經律異相 46.21

46.21

There are four great heavenly deities: the first is Earth, the second Water, the third Wind, and the fourth Fire. The earth deity thought to herself, "Earth contains no water, fire, or wind." The Buddha said, "Within earth there is water, fire, and wind, but because earth is predominant, it receives its name." The deities of water, fire, and wind are all likewise. The Buddha expounded the Dharma for them, and they all received the five precepts and became upāsikās. In the residences where all the people live, there are ghosts and spirits; none are unoccupied. In streets, lanes, avenues, butcher shops, assemblies, marketplaces, and the various mountains and tombs, there are ghosts and spirits; there is no empty place. In general, all ghosts and spirits are named according to what they rely upon (the Loutan jing says that a tree seven feet high and one foot in circumference has a ghost or spirit). When a person is first born, there are ghosts and spirits following and protecting them. When a person is about to die, the ghosts collect their vital essence. A hundred or a thousand people who practice the ten unwholesome deeds share a single spirit guarding them, just as a king employs hundreds or thousands of people to guard a single minister (from the Dīrghāgama, fascicle 20).