接下来，虚空中布满了各种气体、液体、固体。你对某种特定的气味产生了执着，你喜欢这种气味，所以把散发这种气味的物体放进了自己身体里——这种行为叫吃。
吃了东西就出现了第六种感知能力——就是味觉。这里就是初禅第一天——梵众天。
Next, the void is filled with various gases, liquids, and solids. You become attached to a specific smell, liking it. Hence, you place the object emitting this smell into your body—this action is called eating. Eating leads to the development of the sixth sensory ability—sense of taste. The celestial realm here corresponds to the first Heaven of the First Dhyana—Heaven of Brahma’s Assembly.
欲界六天就不说了！
The discussion of the Six Desire Heavens is omitted here!

我们看佛经！佛经是佛陀按照当时人的理解水平来说的。四大理论早在佛陀出世前已经存在。印度的婆罗门教，还有瑜伽学派都认为世界是由地、水、火、风，加上虚空，五种元素组成——佛陀就直接套用了这个理论。
Let's look at the Buddhist scriptures! The Buddha spoke according to the understanding level of the people at that time. The theory of the four great elements existed long before the Buddha's time. Indian Brahmanism and Yoga schools believed the world was composed of earth, water, fire, wind, plus void. Then, the Buddha directly utilized this theory.

你要拿这个来对号入座也可以！人在光音天先动起来了，用光速飞行——那就是风大。人在无量光天，由注意力和情绪形成阳神物质的车轮式旋流，有了冷暖觉——这就是火大。到了初禅三天出现液体、固体，这就是水大和地大。
You can also use this theory for reference! People start moving in the Heaven of Light Sound, flying at the speed of light, which corresponds to wind element. In the Heaven of Limitless Light, the wheel-like vortex of Yang Spirit's material, formed by attention and emotion, leads to the sensation of cold and warmth, which corresponds to fire element. In the three Heavens of the First Dhyana, liquids and solids appear, which correspond to water and earth elements.

佛经上说，世界有大海，大海外有大风；把大海吹得波涛汹涌，浪花被吹到虚空，在虚空中凝固成一层一层的天宫——须弥山就飘在香水海上。不是先有固体山，再有水把它包起来。不管怎么说，都是先有水大，后有地大。
Buddhist scriptures say that there is a great ocean in the world, beyond which there are strong winds; the wind stirs the ocean’s waves, blowing the foam into the void, where it solidifies into layers of heavenly palaces—Mount Sumeru floats on the Fragrant Ocean. It’s not that there was a solid mountain first, then water encircled it. In any case, water element came first, then earth element.
佛经上说，人类是由光音天的天子变化来的。这些天子飞到了地上，先喝了甘泉，又吃了地肥，结果飞不起来了，就成了人类。
The scriptures state that humans transformed from the devas of the Heaven of Light Sound. These devas flew down to earth, drank sweet springs, then ate the earth’s essence, and thus lost the ability to fly, becoming human beings.

这个对于我们的修行并不重要，而最重要的是人的六种感觉能力。这些感觉能力全部从注意力开始，所以我们要灭五根境界，就要灭掉这个注意力！只要注意力消失，五根自行脱落。
For our practice, this transformation is not important. What matters most are the six sensory abilities of humans, all of which start from attention. Therefore, to eliminate the realms of the five faculties, we must eliminate attention! Once attention disappears, the five faculties will naturally fall away.
我们再仔细看看这六种感觉能力！对应二禅三天的上三根和对应初禅三天的下三根有区别——如果你足够细心就能发现——这区别大了去了！
Let’s carefully examine these six sensory abilities! There is a difference between the upper three faculties corresponding to the Three Heavens of the Second Dhyana and the lower three faculties corresponding to the Three Heavens of the First Dhyana. If you are attentive enough, you will notice that the difference is significant!

这舌根、鼻根和身根触觉，必须和外境发生碰触才能起作用。舌头碰到食物才有味道，鼻子吸入气体才有嗅觉，身体碰到物体才有感觉。所以，你在这三根上用功修行，你的注意力也会跟着触和不触发生跳动——这样注意力就无法高度集中！你观呼吸也是如此，观丹田也是如此——后面会讲到观丹田会出现什么样的现象。
The tongue-root, nose-root, and body-root (touch) must contact the external environment to function. The tongue must touch food for taste; the nose must inhale gas for smell; and the body must touch objects for sensation. Therefore, if you concentrate on these three roots in practice, your attention will oscillate with contact and non-contact, making it difficult to maintain high concentration! The similar circumstances apply to observing breath or the Dantian and we will later discuss the phenomena that arise from observing the Dantian.

