The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma
The Heaven Free from Strife

“Next, as the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions examines the realms of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, he will apply knowledge derived from hearing and so correctly see a realm called Supreme Strength. Wondering what karmic actions cause people to be born there, he will examine this matter with knowledge derived from hearing and so see that there are holy people who observe discipline and [F.286.b] shun even the smallest misdeed. They are honest and sincere, free from deceit, and do not torment others. They have the genuine view and are guided by that. They always correctly see this world as impermanent, painful, empty, and devoid of self. They practice the recollection of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha and observe the discipline of giving up killing and stealing in the way that was explained before.

“They do not engage in sexual misconduct either. Sexual misconduct refers to wishing for and engaging in sexual intercourse with someone who is associated with and bound to another. Having learned this, such holy beings will, if they see someone who is associated with and bound to another, not think about, consider, or contemplate that person. Moreover, they will dissuade those who entertain such thoughts about engaging in sexual misconduct by pointing out the consequences of such actions, telling them, ‘Don’t do this or you will be born into the hell realms!’ In this way they confidently explain the nature of karmic actions and their results without letting others influence them. When their bodies disintegrate, they will go to the joyous higher realms and be born among the gods in Supreme Strength within the Heaven Free from Strife.

“Those who are born there have maintained a wholesome livelihood and shunned sexual misconduct. When they are born into that realm, they will be surrounded by a hundred thousand gods and goddesses who sing for them. Like being woken up by drums from a deep sleep, as soon as they are miraculously born there, the melodies of songs and drums endowed with eight qualities will resound everywhere, and they will regain their senses. The songs that awaken them are appropriate, agreeable, auspicious, profound, and delightful, [F.287.a] are clearly audible across eighty thousand leagues, and teach the Dharma, and they are completely clear. Such are the eight qualities of the songs that wake up those who have previously engaged in very wholesome actions. The light emanating from their bodies shines up to a distance of five leagues and is comprised of blue, yellow, red, and rainbow-like colors. That light starts to shine the moment they stand up.

“Adorned in their garments, the gods are as radiant as the sun and the moon. When they have awoken, they will joyfully proceed to a grove known as Forest of Splendor surrounded by a hundred thousand other gods. That area of the Heaven Free from Strife abounds with groups of gods and goddesses and is studded with two types of flowers known as eye nectar and fragrance nectar. These flowers have the most exquisite colors and sumptuous fragrances. They never wither and are delightful even to hear about. The potency of those flowers are such that whenever someone remembers their names, their fragrances are sensed from the sky. Among the leaves of the trees in the grove there also grow two flowers called brighter than the moon and moving everywhere. Whenever the gods wish, those flowers come to them, and they transport the gods wherever they want to go. For transportation, the gods also ride on the trees. Staying in flower mansions too, they travel through the sky to wherever they want. Just like the gods who journey in celestial palaces, the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife travel while residing inside flower mansions. Emitting a blazing light, they can reach anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye, without ever growing weary.

“They also enjoy the trees that are called directly connected homes of joy. When the gods enter among them, they will find that those trees are far more delightful than the most pleasurable forests, pools, and parks anywhere else. [F.287.b] Due to the splendor of the trees, the gods are able to attract, according their wishes, each and every one of the magnificent objects found throughout the Heaven Free from Strife. Enraptured by their splendor, the gods enjoy themselves among those trees to the incomparable accompaniment of drums endowed with the eight qualities.

“There is another type of tree called manifesting fragrance that has the power to manifest any possible fragrance that the gods may desire. In other trees called delightful flower house, the gods establish homes while enjoying the forests, parks, and pools. The trees already are blue, yellow, and red and possess a variety of excellent fragrances and colors, but as soon as the gods enter among them, the trees and the flowers bloom in all kinds of colors, and they even cause the gods to absorb those same colors. Although the gods take on the same colors, these hues are not permanent. Such is the power of those trees and flowers.

“Riding on the trees called moving through space, the gods can travel a hundred thousand leagues through the sky in the blink of an eye. They journey at will and their splendor equals that of the sun. Adorned with many types of splendid garlands, fragrant powders, and ointments, the gods in that realm travel on their trees surrounded by a hundred thousand other gods and goddesses. During their travels, cheerful goddesses with the most exquisite physiques, who wear shimmering garments made of precious gems, fill the sky in front of them for many thousands of leagues, dancing, performing, posing, and singing songs. Since those gods have pursued positive courses of action in the past, those experiences now manifest within their minds. Here, I have given some examples using familiar descriptions, but these are a mere approximation of the actual experience of those gods. [F.288.a]

“Beautified by a hundred thousand past wholesome actions, like the moon amid moving stars, those gods will then proceed to that forest, all the while calling out in various ways, singing, laughing, posing, and playing music. The surroundings of the forest are utterly delightful. Home to hundreds of thousands of birds, it is adorned with many waterfalls and pools, and it shines brighter than a hundred thousand suns. To provide a comparison that may give some slight indication, the unique qualities of the most delightful forests, waterfalls, shores, and beautifully embanked pools that may be found in the human realms cannot match even a sixteenth of the unique qualities of the forests and parks found in the realms of the Four Great Kings. Similarly, the forests found in the realms of the Four Great Kings cannot, in terms of the pleasures experienced in those places, match even a sixteenth of the delightful forests and parks found in the realms of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Those increasing degrees of pleasure are directly proportional to the amount of virtuous or unvirtuous actions that one has previously performed. Not even through the combined insight of all intelligent and eloquent beings, who are one-pointedly focused on virtue without ever engaging in any other activity, could a mere fraction of this pleasure be expressed.

“Why is this so? Because one cannot conceive of something inconceivable. Therefore, no human or god in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, including their lord, could ever describe even a mere fraction of all the pleasure experienced by the gods in the Yāma Heaven‍—even if given a hundred thousand years to do so. Why? Because those are not the domains of the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, and those realms cannot be perceived by them. What I have described here by means of examples can never be seen or heard. [F.288.b] Here I have simply praised a fraction of the experience of those gods to inspire beings to strive in virtue. I have seen and depicted only a tiny fraction of all the inconceivable forms of pleasure and happiness that are certain to be experienced as a consequence of completed and accumulated virtuous actions.

“When a skilled and experienced artist, or that artist’s apprentice, draws a representation of the moon or the sun, he or she is not able to capture its actual light, its light rays, its circular movements in the sky, its brilliance, its smoothness, or its harmful aspects. Such a person can only draw its approximate shape. Similarly, the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife cannot be described here. The simple depiction I have provided does not capture their actual joys and powers, the forests and parks where they live, their splendor, their mountains, their natures, the sense pleasures they indulge in, their brilliance, their garlands, or the pleasures they enjoy while traveling in the company of the goddesses. Here, I have only given a slight indication.

“Next, together with goddesses from that pleasure grove, the gods will travel to lands that abound with fine embankments and parks offering numerous pleasures and attractions. Agitated by their extreme attachment to the five sense pleasures, they are carried away by the river of cyclic existence, shaken by the waves of their flickering thoughts. Those gods are enraptured by everything they see. Observing their divine realm, they see that the forests are filled with the most delightful sense pleasures, rivers, waterfalls, trees and branches, and mansions draped with vines, as well as hundreds of thousands of singing birds. As they approach, they discover all around them the most perfect attractions of a kind they have never seen before. Surrounded by coteries of goddesses, [F.289.a] they see that the sand on the strips of land that lie between the rivers is made of pearls and is home to birds with golden, silver, and sapphire-like feathers. The banks of the great rivers are studded with trees that produce various melodies. There, on the banks of the rivers, they will then frolic and play around in the company of groups of charming and ravishing goddesses.

“After being attended to in various ways and having enjoyed the pleasures in that setting for a very long time, they will all together proceed to the forest called Jewel Shore. Upon entering that forest, they will see that the shining forest ground is formed from the seven precious substances and supports delightful mountains with peaks of precious gems. The forest features enrapturing riverbanks, waterfalls, pools, and lotus ponds, where a hundred thousand gorgeous bees swarm. The gods find that everything about this place is delightful, and they enjoy the vistas of the mountain ranges. Endowed with faculties that result from their previous wholesome actions, the gods will frolic, enjoy themselves, and indulge in pleasures in that jewel park amid troupes of goddesses. The pleasures experienced by the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife are produced by roots of virtue, and the numerous resultant enjoyments there manifest in accordance with such virtuous causal factors. In those realms, the gods experience levels of happiness that are superior to even a hundred thousand of the other forms of pleasure one can imagine.

“When they have indulged in the pleasures of the five senses within that forest, they will next proceed to a location in the Heaven Free from Strife known as No Lack of Embankments. There, they will enjoy a variety of perfect pleasures and take delight in songs performed by troupes of divine singers wearing various costumes. All of this is indescribable. Overwhelmed by their deluded thoughts, the minds of such beings, whose hearts are consumed by the fire of craving, never take a pause. Longing for sense objects, their monkey-like, distorted minds pursue mirages, [F.289.b] and thus they carelessly indulge in the divine pleasures that are the result of their own previous acts. As they keep on cultivating their passion for women, they will drift from place to place, carried away by the river of their many pleasures. All around the realms in the Heaven Free from Strife grow magnificent lotuses made of precious substances. All those extraordinary and delightful sense pleasures cannot be robbed from those gods, but they never satisfy their senses. Those charming lotuses blossom according to the gods’ wishes and grow simply by being thought of. Such are the effect of the gods’ past positive actions.

“At that point, Musulundha will think, ‘Ah! I shall now remain in the sky together with these gods.’ As soon as that thought has arisen, Musulundha, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, will rise up into the middle of the sky together with all the gods that surround him. While traveling in the sky, Musulundha and the gods do not have to move at all or say a word, and not the slightest part of their body changes. In this manner, riding on lotus flowers, all the gods fly through the sky. Accompanied by the beats of the five types of drums, dancing, laughing, enjoying themselves, filled with bliss, captivated by and enjoying the fives sense pleasures, the cheerful gods travel on lotus petals. As in all perfect abodes, the surface of those flowers gives way when one places a foot on them, and it bounces back up when one lifts the foot again.

“When the gods travel on the petals of those lotuses made of the seven precious substances, each layer of petals is more beautiful than the one before. The petals are as radiant as the sun when it rises and sets in the human realm and illuminates the sky in copper-like colors. Enjoying each other’s company, all those gods will then [F.290.a] cheerfully travel to the utterly smooth and lofty mountain peak upon which lies a forest called Forest of the Assembly of Kubera. After reaching that mountain peak, they will proceed to a beautiful blossoming lotus grove that is adorned with many waterfalls, rivers, and pools formed from the seven precious substances. That place shines brighter than the light rays of a hundred suns and is home to many gatherings of gods and goddesses. The smooth and lofty mountain and its lotus grove are composed of many precious substances and studded with trees that shine in the same color as the sun. Arriving in that mountain’s forest, the gods will dance and enjoy themselves all together. They will then enter lotuses that grow a hundred thousand petals. Once inside those lotuses, they will start ascending that smooth and lofty mountain.

“With the intention to have a joyful experience, Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, will surround himself with throngs of gods and then journey to this place where the gods enjoy themselves in this manner. Upon seeing him, the delighted gods will dance, laugh, and celebrate. Also, Musulundha, lord of the Heaven Free from Strife, will become completely exhilarated.

“The modes of birth of the gods are the fruition of their predominant karmic actions. Those actions produce inferior, intermediate, or superior gods; they also yield inferior, intermediate, or superior results, engender inferior, intermediate, or superior bodies, and give rise to inferior, intermediate, or superior pleasures. Śakra will never enjoy even a sixteenth of the most inferior forms of pleasure that are experienced by the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife. If it is impossible to describe the level of happiness experienced by Śakra, then how could anyone adequately describe the level of happiness that is enjoyed by the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife? The actions that those gods have practiced are three hundred times superior. Here I have described the fruition of positive actions and the flourishing of merit by extolling the sublime pleasures that are experienced by the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife. [F.290.b] I have not done so to induce clinging to cyclic existence, but to generate strong enthusiasm in those who observe discipline.

“Once Musulundha, the ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, has discovered the myriad qualities that are so excellent and incomparable within the lotuses and on that smooth and lofty mountain made of the seven precious substances, he will think to himself, ‘Ah! I must now enter this great lotus and remain there to enjoy its supreme pleasures, together with all the congregations of gods and my retinue of queens.’ So Musulundha, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, will place himself at the center of that lotus. By this mere act, and through the power of his past wholesome actions, the heart of the lotus opens up. In this way everyone can proceed to the innermost part of the lotus. A hollow will then appear in the center of the lotus, and from that opening light begins to shine. The light that radiates from the center of that great lotus is of a kind the gods have never before seen or heard of. Light rays spanning more than a hundred leagues now blaze forth in sundry colors. While this light shines from the center of the lotus, the gods and Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, will all cry out in wonder. The ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife will then say, ‘Gods, look well at the light that shines from this great lotus!’

“ ‘We see the light,’ the gods will answer. ‘It shines in the most amazing manner!’ [F.291.a]

“ ‘Regardless of its size,’ the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife will then continue, ‘we and everyone associated with our lands should enter the inner core of this great lotus and gaze at it for a long time!’

“All the gods will agree and say, ‘We shall do as the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife has said. Together with our retinues and surrounded by groups of gods and goddesses, we shall all follow the ruler of the Heaven free from Strife as he enters this great lotus.’

“Musulundha, surrounded by throngs of gods and goddesses, will then proceed to the center of the lotus to gaze at its interior and marvel in wonder. Reaching the opening at its heart, they will enter it. When sunlight and refined gold shine upon each other, it is as if a second sun appears in the sky. Similarly, when the gods gaze at the dazzling features of that great lotus, they will not be able to bear the brilliance of the light rays, and so they will have to close their eyes. Upon entering the lotus, they will cry out in utter delight, ‘Never have we seen or felt such an incomparable light before!’

“Musulundha will lead the way, quickly followed by the gods. Overjoyed and insatiable, Musulundha will enter the lotus accompanied by the gods. Once inside, they will encounter hundreds of forests illuminated by the light of hundreds of thousands of precious gems, hundreds of thousands of luminous mansions, and hundreds of thousands of radiant trees. They will discover areas adorned with hundreds of thousands of forests and parks‍—each made of the seven precious substances [F.291.b] and filled with hundreds of thousands of beautiful birds in numerous colors and shapes‍—hundreds of delightful mountains, pools, palaces, and waterfalls; as well as hundreds of springs, ponds, rivers, thickets, and caves. Everything is composed of the seven precious substances and the colors, shapes, and dimensions are enrapturing. If even the lord of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife has never seen such things before, there is no need to mention the other gods in that realm.

“The lakes found inside the lotus are filled with pristine heavenly water. Some have banks made of crystal, others contain silver stones and sand, some are of refined gold, others are of sapphire, still others are of ruby, and some are made of a combination of different precious gems. Likewise, the lotus ponds are studded with lotuses formed from various types of precious substances. Some are filled with lotuses of a single color and some with lotuses of multicolored leaves‍—blue, yellow, red, and white. The lotuses with blue leaves are made of stainless sapphire. Those with yellow leaves are made of gold, the white ones are made of silver, and the red ones are made of ruby. In that way, the gods will discover many types of lotuses inside that great lotus.

“Next, after taking possession of that lotus where a hundred thousand bees swarm, the gods will gleefully proceed to other enrapturing areas covered with the most delightful forests and parks. [F.292.a] To the accompaniment of endearing songs and drumming, and surrounded by further groups of boisterous gods and goddesses, the exhilarated and insatiable gods will travel through forests adorned with the seven precious substances. In those forests, the charming songs of a hundred thousand different birds can be heard, and the ground is exceedingly smooth, giving way when one places a foot upon it and bouncing back when the foot is lifted. Roaming through such places, the gods feel ecstatic. The more they see, the more intense their joy becomes. Savoring each other’s company, the mutually enamored gods go to enjoy themselves in those places. Lost in carelessness, they will remain in those parks for an extremely long time, together enjoying the highest forms of pleasure.

“Eventually they will proceed to a location that is made of various precious gems and is known as Garland of Pleasure Groves. Utterly charmed by songs and musical tunes produced by the five types of drums, these gods who strongly cling to the six pleasures remain attached to and infatuated with the scenery they gaze upon. In that way, they keep carelessly frolicking, playing, and enjoying themselves. As they approach the Garland of Pleasure Groves, they will see light rays and realize that they are like garlands of suns. Furthermore, as far as those light rays shine, the gods see utterly delightful lands that are colored yellow, red, and white.

“After enjoying themselves in such places in myriad ways, the gods next will travel to the mountains of entertainment. Never satiated by their sense pleasures, the gods take up residence at various places within those lofty mountains that are adorned with the seven precious substances. There are also hundreds of lush trees in that area [F.292.b] filled with nests of happy birds. There are waterfalls, rivers, pools, forests, parks, mountains, flatlands, and mountain slopes, as well as alpine meadows and streams, all beautified by flocks of wild animals and lotus ponds. Once there, they will rove around in those delightful mountains, enjoying the five divine sense pleasures, surrounded by heavenly maidens adorned with ornaments and costumes, and illuminating each other with the brilliance of their many divine garments. There, those beings will enjoy themselves for a long time without ever becoming fulfilled by their sense pleasures.

“Next, they will proceed to a place called Garland of Celestial Cottages. In order to indulge in the bliss of their sense objects, of which they can never get enough, the gods will insatiably indulge in the five sense pleasures. They will enjoy themselves in various ways and styles, consumed by the fire of craving that is ignited by their desires‍—the gatherings of gods and goddesses enjoy themselves in manifold ways. Together with Musulundha, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, they will enjoy each other, delightfully gazing at each other and enjoying the five sense pleasures. They do so within that lotus, which shines brighter than a thousand suns, where they find peace and safety. There they enjoy in many ways the boundless sense pleasures that have manifested as a result of their pure and wholesome roots of virtue, which ensue from the virtuous and auspicious actions that delight noble beings. In that way, those gods will journey and converse with each other with mutual respect and thus enjoy themselves for a long time inside this lotus, without ever feeling satiated.

“Unfulfilled by the sense pleasures they enjoy, the gods will occasionally emerge from the lotus. [F.293.a] As they emerge, they will look around and then enter the lotus once again through the opening in its heart. Once back inside, they will then remain there for another long period. Upon seeing this, a bird called seeing reality that lives on that smooth and lofty mountain will sing these verses:

“In this way, when the bird called seeing reality sees the gods, it will instruct them in numerous fine ways, and yet the gods will not comprehend. Overwhelmed by carelessness, their minds will stray toward objects ever more. Carried away by their attachment to the five sense pleasures, they will fail to correctly comprehend reality. Hence, the terrors of death, transference, and birth that all sentient beings are bound to experience will certainly also befall them. Such are the facts of conditioned things.

“Next, after having resided in the lotus‍—after having stayed on that supreme, smooth, lofty mountain, within the petals at the heart of the lotus‍—the gods will decide to proceed to a lake called Inner Vastness. Accompanied by various songs, the rhythms of drums, and musicians playing their instruments, they will go there dancing, laughing, posing, and singing. That lake is surrounded by five hundred mansions that are built with railings made of the seven precious substances and that shine with incredible beauty. The surroundings of the lake are utterly delightful, providing the gods with playgrounds to frolic in. Among those mansions, some have windows and extensive platforms supporting the most delicious [F.295.a] food and drink and the most comfortable cushions. Attracted to each other, the gods will together enjoy those foods with great pleasure. These gatherings of gods and goddesses will enjoy themselves in this manner to the constant beat of the five types of drums.

“When the impassioned gods have enjoyed themselves in the heart of that lotus, the ruler of the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife, Musulundha, and his entire retinue of gods shall proceed to the lake called Inner Vastness, floating in the sky. As they approach that area, Musulundha will see gods who enjoy themselves and indulge in sense pleasures to the accompaniment of drums and musical instruments. Upon seeing Musulundha, the intensity of pleasure experienced by those gods increases tenfold and they will rise together from their mansions, from all their cottages, from all the lotus ponds, and wherever else they may be. Singing, dancing, and filled with admiration and joy, they will all gather at the location in space where Musulundha, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, has reached. With mutual respect and delight, they will all fold their hands and prostrate before him upon beholding him there in the sky. With Musulundha leading the way, all the gods will then arrive, dancing, at the lake called Inner Vastness, which is adorned with all manner of perfect features and rows of celestial palaces.

“The joyful gatherings of gods in the Heaven Free from Strife shine brighter than a hundred thousand suns, and they cry out in various impassioned ways. As they arrive at a setting where a hundred thousand trees are growing, [F.295.b] Musulundha, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, will receive the local gods’ praises. When in return he has delighted the gods of the area with many proclamations, Musulundha will proceed to the shore of the lake. By the lake, he will enter a mansion called Captivating the Mind. That mansion is extremely beautiful, decorated with glimmering ornaments formed from the seven precious substances, and endowed with thousands of splendid qualities. There, all the divine gatherings will pay reverence to him.

“When the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife enters that mansion, the king of the local gods, who displays the enjoyments of all the gods, will be seated on a lion throne adorned with the seven precious substances and featuring the most sublime divine splendor. Groups of very senior gods, who enjoy the highest forms of pleasure, surround him in attendance. Beautified in that way by hundreds of thousands of gods, that divine ruler will then ask the most senior gods in his retinue, ‘Why has our supreme master, the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, whom we haven’t seen for a long time, come to this place riding a lotus?’

“Musulundha will then say, ‘Gods, I saw great wonders inside a lotus, and so I came here, riding this lotus filled with all the gods and goddesses.’

“In that setting, the lord of the Heaven Free from Strife will then gain extensive understanding about the excellent features he has seen, just as all the supreme elders did in the past.351 Upon hearing this, the gods, who are extremely pleasant to behold and who have the most perfect appearance, [F.296.a] will inspire in Musulundha, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, a definitive understanding of his past lives. As he listens to the gods, he will hear about the great nature and the great splendor of what he saw inside the lotus.352 He will hear about all those desirable appearances with such excellent features that he witnessed inside that great lotus, which cannot be found anywhere else among the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife.

