Destiny of Gods
VOLUME 7, Chapter 4
N2 Ministers of brahma heaven.
Sutra:
In those whose hearts of desire have already been cast
aside, the mind apart from desire manifests. They have a fond
regard for the rules of discipline and delight in being in accord
with them. These people can practice the Brahma virtue at all
times, and they are among those in the Heaven of the Ministers
of Brahma.
Commentary:
In those whose hearts of desire have already been cast aside,
the mind apart from desire manifests. They have a fond regard
for the rules of discipline and delight in being in accord with
them. People by nature like food and sex. These habits are innate in
them. But at this point, these beings have gotten rid of their habits
of sexual desire. Since they don.t have desire, the mind apart from
desire appears. They cultivate the precepts and the rules of
awesome deportment. They like the precepts and follow them in
their cultivation. These people can practice the Brahma virtue at
all times, and they are among those in the Heaven of the
Ministers of Brahma. At all times and in all situations, they
cultivate pure practices. Their conduct is virtuous and pure.
.Brahma. means purity. These people are born in the second
heaven of the first dhyana. As ministers, they aid the Great Brahma
Heaven King.
N3 Great brahma heaven.
Sutra:
Those whose bodies and minds are wonderfully perfect,
and whose awesome deportment is not in the least deficient, are
pure in the prohibitive precepts and have a thorough understanding of them as well. At all times these people can govern
the Brahma multitudes as great Brahma lords, and they are
among those in the Great Brahma Heaven.
Commentary:
Those whose bodies and minds are wonderfully perfect, in
the matter of being without any thoughts of desire, and whose
awesome deportment is not in the least deficient, are pure in the prohibitive precepts and have a thorough understanding of
them as well. They are not lacking in any of the three thousand
awesome deportments or the eighty thousand minor aspects of
conduct. They are perfect in them all. They uphold and are pure in
all the precepts spoken by the Buddha. Not only do they hold them
purely, they have a comprehensive understanding of them as well.
They have enlightened to the appearance, substance, and dharma of
the precepts. At all times these people can govern the Brahma
multitudes as great Brahma lords, and they are among those in
the Great Brahma Heaven. When these people.s lives end, they
are born in the heavens and they are able to rule the multitude in the
Brahma Heavens.
M2 Concludes they are apart from suffering and their outflows are subdued.
Sutra:
Ananda, those who flow to these three superior levels will
not be oppressed by any suffering or affliction. Although they
have not developed proper samadhi, their minds are pure to the
point that they are not moved by outflows. This is called the
First Dhyana.
Commentary:
Ananda, those who flow to these three superior levels will
not be oppressed by any suffering or affliction. The three
superior levels are the Heaven of the Multitudes of Brahma, the
Heaven of the Ministers of Brahma, and the Great Brahma Heaven.
These are transcendent levels the heavens of the first dhyana in
which suffering and affliction do not harass one. Although they have not developed proper samadhi although they don't
understand the Buddhadharma and are not cultivating the proper
concentration power their minds are pure to the point that they
are not moved by outflows. They hold the precepts purely, and
within the purity of their minds they are not moved by outflows.
They don.t give rise to faults. They don't get involved in the
endless desires of the material world such as food, clothing, and all
the objects of desire. Those are all outflows. The inhabitants of
these heavens don.t have any of these weaknesses, afflictions,
habits, or faults. This is called the First Dhyana. In cultivating the
Way, your pulse stops if you reach the first dhyana. If you want to
know whether you have any skill, check out your pulse. That's a
sign of this level, which is the first step in cultivation. It is not a
lofty state.
L2 Second dhyana heavens.
M1 Explains three heavens with different characteristics.
N1 Lesser light heaven.
Sutra:
Ananda, those beyond the Brahma heavens gather in and
govern the Brahma beings, for their Brahma conduct is perfect
and fulfilled. Unmoving and with settled minds, they produce
light in profound stillness, and they are among those in the
Heaven of Lesser Light.
Commentary:
Ananda, those beyond the Brahma heavens gather in and
govern the Brahma beings, for their Brahma conduct is perfect
and fulfilled. Those at the next level above the Heaven of the
Multitudes of Brahma, the Heaven of the Ministers of Brahma, and
the Great Brahma Heaven are capable of governing and gathering
in the beings in these three heavens. That.s because they have
perfectly learned the pure Brahma practices. Unmoving and
with settled minds, they produce light in profound stillness.
