法苑珠林 2.51

2.51

第一四天王天受生者。依長阿含智度論等。四天王天皆有婚嫁。行欲如人然受化生。初生如二歲小兒在其膝上（依順正理論云。如五歲小兒別經云。男生坐母右膝女生坐母左膝上也）兒來未久便知飢渴。自然寶器盛百味食。若福多者飯色自白。中者青色。下者赤色。若渴寶器甘露漿。如食之色。飲不留停如蘇投火。食訖便與諸天等量。初生出時憶昔往業。戲已忘念。第二忉利天受生者。依毘耶婆仙人。問佛經云。大仙當知。三十三天遊戲受樂。於樹林中行見彼天子天女同一處坐。心喜愛樂速生彼處。如線穿珠牽線珠走。不生異道。即於生時彼天婦女手華生。彼女見已自知有兒。即以此華授與夫言。若今得子可生歡喜。彼天見之喜心增上。必知其妻得天童子。二天心喜七日滿已長髮旋動。清淨無垢天衣具足。即彼天來生七日之中憶念我某處退生此天中某我父母我作善業極生喜。喜生已則心欲得即便行。往詣彼處如醉象行。臂如象鼻洪圓纖長胸則平正。臂如金色上下身麁中身則細。行則庠審深心勇健。腰如弓弝背骨平直。兩髀洪滿如芭蕉樹。善知天法髭鬚短細天香甚香。爪甲赤薄身體香潔。無主莊嚴取以嚴身。天無病苦。於宮殿中次第漸行。見無主天女見天童子。一切悉來圍遶而住。作如是言。聖子善來。此汝宮殿。我無夫主。久離夫主。獨有童子。我今年少。妙色具足。應相供養。乳若金瓶。面如蓮華開敷之色。如雲電行端正可喜。我是天女。今相供養奉給走使。此戲樂處。如是婦女而來近之奉給供養。彼三十三天有善法堂。天眾集處。有八萬四千柱。皆是眾寶所成。入者無諸惡觸蚊虻等過。亦無眠睡懈怠頻申等過。無量百千天女欲心戲笑。無有嫉心鬪諍等過。頰淨無垢如月鏡輪。天女之法以香彩色用點頰額以莊嚴面。天女詠聲共相娛樂。起世經云彼於天中。或在天子。或在天女。或於坐處。或兩膝內。或兩股間忽然而生。初生出時即如人間十二歲兒。若是天男即在天子坐處膝邊隨一處生。若是天女即在天女兩股內生。既出生已彼天即稱是我兒女。初生之時以自業故得三種念。一自知從某處死。二自知今此處生。三知彼生。是此業果是此福報。作是念已。便思念食。即於其前有眾寶器。自然盛滿天須陀味種種異色。有眾寶器其須陀味色最白淨。若報中者其色稍赤。若福下者其色稍黑。彼天子以手把取天須陀味。內其口中。即漸消融如蘇置火。即自消融無復形影。若有渴時即於其前有天寶器盛滿天酒。隨福上中下白赤黑色。略說如前。入口消融亦同前說。飲食既訖身遂長大。麁細高下與舊男女等無有異。此諸天子天女等。身既充足各隨意趣。或詣園苑看其樹。自然種種衣服瓔珞華鬘飲食音樂低垂。隨取無量億數。諸天玉女在此園中未見如是。以業熟故。了了分明。憶宿世事如視掌中。由見天女迷諸色故。正念覺智此心即滅。既失前念著現在欲。口唯唱言。此等皆是。天玉女耶。天玉女耶。此則名為欲愛所縛。順正理論云。諸天初受生時。身量云何。且六欲諸天初生。如次如五六七八九十歲人。生已身形速得圓滿。色界天眾。於初生時。身量周圓。具妙衣服。一切天眾皆作聖言。為彼言詞同中印度。然不由學自解典言。