“He will be told, ‘Once upon a time, the Blessed One, the renowned Kanakamuni, the unsurpassed guide who tames beings, the teacher of both gods and men, appeared in the world. The Dharma he taught is virtuous in the beginning, virtuous in the middle, and virtuous in the end. With excellent meanings and excellent words, this Dharma is complete, pure, and perfect. This Dharma teaches that “this is form,” “this is the origin of form,” “this is the cessation of form,” and “this is the path that leads to the cessation of form.” It is virtuous in the beginning, middle, and end. Through his teachings, a huge number of beings from a hundred thousand different parts of Jambudvīpa realized the truth. In particular, he accomplished deeds that led beings to experience the fruition of the noble ones, gradually leading them to the attainment of the state of non-returners and stream enterers, as well as the attainment of the fourth concentration, the third concentration, and down to the first concentration. All the remaining beings engaged in the practice of the ten virtues. In that way, ten billion regions of the world turned to the Dharma and were established in wholesome conduct. [F.296.b] Then, through his divine vision utterly beyond that of humans, he saw that someone else still needed to be tamed by him: the ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, who was known by the name Saumya. The virtues of this ruler were vanishing, and he lived carelessly‍—even more carelessly than those gods around him whose faculties had matured.

“ ‘The blessed Kanakamuni remained in this world out of loving kindness. He wanted to help the gods, do them good, eliminate their suffering, and bring an end to the carelessness polluting their minds. Surrounded by five thousand beings in whom defilements were exhausted, he emanated a mass of light much brighter than the light produced by the gods residing in the Heaven Free from Strife. When the gods who had never beheld an omniscient being before saw this, they became completely astonished. This divine form, the likes of which they had never seen before, superior in numerous ways and unmatched by anything else, completely filled this heavenly world with its light. When they approached, heard, or saw the blessed Kanakamuni, the gods became totally astounded. Wondering, “How can anyone possess such a light?” they approached this divine manifestation and drew close to him. The gods left their various lotus ponds and came to the blessed Kanakamuni to gaze upon him.

“ ‘When the Blessed One saw them approaching, he rose up into the sky and remained hovering there, emanating various kinds of miraculous displays and thereby a great variety of excellent qualities arose. [F.297.a] He manifested streams of water from the upper part of his body, and the color, taste, and fragrance of the water so produced were so exquisite that none of the waters found within these heavenly realms could compare to even a sixteenth of it. From around the upper part of his body, he radiated blazing fires in multiple colors‍—blue, yellow, red, and purple. The Blessed One also multiplied his miraculous displays in such a way that one became a hundred, and a hundred became a thousand, to the point where this entire heavenly world was filled with them. Then, the light rays and his other displays once again contracted into one.

“ ‘Next, as the Blessed One manifested such supreme miraculous displays, he lifted all these heavenly realms with one hand and placed them in the palm of his other hand. He then hurled them into the sky‍—with all their forests, parks, pools, waterfalls, and hosts of gods. He flung them so far that they could not be seen anymore. After he had thus made these realms disappear, he again restored them to their initial state.

“ ‘The Blessed One continued to produce great miraculous displays. He uprooted the greatest among all the mountains and threw them in the sky, so far that no one knew where those mountains with their forests, parks, pools, waterfalls, meadows, and gatherings of gods had gone. When he then brought them back down to where they had been, the gods were still confused and asked themselves, “Have we ever walked on these mountains?”

“ ‘After this, the Blessed One [F.297.b] projected physical emanations of himself, manifesting a variety of forms, colors, garments, and other excellent features. While those emanations were seen on mountain peaks, inside the different forests, on the lotus ponds, in the rows of mansions, in the canopies of the trees, on the banks of the rivers, on the lakes, in the pleasure groves, and in the parks, he constantly remained in concentration. He manifested various activities, such as lying down on a bed in the sky, and then again coming back down to earth. He walked in the sky, moved through the sky, and then again took a seat.

“ ‘Next, the Blessed One manifested his miraculous prowess by teaching the Dharma with a voice so melodious that it made the beats of the five types of drums seem ugly in comparison‍—just as the call of crows may seem ugly when compared to the sounds of drums played by humans. Upon hearing his voice, all the gods, who were otherwise obsessed with captivating songs, now completely lost that obsession.

“ ‘The Blessed One proceeded to emanate in the sky gods and goddesses endowed with qualities so great that the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife would not even seem like fireflies in comparison. When the gods saw the sizes, hues, shapes, bodies, garments, ornaments, and sylvan pleasures of those extraordinary divine emanations, they understood that, compared to them, they were nothing more than grass. With their hairs standing on end, the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife were embarrassed and humbled, and thus they lost their conceit based on their bodies, youth, and pleasures. [F.298.a]

“ ‘The Blessed One knew who were of supreme acumen and who were not. He knew the different intentions of beings and the ways the effects of causal actions ripen. His wisdom was free from attachment and he benefited the world. When out of supreme compassion he thus manifested miraculous displays in the realm of Saumya, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, all of this ruler’s carelessness was completely crushed. Just like you, Musulundha, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, have come out to enjoy the sights of the forests, Saumya and all the attending gods had at that time also emerged from the great lotus.

“ ‘The Blessed One then manifested those miraculous displays inside the great lotus to free Saumya from his conceit. Those are the emanations inside the great lotus that you, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, had never seen before. All those forests, pools, rivers, mountains, mansions, and domains‍—in all their delightful variety‍—were manifested in order to free Saumya from the influence of carelessness.

“ ‘Next, the gods who had entered the great lotus, along with all the emanations, said, “Let us sit upon the lotus at the residence of Saumya, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife.” So they arrived upon the lotus and took their places on its one trillion petals. The Blessed One took his place at the heart of the lotus. On the petals, hearers manifested various types of miraculous displays. Some of them rose in the sky and then entered the lotus again. [F.298.b] Other hearers rose to the center of the sky riding on the backs of elephants and horses. Showering down a continuous rain of various fragrant substances, those hearers created many different miraculous displays.

“ ‘With his mind full of admiration, and urged on by his former wholesome actions, Saumya, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, then thought to himself, “By whose power do such displays manifest? Our own bodies and abilities are nothing compared to this!”

“ ‘At that point, the Blessed One, who saw former actions with his divine eye, said to the hearers,353 “Saumya, he is known as ‘the Buddha, the Blessed One.’ He is the omniscient and all-seeing teacher of the entire world, including the gods. He is the teacher of all sentient beings, including the demons, as well as mendicants, brahmins, gods, humans, and asuras. He teaches the Dharma in all worlds, and the Dharma that he teaches is virtuous in the beginning, virtuous in the middle, and virtuous in the end. With excellent meanings and excellent words, his Dharma is perfect and pure, and it leads to the definite attainment of nirvāṇa. Thus, he explains that ‘this is form,’ ‘this is the origin of form,’ ‘this is the cessation of form,’ and ‘this is the path that leads to the cessation of form.’ That blessed one is your teacher. He has come to the realms of the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife to bring the Dharma to the gods, to benefit them, and to bring them happiness.”

“ ‘When he heard those words, Saumya, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, asked, “When I serve our master, how should I worship him? [F.299.a] We have never heard accounts outlining how to worship him.”

“ ‘A mendicant then said to Saumya, “Serve the Thus-Gone One! Saumya, when you serve him, you must leave aside your crown and your other ornaments. With a properly subdued demeanor, acute faculties, and a composed mind, you must kneel on both knees and pay homage to him as if he were a king. Then, draping your Dharma robe over one shoulder, you should prostrate to the Blessed One and remain in his presence.”

“ ‘With full attention, all the gods together received the mendicant’s explanation of those excellent forms of conduct. Then, surrounded by a hundred thousand gods, the ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife put aside his crown, his ornaments, and all his elegant garments. He utterly subdued his senses and brought forth a serene state of mind.

“ ‘The Blessed One was residing in the heart of the great lotus surrounded by hearers. He was like the moon surrounded by a multitude of planets; like the central king of mountains, Mount Sumeru; like an ocean surrounded by great lakes; like a universal monarch surrounded by his eighty-four great kings; and like the sun surrounded by its light rays. Thus, the Blessed One remained in the heart of the lotus, surrounded by a multitude of hearers, shining and radiating light of incomparable splendor. Then, facing the Blessed One, Saumya, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, joined his palms above his head, and when he had taken a place in the gathering, he asked, [F.299.b] “How may one become genuinely free from carelessness?”

“ ‘At this point, with a profound and vast melodious voice that filled all the worlds of the Heaven Free from Strife, the blessed Kanakamuni said to Saumya, who was in front, “Saumya, I will expound to you the genuine Dharma. I will explain the Dharma that is virtuous in the beginning, virtuous in the middle, and virtuous in the end. With excellent meanings and words, this Dharma is complete, pure, and perfect, and it teaches pure conduct. So, listen to these words attentively and I shall explain.”

“ ‘Receiving the full attention of Saumya and the other gods, the Blessed One said to them, “There are nine causes, nine circumstances, or nine reasons for immature beings to resort to, become accustomed to, and increase carelessness. Those will lead them to destruction and ruin, and when their bodies disintegrate, they will be born in the unwholesome lower realms among hell beings, starving spirits, or animals. When those causes are present, their suffering will greatly increase, they will remain bound to cyclic existence, they will not be able to reach the transcendence of suffering, they will not be free from their attachments, and they will never experience happiness but only misfortune.

“ ‘ “What are those nine causes of carelessness? The first is spending time ogling women. This leads beings to follow their unrestrained faculties by means of an impure body, speech, or mind. The carelessness of sentient beings comes from the single cause of lacking control due to unrestrained faculties. This agitation is related to indulging in inappropriate objects through an improperly motivated body, speech, or mind, and thus to lacking the inclination to listen to the sublime Dharma. Such careless beings do not engage in wholesome actions through their bodies, their speech, or their minds. Since they do not engage in wholesome actions through body, speech, or mind, they will instead engage in negativities with body, speech, or mind, [F.300.a] thereby completing and accumulating negative actions. Such fools will, after they die, be born in the unwholesome lower realms as hell beings, starving spirits, or animals because they have been completely corrupted by carelessness. For those reasons, sublime beings who always long for virtue should completely abandon carelessness. This is the first cause of carelessness.

“ ‘ “Saumya, the second cause that leads to the development of carelessness consists in the opposing factors that destroy the roots of virtue. When beings with restless minds gawk at forms with their eyes, this will generate discursive thoughts. Repeatedly entertaining those thoughts, they will exclusively engage with those objects out of attachment. This will become a habit, and they will therefore only engage in unvirtuous actions. Those beings do not apply mindfulness and their minds are distracted. When their bodies disintegrate, they will be born among hell beings in the unwholesome lower realms. This is the second cause of carelessness.

“ ‘ “The third cause of carelessness is as follows. Those who do not follow the genuine Dharma, whose minds have not mingled with the Dharma, and who have not heard the Dharma before will give rise to profuse thinking. Whether their thoughts are based on desire, anger, or ignorance, when they think, their minds will pursue their thoughts without any other concern, and thus their minds will become distracted. Completely bound by this third cause of carelessness, they will engage in negative forms of behavior by way of their bodies, speech, and minds. When their bodies disintegrate, they will be born among hell beings in the unwholesome lower realms. This degeneracy is the third cause of carelessness.

“ ‘ “There is also a fourth cause of carelessness that will cause careless beings to be born among hell beings in the unwholesome lower realms when their bodies disintegrate. [F.300.b] Saumya, what is this cause of carelessness? It is obsessively gaping at goddesses. Experiencing pleasure by looking at improper forms, one becomes mentally restless and develops thoughts. Those who indulge in meaningless chatter also entertain such thoughts. They do not adopt wholesome forms of behavior in body, speech, or mind. When their bodies disintegrate, they will be born among hell beings in the unwholesome lower realms. This is the fourth cause of carelessness.

“ ‘ “The fifth cause of carelessness is as follows. Those who enjoy groves, pools, forests, parks, or lotus ponds experience immense pleasure at the sight of them, and they folic and enjoy themselves gleefully in such settings. They never think about virtue, and they never develop mindful composure. Instead, they are governed by carelessness and thus, when their bodies disintegrate, they will be born among hell beings in the unwholesome lower realms.

“ ‘ “Saumya, this fifth cause of carelessness consists in following unwholesome friends. Those who follow such friends will systematically develop unwholesome habits and participate in negative activities. They will adopt negative forms of behavior and engage in negative pursuits. Those who carelessly follow such evil friends will, when their bodies disintegrate, be born among hell beings in the unwholesome lower realms.

“ ‘ “Furthermore, Saumya, the next cause of carelessness is engagement in many different activities while thinking excessively. Such beings will not undertake wholesome physical activities. Their minds are unstable, restless, and they cannot engage in any single action decisively. Every single physical action they undertake is undercut by their indolence. All their mundane and supramundane aims will therefore be undermined. [F.301.a] They do not practice generosity, they do not accumulate merit, and they do not keep in mind what they should. When those whose discipline is corrupted in this way later experience the disintegration of their bodies, their carelessness will make them take birth in the hell realms after they have died.

“ ‘ “This sixth cause of carelessness consists in adopting incorrect views while refuting the true view, the four truths of noble beings, and the eightfold path of the noble ones. Beings who adopt such a careless mindset will remain careless and distracted, and when their bodies disintegrate, they will be born among hell beings in the unwholesome lower realms. This is the sixth cause of carelessness.

“ ‘ “The seventh cause of carelessness occurs when careless beings continually crave delicious food and therefore become hostage to this craving. Such beings are attached to delicious tastes, and their minds always crave them. As they develop that habit, it becomes their nature. Such beings do not have anything else in mind, and they do not adopt any wholesome forms of behavior. They are agitated by nature and unrestrained. Those who are duped in this way by their craving for delicious food do not, even for a single moment, engage in wholesome activity such as contemplating impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and selflessness. They do not act in ways that benefit themselves. When their bodies disintegrate, Saumya, they will be born among hell beings in the unwholesome lower realms. This is the seventh cause of carelessness.

“ ‘ “The eighth cause of carelessness, Saumya, concerns beings who, for as long as they experience pleasures, cling to them and perceive them as being permanent, stable, and enduring without ever realizing that they are subject to change. As a consequence, they do not adopt wholesome forms of behavior in body, speech, or mind. They do not understand the difference between what is appropriate and what is not. [F.301.b] They lack the distinction between Dharma and non-Dharma and thus, governed by that suffering, they do not engage their minds properly. They never think about the fact that they will themselves have to experience many thoughts of suffering during their hundreds of thousands of lives among hell beings, starving spirits, and animals. Inert like a block of wood, they do not pursue any methods to ward off the Lord of Death. Strongly attached to those unwholesome forms of pleasure that undermine all beings in cyclic existence, they will, when the time has come for them to meet the Lord of Death, be consumed by the fire of regret that will be ignited as a consequence of their attachment to those negative enjoyments. Upon the disintegration of their bodies, they will be born among hell beings in the unwholesome lower realms.

“ ‘ “The ninth cause for carelessness, Saumya, concerns gods and humans who, overwhelmed by craving, are attached to various forms of pleasure and therefore do not follow the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. They do not feel any inclination to do so. They do not listen to their words and do not follow them by becoming disciples of noble beings. They do not understand the difference between what is appropriate and what is not, they do not proclaim that difference, and they do not practice the teachings, but instead they teach worldly people that which is the most terrifying of all. They are not aware of the suffering of decline. Those beings undermine their own well-being, fooled by their own minds. When their bodies disintegrate, they will be born among hell beings in the lower realms.

“ ‘ “Saumya, what you have here is not given by an Almighty Lord, nor is it permanent, stable, or enduring. Instead, it is subject to change. Saumya, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, where have all the sundry pleasures that you experienced in the past gone? Experiencing their individual shares of the consequences of their own actions, beings cycle through the realms of cyclic existence, caught by the lasso of their wholesome and unwholesome actions. By performing wholesome actions, they are born among gods or humans. By performing unvirtuous actions, they are born among hell beings, starving spirits, or animals. [F.302.a] Therefore, Saumya, you should not live carelessly because such existences are not desirable! Why is that so? Because your life force, enjoyments, and lifespan are all impermanent; therefore, you should not fix your attention on things and you should not live carelessly! Carelessness causes hundreds of thousands of gods to fall into the lower realms, so you should not go along with your carelessness! It is the path of fools, not the path of holy beings. All beings live in close proximity to a certain death. The same applies with respect to old age, sickness, and being separated from what one likes. The experience of the consequences of virtuous and unvirtuous actions accompanies beings always and without fail, and it destroys them all.”

“ ‘At that moment, the Blessed One uttered these verses to the gods:

“ ‘In that way, the Blessed One used different methods to tame Saumya. This “eye of the world” did so while surrounded by hosts of gods. He made them understand the defects of carelessness, the terrifying bondage that causes the gods to fall helplessly into the lower realms.

“ ‘As the king of the gods heard those Dharma teachings from the Blessed One, he and twenty thousand attending gods reached the level of a stream enterer. At that point, the Blessed One analyzed the situation and thought, “Now that I have guided those beings, what else can I do to benefit the rest?” Since the Blessed One could foresee the future, he asked himself, “In the future, what else must I do to accomplish the welfare and happiness of sentient beings and bring an end to their suffering?”

“ ‘Then, through the force of his miraculous powers, the Blessed One once again produced miraculous emanations inside the lotus. [F.303.a] And through his miraculous powers, he also manifested flocks of birds that proclaimed verses. When those miracles had been performed, through the power of those miraculous displays, the following was declared:355 “In the future, after Saumya passes away, he will be reborn as the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife where he will be known as Musulundha. He will live carelessly but he will be a good being. One day, wandering through pleasure groves, he will reach a great lotus, on top of that smooth and lofty mountain, and he will take his place at the center of that lotus. He will then enter the flower where I have emanated this light, and with exclamations of wonder he will behold what is inside. He will then emerge from that utterly delightful great lotus, only to enter it once again. As he informs the other gods about what he has seen, those gods will in turn explain to him what is happening. They will explain the whole story about the delightful features just as they have heard it themselves. Merely by listening to those gods, Musulundha will then develop trust in the Buddha, the Blessed One, and that faith will lead him to the transcendence of suffering. Also, soon after that faith has arisen, the buddha known as Śākyamuni will appear, and Musulundha will receive Dharma teachings directly from him.”

“ ‘Musulundha, we have heard the oral account of these past lives from the gods who were here before us, and all the great wonders happened exactly in the way we were told. [F.303.b] Inside the great lotus you have seen all that we told you about, and the Blessed One who has now been born is the unsurpassed Śākyamuni. Therefore, without entertaining any doubts, listen to his Dharma! If you do so, you will achieve the definitive good.’

“When Musulundha hears those words from the gods, genuine joy and devotion will arise in him and he will think, ‘Since the discourse of Kanakamuni that has been transmitted to me is so satisfying to the minds of the gods, what need is there to speak of what will happen once I receive the words of the Dharma directly from the Blessed One!’

“With this understanding, he will set off on a journey to Vārāṇasī accompanied by eighty thousand gods. When they see the Blessed One, they will be unable to stop gazing at him. Adorned with the thirty-seven factors of awakening, his body blazes with golden light and he benefits all the realms of the world. He is the guide of all beings in the world and he expounds the teaching on the four truths of noble beings for hundreds of audiences. Arriving at the place where the Blessed One is residing, Musulundha will prostrate at his feet together with the eighty thousand gods, and the Blessed One will then address them, saying, ‘Welcome, Musulundha. Did you understand the Dharma discourse of the blessed Kanakamuni?’

“At that moment, Musulundha’s faith will intensify a thousand times and he will think, ‘Oh, this is a great wonder! Through his unimpeded and subtle realization of omniscience, [F.304.a] the Blessed One knows exactly what has happened to me!’

“Musulundha will then prostrate at the feet of the Blessed One and take his place in the gathering, together with the eighty thousand gods. At that point, the Blessed One will say, ‘Musulundha, the Dharma teaching that I will expound to you now is virtuous in the beginning, virtuous in the middle, and virtuous in the end. With excellent meanings and excellent words, it is complete, pure, and perfect. I will expound to you the Dharma teaching called The Joy of Divine Beings. Pay full attention, listen carefully, and take these words to heart. I shall explain.’

“Commanding the full attention of the gods, the Blessed One will then say, ‘Monks, what is this Dharma teaching called The Joy of Divine Beings? Those who enter and adhere to the following twelve divine paths will safely reach the divine abodes. For example, when people follow a royal highway, they may travel free from fears and worries. Without experiencing any injury and free from any physical, verbal, or mental weariness and fatigue, they arrive safely at their destination. Similarly, holy beings who carefully follow these twelve paths will reach the heavenly worlds. What are the twelve paths?

“ ‘The first path is the path of truth. Musulundha, there are five benefits related to truth. Those who speak the truth will be trusted by all beings, [F.304.b] they will always be influential, their faces will always be pure, their complexions will always be pure, and the gods will never revile them. Those are results that they experience in their present lives. Then, when their bodies disintegrate, they will be born among the gods in the joyous higher realms.’

“At this point, the Blessed One will utter this verse:

“ ‘Musulundha, this is the first path leading to the higher realms.

“ ‘Musulundha, the second path leading to the higher realms consists in practicing an uncorrupted form of generosity, being free from wrongdoings, not indulging in cyclic existence, and practicing wholesome thought. Those who maintain wholesome conduct by following this path will be born into the heavenly worlds. In short, there are three benefits related to generosity: those who practice generosity will live in harmony with worldly beings, they will experience mental happiness because they always train their minds, and they will be wealthy in the future. This is the second path leading to the heavenly worlds.’

“At this point, the Blessed One will utter this verse:

“ ‘Musulundha, the third path leading to the higher realms is patience. Those who cultivate patience will experience the following benefits. They will be free from strife, disputes, and wars‍—this is the first benefit. Also, no one will be able to rob them of their wealth, and they will live in harmony with all beings. When their bodies disintegrate, they will be born in the joyous higher realms.

