法苑珠林 72.13

72.13

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.'