[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [北山錄](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2113) › 1.9.5 # 北山錄 1.9.5 北山錄 1.9.5 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.9.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2113.1.9.5) 迹盧之頂方乎八萬（其上廣八萬由旬）。 其平如砥。 其路如纊（砥磨石也。 纊綿也）。 帝釋所都之地。 方各八天朝于中宮。 是曰三十三天焉（須彌山四面各有八天。 中有善法堂。 帝釋所居。 諸天朝之。 共有三十三天。 皆是忉利一天所攝）。 海上諸山。 多地居天。 蓋四天王之所都邑也。 故若方丈蓬萊（居海中鼇魚負之行也）年長貌美。 光碧紫翠以為房閣。 其務仙道者。 咸神仙遊集之鄉也。 願言羽翼而棲息之。 其天帝釋股肱輔衛。 有嚴有翼。 統彼諸天。 照冒下土。 御千輪殿。 網以珠綴。 煥乎其間。 有所顯焉。 故群黎罪福死生遐促吉凶期會其欲不見于珠中不可得矣（罪福之事。 事皆見帝釋珠網中也）是以。 上流有罪。 天執其罰（故云天命極之也）下民之罪。 天假其罰（天生蒸民樹之司牧）於善者福亦如之矣。 而君子稱禍福顯乎天命。 言簡在帝心也。 又曰。 吉凶不僭（僭濫也差也）言乾道正也。 故神農后稷在人（周祖皆播種。 百穀以勸民）代天之養也。 臯陶（堯時治獄官也）甫刑（周穆王以齊侯呂伋為司寇。 使定五刑。 故曰呂刑。 呂侯後為甫侯。 故曰甫刑。 官也）代天之刑也。 成湯周發（成湯伐桀。 武王伐紂）代天之討也。 傅說（殷高宗之相）邵伯（周太保）代天之治也。 其或享用五福（五福。 一日壽。 二日富。 三日康寧。 四日攸好德。 五日考終壽也）威用六極（一日凶短折。 二日疾。 三日憂。 四日貧。 五日惡。 六日弱）非聖人莫能見彛倫之象也（尋常也。 倫理也）大梵臣帝釋。 帝釋臣四天。 四天臣群神。 洎群后。 書曰。 敢用玄牡。 敢昭告于上天神后。 竊或得非大梵天歟。 否者天之蒼蒼無馨無臭。 孰為真宰焉（非大梵而誰也）夫有事于圓丘（天子祭天於圓丘）類乎昊天上帝（類祭也）饗靈威仰等（五方之神。 東靈威仰。 南赤熛怒。 西白招拒。 北叶光紀。 中方含樞紐）禮于日月星辰。 斯或大梵王天帝釋四天王等之事也。 凡五氣五郊五帝昇壇。 五神配饗。 百神從祀。 或四天王帝釋焉。 但後世行事率承古典。 古者洪荒朴略（洪大也。 上古天地大荒純朴省略而已）各以方壤所據氣運所成（所據方域乘五行之運氣而王也）裁為禮經。 呼其神祇（以古事裁為禮經。 呼天地神祇也）奠以牢牲。 其名雖異而事或玄符也。 故西域無壇墠（築土為壇。 除土為揖。 祭告天地所也）而有天祠。 與華夏互為風也。 昔趙簡子享鈞天之樂（史記曰。 趙簡子疾不知人。 七日而窹曰。 我之帝所甚樂。 與百神遊于鈞天。 廣樂九奏萬舞不類三代之樂。 其聲動心也）秦穆公拜鶉首之賜（秦穆公夢天賜與金冊。 鶉首之地秦之分野。 鶉南方朱鳥之星鶉首。 鬼柳為鶉首。 翼軫為鶉尾也）蓋神與天交。 魂往形居。 高卑雖遠。 其應孔邇（天高地卑。 孔甚也。 邇近也）申生為被髮之訴（狐偃行次見申生使之御云夷吾對余無禮余得請於上帝。 以晉與秦。 後果如其言也。 上帝天也。 皆晉事也）劉約有美玉之請（劉約。 劉聰之太子。 夢入華胥國。 七日而活）蓋天授其靈示死有知。 孰厥下民克誠克信（孰誰也。 厥其也。 克能也。 若無其靈應。 下民孰其能信）自此三十三天之上。 皆曰空居。 非獲神通不可以往。 凡有二十六所（自炎摩天終非非想。 計二十六天也）層雲重構。 年顏倍永（自五百歲至非非想八萬劫也）其或微雲。 其或微形。 統以三界。 昭其目也。 括以四生。 旌其類也。 （統總也。 昭明也。 微細數目雖多。 總不出三界。 二十八天以攝之也。 胎卵濕化四生以旌表攝盡也）渾天儀曰。 天如鷄子。 地如中黃（地如鷄子中黃也。 地在天之內也）居於天內。 天大地小。 表裏有水。 天地各乘雲而立。 > The summit of Meru is eighty thousand \[yojanas\] square (its upper surface is eighty thousand yojanas across). It is flat as a whetstone, its paths soft as silk floss (a whetstone is a polishing stone; silk floss is cotton batting). This is the land where Emperor Śakra has his capital; on each of the four sides, eight heavens pay court to the central palace. These are called the Thirty-Three Heavens (on the four sides of Mount Sumeru there are eight heavens each; in the centre is the Hall of Good Dharma where Emperor Śakra dwells and the various gods pay court to him; in all there are thirty-three heavens, all of which are subsumed under the single heaven of Trāyastriṃśa). The various mountains in the ocean are mostly homes to terrestrial deities; these are indeed the capital cities of the Four Heavenly Kings. Hence, places like Fangzhang and Penglai (dwelling in the midst of the sea, borne about by sea turtles), where beings have long lives and beautiful forms, with halls and pavilions of radiant jade, purple, and green—for those devoted to the Dao of immortality, these are all lands where divine immortals roam and gather. They aspire to sprout wings and roost there. That heavenly Emperor Śakra has ministers and guards that assist and protect him, dignified and reverent, who govern those various heavens and illuminate and cover the earth below. He presides over the palace of a thousand wheels, hung with nets of strung pearls, shining brilliantly among them, where all things are manifested. Thus, if the multitude of mortals should wish that their sins and blessings, death and birth, long or short lives, good or bad fortune, and appointed meetings not be seen within those pearls, it is impossible (matters of sin and blessing are all seen within Emperor Śakra's pearl net). For this reason, when those of the upper class commit transgressions, Heaven carries out their punishment (hence it is said, 'Heaven's mandate brings it to an end'); when the common people commit transgressions, Heaven delegates their punishment (Heaven generates the teeming masses and sets up shepherds over them); and toward the good, blessings