“ ‘There is also a verse about this: [F.305.a]

“ ‘Musulundha, the fourth path leading to the higher realms consists in speaking pleasant words. Six benefits derive from speaking pleasant words. Pleasant words make everyone happy, and those who speak pleasant words will have no fear, they will always enjoy pleasures, they will be serene, they will be free from anxiety, and others will serve them. Those are the six benefits.

“ ‘There is also a verse about speaking pleasant words:

“ ‘Musulundha, the fifth path leading to the heavenly worlds consists in loving concern for everyone. Those who are filled with love will reach the transcendence of suffering. Each day of their lives, they will be surrounded by boundless retinues and possess immeasurable qualities.

“ ‘There is also a verse about this:

“ ‘Musulundha, by following the sixth divine path, beings will encounter the sights of the heavenly parks. Beings who rest within a state of mental equipoise will engage in wholesome activities, develop wholesome thoughts, and speak wholesome words. These, in short, are the benefits related to mental equipoise.

“ ‘There is also a verse about this:

“ ‘Musulundha, settling the mind within a state of equipoise is the root of all virtues.

“ ‘Musulundha, there is also a seventh divine path through which beings will reach the heavenly worlds. Those who observe an authentic view will attain the transcendence of suffering, so there is no need to mention that they will also reach the heavenly worlds. Every single activity they engage in with body, speech, and mind, even the most insignificant ones, is always beneficial and directed toward the realization of the transcendence of suffering. Such beings will be born in the heavenly worlds.

“ ‘There is also a verse about this:

“ ‘Musulundha, the eighth divine path consists in abandoning unwholesome company. In short, this will prevent the following three faults. Those who give up unwholesome company will not abandon sublime beings. They will be trusted by such beings who will think, “They are following the same training as us.” This will also prevent special faults from occurring.

“ ‘There is also a verse about this:

“ ‘Musulundha, the ninth divine path consists in listening to the sacred Dharma. In short, there are seven benefits derived from listening to the sacred Dharma. Those who have not heard the Dharma will be instructed, the knowledge of those who have heard the Dharma will increase, and those beings will abandon every negative action of ordinary beings, they will become naturally inclined to follow the example of noble beings, sincere faith in the Buddha will repeatedly arise in their minds, their lifespans will increase, and [F.306.a] when their bodies disintegrate, they will be born among the gods.

“ ‘There is also a verse about this:

“ ‘Musulundha, the tenth divine path consists in cultivating a gentle mind. There are four benefits related to this. One will not become angry. In the unlikely event that one should become angry, one’s anger will not persist. One will not harm others out of hostility. When one’s body disintegrates, one will be born among the gods.

“ ‘There is also a verse about this:

“ ‘Musulundha, the eleventh divine path consists in developing the power of trust in the way causal actions produce effects. Beings who have done so will abandon all negative actions and will shun even the smallest wrongdoing. They are aware of the consequences of wholesome and unwholesome actions. They do not perpetuate conditioned phenomena. Because they have familiarized themselves with wholesome actions, they will, upon the disintegration of their bodies, join the gods in the joyous higher realms.

“ ‘There is also a verse about this:

“ ‘Musulundha, those who enter this twelfth path that leads to the higher realms will be born in the worlds of the gods; this path consists in cultivating unmistaken and sincere faith in the Three Jewels. There are hundreds of benefits related to this, [F.306.b] so this beneficial path outshines and surpasses all the others. It is luminous and resplendent. Beings on this path will perfect the transcendence of suffering. Before that happens, they will experience the pleasures of gods and humans. By following this twelfth path, humans or gods who are free from the influence of carelessness will journey to the higher realms. On the other hand, careless beings will fail to achieve either mundane or supramundane happiness. Musulundha, the Dharma that the sage of the past, Kanakamuni, taught to Saumya, lord of the Heaven Free from Strife, is the very same Dharma that all the thus-gone ones teach. You have received it correctly from those very senior gods.

“ ‘There is also a verse about this:

“ ‘Those twelve paths are free from hindrances and always lead to their destination and nowhere else.’

“Upon hearing this Dharma teaching from the Blessed One, Musulundha and eight million gods will reach the fruition of a stream enterer. Then Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, will prostrate at the feet of the Blessed One and utter these verses:

“Having uttered those verses, Musulundha and the accompanying gods will leave Vārāṇasī, rising up into the center of the sky, and thus return to the realms of the Heaven Free from Strife. Once there, all the gods will proceed to enjoy themselves and celebrate for a long time, continuing in this fashion until their lives come to an end. When that happens, they will next be born as humans who have ended their engagement in negative actions. They will have a youthful appearance, possess the most exquisite physiques, and be endowed with wealth and land. When those among them who have not yet reached the level of a stream enterer subsequently undergo death and rebirth, they will, in accordance with their karmic qualities, be born among hell beings, starving spirits, or animals. Once they transfer from such existences, some among them may be born with the general lot in life of a human. In that case they will, in accordance with their causal actions, have a youthful appearance and enjoy delightful ornaments and clothing. [V70] [F.1.b] [B46]

“As the monk who has knowledge of the effects of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the realms of the Heaven Free from Strife, he will see by means of knowledge derived from hearing, and so accurately perceive a realm known as Traveling on Great Mounts. Wondering what karmic actions cause beings to take birth there, he again uses knowledge derived from hearing to perceive how some holy people may receive teachings on good fortune from spiritual teachers. As a result, they are born as gods who experience the qualities of incomparable objects. They see forms that are desirable, attractive, and delightful in a way that is unlike anything else. Their ears hear various songs, songbirds, [F.2.a] and the sounds of cascades, streams, and ponds‍—all of which are uniquely and exceptionally desirable, attractive, and delightful‍—and thus they listen insatiably. Likewise, their noses will untiringly perceive desirable, attractive, and delightful aromas that are unique and unprecedented. With their tongues they will insatiably enjoy numerous exceptional tastes. Their bodies will likewise touch many different textures with various unique qualities. Thus, there is no pleasure that is not present within the forests in which they live, as all five divine sense pleasures are abundant, diverse, perfect, enticing, and unique.

“As soon as the gods see and enter these amazing forests, they immediately become astonished. So, there is no need to mention what happens when they behold the divine ruler Musulundha and join the gods living there. There, they are met by the smiling faces of nine quadrillion beautiful and youthful goddesses who bear many types of ornaments and attire. The goddesses sing and play music [F.2.b] as they proffer nine quadrillion offerings of splendid and superb sense pleasures.

“The gods hold King Musulundha in high regard, for the realm belongs to him. They proclaim their ruler to be like a father or a mother who teaches goodness throughout the realms in the Heaven Free from Strife. Hearing this, newly born gods will further behold that god who is surrounded by goddesses, and so they are born with inferior or intermediate bodies, garments, and ornaments.357

“They all experience nothing but enjoyable qualities and delightful sustenance for the five senses, and thus they frolic. The goddesses and the other gods all speak delightful and pleasing words, and whatever one might wish for manifests from the rows of hundreds of thousands of beautiful wish-fulfilling trees made of the seven precious substances and displaying thousands of excellent qualities.

“The gods who take birth among those trees, which possess such amazing qualities, completely lose themselves as they enjoy this copious wealth of wonderful objects. Enraptured, their eyes never stray from the trees, and so they stare uninterruptedly at these pleasures found in that great forest. The forest is also filled with thousands of streams brimming with food and drink. [F.3.a] The place is filled with the sweet calls of beautiful birds and the most captivating, perfect songs of goddesses. As the songs of the birds and goddesses mingle, they have the most enrapturing effect on the minds of the gods.

“As older gods arrive, the newborn gods will catch sight of an amazing lotus grove that is three leagues long, two leagues across, and brimful of lotus flowers in gorgeous shapes and appearances. Like resplendent planets and stars in the pure autumn sky, great multitudes of beautiful gods and goddesses assemble there. These gatherings of thousands of joyous gods and goddesses fill the great lotus grove, as they dance and frolic with each other to the tunes of the five types of instruments. The gods and goddesses converse intimately and spend each moment in joyous affection for one another. Never tiring, they become captured by this frame of mind and consciousness, and thus they bask in the midst of these throngs of exuberant gods.

“The enamored gods and goddesses also see numerous kinds of infatuated birds that frolic and play around in the waters of the lotus grove, and this further inspires them to enjoy each other’s company. The gods also inspire the birds and thus the swans, ducks, and geese likewise rollick in numerous ways within the lotus grove. [F.3.b] On the shores of this delightful lake, some gods pick lotuses with golden petals and drink nectar from them as they sing songs. In this way, surrounded by gatherings of goddesses, they enjoy an abundance of divine pleasures. Drinking in accordance with their karmic actions, there are other gods who imbibe nectar that is from lotus petals of the nature of silver, and who have teeth with a ruby-like color. Joyfully, they also imbibe from golden lotuses. There are also other gods who drink fragrant and cooling nectar from lotus petals made of crystal. In this way the gods drink nectars that correspond to their individual karmic actions. Moreover, within this lotus grove replete with magnificent wonders and sense pleasures, there are also some gods who drink that nectar from the petals of lotuses the color of sapphire. In this manner, they also celebrate among their joyful retinue.

“Other gods pass among trees that yield divine nectar and that are abloom with heavenly flowers. Infatuated and careless, they roam with their joyous retinue into these forests ripe with substances of exquisite divine taste, fragrance, and color. Gallivanting through these forests, they eat the fruits and enjoy the taste of various nectars, singing with their minds filled with joy. There are also other gods who sing and celebrate with goddesses within caverns and mansions festooned in blooming vines of gold, silver, crystal, and sapphire. [F.4.a] Still other gods linger on the banks of the rivers, where they don garlands made from flowers in five colors, which grow on trees that resound with the songs of birds. The trees stand on soft ground that yields to one’s step but bounces back when the foot is lifted. Some gods make bouquets of flowers so that they can enjoy the flowers together and relish their scents. Still other gods play music nearby, while other gods take seats on rocks made of sapphire, crystal, gold, and silver, where they enjoy themselves and celebrate.

“This continues until finally their completed and accumulated acts with desirable, attractive, and delightful consequences have been exhausted. Once that happens, they will again be born among hell beings, starving spirits, or animals. When they transmigrate from such existences, they might, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, be born with the general lot in life of a human. In that event they will be youthful, attractive, and strong. They will be happy, wealthy, and in control of the land. Such are the concordant consequences of their actions.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the realms of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, he uses insight derived from hearing and so correctly perceives a realm known as Moving in the Stream. Wondering what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he sees with insight derived from hearing. [F.4.b] Thus, he notices how some honest and sincere people who possess the power of faith may give up killing and stealing and become completely free from such acts. Furthermore, such people may avoid resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of sexual misconduct. In that way, they are no longer dependent on female attention, and their eyes no longer ogle forms with lustful desire. Rather, they overpower and relinquish any improper mental activity through their contemplations. They do not entertain any such thoughts but regard them as poison. Upon the disintegration of their bodies, such holy people will go to the joyous higher realms and be born among the gods in Moving in the Stream within the Heaven Free from Strife.

“Once born there, they will experience the dawning of the effects of virtues that are splendid like the sun. Living in a realm of divine substances, they will experience the pleasures of incomparable enjoyments. As soon as they are born, in their joyful and happy state of mind they will wonder whether they might be alone in that realm. As soon as they have this thought, they will notice goddesses who live in the forests approaching their dwelling place. These goddesses wear copious ornaments and garments, they carry garlands of resplendent lotus flowers upon their heads, and their apparel boasts an abundance of colors. Adorned with hundreds of thousands of ornaments, they artfully approach and surround the newly born god. The goddesses play music and sing beautiful songs as they draw near the god, whom they find attractive in numerous ways. In this fashion, the goddesses come to engage with that supreme god, whose perfect qualities captivate them. [F.5.a]

“At the sight of these divine maidens, the god will feel an unprecedented desire and wonder, ‘Who are they? Where do they come from?’ As the goddesses stand before him, many thousands of desirous tendencies will well up. The goddesses’ copious, resplendent ornaments shine from their bodies, their earrings of pure gold grace their cheeks, and with their hands they strum a variety of instruments. If even the youthful goddesses in the choirs of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three are incredibly beautiful, why even mention the beauty of the goddesses within the Heaven Free from Strife, who are born from qualities that are three times greater in terms of their associated virtuous and perfectly pure actions. In terms of their appearance, youth, proportions, and the ease with which they play their instruments, these goddesses are as far superior to those of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three as the latter goddesses are to human songstresses. Likewise, the forests, groves, lotus nectars, waterfalls, mansions, pools, and palaces in this realm are increasingly superior. The appearance, youthfulness, and joys associated with the goddesses also become greater, all the way up to the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations. Why is that? Because the weight of karmic effects continues to increase in correlation with the actions of their increasingly pure minds and discipline. Hence, the goddesses of the Heaven Free from Strife are incomparable.

“Nevertheless, all of this, without exception, is subject to impermanence. Otherwise, in terms of their pleasures, these realms are indeed desirable and praiseworthy, [F.5.b] which causes less intelligent people to take up discipline out of attachment to existence‍—less intelligent people, who are attached to existence, take up discipline, thinking that this will make them take birth as gods. This is why the shortcomings of such realms‍—such as impermanence, transience, and how all agreeable factors will be lost‍— must be explained. If it wasn’t, even a slight cause of craving for existence would become an obstacle for virtuous qualities to appear. Whether one looks above, below, or ahead, there is nowhere that is permanent, durable, or stable. It is from this perspective that the higher realms are praised, and not merely in terms of craving for existence.

“Next, as they serve the newly born god, the divine maidens sing and flirt seductively in sundry ways. Seeing these unprecedented sights, the god will think, ‘Who are these goddesses? Why have they come here? And why are they serving me?’

“As soon as he has had this thought, the maidens will speak to him, moved by his past positive actions: ‘New one, you are powerful and enticing, so we wish to follow you, serve you, take care of you, and make you happy. Since you are our master, we will do whatever you command.’

“Hearing those words, the new god will respond, ‘If indeed you all are mine, I must certainly explore the forests and groves with you! [F.6.a] This is because I have been born in this heaven due to the causes of pleasure.’

“The young divine maidens will then embrace the god and caress him, arousing him in many ways. As they do so, they will tell him, ‘Young god, you see that these forests and groves abound with different gatherings of gods. These forests are full of joys and, within them, many different birds sing their ravishing songs. Here are all sorts of beautiful waterfalls and ponds. Thousands of mountains formed from the seven precious substances shine in lofty splendor, replete with slopes and many gorgeous alpine vistas. The lovely calls of many species of birds can be heard throughout this land, which is arrayed with many ponds and exquisite contours. O god, come with us to enjoy and celebrate within this perfect realm. We shall serve you by giving you deep gratification.’

“Hearing these words from the goddesses, the newly born god will respond, ‘Definitely, let us do as you wish!’ He will then stand up and take off with his goddesses into the forests and parks in pursuit of pleasure. As they sing and play drums and various instruments, the inhabitants in this land of carelessness gad about, enjoying what their land has to offer. Living happily, they wander from place to place, frolicking with their own goddesses and any other goddesses they meet. Whenever they meet, they rush into each other’s arms, driven by their mutual attraction. They appreciate each other deeply and joyfully. [F.6.b]

“Thus, with mutual affection, these groups of gods and goddesses will travel to the Forest of Amusements, a divine forest that measures three thousand leagues. This forest abounds with many quadrillions of pleasures, and it is due to these many special pleasures that it receives its name. It also resembles an awe-inspiring jungle. For their pleasure, the gods in Moving in the Stream go to this Forest of Enjoyment.

“When a new god arrives in this forest, he will witness joys of a kind he never experienced before, thus seeing and hearing things that are absolutely unprecedented and unparalleled. When the goddesses there see the newly born god whose eyes sparkle in excitement, they will say, ‘Who is this new god who has now come to live with us?’

“Adorned with wonderful divine garlands, the gods also travel through the sky in mansions made of divine sandalwood, celebrating, singing, laughing, and strutting to the accompaniment of music. In this manner, they will journey to the residence of King Musulundha. Other gods in their sky mansions hold divine lotuses in their hands while seated on divine thrones as they travel through space in jubilant poses. Still others travel while holding vīṇās in their hands. Thus, free from any discomfort, they all travel in very refined ways, joyfully journeying to the residence of the great king Musulundha. Still other gods hover in the sky, from which they let a rain of flowers shower down. In this way, singing and in happy unison, [F.7.a] they travel smoothly to the residence of Musulundha.

“Seeing how the gods thus experience tremendous pleasure, enjoying themselves in numerous different ways, the newly born god travels along. On the way, he will engage in many delightful conversations with the accompanying gods and goddesses.

“At a certain point, in the far distance, he will perceive a light that is as brilliant as a hundred thousand suns. The light is so bright that even the gods are unable to look at it. At the same time, he will also hear a magnificent sound that is delightful, loud, and clear, and that seems to resound from all four directions.

“Exhilarated, the god will ask his companions, ‘What is this outstandingly beautiful, clear light, and what is this ravishing, loud sound we now hear?’

“His companions will reply, ‘Just as the lord of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife enjoys himself within a retinue of many hundreds of thousands of gods‍—receiving divine praises in the midst of hundreds of lotus flowers and surrounded by divine maidens‍—such is also the case with Praśānta, lord of the Heaven of Joy. He likewise frolics, enjoys himself, and celebrates.’

“Hearing this, the newly born god will be struck by further wonder. ‘Where,’ he will ask his companions, ‘is the residence of this ruler, Praśānta, of whom you now speak? Who is this Praśānta, whose realm is like that? [F.7.b] Where does he live? He sees us here, yet we cannot see him.’

“Thus, when he has heard the words of the others and considered them, the newly born god will propose, ‘Now that we have come to know of this great being, let’s go to see Praśānta!’

“Yet, to this call the other gods will respond, ‘The gods in the Heaven of Joy reside above us. Ours cannot be compared to even a hundred thousandth of their special features. All their pleasures are the result of the relationship between actions and results that the gods here in the Heaven Free from Strife cannot match in any way. Their splendor far outshines even that of the ruler here in the Heaven Free from Strife. They reside above us and, accordingly, not just any god can travel to that realm. Only the foremost among the gods, a select few who are endowed with tremendous power, may succeed. Not just anyone can travel to that realm.’

“At this point the newly born god will think, ‘Alas, what, then, are our pleasures? Those gods reside high above even the lord of the Heaven Free from Strife.’

“Still, such thoughts last only a moment and soon, with their fickle minds that are so keenly focused on objects, the gods will again continue taking in the pleasures in that realm. Hearts swelling with tremendous happiness, they will thus proceed in leisurely fashion to their destination.

“Meanwhile, at his residence King Musulundha sports joyfully within a retinue of a hundred thousand gods, [F.8.a] aglow with splendor in the midst of hundreds of lotuses and plentiful divine maidens. His form and attire are unrivaled, and he radiates joy and youth, shining indescribably with qualities of perfect glory. His light outshines all the other gods, just as the sun outshines all the planets, stars, and other celestial bodies.

“The king of the Heaven Free from Strife sits upon a magnificent and excellent lion throne made of the seven precious substances. Endowed with supreme splendor, it is soft to the touch and projects limitless light. Thus he sits, displaying the most wondrous form, attire, and splendor. In front of him the most amazing singing, drumming, and entertainment are performed, inspiring to the heart and ears. The whole place overflows with such rich sense pleasures that there is nothing like it anywhere. The splendors of Śakra cannot match even a fraction of Musulundha’s splendors. Whereas Musulundha’s body shines with five hundred royal lights, Śakra’s shoulders only shine with two supreme lights. The former’s six sense faculties are the result of infinite past actions and virtuous qualities that produce great fortune, and thus he surpasses Śakra hundreds of times. Hence, Śakra cannot serve as an analogy here. Musulundha’s appearance, pleasures, land, and retinue are all peerless. None of the gods of inferior splendor‍—not even Śakra‍—can compare in the slightest. Musulundha is a mountain of light, perfectly pure both within and without. No matter what analogy one uses to illustrate him, it falls short. [F.8.b]

“When the newly born god beholds from a distance Musulundha’s form, majesty, might, and light, he is humbled and thinks, ‘Alas, our own light cannot be compared to even one percent of his. In fact, it is not even comparable to a hundred thousandth of it. Musulundha, lord of gods, must surely have undertaken supremely virtuous actions. If his splendor is so overwhelming, then what can one say of the perfect splendor and appearance of the one I’ve heard of, he who is known as Praśānta? Indeed, the actions undertaken by the gods are increasingly outstanding.’

“Having come to this conclusion, he will listen leisurely to the singing, drumming, and music. Very few of the newly born gods come any closer than that to the lord of the Heaven Free from Strife, since it is normally only senior gods who can approach him.

“Close at hand are seven thousand divine maidens who have the most beautiful appearance, attire, complexions, radiance, proportions, and voices. They sing, charm, laugh, and serve, surrounded by countless numbers of other goddesses. With great attention, they delight Musulundha with pleasures from near and far, and they offer him nectar to drink. Filled with passion, they all pursue the same objective, thinking, ‘I alone shall give Musulundha pleasures; no one else can do so. Without anyone interfering, I alone shall make him feel at ease. [F.9.a] I must make love to Musulundha in ways that far surpass those of ordinary sexual union, and that are suitable only here in the Heaven Free from Strife.’ Thinking in this way, the divine maidens approach him. Each of the goddesses thinks, ‘I alone must please him in all regards. I must delight the lord in any way I can. Musulundha and I shall be happy together‍—and not anyone else. I alone must be dear to him‍—no one else shall delight him. How can I have sexual intercourse with Musulundha in a way that it is considered an appropriate way to make love here in the Heaven Free from Strife?’ Thus, they all approach Musulundha with this motivation in mind, thinking, ‘I shall please him in any way I can. Indeed, I must be the one to experience all manner of shared pleasures together with the god.’

