佛祖統紀 31.32

31.32

The body of the Four Heavenly Kings is half a li tall, and their garments weigh half a liang. Fifty human years make one day and night for the Four Kings. Taking the lifespan of the Four Kings as five hundred years, calculated in human years it is nine million years, which makes one day and night in the Sañjīva (Reviving) Hell. Counting in this way, the lifespan of Sañjīva is five hundred years; 32.4 billion human years make one year in Sañjīva. The body in Trāyastriṃśa Heaven is one li tall, and garments weigh six zhu. One hundred human years make one day and night in Trāyastriṃśa. Taking this heaven's lifespan as one thousand years, calculated in human years it is 36 million years, which makes one day and night in the Kālasūtra (Black Rope) Hell. Counting in this way, the lifespan of this hell is one thousand years. In Yāma Heaven, the body is one and a half li tall, and garments weigh three zhu. Two hundred human years make one day and night in this heaven. Taking this heaven's lifespan as two thousand years, calculated in human years it is 144 million years, which makes one day and night in the Saṃghāta (Crushing) Hell. Counting in this way, the lifespan of this hell is two thousand years. In Tuṣita Heaven, the body is two li tall, and garments weigh one and a half zhu. Four hundred human years make one day and night in this heaven. Taking this heaven's lifespan as four thousand years, calculated in human years it is 576 million years, which makes one day and night in the Raurava (Wailing) Hell. Counting in this way, the lifespan of this hell is four thousand years. In Nirmāṇarati Heaven, the body is two and a half li tall, and garments weigh one zhu. Eight hundred human years make one day and night in this heaven. Taking this heaven's lifespan as eight thousand years, calculated in human years it is 2.304 billion years, which makes one day and night in the Mahāraurava (Great Wailing) Hell. Counting in this way, the lifespan of this hell is eight thousand years. In Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven, the body is three li tall, and garments weigh half a zhu. Sixteen hundred human years make one day and night in this heaven. Taking this heaven's lifespan as sixteen thousand years, calculated in human years it is 9.216 billion years, which makes one day and night in the Tapana (Heating) Hell. Counting in this way, the lifespan of this hell is sixteen thousand years. The lifespan in the heaven of Māra Pāpīyas is thirty-two thousand years (Abhidharmakośa, Dīrghāgama, and Abhidharma). Lifespans in the Form Realm are measured in kalpas. In the Brahmāpāriṣadya Heaven, it is half a kalpa (twenty small kalpas), and the body is half a yojana tall. In the Brahmapurohita Heaven, it is one kalpa (taking forty small kalpas as one kalpa), and the body is one yojana (forty li) tall. In the Mahābrahmā Heaven, it is one and a half kalpas (sixty small kalpas), and the body is one and a half yojanas tall. In the Parīttābha Heaven, it is two great kalpas (hereafter all are called great kalpas, which is the total of eighty small kalpas of formation, abiding, destruction, and voidness), and the body is two yojanas (hereafter body sizes correspond to lifespans). In the Apramāṇābha Heaven, it is four great kalpas, and the body is four yojanas. In the Ābhāsvara Heaven, it is eight great kalpas, and the body is eight yojanas. In the Parīttaśubha Heaven, it is sixteen great kalpas, and the body is sixteen yojanas. In the Apramāṇaśubha Heaven, it is thirty-two great kalpas, and the body is thirty-two yojanas. In the Śubhakṛtsna Heaven, it is sixty-four great kalpas, and the body is sixty-four yojanas. In the Anabhraka Heaven, it is one hundred and twenty-five great kalpas, and the body is one hundred and twenty-five yojanas (both lifespan and body size in this heaven decrease by three kalpas and three yojanas). In the Puṇyaprasava Heaven, it is two hundred and fifty great kalpas, and the body is two hundred and fifty yojanas. In the Asañjñisattva and Bṛhatphala Heavens, both are five hundred great kalpas, and bodies are five hundred yojanas. In the Avṛha Heaven, it is one thousand great kalpas, and the body is one thousand yojanas. In the Atapa Heaven, it is two thousand great kalpas, and the body is two thousand yojanas. In the Sudṛśa Heaven, it is four thousand great kalpas, and the body is four thousand yojanas. In the Sudarśana Heaven, it is eight thousand great kalpas, and the body is eight thousand yojanas. In the Akaniṣṭha Heaven, it is sixteen thousand great kalpas, and the body is sixteen thousand yojanas (Abhidharmakośa and Abhidharma). In the two heavens of Nirmāṇarati and Paranirmitavaśavartin, the clothes worn adapt to their minds in size, lightness, and heaviness. Devas of the Form Realm wear no clothes, yet it is no different than if they were dressed; although their heads have no chignon, it is as if they wore heavenly crowns; without the physical marks of male or female, they have only a single form (Qishi yinben jing). As for lifespans in the Formless Realm: the Sphere of Infinite Space is twenty thousand kalpas; the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness is forty thousand; the Sphere of Nothingness is sixty thousand kalpas; and the Sphere of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception is eighty thousand great kalpas. In all three realms there is untimely