法苑珠林 2.28

2.28

如婆沙論中說。天有三十二種。欲界有十。色界有十八。無色界有四。合有三十二天也。第一欲界十天者。一名干手天。二名持華鬘天。三名常放逸天。四名日月星宿天。五名四天王天。六名三十三天（總名忉利天攝）七名炎摩天。八名兜率陀天。九名化樂天。十名他化自在天（初星宿及後四。此五居空。干手華鬘放逸四天忉利。此五在山。具如下第九住處說）第二色界有十八天者。初禪有三天。一名梵眾天。二名梵輔天。三名大梵天（此大梵天無別住處。但於梵輔有層臺高顯嚴博。大梵天王獨於上住。以別群下於此。三天之中梵眾是庶民。梵輔是臣。大梵是君。唯此初禪有其君臣民庶之別。自此已上悉皆無也）二禪之中有三天。一名少光天。二名無量光天。三名光音天。第三禪中亦有三天。一名少淨天。二名無量淨天。三名遍淨天。第四禪中獨有九天。一名福生天。二名福愛天。三名廣果天。四名無想天（此無想天亦無別所。但與廣果同階別處以是外道所居故分二種別名也）五名無煩天。六名無熱天。七名善現天。八名善見天。九名色究竟天（亦名阿迦膩吒天名色界合有十八天）第三無色界中有四天。一名空處天。二名識處天。三名無所有處天。四名非想非非想處天（是名三界總有三十二種天也）問曰。未知此三十二天幾凡幾聖。答曰。二唯凡住。五唯聖住。自餘二十五天凡聖共住。所言二唯凡住者。一是初禪大梵天王。二是四禪中無想天中。唯是外道所居。問曰。何故此二唯凡住耶。答曰。為大梵天王不達業因。唯說我能造化一切天地人物。恃此高慢輕蔑一切聖人。故不與居。又無想天中唯是外道修無想定以生其中。受五百劫無心之報。外道不達謂為涅槃。受報畢已必起邪見來生地獄。以是義故。一切聖人亦不生中也。所言五唯聖人居者。謂從廣果已上無煩無熱等五淨居天。唯是那含羅漢之所住也。縱凡生彼天者要是進向那含身。得四禪發於無漏起熏禪業。或起一品乃至五品。方乃得生。凡夫無此熏禪業故不得生也。若言那含生彼理則無疑。問曰。阿羅漢既是無生。何故亦云生彼天者。答曰。此應言欲界那含生彼而得羅漢。非謂先是羅漢而生彼也。自餘二十五天凡聖共居。不言可悉。若總據大小乘說。合有四天。故涅槃經云。有四種天。一世間天。二生天。三淨天。四義天。世間天者如諸國王。生天者從四天王乃至非想非無想天。淨天者從須陀洹至辟支佛。義天者十住菩薩摩訶薩。以何義故。十住菩薩名為義天。以能善解諸法義見一切法是空義故。