“Once again, the newly born god will approach the place where the divine ruler Musulundha resides. When he draws very close to Musulundha, he will behold him‍—exceedingly luminous and splendid in the midst of many hundreds of thousands of gods, who delight him with all manner of praises. For his part, Musulundha is aware of all the gods, including the newly born god. On some rare occasions, Musulundha will even cast a glance at the newly born god so as to acknowledge him. The other gods will then encourage the newly born god in pleasant words, saying, ‘He who now has placed his gaze upon you is king of the gods. Therefore, you must now properly prostrate yourself before him.’

“The newly born god will then approach [F.9.b] and offer his prostrations before Musulundha. In acknowledgement, Musulundha will tell him, ‘Newly born lord, enter among the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife and you will see that the gods here are joyous, exceedingly overjoyed indeed! They are born here due to accumulations of virtuous actions. That is how they have come to such happiness, and that is why they now enjoy the effects of their own previous actions. Having acted carefully for an extremely long time, they now live in this divine world.’

“Then the lord of the Heaven Free from Strife will speak these verses:

“Thus, the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife will speak to the newly born god, who in turn will reply, ‘Your Majesty, I am not aware of any such flaws here. On the contrary, I see that everyone has a meaning and purpose. How could all the gods, and I along with them, be so ignorant?’

“In reply, Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, will say:

“In accordance with reality, Musulundha thus introduces the newly born god to the way things actually are. When the god hears these words, he will feel sad for a short while, but soon he will once again be egged on by the dancing, singing, and laughter of the other infatuated gods. [F.10.b] If you wonder why, it is because the minds of ordinary, childish beings are fickle. In particular, when they experience happiness while governed by the forces of existence, their insatiability is increased a hundredfold. This is why these careless gods cannot properly pursue even a fraction of the Dharma in their hearts.

“As the newly born god then leaves the residence of Musulundha, he will join the gods in the Forest of Amusements, and there indulge in dance and merrymaking, enjoying the pleasures of the five senses as he continues to ramble through Moving in the Stream. Having attained such an enjoyable land, he will joyfully celebrate together with all the other gods.

“Enjoying himself together with all the others in this manner, he will gradually make his way to the park known as Spacious Palanquin Houses, which abounds with two trillion different joys. There are gardens of numerous colors and shapes, lotus ponds and pools, forests and groves, and many kinds of birds, waterfalls, and mountain peaks formed from the seven precious substances. Such are the many features of Palanquin Houses. Moreover, the positive karmic actions of these gods ensure that whenever they might think, ‘I wish that Palanquin Houses with all its forests, groves, and ponds would rise up into the sky,’ that will indeed happen. Thus, the houses, forests, groves, ponds, waterfalls, trees, [F.11.a] and lotus pools will all take off into the sky, like birds. When the gods then think, ‘For our pleasure, may the great park of Palanquin Houses remain like this without moving!’ that will indeed come to pass.

“As the gods continue making wishes, they may also wish for many great rivers of food and drink, in which case their positive karmic actions will instantly produce such streams with delicious, beautiful, and sweet-smelling food. This, however, is not understood by humans when the objects of past positive actions manifest for them.

“The gods might also think, ‘What if all the palaces within a hundred leagues were to open?’ The very moment they have this thought, they will all open. All the exquisite mansions with their many delightful pools, cascades, streams, caverns, rooms, and upper chambers, as well the great abundance of forests, parks, lotus groves, and trees, will at that point open up, and the gods will delight in them with abundant joy. Overjoyed, they will think, ‘Just as other beings live happy lives, we too shall live here in perfect and abundant happiness! We shall live here like such happy beings! Let us celebrate in numerous ways with the other joyous gods within those houses! [F.11.b] Now, if only all the gods who frolic in myriad ways within the realm of Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, could come to these houses!’ The moment they make that wish, all the gods of Moving in the Stream358 will begin to journey through the sky, riding different mounts. Thus, traveling on geese, peacocks, cuckoo birds, flowers, ducks, pheasants, and trees, they will all travel to the houses, followed by exuberant divine maidens who play musical instruments, strike drums, and sing joyfully. Playful and charming, they wear necklaces and lotus garlands.359 Perfectly youthful and joyous, they dance, play drums and musical instruments, and sing exquisite songs. While singing praises, these divine beings will journey to Palanquin Houses, where, appearing in the center of the sky, they will come to stay and celebrate in the houses of great playful joy.

“With strong mutual appreciation and joy, everyone frolics while remaining careless and mentally restless. Seeing the gods in this condition, Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, will wonder, ‘What method might there be to help these careless and thoughtless gods? As they focus only on what is vulgar and remain careless, I must use any available means to help them.’ [F.12.a]

“With this concern in mind, Musulundha will then travel along with all the other gods, who possess the shared karma to live in that realm.

“Musulundha will think, ‘How may I benefit the gods of Moving in the Stream? How can factors of unsurpassable virtue be employed to benefit both myself and others? How may I be free from obstacles? The supreme friend of the gods is the one who makes them reach liberation. The one who teaches them unvirtuous actions is, on the other hand, their enemy, for he is the circumstance for their engaging in the type of action that creates the hells.’

“So that he may counsel the gods in his realm, Musulundha will then travel toward the site of Palanquin Houses, using a special, miraculous palace for his journey. All the abundance and joys of the rivers, ponds, trees, cascades, forests, and groves in Moving in the Stream cannot match a hundredth, or even a thousandth, of the qualities of this miraculous palace, because Musulundha is the lord of all those who have accomplished positive actions. Among all the gods who have engaged in positive actions within the Heaven Free from Strife, he is the foremost, the master of positive activity. The positive deeds performed by him are vastly superior, as are his miraculous abilities. Therefore, based on such causes, Musulundha’s house appears splendidly bright and radiant, outshining all the palaces of the Heaven Free from Strife. [F.12.b] Just as no chariot is comparable or beautiful before the sun, so none of the other mansions can compare to Musulundha’s.

“Within a mansion of such abundant perfection, Musulundha will travel through the sky to the place where the gods of Moving in the Stream are celebrating. When the gods in this realm witness the arrival of the lord of the Heaven Free from Strife, their liking for carelessness is diminished. The gods who otherwise wander carelessly and thoughtlessly will now quickly enter their houses and thus come forth to receive the king of the Heaven Free from Strife. At this point, however, Musulundha will intensify his miraculous powers a hundred thousand times, and thus the gods inside their houses become unable to see anything at all. Unable see anything around them, they remain confounded in their houses. In this way, the great god uses his miraculous powers to prevent them from seeing each other. Nor can they hear any form of joking, flirtation, or joyous games. In this way, his miraculous powers will render them blinded and stunned, and at this point, sitting inside their houses, they will wonder, ‘What has happened to those gods who were sitting right next to me here in this palace? Where has everyone gone?’

“Hence, as they approach Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, they will be able to see only him. [F.13.a] This experience is had only by the gods in Moving in the Stream and not by any of the gods outside of that realm.

“Stunned and frightened by the way things have been miraculously hidden, the gods will now say to Musulundha, ‘Your Majesty, inside the palaces were gods accompanied by divine retinues‍—where have they all gone?’

“Musulundha will reply, ‘All the gods who roam carelessly and thoughtlessly are subject to karmic actions, and when they die and transmigrate they must proceed based on their karmic actions. Therefore, they are born among hell beings, starving spirits, animals, or humans. Moreover, anyone who is careless and lives carelessly will sooner or later be destroyed by his or her own carelessness. Their craving for objects will ruin them. Those who are thoroughly attached to the five sense pleasures‍—people who are lost in the play of thought‍—will see the five peaks of existence ablaze, kindled by the tinder of their minds and fanned by the winds of karmic action. Then, as they have accumulated such factors in the realms of the Heaven Free from Strife, they will later be burned in the painful fires of the hells. Deceived and destroyed by their own unwholesome minds, they are born in the hells once their bodies disintegrate. Carelessness is in this way the most severe among all flaws. Impaired by the flaws of carelessness, the gods fail to see any virtuous factors, and therefore they do not train themselves by means of a wholesome mind. Deceived by their own minds, they will without exception experience pain in the future.’ [F.13.b]

“When the gods hear such words from Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, they will fall into gloom and dread, and say, ‘Ruler of gods, in a single instant, all the gods have disappeared, died, and transmigrated. What has happened to them? Why are they now gone, leaving empty this land of Moving in the Stream? Among all suffering, that which is known as death and transmigration is indeed severe. Therefore, please teach us something that is not a wrong method. Please teach us something that can reverse our painful destiny, protect us from the suffering of separating from the beloved, save us from birth as a hell being, a starving spirit, or an animal, and bestow great fortune upon us.’

“At that time, the master of the gods will respond with these verses:

“As the gods hear these statements from the lips of Musulundha, their time of carelessness comes to an end. Turning again to Musulundha, they will say, ‘Ruler of gods, why have all the gods become completely invisible? Have they all died and transmigrated? Have they all passed away in the very same instant? Or have they gone elsewhere? Ruler of gods, by all means, please explain to us what has happened.’

“In response Musulundha will tell them, ‘Just as everyone comes here due to karmic actions, they must also leave due to karmic actions. Once their relevant karmic actions have been exhausted it is certain that living beings, no matter who they are, must experience the suffering that arises from having to leave one another. It is certain that aging, sickness, and death will occur, each of them in full. The living must face the loss of their life force, health, and youth. Whether human or god, one must not be careless‍—one must not live carelessly. Those who initially were careless must realize that they will not last. They must understand that from the beginning they are destined for destruction. They must become absolutely certain that their life force, health, and youth will eventually be crushed.

“ ‘In the future, when the Lord of Death arrives, there are three strategies for turning him back: generosity, discipline, and insight‍—those are the three strategies for turning him back.

“ ‘The three great terrors follow, always and continuously, when one has numerous concepts and ideas. [F.15.a] Those who cannot relinquish concepts will, when the time of death arrives, lie there inert with mouths and eyes wide open. Thus, leaving behind one’s people, friends, retinue, and family, one must die and transmigrate. Burning in the fire of having to leave so many dear ones, one will suffer as one is led away by the Lord of Death. All the many thoughts that arise from the five sense pleasures‍—all the dancing, laughing, posing, and celebrating, and all the boundless enjoyments of the forests and parks‍—all such pleasures are like poisonous friends that now become hurtful enemies. At that time, they will be the cause of terrible regrets.

“ ‘Steeped in agony, one will think, “What have I done? I have not accomplished anything in terms of insight, generosity, or austere discipline. Careless, I have remained absentminded and I have not practiced anything worthwhile. Now, all my people, all my friends, have left me alone, while they are still celebrating. Now I must leave behind all the delightful objects here in our divine world.”

“ ‘For as long as the King of Death continues to destroy us gods, we must frankly acknowledge disease and decline. We must be sure to crush carelessness, for those who give up carelessness will find perfect joy. Such people will not be burned in the fires when the time of the Lord of Death arrives. At the time of total decline, these paths will be deeply cherished. [F.15.b] Thus, if we perform, become accustomed to, and increase acts of generosity, discipline, and insight, this is what will save us at that time.

“ ‘The Lord of Death, who robs all beings of their life force, is undeceiving‍—he has no forbearance, and there is no way to avoid him. So, why do the gods not endeavor in that which could turn him back? Because the careless gods are so engrossed in meaningless activities that are like an abyss, fierce poison, or burning flames.

“ ‘Therefore, the enemy‍—carelessness‍—will make those gods who are governed by carelessness intensify their predilection for beholding their gorgeous maidens and expand the tremendous pleasures they get from frolicking in their forests, parks, and ponds and roaming among the beautiful mountain peaks. They will regard things that are in fact impermanent as if they were permanent. They will think, “I will forever enjoy myself with these divine girls! All these young maidens will always be here, and we shall never be without them.”

“ ‘In this way, those who are obsessed with the pleasures of objects will always be accompanied by that great destroyer who moves without any hindrance: the Lord of Death. And when he shows up, none of the divine women can offer any protection. Without giving any thought to those facts, the gods are constantly on the move, yet whenever their pleasures are examined, they are seen to be fake, false, and hollow. Hence, once the gods are destroyed by carelessness, they will be born among the hell beings, starving spirits, and animals. Moreover, conquered by their own stupidity, the gods have not been destroyed by death, transmigration, and the pain of birth just once. They have been so continuously, since time without beginning, [F.16.a] and yet, lacking intelligence, they do not become any less desirous.’

“When Musulundha, ruler of the gods, speaks such words that convey the meaning of the Dharma, those gods who are free from mental faults will experience the ambrosial taste of his words. With that in mind, they will develop detachment, and so they will say to the king of the gods:

“When the gods have spoken about the other gods in this way, in distress, they will again address the king of the gods: ‘Ruler of gods, we are distraught and worry what might have happened to the gods who were inside the houses.’

“When Musulundha sees their distress and notices that they are no longer careless, he will release them from his magical power and once again reveal the gods to one another. As they see each other again, the whole congregation of like-minded gods will become completely overjoyed.

“To the happy gods Musulundha will then say, ‘The reason that you could not see each other was that I had used my miraculous powers to hide you from one another. Once the terrifying and overpowering Lord of Death has arrived with his tremendous strength, you will take rebirth as hell beings, starving spirits, or animals. [F.16.b] At that time you will not see each other for trillions of eons. You should understand this and avoid being careless. Do not be preoccupied but pay attention. Without becoming wholly absorbed in objects, make sure to accomplish this understanding.’

“When Musulundha gives this teaching, a great number of gods will become intensely weary and thereby attain the stage of a stream enterer. Recognizing this, Musulundha will think joyfully, ‘I have done my job.’ With his wishes happily fulfilled in this way, he will then proceed to the Forest of Amusements.

“Some among the utterly careless gods in Moving in the Stream will thus develop a highly virtuous state of mind and become stream enterers. On the other hand, those among them whose minds remain fickle and incautious will recklessly indulge their fondness for being careless. Crazed, they will continue to celebrate together, enjoying themselves in the forests, groves, ponds, parks, and jungles. Without considering the terrors of the Lord of Death, they will enjoy themselves and play, frolicking in lotus grove after lotus grove, and moving from one mountaintop to the next. Sharing a mutual infatuation, they will continue in this way until finally their acts with desirable, attractive, and delightful consequences have been exhausted.

“Once that happens, they will, if they have not done what is meaningful, take birth among hell beings, starving spirits, or animals. If, due to other karmic actions, they should be born human and possess the general lot in life of a human, they will always be happy and very successful. Their bodies will be most excellent, and they will enjoy tremendous wealth. [F.17.a] Everyone will appreciate them and find them endearing and delightful. They will have a natural fondness for the Dharma, just as they will enjoy dancing, singing, joking, and socializing. They will visit temples, gardens, ponds, and lotus groves. Becoming kings, or something similarly exceptional, they will remain free from harm, and their companions, friends, and family will always show them affection. They will enjoy themselves together with people who always speak truthfully and have candid and joyous minds, and thus they will maintain their honest conduct without any decline. All those perfect qualities and fortunate circumstances are karmic effects that accord with their causes.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the realms of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, he applies insight derived from hearing and so correctly perceives a realm known as Living on the Peak. Wondering what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he sees with insight derived from hearing. He then notices how certain holy people who remain constantly concerned about the effects of karmic actions are also honest and sincere. They possess the correct view and pursue correct activities. They completely relinquish unwholesome company and always recollect the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. Fearful of even the slightest misdeed, they relinquish killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. When on the road, such people may come across women who dance and sing, or they may hear the sounds of their jewelry or voices. At that point they may give rise to incorrect mental activity and become attracted, but they will nevertheless recognize the flaws of such an inappropriate state of mind and completely refrain from any further such thinking. [F.17.b] Those who thus completely give up sexual misconduct will upon the disintegration of their bodies go to the joyous higher realms and be born among the gods in Living on the Peak.

“Once born there, their past engagement in positive actions will bring them the fortune of experiencing vast enjoyments. They will glow with their own natural light and be attached to the pleasures of the five senses. There is a mountain in that realm known as Heap in the Stream, on which grow trees made of the seven precious substances. The mountain is also full of supreme enjoyments, such as flocks of birds that frolic there with gracefully moving feet.360 Displaying many different behaviors, plumages, and appearances, the birds number in the hundreds of thousands and present the most delightful spectacle. The mountain also abounds with wild animals in a variety of looks, colors, behaviors, and shapes, and everywhere are delightful waterfalls, rivers, pools, jungles, vine-covered houses, fruits, and flowering trees. The mountain is adorned with wish-fulfilling trees and measures three hundred leagues in circumference. The mountain is home to gorgeous and captivating heavenly beings‍—groups of gods and goddesses fill the surroundings. As they take in the mountain, they discover its vast and stunning forests and groves.

“The ground that surrounds the mountain is sparkling and formed from the seven precious substances. One slope of the mountain is made of sapphire, and the light that it projects reaches a distance of sixty thousand leagues. Wherever that light reaches, it lends a blue color to the sky. Adorned with different ornaments and raiment, the bodies of the gods are colorfully decorated with various precious stones and the like. Yet, when they travel through the sky to that particular face of Heap in the Stream, [F.18.a] all of their different colors are overpowered, and thus they all take on the same deep blue color. This is what happens on that one face of the mountain.

“A second face of Heap in the Stream is made of crystal. Gods adorned with many different ornaments and various colorful implements also go to visit that slope of the mountain, and when they do so everything becomes of the color of crystal. Thus, all their forms and features come to match the mountain.

“A third face of Heap in the Stream is made of silver and radiates light across five hundred leagues. Perfectly white and dazzling, this slope of the mountain is stunningly beautiful, and when the gods come to visit, all their colorful ornaments and attire turn the same color. Perfectly white and brilliant, they all turn the same color as the mountain.

“A fourth face of the mountain is made of gold from the Jambu River and shines on its surroundings like a splendid sun. The light from the mountain shines brilliantly across one thousand leagues, illuminating the sky with its radiance. When gods travel through or rest in the sky above this face of the mountain, they all take on the color of pure gold.

“A fifth face of the mountain shines with a ruby light, thus lending a brilliant scarlet hue to all its surroundings as it shines across one thousand leagues. When gods come to this face of the mountain, all their many different forms become brilliantly red. [F.18.b] Any red jewels the gods may wear on their bodies will at that time become a hundred times more intense and precious. Such are the special qualities of that slope of the mountain.

“A sixth face of the mountain is the color of diamond, and its light reaches across a thousand leagues. Thereby the surroundings become bathed in millions of rainbow-like light rays. Due to the splendor of Heap in the Stream, the gods that visit this slope all become rainbow colored.

“A seventh face of the mountain is made of the seven precious substances. When the gods go to this brilliantly colorful face of the mountain, their bodies become ornamented in many colors, as do their garments. The light radiating from this slope of the mountain also extends across a thousand leagues and thus projects a glorious brilliance on the surrounding environment.

“Compared to Heap in the Stream, the splendors, joys, precious lights, and delightful jewel lights of Mount Sumeru, the king of mountains, cannot match a hundredth, or even a thousandth of the qualities of that mountain. Such are the delights of that mountain. Why is that? Because of the power of virtuous actions. The gods of the Heaven Free from Strife have previously engaged in extremely wholesome and pure actions, and those causal factors now make their surroundings exceptionally joyous.

“Moreover, on that mountain are areas that are draped with nets of pearls that are perfectly pure and splendorous. [F.19.a] These pearl garlands, which have arisen from past positive karmic actions, are decoratively arrayed so that the pearls rattle against each other, just as when a city has been decorated with nets of pearls during times of celebration. Where the mountain is festooned with such prodigious pearl nets, hundreds of thousands of flocks of different birds live. The birds call out to the careless and frivolous gods. For the benefit of these gods, the birds warble the following verses called ‘Detailed Appeals’:

“Wishing to help, the birds that live among the pearl nets thus speak these words in order to render the gods such help.

“Furthermore, the atmosphere around this mountain is adorned with numerous colorful, magnificent garlands. Thus, both the immediate atmosphere and the sky above are beautifully illuminated. Akin to the way the people of Jambudvīpa look at what is called the triple-colored ‘bow of Indra,’361 the gods on the slopes of this mountain enjoy the splendor of various jewel lights. [F.20.a] When the gods look at the individual faces of the mountain, they witness the extremely delightful, amazing lights of numerous jewels. Celebrating on each of these mountainsides, the exuberant gods experience the great joy arising from their numerous past actions.

“Just like Mount Sumeru, this mountain also supports forests: the four forests known as Beautiful Ornament, Joyous Play, Sunshine, and Beautiful Nectar. Likewise, there are parks, waterfalls, ponds, lotus groves, rivers, jungles, and caverns. Birds sing, colorful flowers bloom in the gorgeous trees, and the mansions and palanquin houses are all draped with garlands. Along with their retinues, the gods of Living on the Peak362 come to that mountain and those forests to continuously enjoy divine substances, reveling in incomparable sense pleasures.

“The four forests provide a supremely enjoyable environment. In one of the forests, the trees are made of gold from the Jambu River, their foliage is of beryl, and their flowers are ruby colored. Another forest supports silver trees with leaves of exquisite gold and many different flowers that emit perfect fragrances across a hundred leagues, bringing ecstatic bliss to the gods who smell them. [F.20.b] In the third forest, the trees are of beryl, their leaves are of silver, and they bear multicolored flowers with rich aromas. The fourth forest features a hundred thousand cascades, streams, ponds, and songbirds endowed with supreme qualities. The many different colorful songbirds can be compared to Śakra amid the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, for in terms of colors, powers, and splendor, the perfect qualities of the Heaven Free from Strife are exceptional. Because of the gods’ abundant engagement in virtuous karmic actions in the past, this mountain is now endowed with supreme splendor, and many hundreds of thousands of gods surround it as they enjoy the perfect qualities of manifold objects in numerous ways. That is to say, the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife are capable of supremely miraculous feats, and they possess exceptional powers. Perfect sense pleasures manifest due to their own past karmic actions, and they relish the five types of objects by means of their six blissful senses. The gods in the Heaven Free from Strife are magnificent, and their past positive actions are what allow them to enjoy the features of this mountain.

