法苑珠林 2.51

2.51

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.'