Their minds are tranquil and calm they are unmoving. When there
is stillness and profound tranquility, a kind of light will eventually
emerge. These heavenly beings are among those in the Heaven of
Lesser Light.
N2 Limitless light heaven.
Sutra:
Those whose lights illumine each other in an endless
dazzling blaze shine throughout the realms of the ten directions
so that everything becomes like crystal. They are among those
in the Heaven of Limitless Light.
Commentary:
Those whose lights illumine each other in an endless
dazzling blaze shine throughout the realms of the ten directions
so that everything becomes like crystal. Their lights shine on one
another. They illumine each other. Have you ever noticed how
compatible lights are? There aren't any that won't unite. If you
have light and someone else has light, the two lights will not
contend. They will not fight with each other. Really. Lights don't
fight. It's never the case that a big light will bully a smaller light.
There's no fuss among lights. That's what's being described here by
the phrase, the lights illumine each other. The combined
illumination of these lights is infinite. It reaches throughout the ten
directions, and everything seems to turn into crystal. These
heavenly beings are among those in the Heaven of Limitless
Light.
N3 Light sound heaven.
Sutra:
Those who take in and hold the light to perfection
accomplish the substance of the teaching. Creating and
transforming the purity into endless responses and functions,
they are among those in the Light-Sound Heaven.
Commentary:
Those who take in and hold the light to perfection
accomplish the substance of the teaching. Together they obtain
and uphold these lights and in this way perfect the substance of the
teaching. In the Light-Sound Heaven, the beings do not have to
speak out loud to communicate with one another. They use light for
their voices. They communicate by means of their lights. They
don.t speak with their mouths; they don't use language. Thus, light
is the substance of teaching in that heaven. That's really a case of
this:
The mind understands without a word being said.
When they shine on each other in that heaven, each knows what the
other is communicating. Their ideas are transmitted by means of
the light. Creating and transforming the purity into endless
responses and functions, they are among those in the Light- Sound Heaven. The function of their light is infinite.
M2 Concludes they are apart from worries and their outflows are subdued.
Sutra:
Ananda, those who flow to these three superior levels will
not be oppressed by worries or vexations. Although they have
not developed proper samadhi, their minds are pure to the
point that they have subdued their coarser outflows. This is
called the Second Dhyana.
Commentary:
Ananda, those who flow to these three superior levels will
not be oppressed by worries or vexations. In the heavens of the
first dhyana, they were not oppressed by suffering or affliction.
However, they still were subject to worry. If something came up,
they had a bit of a hard time putting it all down. They got hung up
in things. But now, in the second dhyana heavens, there is no worry,
and there aren't any hang-ups. Not to be oppressed. means that
they don't give rise to worry within. They don't even have any
internal hang-ups. They are a far cry from ordinary people, who get
hung up on everything that comes along and spend all day from
morning to night worrying about something or other. Hang-ups
are otherwise known as .impeding obstructions. Although they have not developed proper samadhi, their minds are pure to the point that they have subdued their coarser outflows. These
heavenly beings have not been intent upon cultivating proper
samadhi. But they do have a certain level of attainment when it
comes to the purity of their minds. Their coarse outflows are under
control. But they still haven.t been able to deal with the subtler
outflows. On the surface of things, then, the gods in the second
dhyana heavens appear to be without any worry and hang-ups.
When people who cultivate the Way sit in meditation and enter
the second dhyana, their breath will cease. In the first dhyana, the
pulse stops. In the second, the breath stops. Now although it is said
that they cease, do you remember what I just told you about the
young boy and girl? The skill which the Taoists develop and that
which Buddhists develop have certain basic similarities. They are
largely the same, with minor differences. If someone.s pulse stops,
doesn.t that just means he or she is dead? No, not in this case,
because, although the external evidence of a pulse is gone, the pulse
of the self-nature within is active. The same applies to the breath.
The true breath and pulse of the self-nature awaken and take over,
so the coarse, physical pulse can stop.
In the same way, when the external evidence of breath ceases in
the second dhyana, it does not mean that the cultivator has died.
He's entered the samadhi of the second dhyana and has obtained a
certain purity and bliss. Still, it's only his coarser outflows which
are under control. It.s not the case that all outflows are extinguished
at this level. This is called the Second Dhyana.
L3 Third dhyana heavens.
M1 Explains three heavens.
N1 Lesser purity heaven.