“Seeing the joyous gods, flocks of the birds known as permanently happy will warble in spontaneous melodies produced by past karmic actions, to accompany these delightful verses:

“In this way, the birds convey many points of the sacred Dharma to the gods who roam on that mountain. Those among the gods who in the past engaged in wholesome deeds will understand what the birds are saying and keep it in mind. Yet those who did not previously practice the Dharma will not understand even a single word. Therefore, those who wish to benefit themselves and others must make ample efforts to increase the light of wisdom. Nothing else can save, heal, [F.22.a] and liberate beings from all the lower realms. Wisdom is truly the seed of supreme bliss. Those who rely on, contemplate, and venerate wisdom will gain insight endowed with many qualities and will thus be certain to attain the final transcendence of suffering.

“The gods who roam carelessly may comprehend the statements of the birds, and their carelessness will be pacified for a moment. Afterward, however, they will continue to enjoy their sense pleasures, reveling in joyous forests and parks and upon bright summits studded with numerous jewels. This will go on until finally their completed and accumulated acts with desirable, attractive, and delightful consequences have been exhausted. At that point they will fall and enter a new existence, taking birth in the realms of hell beings, starving spirits, or animals, in accordance with their karmic actions.

“Those who do not take such births may instead be born with the general lot in life of a human. In that case they will always be happy. They will not be subject to the commands of others but be able to do as they please. They will possess great wealth, be insightful, and have tremendous joy, supreme qualities, and perfect bodies. Everyone will treat them with affection and hold them dear, seeing them as delightful and agreeable. They will be served and adored by everyone, and they will be born in a pleasant location, in a marketplace, or in a city. They will be served by their families, companions, and friends. They will become kings or ministers, or sincere upholders and followers of the Dharma, who possess the genuine view. Such are the effects that accord with their karmic actions. [B47] [F.22.b]

“As the monk who has knowledge of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the realms of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, he applies insight derived from hearing and thus correctly perceives a realm known as Living on the Peak. Wondering what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he sees with insight derived from hearing. Thus, he notices how people who pursue positive actions and perfectly observe discipline may continuously refrain from causing others pain, while engaging in and accumulating the supreme discipline that noble beings uphold. They adhere to such discipline in a way that is free from degeneration and flaws. This discipline is irreproachable and stable, and it opens up all the gateways to the higher realms while closing all the gateways to the lower realms. With such cooling karmic ripening, they become like fathers or mothers, who are able to give refuge to others and benefit the world.

“Such people are born in that realm due to being endowed with three qualities. What three? Giving up killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. The way killing and stealing are relinquished has already been explained, but how do they give up sexual misconduct? For example, when quickly passing by a group of women dancing, they may either see the women directly or hear the sounds of them and their jewelry from behind a wall. In such cases, they will not relish what they see or hear, they will not think about it, and they will not form any wishes in relation to it. If others should enjoy women dancing, they will not rejoice but seek to stop them and encourage them to confess their misbehavior. They will also explain to them about the problems that otherwise may ensue, saying, ‘Sexual misconduct is a source of flaws. It causes beings to go to hell.’ [F.23.a] In such ways, they help others to understand the character of sexual misconduct and give it up.

“While engaging in virtuous activities such people thoroughly observe discipline and maintain a pure and celibate lifestyle. Hence, when their bodies disintegrate, they go to the joyous higher realms and are born among the gods in Living on the Peak within the Heaven Free from Strife.

“Once born there, such beings who have engaged in positive actions will experience the following pleasures. The mountain of Living on the Peak extends across five hundred leagues. Upon it, hundreds of species of lovely birds sing beautifully. The birds fill the environment with their deep and vibrant songs. These melodious songs can be heard everywhere.

“When a god first takes birth in that realm, he will do so in the vicinity of a tree composed of the seven precious substances. Just as when a human is woken up by the sound of birds singing at dawn, the god will wake up similarly enraptured by the singing of those birds. Just as when the first rays of the autumn sun shine on the mountaintops, the things around him will similarly become visible more and more. However, these examples are only slightly comparable.

“Once the god has become fully conscious, those birds, which manifest due to past positive karmic actions, will attempt to make him mindful by warbling these verses that are all about positive actions:

“As if in a dream, the gods hear these verses when they awaken. The birds that instruct the gods in this way possess numerous excellent qualities, such as their two wings. When the newly born gods hear these verses, which are sung by the birds that appear due to past beneficial actions, they feel trust in them. With the insight they gain, they become able to recollect their mind states of previous lives, and thus remember how they used to observe a desirable, attractive, and delightful discipline, which is endowed with three qualities. As they remember this, the newly born gods will speak these verses:

“Once the gods have seen the beauty of the frolicking birds and heard their sounds, they will joyfully begin to explore their divine world. Looking around, they will see that the mountain at Living on the Peak is covered with hundreds of thousands of trees that are draped in dazzling garlands. A hundred thousand cascades stream down the mountain, and the warbling of birds can be heard everywhere. The mountain is also adorned with a hundred thousand lovely lotus pools of various designs. The pools are made of numerous kinds of precious substances, and gorgeous humming bees buzz around them. This mountain is so enrapturing and unparalleled that when the inhabitants of the Heaven Free from Strife behold it, they attain a joy that matches its beauty.

“When the newly born god stands up from his seat by the foot of a tree, he will take a look at himself and see that his body is brilliantly luminous, radiating hundreds of light rays that illuminate his surroundings with a beautiful splendor. At the sight of his wondrous body, he is amazed and thus he becomes vain regarding his physical form.

“Then, as his arrogance begins to swell, he will think, ‘There is no one like me!’ As soon as that idea has occurred to him, he will be confirmed about his own perfection no matter who among the other gods he considers. Next, as his five senses perceive their respective objects, this will delight his heart and mind, and so his conceit will grow even larger. At this point his rapture will increase sevenfold, and therefore he will completely forget the virtuous qualities that he is supposed to pursue, because his mind is so fickle and habituated to carelessness. Thus, constantly frivolous, he lives carelessly. Tied by the noose of the five objects, [F.25.a] his longing will increase due to the stains of feeling desire for existence. In this way he will continue his blissful life upon that mountain of Living on the Peak.

“The mountain has three levels‍—there is a level above and another below. The lower level has five forests known as Traveling Fragrance, Light Ray Peak, Radiant, Constant Enjoyment, and Lofty Peak. Whatever grows in the forest of Traveling Fragrance is endowed with a special scent that can be sensed across five thousand leagues. The forest known as Light Ray Peak is lit up by numerous precious light rays of unparalleled splendor. The forest called Radiant shines with a light that is greater than a thousand suns, and the gods who stay there are blazingly radiant. The forest by the name Constant Enjoyment is filled with perfect sense pleasures. It is a site with many hundreds of thousands of pools and cascades that teem with the perfect taste, fragrance, and color of divine substances. Finally, the forest called Lofty Peak forms a towering and luminous summit formed from the seven precious substances.

“The middle level of the mountain features many hundreds of thousands of multistoried mansions made of the seven precious substances, and there are lotus pools in which flocks of hundreds of thousands of birds frolic about. This level abounds with desirable, attractive, delightful, and continuously appealing sounds, textures, tastes, sights, and aromas.

“The upper level measures five hundred leagues and is filled with gods of great power. It also contains the so-called Jewel Forest, which is filled with many different cascades, streams of food and drink, trees, ponds, lotus pools, groves, parks, wish-fulfilling trees, and divine flowers and fruits. This forest of a hundred thousand exceptional qualities is visited by hundreds of thousands of elated gods and goddesses. [F.25.b] In the Heaven Free from Strife, even Musulundha will travel there to enjoy the five divine sense pleasures related to sounds, textures, tastes, sights, and fragrances, all of which kindle the fire of craving. As the gods on that mountain of Living on the Peak enjoy their many pleasurable objects, they experience a delightful range of distinctive causally produced features.

“When the newly born god has become excited by the pleasurable objects, many of the other gods on the mountain will approach him. When they see that he is alone, they will come closer. Joyfully looking at him with their eyes wide open, they will tell each other, ‘That god is a newborn.’

“One of the gods will then ask, ‘How can we know that this is a newborn god?’

“Another god will reply, ‘There are five signs to indicate that a god is newborn. A newborn god shines in a particular way. He is covered only in his own natural light and does not otherwise wear any clothing. That is the first sign of a newborn god. The second is that his eyes wander in amazement as he looks at the forests and parks that he has never seen before. That is the second mark of a newborn god. A third sign is that when he sees females, he becomes embarrassed, confused, and hesitant. Furthermore, a newborn god characteristically approaches other gods whom he has not seen before with hesitance. Finally, it is a sign of a newborn god that he becomes fearful and worried when levitating into the sky. Newborn gods are slightly smaller and move slowly; [F.26.a] they will stay close to the ground and support each other as they move. Those are the five signs of a newborn god. All of them indicate that a god has just been born. Now, I shall go to help this newborn god.’

“As the gods come closer to the newly born god, they will form a circle around him and say, ‘Look, you most fortunate one. Your birth here is the result of your own many beautiful past actions. This is due to your observance and cultivation of discipline free from damage, blame,369 or interruption.’

“When those gods whose minds are not consumed by carelessness have said this, they will all spread out and settle in Living on the Peak. Having settled into that world, the newly born god will watch and examine the other gods who, without exception, are engaged in mutual rapture while the sounds of delightful singing and music are heard. Seeing them, he will think, ‘I should go and stay alone in the mountains.’ Hence, he will take off to the mountains of Living on the Peak.

“At that point the god will notice large gatherings of goddesses who are adorned with numerous ornaments, attire, ointments, and powders, and who rejoice to the sounds of musical instruments, drums, and songs. The goddesses are adorned with the finest raiment and ornaments and when see the new god, they will surround him in an ecstatic circle. Gazing at him in amazement, they will offer their salutations.

“Drawing closer, the goddesses will be pleased by their first sight of the god, and so they will say to him jubilantly, ‘God, we have come here to behold you. These forests and parks, valleys, rocks, and mountains are the results of your own past deeds and virtuous activity. Please enjoy yourself. [F.26.b] This heaven is also adorned with dazzling garlands of the seven precious substances. The many mountains abound with groves of many species of trees that are in constant bloom. In the forests of the mountains stand houses draped with vines, and throughout this heaven you can listen to music, drumming, and song. The realm is illumined by pure radiant gold, and you will discover all sorts of waterfalls, rivers, jungles, and lotus groves. In the midst of the sky stand hundreds of thousands of delightful palaces. Please enjoy yourself together with us.’

“In reply, the god, who has manifested from a vast amount of virtuous actions, will say, ‘Let us enjoy and satisfy ourselves with pleasures throughout the heavens.’

“Thus, to the accompaniment of numerous instruments, they will all set out in joyful celebration, experiencing the full effects of their virtuous actions. At one point they will arrive at a forest known as Manifold Chariots, which abounds with beautiful sights, delightful tastes, delicious fragrances, and enjoyable textures. The ground yields to one’s step but bounces back when the foot is lifted. The forest also features fine garments that are smooth, delicate, and exquisite. Many different birds frolic and produce lovely calls. Likewise, many enchanting songs and musical tunes can be heard there. [F.27.a] Traveling to this place, the gods enjoy all those objects as they joyfully celebrate with divine damsels adorned with many kinds of jewelry and special garments. Arriving within this forest that is endowed with such utterly perfect qualities and filled with gods and goddesses, the new god is amazed as he lets his eyes wander among all the exquisite sights. Within the forests and parks stand emerald trees, and from their crowns dangle sapphire garlands. On the ground live many colorful birds adorned with bright circles in the colors of the seven precious substances. These joyous birds warble to each other in melodious ways. In the same way as he surveyed the land, so will he gaze upon the lakes in the forest. There he will notice the colorful forms of infatuated ducks, geese, and swans that make special calls. As the god looks around this vast and diverse forest adorned with sapphire garlands, he will delight in all its beautiful sights.

“As this god, who now possesses all these diverse sense pleasures, peers into the sky, he will see hundreds of thousands of goddesses adorned with the brightest and most colorful ornaments and raiment. They fill the environment and display their bright colors in the sky as if they were painted on a wall or a canvas‍—a wondrous spectacle of goddesses singing, dancing, and playing music. However, the flaws connected with seeing soon set in, for as he looks into the sky, he will see in its center a hundred sources of life that fluctuate in a variety of ways.370 Next he will cast his gaze upon the lotus groves [F.27.b] and behold with excitement their clusters of bright blue, yellow, and red flowers, as well as the many beautiful aquatic birds that inhabit them, and the various ways they appear. At that point, the gods who are watching all this‍—all the divine gatherings that are either in the water or gliding through the air, as well as the birds that swim in the lakes, and the coteries of gods that bathe in the water with their perfect and incomparable bodies‍—will declare that all these sights are the effects of past virtuous actions:

“In this way those gods will recollect their past deeds and, having thus remembered their past lives, will proclaim these verses. Once again, however, they will be led along, habitually, by their attachment to objects. The extremely deceptive attractions of the many desirable sounds, textures, [F.28.a] tastes, sights, and smells will only increase day by day, and so the gods are carried away in hundreds of ways. Celebrating together, they are ruined as they indulge in a glut of sense pleasures. Likewise, the many gods frolic together within the forests, parks, and pristine waters where hundreds of thousands of birds sing and the pathways are composed of the seven precious substances. Great gatherings of joyous gods also travel to celebrate with other parties of happy gods. As the visitors arrive, everyone engages in the most delightful and joyous conversations. Without any animosity, they all mingle as friends, sharing playful games and laughter.

“Even those among the gods with the least possessions are nevertheless followed by ten thousand goddesses, who remain constantly devoted to pleasure, always and insatiably indulging in the enjoyments of the senses as they sport with their seductive charms. The minds of the goddesses are filled with desire in hundreds of thousands of ways. You may wonder what causes and conditions give rise to such supremely gratifying women. Likewise, you may wonder why the vast majority of the inhabitants of the higher realms are female, and why males are few by comparison. There are reasons for this. Those born into the world of the higher realms possess desires to a very strong or a medium degree, whereas their anger is at a medium or a lesser level. In the intermediate state prior to their birth into the god realms, beings will perceive eminently desirable females. This sight will greatly intensify their desire and, as a result, most of them will become female. [F.28.b] It is because of their attachment to pleasure that these beings in the intermediate state assume a female form. This is the reason that females, and not males, predominate in the heavens.

“Some gods have ten thousand such goddesses while others have twenty thousand, thirty thousand, forty thousand, fifty thousand, sixty thousand, and so forth, up to a hundred thousand, and most gods have even more than that. Those who indulge their desires with such ladies are born insatiable. Concerning the process of sexual union, in the Heaven of the Four Great Kings, it is the same as among humans. In the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the gods have intercourse just as humans do. In the Heaven Free from Strife, they rely just on touch. In the Heaven of Joy, speaking is the medium. In the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations, the gods simply gaze at one another, and the gods in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations insatiably smell aromas or listen to words that they perceive from a distance.

“Throughout all this, every single god remains in harmony with all the goddesses. Everyone is of one mind, and they all find each other attractive. The bodies of the gods are utterly free from flesh, bones, and worms. The gods are neither long nor short, and all of them are powerful. Their strength never wanes, they are capable of subduing others, and they possess tremendous splendor. In this way, a single god can remain in accord with many hundred thousand goddesses. Filled with a lustrous splendor, the gods move gracefully, and their hearts are extremely joyous. In this way they enter the heavens, going and coming as they please. As they enjoy themselves with one after another supreme goddess of the heavens, they relish such pleasures. [F.29.a] Enjoying their partners and the sensual pleasures, they joyfully revel as they please. In this way, by means of a great variety of features, they experience the higher realms. Spending an exceptionally long time on the level of Living on the Peak within the Heaven Free from Strife, they enjoy the pleasures of the five senses in conformity with their own previous karma.

“As the clusters of gods and goddesses roam about in this way,371 they gradually proceed to the forest called Shaken by Fierce Winds, where they will playfully pursue their enjoyments for as long as their past karma permits. When no such karma remains, their retinue of goddesses will abandon them. When the goddesses leave the gods, the following signs in the form of fatal disease will appear. First, whenever they approach an open lotus, it will close. That is the first omen. Another sign of death and transmigration is that whenever they go to a lotus pond or a cluster of trees, all the bees will leave that location. That is the second sign. The third sign is that when they frolic with the goddesses, the latter’s music will make their lust wane. The fourth sign is that whenever they go near a tree, its flowers will wither. The fifth is that when they go sightseeing through the gardens in their chariots, they will be unable to rise into the sky. Those signs pertain to the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife. There are also the signs witnessed by the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, such as profuse sweating from the armpits, and the like. [F.29.b] Those are signs of certain death and transmigration due to the exhaustion of virtuous actions. They are followed by death conditioned by unvirtuous factors.

“There are also twelve great signs that, as they arise, gradually foretoken death. When a god who possesses previous causes is about to die and transmigrate to a human existence, the light that shines from his body and accompanies him will begin to dim, as when the sun is setting. Likewise, when a god’s flower garlands and fruits begin to decay, that is an indication of impending death. Another sign of death is that the flowers that the god attaches to his hair begin to wither. A further sign of death is that when the god takes a bath, his body’s reflection in the water will appear the way he is about to be reborn‍—be it as a hell being, starving spirit, animal, or human. After those signs comes a fifth omen, which is that, upon seeing his reflection on the water, the god will be terrified and his body hairs will stand on end, as if they were thorns. At that moment, another sign of death and transmigration will manifest in the form of environmental changes. Thus, whether the god has been sitting upon a seat of beryl, silver, gold, or sapphire, the seat now transforms and turns into copper. Another sign of death and transmigration is that the wind will ruffle the god’s clothing. The ground will feel hot and he will have to get up from his seat, feeling as if a vajra had struck him. [F.30.a] These signs will cause the god’s state of mind to change. As his state of mind is transformed, the sounds, textures, tastes, sights, and smells that he perceives become unpleasant. Thus, the god draws closer to the fire of impermanence.

“The next signs of death and transmigration manifest conjointly. He will no longer see things as other than they actually are, such as stones which are the nature of beryl. He will also witness a complete fall in his standing.372 After that, the women will soon understand from those signs that the god is about to die and will therefore abandon him. They will also begin to speak badly of him, which causes him tremendous torment. The pain produced by this loss of his companions is so severe that none of his other enjoyments can match even a sixteenth of that.

“Next follows the onset of a tenth sign as the god’s faculties degenerate. He will begin to appear with rolling eyes, and so forth. Next comes an eleventh sign of death as his mind, like a water wheel, becomes incapable of staying still. Perceiving the pain of death and transmigration, his mind becomes highly unstable. Thereafter, the faculty of his life force will come to an end. The god witnesses this as akin to when the light of a candle dims and extinguishes once its wick is burned and its fuel is used up. Although he has not yet died or transmigrated, he will now perceive the trees he used to enjoy as if scorched by fire, and the birds that live in them will leave and go elsewhere. Nevertheless, others will still perceive all the former qualities. [F.30.b]

“In the midst of this, the goddesses will abandon the god and go elsewhere. When in his final moments the god comes to understand his decline, he will be overcome by despair and utter these verses:

“Seeing the goddesses leaving him, the god will speak these thoughtful verses that describe the nature of the world.

“Since the nature of the goddesses is crude, they will quickly forsake him and instead start to pursue another god. Just as bees hunting for nectar will leave the withered petals of a lotus destroyed by frost and fly off to other lotus flowers, so the goddesses will abandon the dying god for the sake of another. Then, once again, they will enjoy themselves and revel to the sounds of the five types of instruments. In the forests, parks, ponds, and lotus groves where colorful birds with melodious voices flutter among hundreds of thousands of wish-fulfilling trees, they will enjoy themselves while being attentive to the god they have now attached themselves to. Just as a hundred thousand lives can be forgotten in a single instant, so the goddesses destroy any remembrance of the qualities of their former partner. That is why these women are said to be available to anyone. [F.31.b] They are utterly unreliable, and they are even willing to destroy their companions and spouses just for the sake of a little wealth, or some other such objective. By their very nature, they will not stay to the end and will have no gratitude for all that was done for them in the past. Why? Because their minds are always in flux, like the rim of a water wheel, a city of gandharvas, or a mirage. Such is the nature of all women. When other gods, who have gone through previous training, see the condition of that god at the time of death and transmigration, they will utter the following verses:

“Recalling their previous lives in this manner, such gods will say these words in consideration of the human situation. In the god realms, there is constant daytime because the power of the gods’ own light prevents any nightfall, and thus they calculate time accordingly.

“Still, although they have gained that understanding, these gods will once more be compelled by their desires and thus resume playing around and enjoying themselves in the forests and parks. That is because this is the nature of gods and because it is certain and unquestionable that the consequences of performed deeds must be experienced. Thus, to the accompaniment of the sounds of the five types of instruments, they will enjoy themselves together with other divine gatherings by the rivers, in the jungles, in lotus groves, and in mountainous retreats. [F.32.a] Such gods also have fun sharing stories of daily life and making idle conversation with each other. This is all in conformity with the nature of things.

“This will continue until finally their completed and accumulated acts with desirable, attractive, and delightful consequences have been exhausted. Once that happens, they will die and leave their divine world. Upon death and transmigration, they will proceed to be born among hell beings, starving spirits, or animals, in accordance with their completed and accumulated actions. Alternatively, should they be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will always be happy. They will be born in a country endowed with the Dharma, and they may also be born as princes. They will be intelligent, learned, and have love for everyone. They may also become kings. In the unlikely event that opposing armies should wage war against them, their country will never lose a battle to the enemy’s army. They will be cheerful and yet thoughtful. Due to their careful attention, they may end up becoming kings or royal ministers. In accordance with their causal actions, they will always be very happy.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the realms of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, he employs knowledge derived from hearing and so correctly perceives a realm known as Ornament of the Mind. With insight derived from hearing he will further see what karmic actions cause beings to be born there. Thus, he will see how some beings may be virtuous and wise, honest and sincere, endowed with the genuine view, constantly aware of the nature of karmic actions and their effects, and therefore thoroughly abstinent from killing and stealing. They will also refrain from sexual misconduct, just as explained before. Consequently, such people will not entertain any thoughts of sexual misconduct, nor will they ever rejoice when such actions occur. They will never cast a single glance upon a woman with an inappropriate motivation. [F.32.b] They will never have such thoughts or inclinations. Never do they ogle women while in the clutches of the desire that accompanies lustful craving. Never do they entertain inappropriate mental activity regarding sexual intercourse. Instead, they refrain completely, having understood that the ripening of sexual misconduct is undesirable, unattractive, and unpleasant. They do not under any circumstances engage in such conduct themselves, nor do they ever condone the performance of such actions by others.

