北山錄 1.9.5

1.9.5

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.