Sutra:
Ananda, heavenly beings for whom the perfection of light
has become sound and who further open out the sound to
disclose its wonder discover a subtler level of practice. They
penetrate to the bliss of still extinction and are among those in
the Heaven of Lesser Purity.
Commentary:
Ananda, heavenly beings for whom the perfection of light
has become sound and who further open out the sound to
disclose its wonder discover a subtler level of practice. For them,
perfect light has become sound, and when they distinguish this
sound more clearly, it reveals a subtle and wonderful level of
practice. They penetrate to the bliss of still extinction by means
of this subtle and wonderful practice. Still extinction is the absence
of thought. Their minds and natures are in still extinction, and they
are among those in the Heaven of Lesser Purity. These gods are
in the Heaven of Lesser Purity. They have obtained a small amount
of genuine purity. It's not total purity.
N2 Limitless purity heaven.
Sutra:
Those in whom the emptiness of purity manifests are led to
discover its boundlessness. Their bodies and minds experience
light ease, and they accomplish the bliss of still extinction. They
are among those in the Heaven of Limitless Purity.
Commentary:
Those in whom the emptiness of purity manifests are led to
discover its boundlessness. They obtain genuine purity and
afterward can discover the principle of emptiness. Knowing about
emptiness, they are led to discover the boundlessness of purity. The
purity has no end. Their bodies and minds experience light ease,
and they accomplish the bliss of still extinction. At that time they
are truly free; they have self-mastery. They have truly arrived at the
wonderful existence within true emptiness and the true emptiness
within wonderful existence. Something takes place then that most
people do not know can happen. Most people are greedy for
external forms, and so they flow out.
Their nature flows out into emotion;
Their emotions flow out into desires.
The thought of sexual desire is produced. They become fixed in the
notion that they must find a partner. Then they let the fire of their
desire catch hold and become spent in external seeking. That's sex.
But is it really necessary for there to be an external form in order to
have this experience? No. Within true emptiness there is true form.
If you understand, then true form is just true emptiness. You can
perceive true emptiness and wonderful existence right within this.
The Heart Sutra says:
Form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does
not differ from form. Form is just emptiness; emptiness is
just form.
The bliss of still extinction the principle of emptiness is tens of
millions of times more intense than the bliss derived from seeking
external forms. If you want that experience, though, you must first
stop your involvement with external forms. If you don't stop your
involvement with external forms, the true emptiness within you
cannot manifest.
Here, these heavenly beings have been led to discover the
endlessness of purity and their bodies and minds experience light
ease. This is to reach the level where,
Form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does
not differ from form. Form is just emptiness; emptiness is
just form.
You cannot fake this. You can't say you.ve reached this level if you
haven.t. It can't be experienced through mere words; it only counts
if you are really there, just as only the person who drinks a glass of
water knows if the water is cold or warm. These beings who have
accomplished the bliss of still extinction are among those in the
Heaven of Limitless Purity.
N3 Pervasive purity heaven.
Sutra:
Those for whom the world, the body, and the mind are all
perfectly pure have accomplished the virtue of purity, and a
superior level emerges. They return to the bliss of still
extinction, and they are among those in the Heaven of Pervasive
Purity.
Commentary:
Those for whom the world, the body, and the mind are all
perfectly pure have accomplished the virtue of purity. In the
heaven discussed previously, only the body and mind experienced
total purity. The beings in the heaven now discussed have
accomplished their skill to the point that they can change the world
itself. This world is basically impure, but they can transform it into
a pure one. The principle here is the same one expressed in the
saying:
The mind is itself the Pure Land;
The self-nature is Amitabha Buddha.
If your mind is pure, the Buddhalands are pure. If your mind is not
pure, you do not perceive the purity of the Buddhalands, either. If
you.re in the Land of Ultimate Bliss itself but do nothing but cry all
day long, then there's no bliss. If you're in the Saha world and you
are happy from morning to night, then you're like the Bodhisattvas
of the ground of happiness. The principle here is that .everything is
made from the mind alone. It just remains to be seen if you can see
through it all and put it down. If you can, you obtain comfort selfmastery.
If you can't see through everything and put it down, you
won.t experience comfort.
When these gods reach the point that they can purify the world,
their bodies, and their minds, the purity and light of the virtuous
nature is brought to perfection. Then a superior level emerges.
How is this superior level to be described? This is something experienced in the mind. They return to the bliss of still
extinction, and they are among those in the Heaven of Pervasive
Purity. There isn't any place that isn.t true. They can purify
everything in the entire dharma-realm.