“Such people benefit both themselves and others and engage constantly in what is certain to be good. They are great vow holders who are free from the terrifying fetters and who perfectly practice austerities to the utmost degree. They have constant mindfulness of what is meaningful. They regard the body as unattractive. They consider all entities to be the same. With constant mindfulness of the view of sameness, they are free from attachment. They are free from the shackles of female deception. They have transcended the condition of ‘female’ or ‘male’ condition. They are a source of everyone’s confidence and trust. Such are the effects of their discipline as they manifest in the present life.

“Such people extinguish the fire of desire that takes the form of thoughts associated with resorting to, becoming habituated to, and increasing acts of desirous misconduct. They are perfectly stable and perfectly joyous. They abide in supreme bliss and experience supreme joy. When the bodies of such utterly pure beings disintegrate, they will, after their deaths, go to the joyous higher realms and be born among the gods in Ornament of the Mind within the Heaven Free from Strife.

“Once born there, such beings who have performed actions that result in happiness will experience abundant divine pleasures. Their bodies will be free from flesh, bone, and lymph, possess a natural light, and remain constantly blissful. [F.33.a] They will constantly experience vast enjoyments. While relishing the joys of divine substances with great qualities, they will reside amid a hundred thousand goddesses like gorgeous Mount Sumeru, which towers, illuminated and resplendent, amid the planets and stars. These gods are adorned with a supernal light that is produced by their past positive actions. Always luminous, they enjoy themselves amid other gods, sustained by numerous enrapturing sounds, textures, tastes, sights, and smells that gratify their five senses.

“While residing in this way, a god of this kind may think, ‘I should go to some other delightful land.’

“No sooner has this thought occurred than his virtuous actions cause the attending goddesses to understand his wish. They will then say to him, ‘We have enjoyed the pleasures of this heavenly environment, but let us now go somewhere else. Let us go to the summit known as Encircled by a Thousand Houses, a place that is studded with numerous kinds of jewels, a dwelling place of many hundreds of thousands of gods.’

“Hearing about that forest, the god feels tremendously happy, and so he will exclaim, ‘Let us go where you wish!’

“The god will then ascend into the open sky, and thence they will journey to the summit of A Thousand Houses, which is endowed with myriad gems. From a distance of five hundred leagues, they will hear the songs of a hundred thousand joyous goddesses, and their delightful, arousing exclamations, as they perform their dances. The god who is flying through the sky, surrounded by his goddesses, will then join in the singing. [F.33.b] With great delight, he will quickly approach the summit of Encircled by a Thousand Houses. Hearing the enchanting sounds of song, dance, and romance, the goddesses are struck with excitement, and thus they follow him gleefully.

“As they arrive before the mountain of Encircled by a Thousand Houses, the god will notice its many riches, such as the abundance of the seven precious substances. There are also delightful lotus pools and serene and lovely songbirds that mingle with one another out of sheer joy. There are cascades and cool ponds from which the lovely sounds of water may be heard. The mountain also features forests that abound with birds of enrapturing sounds and appearances, numerous adornments made of the seven precious substances, and rows of delightful mansions arrayed along the ground, which is formed by many types of gems and filled with an abundance of lovely landforms. There, the gorgeous and smiling gods and goddesses sport throughout the glades in a state of great exaltation. This setting features marvelous and stunningly beautiful mountains, streams, and cliff overhangs. There are many elegant swans, ducks, and geese that sail through the waters as they make their enchanting calls of exuberant passion. There are myriad colorful standards and banners that flutter in the breeze and display their beauty. There are also rows of splendid mansions in the sky above that are made of copious dazzling jewels that are exceedingly beautiful to behold. [F.34.a] The gatherings of perfect gods and goddesses caress each other and lie down together, chuckling passionately. On the ground made of exquisite gems stands the massive and majestic mountain with its summit of splendid vajra and an abundance of exceptionally delightful terraces and parks. The terraces are studded with hundreds of thousands of types of flowers with unique shapes, colors, and scents. Among the leaves of these flowers, humming bees work busily.375 Such are the perfections of the mountain Encircled by a Thousand Houses.

“As the god and his host of goddesses encircle the mountain in the sky, they will behold all these features. Seeing such perfections, the god is overjoyed, and thus he will call out to the goddesses, ‘Look at this summit with its one thousand mansions! What a delightful and superb mountain!’

“The god will say many such things, and when the goddesses have listened to him, they will reply, ‘We do see all this beauty. We have always been coming to this place, and we have seen it many hundreds of thousands of times. O god, if you have never seen it before, then please look closely!’

“In this manner, accompanied by his own people and his own retinue, the newly born god will behold the summit of a thousand palaces. Having traveled there through the sky, he will, while his divine retinue make playful calls, gaze upon the ecstatic gods with his eyes wide open. Some of them will then come look at the recent arrival. [F.34.b] They will exclaim, ‘He is a newborn!’ and so jubilantly they will come forth and wrap their arms around him. They will say, ‘The more we gather, the more prodigious our group will be. In that way, our enormous divine congregation can perform a musical play. With this vast and powerful divine congregation of ours, we should perform our play before Lord Musulundha.’

“When, from a distance, other gods see the newly arrived god in this way, surrounded by a divine gathering, they will join their palms above their heads in veneration and say, ‘Come join our play. Please take a good look around.’

“Surrounded by gatherings of gods of the Heaven Free from Strife and their ruler, the newly arrived god will proceed to enjoy himself and have fun amid vast gatherings of gods, experiencing the consequences of his positive actions. While thus enjoying himself due to his positive actions, he will enter forests and the like. There, he will hear the inhabitants of the Heaven Free from Strife say, ‘A god who was not here before has come to celebrate!’

“Upon hearing such words, the newly born god will begin to think, ‘Where might the king of the Heaven Free from Strife be amusing himself with the five sense pleasures?’

“He will then call to the gods who follow him in attendance and propose, ‘Let us go to the place where King Musulundha amuses himself!’

“To the accompaniment of songs, drums, music, and jubilant tunes, everyone will then set out for the place where the king celebrates. They will see Musulundha from afar, residing in the middle of a red water lily. The flower that the king has entered is gorgeous, displaying a hundred thousand petals that form a cavern-like mansion with the most exquisite fragrance. Inside the flower, goddesses play with water birds that make many different lovely calls. [F.35.a] The red water lily is luminous and glowing in a radiance that resembles the light of many different jewels. However, it is even more beautiful than such light, for this is a most precious flower. Outshining the light of myriad jewels, it shines with a red light. The light is of such a deep red color that it somewhat resembles that of a ruby, or the shining autumn sun, and yet the intensity of this red light is far deeper.

“Entering the dazzling petals of the red water lily, the goddesses there enjoy the pleasures of the five senses while bees swarm around them. The gods who enter may think, ‘We should have bit of nectar to drink.’ The moment they have this wish, numerous fragrant and cooling streams begin to flow amid the petals. While the gods and Musulundha, ruler of the gods, experience the vast and supreme pleasures of their objects, they may think, ‘Ah, there should be some beautiful songs for us who have entered this water lily.’ At that very moment, a delightful breeze will stir and begin to fan the petals. As the petals touch one another they will produce music so delightful that the five types of instruments cannot match even a sixteenth of it. Hearing such unprecedented music, the gods will keep listening with ecstatic attention. [F.35.b] In this way, the gods who have entered among the petals of the red water lily will enjoy themselves together with Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife.

“As they enjoy themselves, the gods may come to think, ‘Ah, while we abide here, enjoying ourselves and having fun, it would be nice if this water lily would fly up into the sky.’ The moment they form this idea, the water lily will indeed take off into the sky, like a swan. From there, the gods inside the water lily can watch how other gods frolic and enjoy themselves within the forests and parks, enjoying pleasures in accordance with their own karmic actions. By the power of their incomparably immaculate discipline, those who have entered the water lily are able to enjoy numerous such heavenly features together with King Musulundha. In this way, they experience concordant karmic consequences, which are either lesser, medium, middling, or superior, within their forests, parks, ponds, and splendid assemblies.

“When the newly born god has watched and examined all this for a long time, he will approach the summit of Encircled by a Thousand Houses. As he arrives in this land produced by inconceivable karmic actions, he will proceed with an ecstatic mind toward the anthers of the red water lily where Musulundha resides. There, in this vast realm of the Heaven Free from Strife, he will celebrate surrounded by numerous goddesses to the sounds of drums, music, and song, blissfully engaging in perfect sense pleasures.

“The radiance from Musulundha’s red water lily fills the environment with a red light so dazzling that there is no example for it. [F.36.a] The color is so red that the color of the blooming aśoka tree cannot match even a sixteenth of it. Within that water lily, the gods and goddesses enjoy diverse and copious divine pleasures, as the newly born god approaches the place where Musulundha, the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, resides with his retinue. Standing before him, he will join his palms above his head and prostrate. Musulundha will then address the newly born god with the following verses:

“In this way, Musulundha will instruct him with great sincerity about the Dharma. Once he has delivered his instructions, Musulundha and a retinue of thousands of gods will leave the red water lily and go to a mountain peak known as All Worlds. Made of the seven precious substances, this peak measures five hundred leagues and is full of the most wonderful waterfalls, pools, lotus ponds, forests, parks, flowers, and flocks of birds. All the major and minor parts of the mountain are replete with excellent qualities. As Musulundha arrives there, he will joyfully amble among the mountain’s numerous exquisite cascades and pools.

“The five hundred leagues of this mountain, All Worlds, feature the following delights. At the base of the summit lie a group of pools called Joyous to Behold. These pools surround the summit, which looms like an elephant’s tusk in the center. [F.37.b] Also, all around the mountain stretch plateaus of the seven precious substances that illumine the summit in the most magnificent way. Extending from the summit as if they were its shoulders, seven ornamental terraces protrude from the mountain five hundred leagues above the divine world. The terraces are respectively made of gold, silver, beryl, sapphire, pearl, ruby, and mother-of-pearl, and they are filled with vast and exquisite parties of joyous gods and goddesses. Seeing and hearing them is enrapturing, and they shine brilliantly as they are adorned with the finest jewels. Musulundha, ruler of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, hastens to this mountain surrounded by many hundreds of thousands of gods. As he surveys the billions of frolicking gods, he will speak these words:

“As he sees the summit of All Worlds, Musulundha will speak these verses out of compassionate love, noticing the many billions of ecstatic gods and goddesses who fill the realm. He notices how totally attached to objects they are and how they fail to see the truth of the way karmic actions have consequences. He sees that they are bound by the chains of careless craving, and thus scorched in the flames of burning desire. Once he has spoken those words, he will then advance into the realm of All Worlds.

“Since the consequences of karmic actions are certain to be experienced, Musulundha partakes of the resultant experiences of joyous excitement. Thus, escorted by many hundreds of thousands of gods, he will enter amid the celebrations in the parks and settle on the mountain peak. The gods on that mountaintop possess the five sense pleasures and are therefore all happy, sustained by the food of joy. When they see Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, some will fly up into the middle of the sky, others will put on numerous garlands and ointments, still others will travel through the sky within chariots that are like birds, and some among his female partners will come to attend on him. To the accompaniment of music of the five types of instruments, troupes of goddesses will form around him in passionate yearning. [F.38.b] Adorned with numerous kinds of ornaments and costumes, they will approach the king as he arrives. Still other gods will scatter a shower of heavenly fragrant flowers that never wither on the path where the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife strides. Some gods will play golden great drums, lutes, earthen drums, and cymbals, and others will sing melodious songs as they welcome Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife. Some goddesses will come forth with wine that has the most sumptuous flowery fragrance. Casting glances at him, they will also proffer garlands of divine substances, while their garments flutter in the breeze as they travel through the sky to receive the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife. There are also gods who will ascend into the open sky to receive Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife. Thus, according to their individual karmic actions that may be inferior, intermediate, or extraordinary, the gods will come forth to present offerings to the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, each one of them adorned with numerous ornaments, garments, and designs. As the king of the gods receives the praises of the gods in this way, he arrives on the summit of All Worlds.

“Upon his arrival, the king of the gods will be exhilarated by what he sees, and thus he will experience the pleasures of the beings in this land that is filled with sense pleasures. All the incomparable divine substances will keep increasing day by day, due to the power of these beings’ past positive actions. As he experiences the numerous pleasures of the forests, parks, pools, and lotus groves, the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife will rejoice upon the summit of All Worlds together with the playful gods. [F.39.a]

“As for the goddesses there, they have taken such a birth among great congregations of gods by virtue of the power of their past positive actions combined with the manifestation of unskillful means. When the time for their death and transmigration draws near, the following early signs of their impending death will be observed. Their breasts will dry out, they will become wrinkled, all the flowers that adorn them will wither upon touch, and even the red flowers that they bind to their heads will become yellowish. A further sign of their approaching death and transmigration is that they will be unable to walk properly. Other such signs are that the wind will tussle their garments, and their unwoven fabrics will now become woven instead and will feel coarse to the touch. Another sign of the death and transmigration of a goddess is that she will become fatigued when flying through the sky. Perspiration will appear on her skin. Her bright luster will become darkened. It is also a sign of death and transmigration that when, for example, she reaches out to pick the flowers or fruits of a tree, they will suddenly move far away and she will be unable to touch them. Also, when the gods listen to her, although they used to desire her, they now lose their lust for her, and instead they will see her as physically unattractive. As a further sign of her death and transmigration, a goddess’s hair will also be tussled by the wind and become stiff. Reckoned in human terms, the above signs of death last for a thousand years, but they take ten days according to the gods’ own calculation. After these have appeared, the signs of the death and transmigration of these divine beings will manifest with double force and then they will die. [F.39.b]

“The gods who are always extremely attached to pleasure experience the following signs that they are about to pass away. When they walk on the ground it feels unpleasant, and it no longer yields to their steps and bounces back when they lift their feet. They will find themselves alone without any goddesses for companionship. Moreover, at that moment there are some other foretokens of imminent death. For example, against their wishes the ground will shake. Another omen of death and transmigration is that they will forget their playful songs and they won’t see anyone who can sing them correctly. The performances of dance and song that the goddesses otherwise know so well due to their unique karmic actions will now end and be forgotten. Another related sign of death and transmigration is that whenever they go to a lotus pool, pond, or stream they will see their future birth reflected in the water. An omen of immediately impending death is that their bracelets, necklaces, and side ornaments will begin to feel heavy. Another such sign is that the colors of their fine seats will fade, and whether they were made of gold, beryl, or sapphire, they will now turn into wood. Yet another sign of imminent death is that they will misperceive those ponds that have just manifested. When perspiration drips from their body, just as it does with humans, it is a terrifying foretoken that the time of death has come. Another omen of death is that all these gods will become dizzy. [F.40.a] They will feel wobbly and discombobulated as when a person has been spinning on a wheel. That experience will be detrimental to all their faculties, and thus the gods will become joyless and perceive only distressing sights. As karmic actions are what maintain their life force, when the time for taking birth elsewhere has come, the gods will begin to perceive things in accord with their future birth, just as mentioned before. The goddesses will also experience the intermediate existence in a similar fashion due to their passionate minds. When Musulundha observes in this way how they die and transmigrate, he feels intense weariness. Seeing how the goddesses suffer a terrible downfall, he will speak the following verses:

“Thus speaks Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, having seen all this and being unable to stop the terrors of death and transmigration. He sees how everyone is bound to change and how, nevertheless, the joyous and playful gods with their numerous sense pleasures still fail to realize the terrors of death and transmigration. Understanding how in this way they are just like cattle, he thinks, ‘Alas, how can they be so near to death, and yet not be terrified!’

“With this thought, he becomes terrified, and yet he cannot make the others understand the horrors of death and transmigration. Although there are many reasons to teach them about their inappropriate objects and situations, all the gods believe their objects are perfect. Their minds are so absorbed in them that there is no proper occasion, and thus he is unable to introduce the gods to the Dharma. Therefore, while terrified inside, he outwardly engages in abundant joyous games and celebrations so as to make the gods follow him.

“And so, at the summit of the world the gods and goddesses live in their exceptionally delightful lotus groves, flower meadows, and parks, where they remain intoxicated in each other’s company. Engaged in that single pursuit, their craving for all the delightful objects there continually increases. In this way, they enjoy the forests, parks, ponds, and landscapes, as they sing songs and drink nectars that have exquisite fragrances and consistency.

“While singing a variety of songs and enjoying themselves in this way, the gods will at some point come to the central terrace of the mountain and will notice that this terrace is made of beryl. At that moment, a transformation of the gods will take place. [F.41.a] All of their many different gems will turn blue due to the light that shines from the beryl. It causes everything to turn blue‍—everything there turns completely blue. When the gods notice this extraordinary blue color, they will be filled with amazement and exclaim, ‘We have seen hundreds of thousands of chariots, but this beryl light is unlike anything that we have seen before! What is it that gives this mountain such splendor?’

“At that time, a god among them will say, ‘Listen carefully to this account that I have heard concerning the causes of this. Regarding the splendors of this great blue light, I have heard the following. When in the past the king of the Heaven of Joy, Praśānta, descended to Jambudvīpa to worship the perfect buddha Kāśyapa, he inserted a jewel among the beryls here at the summit of All Worlds in order to amaze and delight the gods. The splendor of that jewel made the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife understand how karmic effects may be either heavy or light, and their pride was crushed. In that way, they came to possess the essence of the Dharma. Based on seeing this jewel, the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife understood how the gods of the Heaven of Joy are greater than them. They realized how their own happiness is minor when compared to the happiness of the gods of the Heaven of Joy, and how their own lights, colors, and shapes, as well as their powers and realms, are extremely insignificant in comparison. In the course of these events, they became enraptured by watching the splendor of this jewel. [F.41.b] Those among them who were careless became free of their infatuation. They became true followers of the Dharma, adhered to the Dharma, and, in the future, they kept following the Dharma in better and better ways. For those reasons, the ruler of the Heaven of Joy inserted the jewel.’

“The great gathering of gods will listen to these words of this god with tremendous appreciation and then, in amazement, go looking for the jewel at the summit of All Worlds. There they will find it, radiating light that is a hundred times brighter than other gems. This jewel shines even brighter than other very bright gems, so what need is there to mention lackluster gems? Hence, the gods will abandon all the luminous and splendid jewels that are found in the Heaven Free from Strife and now only be preoccupied with this one jewel, which remains resplendent, spreading its light across a thousand leagues. Its light outshines all the jewels of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife. Just as the rising sun shines brighter than all the planets, stars, and other celestial bodies, so this jewel shines brighter than all other gems within the Heaven Free from Strife. Witnessing such splendor, the pride of the gods is pacified. Humbled by its overpowering light, the gods will now look at this one jewel only. They will then notice these verses that liberate beings from attachment, written in letters of pure gold:

“When the gods hear these verses at the great beryl stone, those of them whose minds are accustomed to virtue will develop great sadness. However, those who are fooled by objects will, due to their delusion, again become excited by their objects and enjoy them.

“Thus, having gone to All Worlds, the gods will circumambulate the jewel, completely amazed by the features of its light. Then, as it is in their nature to be careless, they will once again indulge themselves in their bountiful pleasures. It is impossible to provide any example for the happiness that they feel.

“As they once again become careless, they will next proceed to the river called Great Waters, playing various drums and musical instruments. Pulled along by the noose of their tenacious craving for objects and pushed by the relentless concern for objects to which they have become habituated since beginningless time, they now proceed to the river of Great Waters, as they enjoy themselves lustily to the sounds of music and song. [F.43.a] The river of Great Waters is lined with trees and filled with lotuses, and many kinds of songbirds warble delightfully there. The river’s banks are perfumed with the fragrance of lotuses, and the ravished gods will assemble there, singing their songs, having arrived there from a lesser existence. With elated minds, they will enjoy themselves on the riverbanks, experiencing a plethora of sense pleasures while they listen to the captivating and delightful music of the five types of instruments. Meanwhile, the river rushes by with tremendous force.

“On the banks of the river lives the bird known as the one that dwells in fresh foliage. Stirred by past positive actions, the joyful bird will tweet these verses to help the gods:

“In this way, the bird that dwells in fresh foliage will chirp these verses, motivated by positive karmic actions. When the gods hear these genuinely caring verses, they will become tremendously sad and think, ‘Even though you are an animal, you are still capable of following the Dharma in this way. Our case is different. With minds like ours, we will fall headlong into the lower realms.’

“Having gained that understanding, some of the gods will now leave the river behind and assemble elsewhere. To each other those gods will say:

“With such verses, the gods make a common commitment to follow the Dharma, and for a short while, they will indeed keep the Dharma in mind. However, since their faculties are so fond of pursuing objects, they will soon go back to the other gods when they see how they are enjoying, relishing, and experiencing an inconceivable array of desirable, attractive, and delightful pleasures. In this way, deluded by objects, they will only indulge more and more with each passing day. They will continue to enjoy these perfect divine sense pleasures until finally their many positive acts with desirable and delightful consequences have been exhausted. Although they keep relishing the five objects that manifest as supremely delightful divine substances, [F.44.a] once their actions are exhausted, they will again move on, driven by their karmic actions, and will thus take birth among hell beings, starving spirits, or animals.