death; only in the Northern Continent, Tuṣita Heaven for bodhisattvas in their final birth, and the Asañjñisattva Heaven are lifespans fixed, with no untimely death mentioned (Abhidharma). In the Sphere of Infinite Space, the practice of concentration and the practice of wisdom each yield ten thousand kalpas; in the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness, the two practices of concentration and wisdom each yield twenty thousand kalpas; the two upper stages have only the practice of concentration, which doubles respectively, and hence are only sixty thousand and eighty thousand (Mahāvibhāṣā). Regarding the radiance of the bodies produced as retributive karmic results of the devas: devas of the Desire Realm, because of giving lamps, candles, bright pearls, and the like, as well as the purity of their observing precepts and practicing meditation, always have luminous bodies. Devas of the Form Realm, because of practicing meditation, leaving desire, and cultivating the fire-radiance samādhi, always have luminous bodies superior to those of the Desire Realm. If Śākya[muni] has a constant radiance of one zhang around his face, even if the radiance of the devas is as great as immeasurable yojanas, beside the one-zhang radiance it is overshadowed and does not show. The Four Heavenly Kings have four colors: dark blue, red, yellow, and white; the devas of the Desire Realm all have colors like these: if at their initial birth they see a dark blue flower, their bodies are dark blue (Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa). The Fayuan [zhulin] states: The devas of the Form Realm take joy as food; the Formless Realm takes mental karma as food. It also states: Both the Form and Formless Realms take the bliss of meditation and the joy of the Dharma as food. For devas of the Desire Realm who have abundant merit, amṛta fills their cups and the hundred flavors all arrive; for those of meager merit, although there is food and drink, it is never satisfactory. Thus a sūtra says: 'Just as when devas eat from a shared vessel, the color of the rice differs according to their merit: the superior see white, the middling see yellow, and the inferior see red.' According to the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna Sūtra: From Yāma upward to all the heavens of the Form Realm, rich and poor are equal; from Trāyastriṃśa downward, retribution is either rich or meager. Thus a sūtra says: 'There are devas of meager merit who, suffering from hunger, descend among the humans of Jambudvīpa to pick wild jujubes to eat.' It also says: 'The devas of the Four Heavenly Kings eat heavenly sudhāra flavor; in their gardens, groves, and ponds, all flavors are produced spontaneously.' The food of all devas of the Desire Realm is also like this. Sentient beings who fully cultivate the ten good actions attain retribution in the heavens of the Desire Realm; cultivating the ten good actions with outflow corresponding to concentration, they attain retribution in the heavens of the Form Realm; further, those who cultivate the four formless concentrations attain retribution in the heavens of the Formless Realm (Sanjie chabie jing). The Four Kings and Trāyastriṃśa are attained by cultivating only the highest grade of the ten good actions. From Yāma Heaven upward, they concurrently cultivate the threshold concentration (anāgamya-samādhi), because they have not yet entered the fundamental concentration (threshold concentration is also called Desire Realm concentration; its methods are fully described in the Mohe zhiguan). Yāma is translated here as 'Good Time', because they proclaim joy at every hour. Tuṣita is translated here as 'Contentment', because they generate joyful contentment toward the five sensory desires. Nirmāṇarati means that they take pleasure in transforming sensory objects by themselves. Paranirmitavaśavartin means that they can freely transform and employ both their own and others' sensory objects. All four heavens above dwell in empty space (Sijiaoyi jijie). Below the Brahmakāyika Heaven are the various palaces of Māra Pāpīyas (Qishi yinben jing). Between the Desire and Form Realms there is a separate palace of Māra; that Māra harbors jealousy, like a millstone that grinds and destroys merits; it is six thousand yojanas across, with seven tiers of palace walls (Loutan jing. The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: 'Māra' translates as 'depriving of life'; 'Pāpīyas' is the name of the king of māras. Kumārajīva says: Here it translates as 'killer'; he always desires to cut off people's life of wisdom. The Nirvāṇa Commentary says: Depending on the Buddha's Dharma he attained good benefit, yet he does not think of repaying kindness and conversely wishes to inflict harm. The Fuxing says: The character mo originally had the stone radical; from Emperor Wu of Liang onward, because it troubles people, it was changed to the demon radical. The Vimalakīrtinirdeśa says: They are mostly bodhisattvas of inconceivable liberation who manifest as kings of māras. The Chuiyu ji says: Above the sixth heaven there is a separate residence of Māra, subsumed under the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven; that is the deva-son māra). Mahābrahmā is translated here as 'Detached from Desire'; removing the fetters of the lower stages, one ascends to the Form Realm (Lotus Commentary). The King of Brahmā