are bestowed in like manner. Thus the gentleman says that misfortune and blessing are made manifest through Heaven's mandate, meaning that they are simply recorded in the heart of the Sovereign. It is also said that 'good and bad fortune do not err' (to err means to exceed or differ), meaning that the Way of Qian is upright. Therefore, Shennong and Houji were among men (the ancestors of the Zhou both sowed seeds and grains to encourage the people) to provide nourishment on behalf of Heaven. Gao Yao (the judicial officer in the time of Yao) and the Fu Penal Code (King Mu of Zhou made Lü Ji, the Marquis of Qi, the Minister of Justice, and had him establish the five punishments, hence it was called the Lü Penal Code; the Marquis of Lü later became the Marquis of Fu, so it was called the Fu Penal Code, which is an official title) carried out punishments on behalf of Heaven. Tang the Successful and Fa of Zhou (Tang the Successful attacked Jie; King Wu attacked Zhou) carried out punitive campaigns on behalf of Heaven. Fu Yue (the minister of Gaozong of Yin) and the Earl of Shao (the Grand Protector of Zhou) exercised governance on behalf of Heaven. If they 'enjoyed the five blessings' (the five blessings are: first, long life; second, wealth; third, health and peace; fourth, love of virtue; fifth, a well-ended life) or 'overawed with the six extremities' (the first is misfortune and premature death; the second is sickness; the third is sorrow; the fourth is poverty; the fifth is ugliness; the sixth is weakness), none but a sage could perceive the patterns of the regular principles (regular means customary; principles means order). The Great Brahmā treats Emperor Śakra as his vassal; Emperor Śakra treats the Four Heavenly Kings as his vassals; the Four Heavenly Kings treat the host of spirits as their vassals; and they treat the host of rulers as theirs. The \*Classic of Documents\* states: 'I presume to use a black bull, and presume to clearly announce to the Sovereign Spirit of High Heaven.' Could this perhaps refer to the Great Brahmā Heaven? If not, since the blue sky is without fragrance or odour, who then is the true ruler (who could it be if not the Great Brahmā)? As for conducting sacrifices at the Circular Mound (the Son of Heaven sacrifices to Heaven at the Circular Mound), offering the \*lei\* sacrifice to the Sovereign on High of the Vast Heavens (the \*lei\* is a sacrifice), making offerings to Lingweiyang and the rest (the spirits of the five directions: in the east, Lingweiyang; in the south, Chibiaonu; in the west, Baizhaoju; in the north, Xieguangji; and in the central region, Hanshuniu), and paying respects to the sun, moon, and stars—these perhaps pertain to the Great Brahmā King, heavenly Emperor Śakra, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the like. Whenever the five qis, the five suburbs, and the five emperors ascend the altar, with the five spirits receiving matching offerings and the hundred spirits in attendance, these are perhaps the Four Heavenly Kings and Emperor Śakra. It is merely that later generations in performing these rites have all inherited ancient canons. In antiquity, the world was vast, unhewn, and simple (vast means immense; in high antiquity, heaven and earth were purely vast, plain, and simplified); each people, according to the territory they occupied and the movement of qi that formed them (occupying a realm and ruling by relying on the movement of the qi of the Five Elements), fashioned ritual classics, invoked their divine and earthly spirits (using ancient practices to fashion ritual classics, invoking the spirits of heaven and earth), and made offerings of sacrificial animals. Although the names differ, the matters perhaps tally obscurely. Therefore, the Western Regions have no earthen altars or cleared grounds (heaping earth forms an altar; clearing earth forms a cleared ground; these