“Should they die and transmigrate otherwise, they may be born with the general lot in life of a human. In that case they will possess supreme enjoyments. Free from injury and with many possessions, they will be born in a supreme family. They will live in harmony with all the people of the land and everyone will honor them. They will be free from harm and disease, extremely intelligent, and in perfect accord with their male and female servants, employees, and laborers. They will be born in a desirable land with exquisite cities. They will not be born in a barbaric place where people do not know how to distinguish Dharma from non-Dharma. Their faculties will be fully intact, and they will possess mature intellects, be attentive, and be in full control of their minds. To become such exalted beings with three excellent qualities is the result of having carried out and accumulated positive actions. It is an effect that is in accordance with karmic actions that are certain to cause birth as a god. [B48]

“As the monk who has knowledge of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the realms of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, he applies insight derived from hearing and so correctly perceives a realm known as Continuous Movement. Wondering what karmic actions may cause beings to take birth there, he sees with insight how some people engage in positive actions, are honest and have honest minds, practice and adhere to the Dharma, and conduct themselves in ways that are pure, irreproachable, and wholesome. Such people will have the mind of a spiritual teacher who has given up desires. [F.44.b] They are wary of even the subtlest speck of evil, have realized the authentic view, have given up unwholesome friends, and have constant faith in the way karmic actions carry consequences. With their minds in equipoise they practice positive physical and verbal actions and maintain discipline endowed with three qualities.

“As for the way they give up killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, the former two are as explained before. In terms of giving up sexual misconduct, monks do not look at or enjoy females for even a moment. Even at night they do not contemplate the appearances of women. They have few wants and perfect contentment, and when they go on walks during the day, their minds are in utter equipoise. With the rope of mental control, they quickly rein in their senses. They pay attention to the body. They delight in keeping their minds well guarded and enjoy examining the elements, sense sources, and aggregates. They have no fondness for gatherings or groups and do not become entangled in their society for even half a day. They do not associate with people who are deceptive or aggressive, and they do not keep a household. They are not inclined to go to town or frequent cities, highways, or intersections. They do not pursue meetings with friends or companions and aim to keep them brief. They are diligent and pursue knowledge and understanding with constant endeavor. Directing their minds in the proper way, they follow spiritual masters. When the bodies of those who practice such discipline later disintegrate, these beings will after death [F.45.a] be born among the congregations of the gods in Continuous Movement within the Heaven Free from Strife. Once born there, they will enjoy perfect music and supreme happiness. They will attain abundant and diverse pleasures, as if those were the imprint left by a seal.

“On the outskirts of Continuous Movement lie two mountains, and this realm also features four forests: Rich and Dark Shade, Diverse Movements, Universal Growth, and Buoyant Movement. In the forest of Rich and Dark Shade the trees are all the color of sapphire, and they bear leaves of gold and silver. With perfect beauty that transcends description, the branches of the trees cast their shadows across five hundred leagues, making them appear like blackish-blue rainclouds. The forests of Diverse Movements and Universal Growth are different, for within them grow many species of trees with different colors and shapes. The sizes and trunks are all different, and many different birds live in them. Thus, there are trees having golden trunks with silvery leaves, beryl trunks with coral leaves, coral trunks with silver leaves, and a variety of trunks that bear a variety of leaves and cast a variety of shadows. There are also trees draped with vines, and in certain areas there are secluded huts made of vines.380 All the land is extremely vast and delightful, and it is adorned by swarms of beautiful, humming bees. Within the second of the two forests, Universal Growth, the gushing and splashing noises of various waterfalls and streams can be heard. Everywhere throughout that land, one hears the sound of gushing water as well as the lovely calls of peacocks and cuckoos. Finally, in the forest of Buoyant Movement, the appearances of the trees are indescribably enjoyable and resplendent. [F.45.b] Throughout its shady glades, parks, and lotus groves, one sees everything extremely clearly. The gods who stay in or visit this place are able to see through things, as if they were made of glass or crystal.

“The splendor of the mountains is such that they display, accurately and completely, the contexts of the gods’ death and transmigration. Hence, as they invariably foresee their own death and transmigration, the gods develop weariness with existence, cognizant of their own impending destruction. Being born in a place that has such qualities is the effect of numerous virtuous actions.

“Thus, while the gods initially take birth in these mountains, they will not live carelessly, for they would then fall into the lower realms. Once born there, they begin to enjoy the numerous perfect sense pleasures that are available to them amid the forests, pools, and blooming lotus groves. To the sounds of music and surrounded by hosts of goddesses, they enjoy themselves and celebrate. Thus, as the effects of their previously explained virtuous actions, they will fully enjoy themselves in myriad ways among these mountains. As effects of their positive actions, they will become supremely powerful and splendid, and while they enjoy themselves in this way, they will behold the five great wonders of those mountains. They will perceive how they themselves died and transmigrated in previous lives, how they took birth in their current realm due to actions in past lives, how they eventually will die and transmigrate into other existences, [F.46.a] and how much happiness they will experience in those future lives. They will also see the same with respect to others, perceiving those who will be born into that god realm after a hundred eons, or even a billion eons. In this way, they foresee those who will take birth in that heavenly realm, except for those instances obscured due to very long timespans and therefore inaccessible to their investigations. Such are their wondrous visions caused by the splendor of the mountains, which the gods witness as the result of their virtuous actions.

“As the gods witness those many wonders, they grow disenchanted as an outcome of their positive past karmic actions. The flaws in the abyss of existence throughout birth, death, and transmigration will initially make them feel weary of even meritorious actions. These unbearably painful and horrifying flaws will then make them feel weary of mixed actions as well. Witnessing the blend of flaws connected to the abyss of existence, they will keep watching as they come to the mountains.

“Cyclic existence is an abyss of constant death, transmigration, and rebirth. The flaws of that abyss cannot be stopped and only increase day and night. Seeing this waterwheel of suffering, the gods will no longer be happy with anything. Their extremely delightful divine sense pleasures‍—all the exquisite sounds, textures, tastes, forms, and scents‍—will now seem to them like rice meal mixed with poison. No longer seeing them as enjoyable, they will instead develop strong aversion to their copious pleasures of heavenly substances. Displeased, the gods will now begin to instruct many other gods out of a wish to benefit them and bring them happiness. In that way, the gods will train by means of body, speech, and mind and engage in many positive actions. Emerging as teachers of the sacred Dharma, [F.46.b] they will convey clearly and elaborately the teachings of the buddhas for the sake of those who live in carelessness.

“They will explain that careless beings who remain in carelessness and are lost in the great abyss of objects will encounter five terrors: birth, aging, disease, death, and their own karma. Those terrors await them due to karmic actions and are their lot in life. They will explain that careless beings will encounter the terror of losing what is agreeable and beautiful, the terror of being separated from their companions, and the four terrors. They will explain these matters free from desire, without any wish for respect, and without being influenced by conceit or arrogance. Free from such factors, they will teach the words of the buddhas. They will only explain a portion of the buddhas’ teaching at this point, however, for they fear that their learning is insufficient, since they have not elsewhere received further teachings or illustrative examples. Also, worrying that it might take too long, they will provide no other reasoning or examples. Yet, in the future, they will transmit what was not yet heard. They only explain the Dharma out of a wish to make others abandon their many desires, and from their teaching it is discernible how one circles through the horrors of death, transmigration, and rebirth.

“The following contexts of teaching the Dharma have particularly prodigious effects: Teaching the view of peace to one’s mother, one’s father, a sick person, or someone who adheres to a mistaken view. Teaching the Dharma to beings at the place and time of their death. Teaching the Dharma to eliminate the view that there are no causes, such as in those who believe that beings are in cyclic existence randomly and independent of causes. Teaching the Dharma to those who live in remote places and have never heard it before. Teaching those who are on the road, those traveling the high seas, or those living on the ocean. Teaching the careless. [F.47.a] Pacifying the pride of kings, princes, or those who are reckless due to their youth. Teaching the Dharma in a way that shows the unfortunate consequences of killing to those who kill excessively and are careless, thereby causing them to give up killing. Teaching the path in the higher realms to those who are fond of fighting. Teaching those with deficient learning about how to pursue learning and to endeavor in the Dharma in numerous ways. Teaching the Dharma to women who are suffering from arrogance and afflicted by the terrifying flaws of stinginess, so that they may stop and bring an end to their avarice.

“If genuine Dharma teachers correctly explain the Dharma to people of those twelve kinds they will, upon the disintegration of their bodies, be born in the realm of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife. There, they will see how birth, death, and transmigration occur due to karmic actions, and they will develop weariness with respect to the entirety of cyclic existence.

“Those gods who are not taught the Dharma and who do not experience any such Dharma teaching will instead continue to enjoy themselves and celebrate. Among their perfect and abundant enjoyments, where birds sing delightful and inspiring tunes while large and small bells jingle, they will enjoy their pleasures at lotus pools of exquisite color and fragrance where hundreds of thousands of bees are buzzing. Next, they will go to enjoy themselves at the feet and on the terraces of the mountains. Together with goddesses who have perfect physiques and marvelous, supreme qualities, they will sing and enjoy themselves. For their perfect pleasure, the gods drink nectars of impeccable flavor, fragrance, and color, and, as they do so, the already careless gods will become even more infatuated. [F.47.b] Excitedly, they will journey to a forest on those mountains known as Joyous Birds. There they will dwell on a terrace formed from beryl. The terrace is decorated with golden ornaments and gems of the seven precious substances, and around it fly gorgeous birds with superb qualities. As the gods keep reveling in their sense pleasures, they are never satisfied, and their yearning is never fulfilled. So long as a fire is fed fuel and fanned by the wind, it will never burn out. Likewise, childish beings with craving will never be satisfied. Why? Since time without beginning they have been deceived by their craving, their minds have been ruled by insatiable craving, and objects have never satisfied them. In such childish, ordinary individuals, the faculties for pleasure are never satisfied.

“On that delightful terrace, the gods enjoy themselves together. Within supremely enjoyable mansions that have magnificent and superb qualities, they experience a great variety of myriad enjoyable sense pleasures. When other gods, who are cautious and careful, see how those gods roam about absorbed in careless pursuits, they will address them out of love:

“With such verses, those gods who are not careless and who do not live carelessly instruct the others. As they see the nature of karmic actions and the way things are produced by one’s individual karmic actions, they develop fear of their own karmic actions. With this, they are filled with love, and thus they begin to explain this to the others. It is apparent that the gods in Continuous Movement enjoy themselves in numerous ways on the mountains there, just as they ascertain reality in various ways.

“Additionally, the supremely delightful forests and parks that the gods who live on these mountains experience [F.48.b] are for the most part made of beryl and silver. The foremost among them is called Sole Shadow, which is a forest in which there are no shadows. Also, the Sole Shadow forest is made of the most delightful beryl. The ground there gives way to one’s step and bounces back when the foot is lifted. Birds sing and the forest has hundreds of lotus groves, cascades, ponds, and pools. There, the happy gods enjoy themselves in numerous ways.

“Sole Shadow contains five great pools that are home to exquisite swans, ducks, and geese. The infatuated birds produce calls in many enrapturing ways, thus filling the environment with their tunes. Numerous aquatic flowers emerge from the water, yet they are never sullied by mud stirred up by the wind that ripples the surface of the water. Within the lotuses and other flowers that grow in those pristine ponds, the gods befriend each other as they enjoy themselves and celebrate. There are five ponds there, known as Delightful to Behold, Water That One Never Tires Of, Joyous Birds, Constant Happiness, and Joyful Gods. Hundreds of thousands of bright bees in many shapes and colors flit about there, producing a sonorous humming as they sip the flower nectars with an intense fervor for their taste. Hearing the buzzing of the bees makes the gods ecstatic, and when they see the bees they will rush forward. The ponds are filled with extremely clear water, and their colors, shapes, and aromas are all gorgeous. When the gods behold the ponds, they will enter them one after the other and play with each other in the waters. [F.49.a] Relishing these most perfect sense pleasures, they will joyfully frolic among the many enjoyments.

“At that time, the most enrapturing sounds can be heard, for the sounds of nāgas, gandharvas, the water, and the many different birds all blend into a rich symphony. In this way, numerous sounds and words mingle, and joyous words and sounds ring out in a magnificent stream. The sounds of the exuberant gods blend with the singing of the birds, and the myriad sounds made by nāgas also join the mix. This produces an entrancing symphony that captivates the attention of the gods who reside on other mountains, so that they can no longer focus on their own enjoyment of supreme and superb pleasures. Likewise, when the deer and birds that live in other locations hear these enrapturing tunes, they stop eating their rich and delicious foods. Without moving their eyes or ears, they now listen to the symphony of bird song and sounds produced by the nāgas. They keep relishing, again and again, the unusual and enchanting sounds of the nāgas, tones that are so delightful that even gods who live elsewhere become inspired.

“When the gods in Continuous Movement have enjoyed the pleasures at these five delightful ponds for a very long time, they will proceed to Enjoyment of Drinks, a forest that abounds with drink, in order to enjoy themselves there. In pursuit of beverages and an inspiring place to hang out, they gradually turn up there. [F.49.b] Upon arrival, they will, by the power of their positive actions, immerse themselves in the pristine waters of a fathomless river. This river flows with ambrosias that have sublime fragrance, taste, and color. The aromas of the river can be sensed across five leagues382‍—they gather and spread across the full five leagues.383 The waters in the river manifest in accordance with whatever drinks the gods may wish for. Ruled by their desirous minds, the gods participate in the most terrifying games of pleasure. People who roam about in search of pleasure feel their enjoyments increase when their minds can pursue such pleasures, even if they no longer have a home. What then to think of those who enjoy free access to whatever they like while music from the five types of instruments is playing?

“The frolicking gods enjoy beverages that are completely free of any negative side effects. What they drink is perfectly agreeable and endowed with the most exquisite aromas. The joy that they feel is therefore indescribable. Traipsing around joyfully, they drink nectars and enjoy each other’s company for a long time. Since their minds have been involved in tenacious craving since beginningless time, this is what they continue to cultivate.

“Intoxicated by the poison of craving, the gods in Continuous Movement are insatiable, and so they think, ‘We haven’t yet been to the backside of these mountains, so let’s ascend over there.’ They will all entertain this notion collectively, and everyone one will agree: ‘Let’s do it!’ [F.50.a]

“Experiencing their past karmic actions, these luminous gods of supreme splendor will joyfully descend onto the mountain summits, having flown there by the power of their minds. Endowed with perfect miraculous powers, they will assemble to the accompaniment of music of the five types of instruments resounding throughout all directions, and even the sublime aromas will increase. Outmatching the stars, their playful bodies gather in the midst of the sky. Then, through their mastery of miraculous powers, which they have obtained due to their past positive actions, they will journey to their destination, the backside of the mountains. There, they will find large and small bells, waterfalls, streams, ponds, groves, embankments, flowers, the most delightful singing of birds, and divine substances with delectable fragrances. When they have thus toured the bright and harmonious environment of the mountains’ backside, they will once again congregate in the sky.

“As these happy friends assemble, some of them will gather in groups of one hundred, whereas others will join groups of two or three hundred. Such differences are due to differences in their karmic backgrounds. Thus, these groups of gods who celebrate together are of various sizes, some containing one thousand, others two thousand, still others three thousand, and so forth, up to twenty thousand assembled gods. Joyfully participating in various dances, playing drums, and singing songs, they will roam from forest to forest. Visiting one nectar-producing lotus grove after the other, they wind their way through the nectar-laden groves to the sound of music of the five types of instruments.

“The backside of the mountains also displays other supreme and delightful elements. All the stones there are gems [F.50.b] and the ground is strikingly colorful, much more resplendent than the sun. It yields to the step and bounces back again when the foot is lifted, as if it were made of the perfectly soft cotton that is produced in Gonakī in Jambudvīpa, or as if it had been supplied with soft padding, or made of some other soft substance so that it is always soft whether a foot is placed on it or not. On the backside of the mountains every single precious stone, all of the ground itself, as well as all the branches of the trees, the mountain summits, the lotuses, and the jewels, are without exception incredibly soft and delightful to touch. Everything is enchanting to behold, and therefore the joy of the gods is as rich as the land. Having gone to the backside of those beautiful mountains, the gods enjoy themselves and celebrate.

“Endowed with the fortune of having all these diverse pleasures, these desirous beings will celebrate with each other in groups where they experience the happiness of touching objects that have all manner of perfect qualities. Having gone to the backside of the mountains, many hundreds of thousands of ecstatic gods experience the pleasures of those divine objects while attended to by divine ladies who perform amazing songs and dances. Their celebrations will continue for a long time, accompanied by the music of the five types of instruments. In their joyous gatherings and assemblies, they enjoy the pleasures of the five objects.

“While they remain attached to their beautiful songs, there comes a time when these gods in the Heaven Free from Strife witness a bright light that is so tremendously dazzling, like nothing they have ever seen before. This light is so bright that the gods of lesser powers cannot take it, [F.51.a] and they will collapse to the ground, covering their eyes with their hands. Unable to bear the light, other gods will hide among the trees. Some will take cover together with their companions within the jewel caves. Those among the gods who are particularly bold will muster courage and gather to take in the wonder they are witnessing. Without letting themselves become intimidated, they will keep watching, wondering, ‘What is this? Where does this light come from? It shines so wonderfully on the backside of this mountain‍—what a precious, blazing light!’

“As the gods think, ‘Never have we seen anything like this!’ they will watch the sky and behold a great light that descends from space. The bright shining light shimmers as it descends through the sky. Watching this downward-streaming light, the gods will wonder, ‘How far might this light reach?’ and they will begin discussing their various estimates. Meanwhile, the blazing and dazzling light will descend five thousand leagues through the sky of the Heaven Free from Strife. It is so brilliant that its radiance defies measurement. As it approaches, the light is so strong that even the boldest among the gods will be unable to watch and must close their eyes. This is because the brilliance is so overwhelming that their eyes cannot take it in, and hence they must cover them.

“Yet, just a moment later the excited gods have to open their eyes again to look at the sky once more. [F.51.b] As they look at the sky, they will step forward and keep watching. At odds about the light, they will discuss it in amazement: ‘What is this light that is descending through space? It is unlike anything else! What is this amazing light that blazes through the entire world of the gods?’

“The downward-streaming light will keep descending for an extremely long time before it finally fades, burns out, and disappears. When the light in the sky has finally vanished, the weak hearted among the gods will begin to emerge from their caves together with their attendants. Now free from fear, they will talk about the amazing thing that has occurred, wondering, ‘What was that astonishing light that so frightened us?’ In this way, they will try for a long time to figure out what that astonishing occurrence might have been. At first, they are amazed and discuss what this wonder might have been. Then, after thinking about it for a long while, they become afraid for a moment.

“However, since the gods on the backside of these mountains are particularly inclined toward joyous festivities, they will again become captivated by their objects. Enjoying them in numerous ways to the accompaniment of music from the five types of instruments, they will spend a long time within these forests and parks. Accompanied by many trillions of gods and goddesses, the gods of the Heaven Free from Strife and their ruler, Musulundha, [F.52.a] will stay there while the melodies of music from the five types of instruments resound.

“Spending an extremely long time at the backside of these mountains, the perfectly joyous gods of the Heaven Free from Strife and their ruler, Musulundha, take their places upon lotus seats while music from the five types of instruments rings out. With their numerous ornaments and garments, many hundreds of thousands of these radiant gods will sing and play hundreds of thousands of enrapturing melodies and songs as they joyfully fill the sky. Among them are throngs of goddesses with hundreds of thousands of special features, ornaments, costumes, shapes, and qualities. In this way, the divine gatherings at the backside of the mountains can be seen to enjoy the pleasures of the five senses.

“To Musulundha, ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, this sight is utterly enrapturing, and he will rush forth into the playful masses. When the participants see him, they too will come forth and join the ruler of the gods. In this way, all the exuberant singers and musicians will mingle and perform continuous dances in the sky and on the backside of the mountains. Singing songs of praise to Musulundha, and playing music from the five types of instruments, they will keep frolicking for a long time. [F.52.b]

“When the gods have thus played and enjoyed themselves for a long time, the exact same light as before will once again appear. This is very surprising to the gods, and some of them will be so terrified that they will run to the ruler of the gods in panic. Others will look into the center of the sky and see it as an omen of great portent. Those among the gods who are free from carelessness, such as Musulundha, and who have heard about the import of the descending light and therefore understand what is happening, will reverently pay homage to the Buddha. Others who have poor strength of heart and whose steadfastness has crumbled will take cover in the caves and the dense forests. Still others will run to the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife, looking for protection. Since the gods understand that Musulundha knows about such supreme wonders and amazing events, they will all request him, ‘Please explain to us gods the nature of this bright light that descends through the sky. Please make us gods properly understand what this descending light is.’ In this way the gods will request their ruler to explain this matter that they do not understand. They will say, ‘We do not understand this. Divine ruler, please explain what it is. We do not understand what we are witnessing, so please explain it to us.’