has no separate place; it is merely where there are high towers within that heaven (Abhidharmakośa). Mahābrahmā is the ruler, Brahmapurohita is the minister, and Brahmāpāriṣadya is the subject (Fayuan zhulin). Parīttābha Heaven: radiance is the least. Apramāṇābha: radiance surpasses the former. Ābhāsvara Heaven: having no discursive thinking or spoken words, they use light in place of words; also, when devas of this heaven speak, pure light issues from their mouths. Parīttaśubha Heaven: leaving joy and experiencing bliss is 'pure'; not yet having reached the higher rank, it is 'limited'. Apramāṇaśubha Heaven: purity surpasses the former. Śubhakṛtsna Heaven: purity is omnipresent without flaw. Anabhraka Heaven: the lower three dhyānas all dwell relying on clouds; only upon reaching this fourth dhyāna do they dwell in empty space (the Śūraṅgama calls it Puṇyaprasava Heaven). Puṇyaprasava Heaven: those with superior meritorious power are born there (the Śūraṅgama calls it Fu'ai Heaven). Asañjñisattva Heaven: the dwelling place of non-Buddhists; they merely experience one period where mental thoughts do not operate, receiving the retribution of five hundred kalpas without mind; when the retribution ends, they invariably produce false views and come to be born in hell. Bṛhatphala Heaven: the retributive fruit is most superior. Anabhraka, Puṇyaprasava, and Bṛhatphala—these three heavens are dwelling places of ordinary beings; those who cultivate the highest grade of the ten good actions and cultivate dhyāna are able to be born there. Avṛha Heaven: because it is free from the defilements of views and thoughts. Atapa Heaven: because it is free from burning afflictions. Sudṛśa Heaven: obstacles to concentration gradually become faint, and vision is extremely clear and penetrating. Sudarśana Heaven: physical forms become increasingly superior, and they are adept at transformation. Akaniṣṭha Heaven: form phenomena reach their utmost; it is the ultimate place. These five heavens are named the five Anāgāmins (here translated as 'Non-returners'; the dwelling places of noble ones of the third fruition; also called the five Śuddhāvāsa, the five Non-returning heavens). The Formless Realm: regarding the Sphere of Infinite Space Heaven, practitioners detest the cage of form and desire their minds to transcend it; cultivating contemplation, they destroy the three kinds of form (visible and resistant form, which is visual form; invisible and resistant form, which is sound, smell, taste, and touch; and invisible and non-resistant form, which is mental conditions of mental objects, namely unmanifest form). In the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness Heaven, practitioners detest boundless space; cultivating contemplation, they abandon the previous external space and further focus on internal consciousness. In the Sphere of Nothingness, external objects are called space and internal objects are called mind; abandoning both objects, they enter nothingness. In the Sphere of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception, it is not the having of perception of the Sphere of Consciousness, nor is it the non-perception of Nothingness; abandoning both extremes of existence and non-existence, they enter the supreme concentration. All the hosts of devas speak the noble language; because their speech is identical to that of Central India, they naturally understand canonical speech without learning (Nyāyānusāra). From the karma of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and false speech, if born among humans, one's body and complexion are haggard and devoid of awe-inspiring virtue; if there is remaining karma allowing one to obtain a body among the devas (which should be Trāyastriṃśa), one's appearance is inferior, one's jeweled adornments have meager radiance, the heavenly maidens all abandon one, other devas laugh with scorn, and if one battles with the asuras, one is killed by them (Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna Sūtra). When the devas approach the end of life, five signs of decay appear: first, their clothes become soiled; second, the flowers on their crowns wither; third, sweat flows from both armpits; fourth, foul odor arises from their bodies; fifth, they take no joy in their original seats (New Mahāvibhāṣā). Among these thirty-two heavens, two are inhabited solely by ordinary beings: that is, the Heavenly King Mahābrahmā does not understand karmic causes and says, 'I can create all heaven, earth, people, and things'; clinging to this pride, noble ones do not dwell together with him. The Asañjñisattva Heaven belongs solely to non-Buddhists; cultivating the concentration of non-perception, they receive the retribution of five hundred kalpas without mind; when it ends, they invariably produce false views and fall into hell; therefore noble ones are not born among them. Five are inhabited solely by noble ones: that is, the five Śuddhāvāsa Heavens; those born there must be advancing toward Anāgāmin, whose bodies have attained the fourth dhyāna, developing outflowless states and generating the karma of perfuming dhyāna, giving rise to one grade up to nine grades, after which they can be born there; ordinary beings lack this karma of perfuming dhyāna, and therefore cannot be born there. The remaining twenty-five heavens are shared dwellings of ordinary and noble beings (Mahāvibhāṣā).