翻譯名義集 3.37

3.37

《楞嚴》云：「世為遷流，界為方位。汝今當知，東西南北、東南西南、東北西北、上下為界。過去未來現在為世。」世界有二種：一眾生世界，是正報；二器世界，是依報。故《楞嚴》云：「由此無始眾生世界生纏縛故，於器世間不能超越。」《大論》明三種世間：一者五陰，二者眾生，三者國土。間之與界，名異義同。間是隔別間差，界是界畔分齊。界有二種：一者十界，二者三界。言十界者，所謂地獄、餓鬼、畜生、修羅、人、天，此名六凡；聲聞、緣覺、菩薩、佛，此名四聖。《指月鈔》「問：『十界之名，有何顯據？』答：『《大論》云：「眾生九道中受記，所謂三乘道、六趣道。」是知九道即九界也。受記作佛，十界明矣。』」二、三界者，一欲界。欲有三種：一飲食，二睡眠，三婬欲。於此三事，希須名欲。若有情界，從他化天至無間獄。若器世界，乃至風輪，皆欲界攝。二色界者，形質清淨身相殊勝，未出色籠故名色界。三無色界者，於彼界中色非有故。又此三界總舉則六道，別分乃二十五有。荊溪頌曰：「四洲四惡趣，六欲并梵天，四禪四空處，無想五那含。」又此三界通有三種，謂小千中千大千也。如《俱舍》云：「四大洲日月，須彌盧欲天，梵世各一千，此名小千界。此小千千倍，說名一中千，此千倍大千，皆同一成壞。」昔南山尊者問韋天將軍曰：「余聞一佛化境三千國土日月歲數，或言百億，或言千百億。」答曰：「如師問百億千百億者，經文分明千百億化身釋迦牟尼佛。一佛化一日月下，何得百分秖言其一？但時語訛惑，略致斯爾。總要言之，萬億日月為一大千。」《熏聞》云：「恐西天數，億有大小。應以一百小億為一大億，乃成百億日月。」如是大千，皆是釋尊所化之境。如《法華》云：「如來亦復如是，則為一切世間之父，而生三界。杇故火宅，為度眾生生老病死憂悲苦惱愚癡暗蔽三毒之火，教化令得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。」

The Śūraṅgama says: "*Shi* (time/world) is flux and change; *jie* (realm/boundary) is spatial orientation. You should now know that east, west, south, north, southeast, southwest, northeast, northwest, above, and below constitute *jie*. Past, future, and present constitute *shi*." There are two kinds of worlds: first, the world of sentient beings, which is the primary retribution; second, the container world, which is the dependent retribution. Therefore the Śūraṅgama says: "Because of being bound by the world of sentient beings from beginningless time, one cannot transcend the container world." The Great Commentary explains three kinds of worlds: first, the five skandhas; second, sentient beings; third, lands. Between *jian* (interval/world) and *jie* (realm), the names differ but the meaning is the same. *Jian* means separation and differentiation; *jie* means boundary and distinction. There are two kinds of realms: first, the ten realms; second, the three realms. The ten realms are hells, hungry ghosts, animals, asuras, humans, and devas—these are called the six ordinary realms; śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and buddhas—these are called the four noble realms. The Zhiyue chao states: "Question: 'What clear textual basis is there for the name ten realms?' Answer: 'The Great Commentary states: "Sentient beings receive prediction within the nine paths, namely the paths of the three vehicles and the paths of the six destinies." Thus we know that the nine paths are the nine realms. With the prediction of becoming a buddha, the ten realms are clearly established.'" Second, regarding the three realms: first is the desire realm. Desire is of three kinds: eating and drinking, sleeping, and sexual desire. Craving and longing for these three things is called desire. As for the realm of sentient beings, it spans from the Heaven of Freely Enjoying Others' Emanations down to the Avīci Hell. As for the container world, down to the wind circle, all is subsumed under the desire realm. Second is the form realm: having pure physical substance and supreme bodily marks, yet not having transcended the cage of form, it is therefore called the form realm. Third is the formless realm: because form does not exist in that realm. Furthermore, taken collectively, these three realms comprise the six destinies; divided separately, they comprise the twenty-five states of existence. Jingxi's verse says: "The four continents and four evil destinies, / The six desire [heavens] along with the Brahmā heaven, / The four dhyānas and four formless realms, / Non-conception and the five anāgāmins." Furthermore, throughout these three realms there are three scales: the small-thousand, medium-thousand, and great-thousand [world systems]. As the Kośa says: "The four great continents, suns and moons, / Mount Sumeru and the desire heavens, / And the Brahmā worlds, each a thousand, / Are called a small-thousand realm. / A thousand times this small-thousand / Is said to be a medium-thousand; / A thousand times this is a great-thousand, / All sharing a common creation and destruction." Formerly, the Venerable of Nanshan asked the Heavenly General Weitian: "I have heard that the number of suns, moons, and years in the three-thousand realm of a single buddha's field of conversion is said to be ten billion (baiyi) by some, and a hundred billion (qianbaiyi) by others." He answered: "As for the ten billion or hundred billion that the master asks about, the sutra texts clearly state: 'The hundred billion transformation-body Śākyamuni Buddhas.' Since a single buddha converts [a realm] beneath a single sun and moon, how could one speak of only one out of a hundred parts? It is only that colloquial phrasing has led to confusion and abbreviated it like this. In general, ten thousand billion suns and moons make one great-thousand [world]." The Xunwen says: "It is feared that in the Western Heaven's reckoning, there are large and small billions (*yi*). One should take one hundred small billions as one large billion, thus completing ten billion suns and moons." Such a great-thousand realm is entirely the field of conversion of the World-Honoured Śākya. As the Lotus Sutra says: "The Tathāgata is also like this: being the father of all the world, who appears in the three realms, the rotten old burning house, in order to save sentient beings from the fires of birth, old age, sickness, death, worry, sorrow, pain, distress, delusion, obscurity, and the three poisons, teaching and transforming them to attain anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi."