一切經音義 18.39

18.39

Three realms (the pronunciation is [the fanqie] 皆 + 薤; it is also written with the character 界. Both character forms have the same gloss and usage. In Sanskrit one says trai-lokya (trai is a conjunct with a rolled tongue; lo is prolonged; kya is a conjunct); in the Tang language one says 'three realms' (sanjie), namely the desire realm, the form realm, and [the formless realm]. Ranked in order from top to bottom, there are altogether twenty-eight tiers of heavens. Some rely on mountains and the earth, while others rely on empty space, residing according to their karma. Laterally they encompass the trichiliocosm with its ten billion Sumerus and Iron Enclosing Mountains; above they reach the summit of existence (bhavāgra) and dark void; below they extend to the limit of the wind-wheel and the spatial realm. It is collectively called sahā, which the ancient translations rendered as the Sahā world).