法苑珠林 72.13

72.13

故知生寬趣陜。以化生寬故。全攝二趣及三趣少分。地獄趣中一向化生。問曰。六欲諸天既行慾同人。何故無有胎生。答曰。慾愛雖同行事不等。故樓炭正法念經等云。四王忉利此二地居。行慾之時男女形交。同人無異。而無泄精。與人不同。自上四天一向全異。炎摩天行慾意喜相抱。或但執手而為究竟。不至交合。兜率天中意喜語笑。即為究竟。不待相抱。化樂天中共相瞻視。即為究竟。不待語笑。他化天中但聞語聲。或聞香氣。即為究竟。不待瞻視。故異於人。以天化生故從母膝化起。鬼趣化生可知。胎生者。少隱如彼淨觀音說。謂昔王舍城中有一女人。為鬼精著。身生五百鬼子。又俱舍論。有鬼告目連云。我晝生於五子。夜亦生五子。隨生而食。噉竟無有飽時。此為胎生鬼也。阿脩羅趣亦具胎化二生。以有匹配故有胎生。脩羅劫初從天而出。即是化生。又依觀佛三昧經說。根本女脩羅元從大海泥卵濕潤中出。通彼胎化。亦具四生也。人具四生者。胎生現見可知。卵如涅槃經說。如毘舍佉母生一肉卵。於中出其三十二卵。如鞞婆沙論云。問云何知人中有卵生。答如佛所說。閻浮利地多有商人入海採寶。得二鶴。隨意所化。失一一在。與共遊戲寢臥一室。共彼合會。遂生二卵。卵漸濕熟便生二童。後大出家學道得阿羅漢果。一名尸婆羅。二名優鉢尸婆羅。問曰。云何知人中有濕生。答曰。如經所說。有頂生王。尊者遮羅。尊者優婆遮羅。梨女及柰女等。即其事也。問曰。云何知人中有化生。答曰。如劫初人是也。已得聖法者。不復卵生濕生。問曰。何故不復卵生濕生耶。答曰。卵生濕生是畜生趣所攝也。畜具四生者。胎卵濕生。此三目覩可知。其化生者。依樓炭經云。如四生金翅鳥。還食四生龍。化生食四。胎生食三（除化）卵生食二（除化及胎）濕生還食濕生一（除三可知）又起世經云。大海之北。為諸龍王及一切金翅鳥王故生一大樹。名曰居吒奢摩離（隋言鹿聚）其樹根本周七由旬。入地二十由旬。身高一百由旬。枝葉遍覆五十由旬。樹東面有卵生龍及卵生金翅鳥。樹南面有胎生龍及胎生金翅鳥。樹西面有濕生龍及濕生金翅鳥。樹北面有化生龍及化生金翅鳥。此四處各有宮殿。縱廣六百由旬。七重垣牆。七寶莊嚴。妙香遠熏。諸鳥和鳴。

Therefore we know that birth is broad and destiny is narrow. Because apparitional birth is broad, it completely subsumes two destinies and a small portion of three destinies; within the hell destiny, it is exclusively apparitional birth. Question: 'Since the gods of the six heavens of the desire realm engage in lust in the same way as humans, why do they not have womb birth?' Answer: 'Although their lust and desire are similar, their conduct is not the same.' Hence the Lou tan jing, Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna-sūtra, and others say: 'In the Four Heavenly Kings and Trāyastriṃśa, these two terrestrial realms, when engaging in lust, the male and female forms unite just as with humans without difference, yet without discharging semen, unlike humans. From the four heavens above them, it is completely different. In the Yāma Heaven, engaging in lust is accomplished when their hearts rejoice and they embrace each other, or merely hold hands, without reaching physical union. In the Tuṣita Heaven, when their hearts rejoice, speaking and laughing accomplishes it, without waiting to embrace. In the Nirmāṇarati Heaven, gazing mutually at one another accomplishes it, without waiting for speech or laughter. In the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven, merely hearing the sound of voices or smelling fragrance accomplishes it, without waiting to gaze. Hence they are different from humans. Because the gods are apparitionally born, they appear by transformation from the mother's knees.' Apparitional birth in the ghost destiny is readily known. Womb birth there is rather hidden, as explained in that Jing Guanyin: in the past, in the city of Rājagṛha, there was a woman possessed by a ghostly essence who gave birth to five hundred ghost children. Furthermore, in the Kośa-śāstra, a ghost says to Maudgalyāyana: 'By day I give birth to five children, and by night I also give birth to five children; as soon as they are born I eat them, and when I have finished devouring them, I am never sated.' This is a womb-born ghost. The asura destiny also possesses both womb and apparitional birth: because they have mating pairs, they have womb birth; when the asuras at the beginning of the kalpa emerged from heaven, that was apparitional birth. Furthermore, according to the Guan Fo sanmei jing, the primordial female asura originally emerged from the moisture of mud and eggs in the great ocean; encompassing their womb and apparitional forms, they also possess all four forms of birth. Humans possessing the four forms of birth: womb birth is visibly apparent and knowable; egg birth is as spoken in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, like the mother of Viśākhā giving birth to a flesh egg, from within which came forth thirty-two eggs. As the Vibhāṣā-śāstra says: 'Question: "How do we know there is egg birth among humans?" Answer: "As the Buddha stated, in the land of Jambudvīpa many merchants went into the ocean to gather jewels and obtained two cranes. Transforming as they pleased, one was lost and one remained. Playing and sleeping together in the same room, they mated with it, and thereupon it laid two eggs. The eggs gradually moistened and matured, and then gave birth to two boys. Later, when grown, they left home to cultivate the Way and attained the fruit of arhatship. One was named Sīvali, and the second was named Uppalasīvali."' Question: 'How do we know there is moisture birth among humans?' Answer: 'As the sūtras explain, King Mūrdhagata, the Venerable Cāla, the Venerable Upacāla, the Pear Maiden, and the Plum Maiden and others—these are instances of it.' Question: 'How do we know there is apparitional birth among humans?' Answer: 'Humans at the beginning of the kalpa are an example of this. Those who have already attained the noble Dharma are no longer born from eggs or moisture.' Question: 'Why are they no longer born from eggs or moisture?' Answer: 'Egg birth and moisture birth are subsumed under the animal destiny.' Animals possessing all four forms of birth: womb, egg, and moisture birth—these three are known through direct observation. As for apparitional birth, according to the Lou tan jing, just as the four forms of birth among the garuḍa birds in turn eat the four forms of birth among the nāgas: the apparitionally born eat all four; the womb-born eat three (excluding the apparitional); the egg-born eat two (excluding the apparitional and womb-born); the moisture-born in turn eat only the moisture-born one (excluding three, as is understandable). Furthermore, the Qishi jing says: 'To the north of the great ocean, for the sake of all the nāga kings and all the garuḍa bird kings, a great tree grew, named Kuṭaśālmali (translated in Sui as "Deer Gathering"). The circumference of the trunk of this tree is seven yojanas; it penetrates twenty yojanas into the earth, its height is one hundred yojanas, and its branches and leaves cover fifty yojanas. On the eastern face of the tree are egg-born nāgas and egg-born garuḍas. On the southern face of the tree are womb-born nāgas and womb-born garuḍas. On the western face of the tree are moisture-born nāgas and moisture-born garuḍas. On the northern face of the tree are apparitionally born nāgas and apparitionally born garuḍas. In each of these four places there are palaces, six hundred yojanas in length and breadth, with seven tiers of walls, adorned with the seven jewels, with wondrous fragrance perfuming far and wide, and all the birds singing in harmony.'