法苑珠林 5.11

5.11

問曰。諸天形相云何。答曰。其形上立。問曰。語言云何。答曰。皆作聖語。又立世阿毘曇論云。天名提婆。謂行善因於此道生。故名提婆。今略論諸天報身之相。所謂諸天皆無骨肉。亦無大小便利不淨。身放光明無別晝夜。報得五通形無障礙。故正法念經云。譬如一室然五百燈光明不相逼迫。諸天手中置五百天亦復如是。不窄不妨。又彼經云。彼夜摩天或有一百。或有一千。共聚在一蓮華鬚同坐。不妨不隘不窄。以善業故。自業力故。又智度論云。第三遍淨天六十人坐一針頭而聽法不相妨礙。又正法念經云。爾時夜摩天王。為諸天說偈云。

Question: What are the bodily forms and appearances of the devas?
Answer: Their forms stand upright.
Question: What is their speech like?
Answer: They all speak the sacred tongue. Furthermore, the Lokasthitābhidharma-śāstra states: 'Deva is called dibo (deva), meaning that because they practice good causes, they are born into this path; hence they are called devas.' Now we briefly discuss the bodily marks of retribution of the devas: namely, none of the devas have bones or flesh, nor do they have gross or subtle excrement and impurities. Their bodies emit light without distinction of day and night. By retribution they obtain the five supernatural knowledges, and their forms have no obstruction. Thus the Saddharmanmityupasthāna-sūtra says: 'Just as in a single room where five hundred lamps are lit, their lights do not crowd one another, so too when five hundred devas are placed in the hand of a deva, it is neither tight nor obstructed.' Furthermore, that sūtra states: 'In the Yāma heaven, sometimes one hundred, or even one thousand, sit together on the filaments of a single lotus flower without hindrance, constriction, or crowding, due to their good karma and the power of their own karma.' Furthermore, the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra states: 'In the third heaven of Śubhakṛtsna, sixty persons sit on the tip of a single needle to listen to the Dharma without obstructing one another.' Furthermore, the Saddharmanmityupasthāna-sūtra says: 'At that time, the King of the Yāma Devas spoke a gāthā for the devas:'