“In response to the assembled gods, the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife will then say, ‘All right, let me tell you about this dazzling light that streams downward through the sky, which is too dazzling to behold [F.53.a] and which alarms and amazes you.’ Addressing the gathering of amazed and uneasy gods, the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife will continue, ‘Listen, what you see descending is a class of gods that live above us, beings who in terms of extent, color, shape, lifespan, and karmic actions are a hundred times our superiors. Above us towers a palace of bodhisattvas into which are born those humans who observe the pure fivefold discipline in a way that is flawless, unbroken, undefiled, steadfast, and genuine. Upon the disintegration of their bodies, such humans go to the joyous higher realms and take birth among the gods in that Heaven of Joy. Their amusements, joys, parks, goddesses, radiance, and bodies; their splendor, intelligence, and longevity; and their many enjoyments, physical and mental pleasures, and the appearance of their goddesses are all such that our own cannot even match a sixteenth of them. We inhabitants of the Heaven Free from Strife cannot even find a way to express their splendor. Compared to them, we do not even possess the splendor of a firefly. The same goes for our enjoyments‍—they are only remotely similar. Their long-lasting abundant delights, their heavenly happiness, and their perfect sense pleasures are all utterly beyond us gods here in the Heaven Free from Strife. [F.53.b]

“ ‘However, when a long time has passed and their karmic actions are exhausted, they will definitely encounter and experience impermanence. All sentient beings are certain to experience the impermanence of enjoyments, age, and consciousness. By the force of impermanence, their lives will run out and their positive actions will become exhausted. When reaching the time for death and transmigration those gods will fall from their divine kind in the Heaven of Joy. Their karmic formations of becoming are like various kinds of firewood combined with water,384 yet the factors of formation that determine where they will be born cannot be demolished by any force within the three realms. If they were inexhaustible and endless, they would live on forever, yet no sentient being can be seen in such a situation because destruction is the essence of all conditioned things. Since all beings must eventually fall, those gods will also fall from the Heaven of Joy. Upon the exhaustion of their past positive karmic actions, they will die and transmigrate. The wind of time brings gloom around the lamp when its oil and wick are exhausted. Just as the disintegration of the features of a seed are followed by the growth of the sprout, so death and transmigration will follow the exhaustion of that life during which karmic actions had remained hidden. What you saw is the light of those falling beings. The light comes from their disintegrating bodies, their corpses that are the result of the exhaustion of their karmic actions. This supremely dazzling light appears due to a particular kind of karmic action. It is an exceptionally vast karmic effect of dying, a manifestation of virtue. Such is the nature of this light. [F.54.a]

“ ‘O gods of the Heaven Free from Strife, you should understand these indications. Someone who possesses such radiance must be endowed with lights and ornaments that are so beautiful that they cannot be described. Still, even their manifestations, which are created by virtuous actions and are four times greater, will eventually wane. What then to say of the products of your own virtuous actions, which are three times as inferior? Born in the Heaven Free from Strife, your possessions are polluted and your bodies inferior in comparison.’

“At this point Musulundha will speak these verses:

“In this way, the ruler of the Heaven Free from Strife teaches in various ways the path of Dharma to the frightened gods. He does so in a way that is connected with the intrinsic nature of things. The gods have different outlooks and so at this point some will grow disenchanted. Others will turn their minds toward cyclic existence, and others will become terrified. Still others will, upon hearing these words that are free from deception, once more actively pursue their objects. Thus, they will enjoy themselves within forests, parks, and groves; by waterfalls and ponds; among creepers and trees; in delightful locations made of precious substances where many birds sing enchantingly; and at sites adorned by hundreds of lotus pools and by the seven precious substances. In this way, on the delightful backside of these mountains where numerous singers perform beautiful songs, they will experience a variety of sounds, textures, tastes, forms, and scents. Together with their retinues, those who thus crave objects will fail to observe what is supreme. Falling once again under the control of objects, they will have an enjoyable time and frolic within their gatherings of assembled companions. Chasing after the pleasures of the many objects found on these mountains, which are so difficult to encounter, their monkey-like minds will savor all the divine substances.

“Some will journey with Musulundha through the sky to the Forest of Amusements. [F.55.a] Some will travel on great mounts, some will drive in various kinds of chariots, some will ride on the backs of peacocks, some will ride elephants, some will ride swans, and some will ride ducks. Some will move in procession, surrounded by ladies who, ahead of Musulundha, sing and play drums and various other instruments as he travels to his residence in the heavenly park known as the Forest of Amusements.

“The mind states of the gods are affected in different ways, and therefore some will feel sadness. Some will remain careless and enjoy themselves, enjoying the pleasures of the objects in various ways. The gods of the Heaven Free from Strife who stay in the Forest of Amusements, and those who arrive there, have various outlooks and perspectives as they enjoy themselves happily on the backside of these mountains. Some of them will feel weary. And so, they will enjoy themselves in a variety of ways, with various perspectives, and with a variety of objects. The gods in this realm will therefore continue to have fun and celebrate until finally their desirable, attractive, and delightful actions have become exhausted, decomposed, and decayed. Once that happens, these gods, who are insatiable in their enjoyment of various objects, will die and transmigrate. At that point, they are in the noose of karmic actions, and thus they will be pulled into the realms of hell beings, starving spirits, or animals. Should they instead be born with the general lot in life of a human, they will remain youthful, and their faculties will be free from impairment. [F.55.b] They will be intelligent and brilliant, have more than they need, and be venerated by the entire land. They will possess fine physiques, be free from fear, and become kings, royal ministers, or the like. Such are the concordant consequences of their actions.

“As the monk who has knowledge of the ripening of karmic actions continues to examine the realms of the gods in the Heaven Free from Strife, he will with insight derived from hearing correctly perceive a realm known as Moving in Vast Environments.385 Wondering how beings may be born there, he will use insight derived from hearing and so perceive how some excellent people may follow holy people, have faith in the way karmic actions carry consequences, be honest and sincere, apply themselves to the Dharma, and observe discipline. By the power of faith, they are always attentive to their actions, they possess the correct view, and they base themselves on that view so that their minds become workable. They receive instructions from the elders and always follow spiritual teachers. They have a natural trust in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, just as they have trust in the continuation of death, transmigration, and rebirth. They always guard their senses and they are fearful of the objects that populate cyclic existence. They have clear awareness of the suffering of separation, just as they fully comprehend the sufferings of birth, aging, death, encountering what is undesirable, and lacking the desirable. They understand the flaws of the five appropriated aggregates. They always practice virtuous actions zealously and give up unwholesome company. They delight in listening to the sacred Dharma, examine its contents, and apply their minds to the reality of the subject matter they hear. In this manner they continuously increase such qualities. [F.56.a] Knowing that it is futile to relish pleasures, they always guard their five faculties.

“The way such people give up killing and stealing is as described previously. As for the way they refrain from sexual misconduct, such people will not pay attention when they see women, nor will they relish the sound of their songs or their ornaments. Should they happen to see or hear even a little about women, they will not dwell on it or become attached due to inappropriate mental activity, nor will their minds begin to wander. They will not associate with women, even in their dreams. During the day they will not develop any attachment, and their minds will not become captivated or focus incorrectly. They will never pursue women and their minds will always be involved in proper mental conduct. They thus abandon sexual misconduct as if it were poison.

“With such qualities, those people constantly apply themselves to virtue and engage in virtuous conduct, thus purifying their minds of defiling stains. Honest and sincere, they maintain pure discipline. Therefore, when their bodies disintegrate, they go to the joyous higher realms and take birth among the gods in Moving in Vast Environments within the Heaven Free from Strife. Possessing the three qualities, they follow, cultivate, and increase their practice of discipline, which is desirable, attractive, and delightful. It is as the result of this that they are born in the heavenly realm Moving in Vast Environments within the Heaven Free from Strife.

“Upon taking birth there, they will behold heavenly birds of magnificent colors that warble in the most enchanting way. The birds will also afford them enjoyable fragrances. Upon arriving, they will also experience the most enjoyable objects of touch. These objects are so pleasant to touch that they are unlike anything the gods have ever experienced. The gods’ minds become bright and utterly free from turbidity, [F.56.b] perfectly enraptured and ecstatic, and totally jubilant. The gods will also experience all manner of delicious tastes. In these ways, they will experience things they never knew before, and their six collections of consciousness become attached to and enamored by those unprecedented pleasures. At this point, they may think, ‘What is this world? Where have I arrived? Everything is so perfectly enjoyable! All that I behold in this world are forms that are desirable, attractive, and delightful.’

“As they notice the constitution of their own bodies, they will see that they are powerful and more radiant than the sun, yet devoid of flesh, bone, lymph, and impurities. Their eyes do not blink, and their bodies are free from veins, sinew, and skeletons. There are no joints or knuckles. Their bodies do not cast shadows and are free from any crudeness. All their body parts are extremely supple and free from perspiration, and movement does not tire them. Their bodies have no tendons and are free from any discomfort due to desires or all the comings and goings in pursuit of things. They are free from any hair on their heads or bodies.386 Their mobility and vision are unimpeded, and they are free from any confinement with respect to objects of sound, touch, taste, form, and smell. None of the gods has a body that is longer or shorter than any other, and there is no sense of being more or less youthful. They know no miserliness, jealousy, fear, or attachment with respect to females, and do not take pleasure in hoarding. They have no fear of begging, no ego-clinging,387 and no fear of being attacked when traveling. They also have no worries about locations infested with snakes. They are free from the flaws that arise from clinging to one’s own women. They are free from fear when journeying through forests, [F.57.a] free from the fear of enemies, and free from the troubles of having any prohibitions. They are happy and free from any insufficiency in their needs and pleasures.

“Chasing after the many divine substances, they develop an ever-increasing yearning and hankering for pleasure at the expense of their intelligence. And so, these beings will begin to wonder, ‘Who am I? How did I get here? What is this place called?’

“When a drunkard who has fallen asleep is suddenly woken up late at night, he does not at first know who or where he is. Only when he has come to his senses will the drunkard understand. In the same way, the newborn god will puzzle over this for a very long time before he finally realizes that he was previously a human being, but then died, transmigrated, and was reborn there. His mind is now unlike how it was when he was a human. The mind that formerly was conditioned for human life is now here in this divine world, where it craves sense objects. Since the mind is now conditioned in this way, it hankers for the pleasures of the divine world. Understanding that his mind has been conditioned over an extremely long period, the god will finally conclude that he was born in this divine world due to positive actions.

“He will also see that upon dying and transmigrating from the Heaven Free from Strife, he will not be born as a god, for such is the nature of that state. If, after death and transmigration from this divine state, he should next be born as a human, his nature will be of a similar kind as before, because his mind has been so conditioned. Likewise, when someone dies and transmigrates from a human condition, his nature will be similar to what it was before, since his mind is still conditioned in that way. Thus, as a god, the experience will be similar, since his nature is the outflow of his mind. However, if someone dies in hell and transmigrates to become a god, [F.57.b] this is due to karmic powers to be experienced in the next life, after hell. Even small measures of such actions by a hell being will have results to be experienced in other lives. Thus, when a being in hell engages in just a slight measure of holy conduct, it will lead to birth in the heavens in other lives. Once born there, his previous experience of suffering will cause him to respond to the perception of pleasures with an especially strong yearning that resembles suffering. He will also be unusually wrathful, and he will want to stay in the coolest forests, parks, waterfalls, and ponds. He will move restlessly and experience food with a special fervor. Such are the effects of the conditioning of his mind.

“When a starving spirit dies and transmigrates to a divine state his numerous former activities will have created strong conditioning that will cause him to experience food and drink with special passion. Such a god will also always be fond of cool places, and he will indulge avidly in the company of women, for such is the way that his mind has been conditioned with karmic imprints.

“Alternatively, if, due to karmic actions to be experienced in other lives, an animal dies and is reborn among the gods, it will be inclined toward the enjoyment of drink and food. Since many kinds of animals may take rebirth as gods, the characters of their subsequent lives as gods also differ, but, in short, they shall experience varying degrees of perfection when it comes to their food. Such gods are also subject to especially powerful delusions about their pleasures because that is the way their minds have been conditioned.

“In cases when a god dies and is reborn as a god, such a being may, for example, die after having achieved the attainments of the four formless realms. In the subsequent divine existence, the conditioning of his mind will ensure [F.58.a] that the god does not become distracted by the experience of desirable sounds, textures, tastes, forms, or smells. That is an effect of his former conditioning. If a being practices one of the four concentrations of the form realm and subsequently is born among the gods in the realm of desire, the quality of his mind and his interest in concentration will correspond to his previous achievements, and he will be less fond of objects than otherwise might be the case.

“If gods in the desire realm die and are reborn in the desire realm, it occasionally happens that their subsequent experience is determined by previous virtuous actions within the realms of gods or humans. As a result, they will be reborn as gods due to their wealth of these two types of former actions as well as their proper conduct. This, however, is not the case with the gods in the pure abodes because such gods do not possess any karmic actions to be experienced either in the subsequent or any other future life.

“In this way, the entire world is blown around by the winds of karmic action. Bound and fettered in such numerous ways, the five classes of beings breed myriad inclinations, thoughts, and lives as they continue wandering. As these matters become evident to the newly born god, he keeps them in mind. With this understanding, he will now comprehend how he died and transmigrated from a previous existence into his present life. Whether he died and transmigrated from a human existence, or whether he was reborn once more as a god, the god will know when the causal karmic action is of the kind that is to be experienced in a subsequent life. But if the causal karmic action is of the kind that is to be experienced in other lives, he will not necessarily recognize it, because such actions may be beyond the scope of his mind. [F.58.b] In some cases, the conditions that bring to ripening karmic actions to be experienced in other lives may occur only after the passage of hundreds of eons. It is even possible that such ripening occurs only after a hundred thousand eons. Thus, if the cause of the god’s birth occurred a hundred thousand unfathomable eons earlier, his divine eye will not be able to perceive the given causal action.

“In this way, the god will dwell for some time on the perception of the causes of his birth. Thereafter, the many objects that manifest through his former practice of virtue will become evident, for he now realizes that he has been born among the gods in Moving in Vast Environments. As soon that knowledge dawns on him, due to the force of his virtuous actions, a vast gathering of goddesses will come rushing toward him. Conditioned by the god’s virtues, they call out, ‘He has just been born!’ In this way they will raucously dash toward him from far away.

“Surrounded by all those divine beings, the newly born god will then enjoy himself within the delightful forests and parks. Endowed with the supreme possessions that his karmic capital has furnished him with, he will now experience amazing pleasures. His realm is filled with mountains, forests, parks, pools, jungles, waterfalls, lotus ponds, slopes, lush groves, caverns, houses covered with vines, and hundreds of thousands of lovely birds that warble enchantingly. Thousands of goddesses who constantly aim to please sing and dance delightfully, doing so in parks that sparkle with the seven precious substances and where live enchanting deer. [F.59.a] In this realm stands the mountain known as Great Summit, which shines with the light of hundreds of thousands of stones made of the seven precious substances. On the mountain’s radiant jewel summit stand houses festooned with vines, and the ground is beautifully paved with large tiles. There are woods, lotus groves, parks, ponds, cascades, riverbanks, valleys, and peaks endowed with exquisite shapes and qualities. At hundreds of thousands of waterfalls that cascade with cooling drops of water, the gods, whose bodies are formed due to a variety of virtuous actions, enjoy themselves and frolic, experiencing their many pleasures.

“The gleeful frolicking of those divine gatherings assumes myriad forms. But, in short, those who enjoy the water, and thus joyously play around in it, have for the most part come from the realms of hell beings, starving spirits, and animals. They delight in each other with an exceedingly attached state of mind, yet they do not associate with those who practice wholesome conduct. On the bodies of these gods appear scripts that describe the related karmic actions of all the types of gods. They describe how the gods previously engaged in positive karmic actions, what those karmic actions were and how often they performed them, the manner and duration in which they practiced and what the conditions were, what their lives were like then, whether the beneficiaries of their actions were inferior, intermediate, or supreme, and the qualities of the entities involved. All this information, including the timing, is described and listed in writing. As when a shrewd and attentive scribe writes clear and distinct letters, [F.59.b] the accomplished scribe of the gods will write all their past positive actions upon the present surface of their past positive actions. The gods’ magnificence, their shining beauty, and their enrapturing appearance are all perfect due to their past positive actions. Yet, the splendid writing that conveys their many superior characteristics makes them appear hundreds of times more beautiful. Just as a most splendid and shining piece of gold, which has been purified hundreds of times, can be studded with rubies, sapphires, or some other precious gem of supreme beauty, those gods are, similarly, brilliantly adorned by the accounts that describe the ways they performed their past karmic actions.

“Still, the gods do not see what is written on them with their own eyes, because the writing appears on their throats and chests. Nevertheless, they may recognize it upon each other, and at such times their minds will not be utterly careless‍—at such times they will see everything clearly. This is a supreme wonder of the gods in the realm of Moving in Vast Environments. Another astonishing fact concerning those gods is that just as they have their positive actions displayed on their chests, so they also have writing on their foreheads. Written there in fine lettering is when they will die, where they will transmigrate to, how they will be born, and how long they then will live. That is another wonder of these gods, produced by their karmic actions. The exceptionally elegant rows of bright and beautiful letters are similar to the many garlands of blooming flowers that adorn the gods in other realms. [F.60.a] This particular adornment is due to their having performed a unique type of past positive action.

“The gods do not understand the messages written on their bodies due to karmic actions and, consequently, they go on frolicking together in the heavenly parks decked out in their sundry costumes and ornaments. When in this way they have spent a long time enjoying the realm of Moving in Vast Environments, they will promenade to the banks of the river called Colorful Waters, which flows from one mountain to the next, passing among many different kinds of precious substances. Flocks of birds warble, there are dense forests, hundreds of thousands of different flowers bloom, and the banks are visited by coteries of goddesses. An amazing feature of this river that flows from the beautiful mountain peaks, Colorful Waters, is that when its surface becomes still for a long period, those gods who previously died and transmigrated from the hells will, as they approach the river, be prompted to remember their previous lives and the actions that gave rise to that existence. They will recollect how the constant enjoyment of perfect sense pleasures among jubilant gods and goddesses kindles an ever-growing attachment in them, which causes them to engage in further endless pleasures that will eventually lead to suffering. Recollecting this, they will forget all their pleasures and, with sadness, speak the following verses:

“For as long as they remain on the banks of Colorful Waters, the gods will recollect their past lives, but as soon as they leave, they will once again forget all they remembered. Forgetting the pain they experienced in other lives, they will develop craving for external objects and thus together enjoy all the exceptionally delightful sounds, textures, tastes, forms, and fragrances of divine substance.

“The gods will also travel to the mountain called Radiant Streams. The area around the mountain is studded with supremely delightful trees and clear waters that are home to swans, ducks, and geese. The streaming currents shimmer with the radiance of gold and produce the most delightful sounds as they rush by. There are a vast multitude of these currents‍—tens of thousands‍—and they all have the same length, strength, and shape. The many gorgeous trees and birds there only increase the beauty of all these rivers.

“Nevertheless, among all the streams, four of them stand out. They are known as Flow of Beauty, [F.61.b] Gold Garland, Beryl River, and Flow of Bliss. As they experience their own past karmic actions, the jubilant gods who bear many great ornaments, garments, and garlands, will playfully proceed to Flow of Beauty. On its banks spreads a glade of long white flowers and within it one finds a lake called Numerous Joys. Flowering vines of the most exquisite kind grow there, as do thousands of lovely flowers. There are also birds of many different sizes and shapes that bear various ornaments and plumages. The birds produce magnificent songs in the most enchanting ways.390 On the opposite bank of Flow of Beauty lies Hovering Bees, a wonderfully fragrant lotus pool that glimmers like the sun at dawn and has a constant profusion of exquisite lotus flowers. This lotus grove is five hundred leagues long and five leagues wide.391 By the stainless waters grow lotuses and other flowers with colorful petals that send forth their delicious fragrance across five leagues.

“According to their wishes, the great congregations of splendid gods and goddesses joyfully gallivant in the forest or by the lotus pool, having been born in this realm due to their completed and accumulated actions. When they see Flow of Beauty with its ravishingly beautiful and fragrant flowers, the gods in Moving in Vast Environments will frolic joyfully on its delightful banks by Mount Radiant Streams.

“Gold Garland is another river that flows down Mount Radiant Streams. [F.62.a] This river shines brightly, which is why it received its name. It features the following delights. Free from all flaws, its water transforms as one drinks it. Extremely fragrant, the water assumes any flavor, color, scent, or substance one may desire, yet without being intoxicating. As they experience this extraordinary drink, the gods enjoy themselves in a state of great careless abandon. While their minds remain attached to their sense objects, they will rollick together in great gatherings to the rhythmic, melodious, and harmonious music from the five types of instruments. Attended to by beautiful servants adorned with jewelry and costumes, they will freely enjoy whatever they desire. Infatuated with the rich sounds, textures, tastes, forms, and scents that they find on the banks of Gold Garland, they will roam about, enjoying the irresistible objects that this supremely delightful stream provides.

“With the sounds of enchanting music and dance in their ears, and with their minds thoroughly attached to their sense objects, the gods will ecstatically gallivant from mountain to mountain, valley to valley, summit to summit, river to river, lotus pool to lotus pool, forest to forest, terrace to terrace, and tree to tree, infatuated and crazed by their rich and prodigious pleasures. While euphorically gadding about in this way, they will at some point also come to the current known as Beryl River. The gorgeous features of this river are as follows. Flowing with immaculate beryl water, the river courses along beryl stones [F.62.b] amid many trees of beryl. Resplendent in their beryl colors, the trees are filled with songbirds and fruits that look exceedingly delicious. The pure, stainless water flows delightfully and produces deep and appealing sounds due to the force of positive karmic actions. The gods will journey to this river because they seek pleasure. Attached and craving for objects, the gods will roam around that area. Some will frolic on the banks and others will play together in the water. Some will ride gracefully on the backs of birds, from wave to wave. Circling over the waters392 and along the banks of the river, the gods will pass over its billowing waves and the many groves of lotuses and water lilies. In these ways, they will enjoy themselves at the river.

“Sometimes, when the river is serene, due to their positive past actions, these gods who enjoy all these incomparable pleasures will perceive images upon the stainless beryl that display the record of their former excellent practice of discipline and insight and the karmic effects thereof. There, they will clearly observe the causes, circumstances, connections, and conditions that led to them taking birth in this divine realm. As they perceive and apprehend those mental states and the faith they had in the proper objects at that time, they will keep it in mind and are thereby able to recollect their past lives.

“At this point, they will think, ‘Alas, I am swept away by the river of craving with its wild and treacherous rapids of clinging to objects. [F.63.a] And yet, I have failed to understand the hideous fall that follows from this. Now I have seen the drawings that clearly reveal what happened in the past, and I have witnessed the story of my past lives. Based on those positive acts, I now experience these enjoyments. However, once they become exhausted, I shall fall once again and no longer be one of the gods.’ Sharing such thoughts with each other as they witness the terrors of the five classes of beings, the gods all feel disenchanted. Then, on the banks of the river of beryl, they will utter these verses: