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前期提示：天法界：六欲天中的四五天是最接近人間的天。這個天是在須彌山的半山腰上。
那麼四王天的天人壽命多長來著？五百歲。他的五百歲不是我們人間的五百歲，四王天的一晝夜就是我們人間五十年。你算算這四王天的五百歲，是我們人問多少年？這四王天的天人的壽命是五百歲。以人間五十年做為四王天的一晝夜，你算算看，若三百六十五天，這是人間多少年？你們會算數的人可以算一算這個數目，這是四王天。
第二欲天就是忉利天。這忉利天是梵語，翻譯過來叫「三十三天」。怎麼叫三十三天呢？因為帝釋在中間，這帝釋天是在中間住的。這個帝釋就是《楞嚴咒》上那個「因陀囉耶」，也就是天主教、耶穌教，他們所說的那個天主；中國人叫他玉皇大帝；在《書經》上叫他上帝一─ 「齋戒沐浴，以事上帝」，你齋戒沐浴了，就可以侍奉上帝。
古來的中國人，不知道有佛，只知道有上帝。所以湯王的時候，他祭天就用黑牛來祭天，他就說了，「曰：予小子履，敢用玄牡，敢昭告于皇皇后帝。」皇皇，就是大的意思；皇皇后帝。「朕躬有罪，無以萬方；萬方有罪。罪在朕躬。」
他說「曰：予小子履」，商湯王他的名字叫履，他就說我小子，就是很客氣說：「我是很沒有用的一個小子。」一個小孩子的樣子。「敢用玄牡」，我敢用黑色的牛，「敢昭告于皇皇后帝」，我很至誠懇切地告訴大的上帝。說什麼呢？說「朕躬有罪」，說朕我一個人要是有罪，不要加到一般的老百姓身上去。萬方，就是萬方的老百姓。「萬方有罪，罪在朕躬」，一般的老百姓如果有罪了，那不怪他們，因為我沒有教化好他們，所以他們的罪都應該給我。
所以古來的聖人，他是這樣子，自己責罰自己，不是像現在的人，明明自己有罪，「喝！不關我事，那是他的，那是他的不對嘛，怎麼能怪我呢？」「你這個上帝，真是不公平，為什麼教他那麼有錢？為什麼教我這麼窮？為什麼教他那麼樣出貴？為什麼教我這麼樣賤？」這怨天尤人，什麼事情不說自己的不對，就找人家的不是。那麼古來的聖人哪，是認自己的錯。
所以這個帝釋天在中間，東邊有八天、西邊有八天、南邊有八天、北邊有八天，這四八三十二天，那麼這是第二欲天。
第三是夜摩天。夜摩天也是梵語，翻譯過來叫什麼？這個天上的天人非常快樂，一天到晚都唱歌。唱什麼歌呢？他就說他特別歡喜，說「，快哉!快哉！」快，就是快樂；哉，就是：「啊！我快樂得很！我快樂得很！」晝夜六時他都是快樂的，所以翻譯過來叫「時分(讀份音)」，說每一個時分他都是快樂的。
待續
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From last issue:
The Dharma-realm of Gods: Among the
Six Desire Heavens, the Heaven of the Four Kings is closest
to the human realm. It is located halfway up Mount Sumeru. The old cultivator said, “Of course.”
The beings in the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings have a
life span of 500 years, but that's not the same as 500 years
in our world. One day and night in that heaven is equal to
50 years on earth. Figure it out: How many years on earth is
500 years in the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings? The
beings in that heaven live for 500 years. One of their days
is 50 human years. How many human years is 365 of their
days? If you know math, you can figure it out.
The second heaven in the Desire Realm is
the Trayastrimsha Heaven. Trayastrimsha is a Sanskrit word.
It means "thirty-three." Shakra, known as yin tuo la ye (Indra)
in the Shurangama Mantra, resides in the center of these
heavens. He is the "God" revered in Christianity, and in
China he is known as the Jade Emperor. The Book of History (Shu-jing)
refers to him as the Supreme Lord and says, "Bathe and
observe purity in order to worship the Supreme Lord."
In ancient China no one knew about the
Buddha; they knew only about the Supreme Lord. In the Shang
Dynasty, Emperor Tang used a black bull as an offering to
the Supreme Lord and said, "I, Lü, but a small child,
presume to use this black bull in venturing to make known to
the Supremely Exalted Ruling Lord that if I have offenses,
they are not the people's, and if the people have offenses,
the offenses rest with me."
Emperor Tang's name was Lü, and he
referred to himself as a small child out of respect for the
Supreme Lord. He very sincerely offered a black bull and
told the Supreme Lord that if he made errors, the citizens
should not be blamed, and that if the common folk of his
country committed offenses, the responsibility should rest
with the Emperor for not having taught them correctly.
The ancients blamed themselves in that
way, unlike people of today who clearly know that they are
in the wrong but say, "Don't look at me! It's his fault! How
can you blame me?" and complain, "God is unjust. Why does he
confer wealth on others and make me so poor? Why does he
bestow honor on some and leave me so wretched?" They blame
heaven and curse mankind, looking for faults in others
instead of admitting their own wrongs. The ancients
acknowledged their own mistakes.
In the Trayastrimsha Heaven, Shakra
resides in the middle, with eight heavens surrounding him to
the north, south, east, and west, making thirty-three in
all. The third of the Desire Heavens is the Yama [Suyama]
Heaven. Yama is a Sanskrit word which means "time period."
In this heaven, the gods are so happy that they sing songs
about their bliss day and night. They sing, "How happy I am!
I'm so happy!" They are joyful throughout the six periods of
the day and night. Hence, the name of this heaven is
translated as "time period." Every time period is filled
with happiness.
~ To be continued
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