First, regarding rebirth in the heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings: According to the Dīrgha Āgama, the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra, and other texts, in the heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings there is marriage, and sexual desire is engaged in just like humans, yet rebirth is by apparitional birth (aupapāduka). At first birth, they appear like two-year-old children on the lap [of their parents] (according to the Nyāyānusāra, they are like five-year-old children; another sūtra states that male children sit on the mother's right knee and female children on the mother's left knee). Not long after the child's arrival, it experiences hunger and thirst. Spontaneously, jeweled vessels appear filled with foods of a hundred flavors. For those with greater merit, the color of the food is naturally white; for those of middling merit, it is bluish; for those of lesser merit, it is reddish. If they are thirsty, jeweled vessels of ambrosial nectar appear, its color matching that of the food. When drunk, it does not linger, like clarified butter thrown into fire. Once they finish eating, they immediately attain the same size as the other devas. When first born, they remember their past karma from former times; after playing, they forget these thoughts. Second, regarding rebirth in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven: According to the Sūtra of the Rṣi Vyāsa's Questions to the Buddha, it says: 'Great Ṛṣi, you should know that in the Thirty-Three Heavens they sport and enjoy pleasures. Walking in the forest groves, they see devaputras and devakanyās sitting together in one place. With delight and fondness in their hearts, they are swiftly reborn in that place, like a thread strung through beads, pulling the thread as the beads follow, not being reborn in other destinies. Right at the moment of birth, a flower appears in the hand of a woman of that heaven. Seeing it, the woman knows of herself that she has a child. She immediately presents this flower to her husband, saying: "If we now have a child, you should rejoice." Seeing it, the deva's joy increases, knowing with certainty that his wife has obtained a celestial boy. With both devas joyful, after seven days are complete, his long hair curls and stirs; he is pure and unstained, fully clad in celestial garments. During the seven days after coming to be born in that heaven, he remembers: "I fell from such-and-such place and was reborn among these devas, so-and-so are my parents, and it is because I performed wholesome karma that I experience extreme joy." Having given rise to joy, his mind feels desire, and he immediately walks, going to that place like an elephant in rut. His arms are like elephant trunks, full, round, slender, and long; his chest is flat and upright. His arms are golden in color; his upper and lower body are stout, while his middle body is slender. His gait is dignified and composed, and his inner mind is valiant and vigorous. His waist is like the grip of a bow; his backbone is straight and level. His two thighs are plump and full, like plantain trees. He is well-versed in celestial customs; his beard and mustache are short and fine; his heavenly fragrance is exceptionally sweet. His fingernails are reddish and thin, and his body is fragrant and pure. He takes masterless adornments to adorn his body. Devas have no suffering of illness. Walking gradually along the palaces, he sees masterless celestial maidens, who seeing the celestial boy, all come to surround him and stand, saying: "Welcome, noble son! This is your palace. We have no husbands; we have long been separated from husbands, and only have you, young boy. We are young now, endowed with wondrous beauty, and should attend upon you. Our breasts are like golden vessels; our faces have the color of blooming lotuses. Moving like clouds and lightning, we are upright and delightful. We are celestial maidens; we now attend upon you, serving you and running errands. This is a place of sport and delight." Such women come near to him, serving and attending upon him. In that Thirty-Three Heavens, there is the Hall of Saddharma, the assembly place for the hosts of devas. It has eighty-four thousand pillars, all made of various jewels. Those who enter it are free from all foul touch, mosquitoes, gnats, and other faults, and free also from sleep, drowsiness, indolence, yawning, and other faults. Countless hundreds of thousands of celestial maidens sport and laugh with longing hearts, free from the faults of jealousy, contention, and the like. Their cheeks are pure and spotless, like the disk of a moon or mirror. The practice of celestial maidens is to use fragrant pigments to dot their cheeks and foreheads to adorn their faces. The singing voices of the celestial maidens entertain one another.' The Lokotthāna-sūtra states: 'Among those devas, [beings] suddenly arise either beside a devaputra or beside a devakanyā, or at their sitting places, or on their knees, or between their thighs. When first born, they are just like twelve-year-old human children. If it is a celestial boy, he is born at the devaputra's seat or beside his knee, wherever it may be. If it is a celestial maiden, she is born between the devakanyā's two thighs. After being born, those devas declare: "This is our son / daughter." At the time of first birth, by virtue of their own karma, they attain three kinds of mindfulness: first, knowing of themselves that they died from such-and-such place; second, knowing of themselves that they are now born in this place; third, knowing that this birth is the fruit of this karma and the retribution for this merit. Having had these thoughts, they then think of food. Right before them appear vessels of various jewels, spontaneously filled with celestial sudhā-flavor of various different colors. There are jeweled vessels whose sudhā-flavor is of the purest white color; if one's retribution is middling, its color is slightly reddish; if one's merit is inferior, its color is slightly blackish. That devaputra takes the celestial sudhā-flavor with his hand and puts it into his mouth; it gradually melts away, like butter placed in fire, dissolving away of itself without leaving shape or shadow. If they are thirsty, there appears before them a celestial jeweled vessel filled with celestial wine, white, red, or black according to superior, middling, or inferior merit, as briefly explained before. Melting upon entering the mouth is also the same as said before. Once eating and drinking are finished, their bodies immediately grow large; their stoutness, slenderness, height, and lowliness are no different from the former men and women. These devaputras, devakanyās, and others, once their bodies are fully mature, go wherever they please. Some visit the parks and gardens to look at the trees, where various kinds of clothing, necklaces, garlands, food, drink, and music naturally hang down low, allowing them to take as much as they wish. Countless kotis of heavenly jade maidens in this garden have never seen such a thing. Because their karma is ripened, they clearly and distinctly remember the events of past lives as if looking at the palm of their hand. Because of seeing the celestial maidens and becoming deluded by various forms, their correct mindfulness and awakening insight immediately perish in this mind. Having lost their former mindfulness, they cling to present desires, their mouths only crying out: "Are all these heavenly jade maidens? Heavenly jade maidens?" This is called being bound by desire and attachment.' The Nyāyānusāra states: 'When the devas are first reborn, what is their bodily size? First, the devas of the six heavens of desire, when first born, are respectively like human beings of five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten years of age. Having been born, their physical forms swiftly attain perfection. As for the devas of the form realm (rūpadhātu), at their first birth, their bodily size is fully complete and endowed with wondrous garments. All the devas speak the noble language; because their speech is identical to that of Central India, yet without learning, they naturally understand the classical tongue.'