this heaven is eight yojanas; their garments are sixteen yojanas long and eight yojanas wide, weighing one zhu; they feed on nectar; their lifespan is eight thousand years. As for the Paranirmitavaśavartin heaven, they cause others to magically create various objects of pleasure to manifest their own sovereignty, and are therefore called "Sovereignty over Others' Transformations". The bodies, garments, and lifespan of this heaven are double those of the preceding one. These heavens are described in detail in texts such as the Yogācārabhūmi, Fodijing lun, Sanfadu jing, Dīrgha Āgama, Vibhāṣā, and Abhidharmakośa.