are places for sacrificing and reporting to heaven and earth), yet they have heavenly shrines; they differ in custom from the central Huaxia land. In the past, Viscount Jian of Zhao enjoyed the music of the Vast Heaven (the \*Records of the Grand Historian\* state: Viscount Jian of Zhao fell ill and lost awareness of others; after seven days he awoke and said, 'I went to the Sovereign's place and was very happy; I roamed with the hundred spirits in the Vast Heaven, where the vast music played nine movements and ten thousand dances, unlike the music of the Three Dynasties; its sound stirred the heart'); Duke Mu of Qin bowed in gratitude for the gift of Chunshou (Duke Mu of Qin dreamed that Heaven bestowed a golden register upon him; the land of Chunshou is the celestial division corresponding to Qin; Chun is the star of the Vermilion Bird in the south, Chunshou; Gui and Liu form Chunshou, and Yi and Zhen form Chunwei). This is because the spirit communicates with Heaven: while the soul goes forth, the physical form remains behind. Though the high and the low are far apart, their response is exceedingly close (heaven is high and earth is low; 'exceedingly' means very; 'close' means near). Shen Sheng made his plea with dishevelled hair (Hu Yan was traveling when he saw Shen Sheng, who had him drive his chariot and said, 'Yiwu treated me with disrespect; I have obtained permission from the Sovereign on High to give Jin to Qin.' Later it turned out just as he had said; the Sovereign on High is Heaven; these are all affairs of Jin). Liu Yue had his petition regarding fine jade (Liu Yue was the crown prince of Liu Cong; he dreamed of entering the land of Huaxu and revived after seven days). This shows that Heaven imparts its numinous power to demonstrate that the dead retain awareness; who among the common people below could fail to be sincere and faithful (who means anyone; its means their; to be able means can; if there were no such numinous responses, who among the common people could believe)? Above these Thirty-Three Heavens, all are called aerial dwellings. Unless one has attained supernormal powers, one cannot go there. In all there are twenty-six locations (from the Yāma Heaven up to Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception, counting twenty-six heavens in all), with layered clouds and manifold structures, where lifespans and youthful features are doubled and extended (from five hundred years up to eighty thousand kalpas in Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception). Some have subtle clouds, and some have subtle forms. They are governed by the three realms, which makes their categories clear; they are encompassed by the four modes of birth, which marks out their varieties (to govern means to unify; to make clear means to illuminate; although the subtle numbers are many, in general they do not exceed the three realms, being subsumed under the twenty-eight heavens; the four modes of birth—womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and spontaneously born—mark them out and subsume them entirely). The \*Armillary Sphere\* says: 'Heaven is like a hen's egg, and the earth is like the yolk inside' (the earth is like the yolk inside a hen's egg; the earth is within heaven). It resides within heaven: heaven is large and earth is small; there is water on both the outside and inside; and heaven and earth each rest upon clouds as they stand. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 1.9.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2113.1.9.4) - [Next: 1.9.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2113.1.9.6) - [Up: 1.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2113.1.9) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2113~en-mt.1.9.5) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2113.1.9.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2113.1.9.5) · Pramāṇa