As explained in the *Vibhāṣā-śāstra*, there are thirty-two kinds of devas: ten in the desire realm (kāmadhātu), eighteen in the form realm (rūpadhātu), and four in the formless realm (ārūpyadhātu), making thirty-two devas in total. First, the ten devas of the desire realm are: 1. the devas of hand-bearers (Karapāṇi); 2. the devas of garland-bearers (Mālādhāra); 3. the devas of perpetual intoxication (Sadāmatta); 4. the devas of the sun, moon, and constellations; 5. the devas of the Four Heavenly Kings; 6. the thirty-three devas (subsumed collectively under the name Trāyastriṃśa); 7. the Yāma devas; 8. the Tuṣita devas; 9. the Nirmāṇarati devas; 10. the Paranirmitavaśavartin devas (the first four—from the constellations backward—together with the four highest dwell in space; the hand-bearers, garland-bearers, perpetual-intoxication, Four Heavenly Kings, and Trāyastriṃśa dwell on the mountain; as fully explained in section nine on dwellings below). Second, the eighteen devas of the form realm are: In the first dhyāna there are three devas: 1. Brahmapāriṣadya; 2. Brahmapurohita; 3. Mahābrahmā (this Mahābrahmā has no separate dwelling place, but merely a high, manifest, ornate, and broad terraced dais in the Brahmapurohita heaven where the Great Brahmā King dwells alone to distinguish himself from the lower masses. Among these three devas, Brahmapāriṣadya represents common subjects, Brahmapurohita represents ministers, and Mahābrahmā represents the ruler. Only this first dhyāna has this distinction of ruler, minister, and common subject; from this level upward, none have it). In the second dhyāna there are three devas: 1. Parīttābha; 2. Apramāṇābha; 3. Ābhāsvara. In the third dhyāna there are also three devas: 1. Parīttaśubha; 2. Apramāṇaśubha; 3. Śubhakṛtsna. In the fourth dhyāna there are nine devas alone: 1. Anabhraka; 2. Puṇyaprasava; 3. Bṛhatphala; 4. Asaṃjñisattva (this Asaṃjñisattva heaven also has no separate realm, but shares the same level with Bṛhatphala in a distinct place; because non-Buddhists dwell there, it is distinguished under two different names); 5. Avṛha; 6. Atapa; 7. Sudṛśa; 8. Sudarśana; 9. Akaniṣṭha (also called the Akaniṣṭha heaven; these make eighteen devas in total for the form realm). Third, in the formless realm there are four devas: 1. Ākāśānantyāyatana; 2. Vijñānānantyāyatana; 3. Ākiṃcanyāyatana; 4. Naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana (these are the thirty-two kinds of devas in the three realms). Question: Among these thirty-two devas, how many are inhabited by ordinary beings (pṛthagjana) and how many by noble ones (ārya)? Answer: Two are inhabited solely by ordinary beings; five are inhabited solely by noble ones; the remaining twenty-five devas are cohabited by both ordinary beings and noble ones. Those two inhabited solely by ordinary beings are: first, the Great Brahmā King of the first dhyāna; second, the Asaṃjñisattva heaven within the fourth dhyāna, which is inhabited solely by non-Buddhists. Question: Why are these two inhabited solely by ordinary beings? Answer: Because the Great Brahmā King does not understand karmic causes and claims only, 'I can create all heaven, earth, people, and things.' Relying on this pride, he looks down upon all noble ones; therefore, they do not dwell with him. Furthermore, the Asaṃjñisattva heaven is where non-Buddhists alone, having practiced the thoughtless concentration (asaṃjñi-samāpatti), are reborn to experience the retribution of being without mind for five hundred kalpas. Failing to understand, non-Buddhists deem this to be nirvāṇa; having exhausted this retribution, they inevitably produce wrong views and are reborn in hell. For this reason, no noble ones are reborn there either. Those five inhabited solely by noble ones are the five Pure Abodes (śuddhāvāsa) from above Bṛhatphala upward, namely Avṛha, Atapa, and so on; they are inhabited exclusively by anāgamins and arhats. Even if an ordinary being were to be reborn in that heaven, they would have to be an individual progressing toward anāgamin status who has attained the fourth dhyāna, generated the outflow-free state, and cultivated the karma of perfumed dhyāna—generating one grade up to five grades—before being able to be reborn there. Because ordinary beings lack this karma of perfumed dhyāna, they cannot be reborn there. If it is said that anāgamins are born there, that principle is beyond doubt. Question: Since arhats are free from rebirth, why is it also said that they are reborn in that heaven? Answer: This should be understood as anāgamins from the desire realm being reborn there and attaining arhatship, not that one who is already an arhat is reborn there. The remaining twenty-five devas are cohabited by both ordinary beings and noble ones, which is clear without elaboration. When comprehensively explained according to the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, there are four classes of devas in total. Thus the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra* states that there are four kinds of devas: 1. conventional devas (sammati-deva); 2. devas by birth (upapatti-deva); 3. pure devas (viśuddhi-deva); 4. devas of ultimate truth (paramārtha-deva). 'Conventional devas' refers to worldly kings. 'Devas by birth' refers to those from the Four Heavenly Kings up to the heaven of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception. 'Pure devas' refers to those from srotāpannas up to pratyekabuddhas. 'Devas of ultimate truth' refers to bodhisattva-mahāsattvas of the ten abodes (daśabhūmi). For what reason are bodhisattvas of the ten abodes called devas of ultimate truth? Because they are able to skillfully understand the true principle of all phenomena and see that all phenomena are empty in principle.