佛祖統紀 31.35

31.35

述曰。自昔談天者未知四禪四地之義。以由諸文森列不能區別耳。據因本經阿毘曇婆沙論等。皆以天名。次第竪高。相去倍遠。皆有住地。此等立義未足可憑。今依俱舍論云。梵天無別處所。但於梵輔中有高樓閣者是。法苑亦云。大梵是君。梵輔是臣。梵眾是民。據此則三天同在初禪。秖一地耳。若薩婆多部。以無想廣果身壽不殊。同為一處。楞嚴經云。從福愛天有二岐路。福德圓明名廣果天。身心俱滅名無想天（二岐則是分二類耳此與薩婆義冋。同一處也）。又經云。此中復有五不還天（此中者指四禪）四禪四位天王。但有欽聞不能知見。如世間深山道場阿羅漢。世間麁人所不能見。據此則知。秖一廣果稱王。而於此中具有五那含。一外道同居四禪。秖一地耳。次第禪門云。佛於仁王經說十八梵。亦應有民主之異又云。四禪中有大靜王。瓔珞經。明禪禪皆有梵王。楞嚴亦云。四禪四位天王。華嚴列眾三十九位。其間欲界則天天稱王。色界則禪禪稱王。餘天不列。今詳初禪既以大梵為王。而三經皆說四禪有王（仁王瓔珞楞嚴）則知光音遍淨廣果三天皆王。自餘皆一臣一民之義。今故依此等大乘經旨。自初禪至四禪。立為四地云廣果為王。福愛為臣。無雲為民。五那含一外道。則寄居廣果天中。已上九天同居四禪一地也（二禪三禪例之）或以天天身壽不同。須各分處如諸小乘經論者。然梵王之與梵輔梵眾。若身若壽皆長短不齊。又廣果無想。雖五百劫。廣果則有中夭。無想定滿其報。以此論之。雖身壽不同不妨同處。亦猶閻浮之人有壽有夭也。又華嚴謂諸天王皆十地菩薩者。此等皆是權來引實。在於天中化諸實報之天。使求脫天業故得稱王。若謂王者敻居一處。與餘天隔異。則將焉用彼王。餘天何所依仰。不作此論。豈不大乖引實之義。或謂二禪已上無語言法（阿毘曇云）何以為化者。然光音既以光為語。則知上地諸天威儀進止無非言教。以是義推無不可者。

The author states: Since ancient times, those who discussed the heavens did not understand the meaning of the four dhyānas and four grounds, because the texts are densely listed and they could not differentiate them. According to the *Yinben jing*, the *Abhidharma*, the *Vibhāṣā*, and so forth, based on celestial names, they are vertically stacked in height, separated by twice the distance, and each has a dwelling ground. These established doctrines are not sufficient to rely upon. Now, according to the *Abhidharmakośa*, it states: "The Brahmā heavens have no separate locations; there are only high pavilions among the Brahmā ministers." The *Fayuan* also states: "Great Brahmā is the monarch, the Brahmā ministers are the courtiers, and the Brahmā hosts are the common folk." According to this, then the three heavens are together in the first dhyāna, which is merely a single ground. As for the Sarvāstivāda school, because the body and lifespan of Non-conceptual [Devas] and Great Result [Devas] are not different, they share a single place. The *Śūraṅgama-sūtra* states: "From the Heaven of Merit Love there are two branching paths: those whose merit and virtue are perfectly bright are called the Heaven of Great Result; those whose body and mind are both extinguished are called the Heaven of Non-conceptuality." (The two branches are simply a division into two classes; this agrees with the Sarvāstivādin meaning, being the same place.) Furthermore, the sūtra states: "Herein there are also the five Non-returning Heavens (herein pointing to the fourth dhyāna); the heavenly kings of the four ranks of the four dhyānas only admire and hear of them, but cannot see them, like the arhats in the deep mountains and bodhimaṇḍas of the world, whom coarse worldly people cannot see." Based on this, we know that it is only Great Result that is called king, and herein are fully contained the five anāgāmins and one non-Buddhist co-dwelling in the fourth dhyāna, which is merely a single ground. The *Cidi chanmen* states: "When the Buddha in the *Humane King Sūtra* spoke of the eighteen Brahmās, there should also be the difference between sovereign and subjects." It also states: "In the fourth dhyāna there is the Great Serenity King." The *Yingluo jing* explains that every dhyāna has a Brahmā king. The *Śūraṅgama* also states: "The heavenly kings of the four ranks of the four dhyānas." The *Avataṃsaka* lists assemblies of thirty-nine ranks, wherein in the desire realm every heaven is called king, and in the form realm every dhyāna is called king, while the other heavens are not listed. Now, examining in detail: since the first dhyāna takes Great Brahmā as king, and the three sūtras all say that the four dhyānas have kings (*Humane King*, *Yingluo*, and *Śūraṅgama*), then we know that the three heavens of Light Sound, Universal Purity, and Great Result are all kings, and the rest all bear the meaning of one courtier and one commoner. Now therefore, according to the import of these Mahāyāna sūtras, from the first dhyāna to the fourth dhyāna, we establish four grounds, stating: Great Result is the king, Merit Love is the minister, and Cloudless is the commoner; the five anāgāmins and one non-Buddhist reside parasitically in the Great Result Heaven. The above nine heavens together inhabit the single ground of the fourth dhyāna (the second and third dhyānas are by analogy). If one claims that because every heaven's body and lifespan are different, they must each have divided locations as in the various Hīnayāna sūtras and treatises: yet, between King Brahmā and the Brahmā ministers and Brahmā hosts, both their bodies and lifespans are uneven in length; furthermore, between Great Result and Non-conceptuality, though both are five hundred kalpas, Great Result has premature death, whereas the non-conceptual attainment completes its retribution. Discussing it based on this, although body and lifespan are different, it does not prevent them from sharing the same place, just as among the people of Jambudvīpa there are long-lived and short-lived. Furthermore, the *Avataṃsaka* states that all the heavenly kings are tenth-stage bodhisattvas: these are all provisional manifestations leading to the real, dwelling among the heavens to convert the devas of real retributions, causing them to seek release from celestial karma, hence they can be called kings. If one claims that the kings dwell far away in a single place separated from the other heavens, then what use would those kings be, and on what would the other heavens rely? If one does not make this argument, how would it not greatly contradict the meaning of leading to the real? If one claims that from the second dhyāna upward there are no dharmas of speech (as the *Abhidharma* states), and how could they transform beings: yet, since Light Sound takes light as speech, we know that the deportment, bodily movement, and rest of the devas of the higher grounds are nothing other than spoken teachings. Deducting by this principle, nothing is impossible.