再看上三根：耳根、身根冷暖觉，还有眼根。这三个根我们始终在用！耳朵始终在听，有声音听声音，没声音听寂静；身根冷暖觉也是，始终在感觉着身体内部和外部的温度，没有触与不触的分别；眼睛也是，睁眼看世界，闭眼看黑暗，瞎子也在看黑暗。你在这三根行用功，就能高度集中注意力——和在下三根上用功完全不一样！楞严经里，火头金刚观身暖处的修法就是在冷暖觉上用功——从观淫欲开始，观身体内部的热流。
Now look at the upper three roots: the ear-root, the body-root (cold and warmth sensation), and the eye-root. These three roots we constantly use! The ears always hear sounds when there are sounds, or silence when there aren’t; the body (cold and warmth sensation) always feels internal and external temperatures, with no distinction between contact and non-contact; the eyes too—open eyes see the world, closed eyes see darkness, and even a blind person sees darkness. Practicing with these three roots allows for highly concentrated attention—vastly different from practicing with the lower three roots! In the Shurangama Sutra, the Fire-Head Vajra’s method of observing the warmth within the body involves working on the cold and warmth sensation—starting with observing sexual desire and internal heat flow.

这样，大家就知道了用观呼吸都能进入四禅的说法全是扯淡！说这种话的人连初禅都没进，打坐绝对没超过四个小时——四个小时就是初禅的极限！虽然根据每个人的情况会有出入，但基本到这个时候就该起情绪了。你观呼吸观四个小时，你会发现呼吸一直在变化——呼和吸；后面还有停顿——你的注意力也会跟着一跳一跳。时间长了，你就开始烦躁！这种一跳一跳的感觉很让人揪心——你就会出定！
This way, everyone will know that claims about entering the Fourth Dhyana through breath observation are utter nonsense! People who say this have not even reached the First Dhyana, and their meditation sessions have not exceeded four hours, which is the limit for the First Dhyana! Although it may vary depending on each person’s situation, around this time, emotions should generally arise. If you observe your breath for four hours, you'll notice that your breath is constantly changing among inhalation, exhalation, and pauses. Your attention will also oscillate back and forth. Over time, you'll start to feel irritated!Finally, the unsettling oscillation causes you to exit meditation!

总而言之，你观身体任何部位的修法都只能到初禅——不能进入二禅！想进入二禅，就要在上三根上用功！比这更好的，就是在情绪上用功——参疑情或者思情——直接跳过六种感觉能力——你的禅定可以直指四禅！
In summary, any meditation practice involving observing parts of your body can only lead to the First Dhyana and it cannot bring you into the Second Dhyana! To enter the Second Dhyana, you must work with the upper three faculties! An even better approach is to work directly with emotions—contemplating doubt or longing, bypassing the six sensory abilities, and guiding your meditation directly towards the Fourth Dhyana!

第03节 欲界六天——四天王天、忉利天
Section 03: The Six Heavens of the Desire Realm ——The Heavens of the Four Deva Kings, Trayastrimsa Heaven↓2014-03-03↓
再说说天界如何——这个可能佛经里没有。我这么一说，大家也这么一听，别问我怎么知道的。现在讲一下天界也是说说而已——就说四天王天和忉利天。
Let's talk about the Heavens of the Desire Realms, which might not be found in the Buddhist scriptures. I'm just saying it, and you all just listen, don't ask how I know. I'll just briefly talk about the Heavens of the Four Deva Kings and Trayastrimsa Heaven.
娑婆世界的中间有须弥山，山顶住着帝释天，帝释天管的天界叫忉利天。忉利天的中间是帝释天的天宫，周围有三十二个区域，各有一个天王，就是三十二村妇，合成三十三天。
In the middle of the Saha World, there is Mount Sumeru, with Indra residing at the top. The heaven governed by Indra is called Trayastrimsa Heaven. At the center of Trayastrimsa Heaven, there is the Indra's celestial palace, surrounded by thirty-two regions, each ruled by a heavenly king, together making up the thirty-three heavens.

看我们的银河系，整个银河系就是须弥山，中间的黑洞部分就是须弥山顶。我们认为银河系像圆盘，其实是中间突出来的山型——就当我没有天文常识就行了。整个银河系中间大概三分之一的部分属于忉利天，周围三分之二属于四天王天——在须弥山山腰到山脚的区域。四天王天分成四部分，各有一个天王掌管。再往下，须弥山的山脚到快掉进海水的地方属于人间——在银河系是最边远地区。
Look at our Milky Way galaxy, the entire one is Mount Sumeru, and the black hole in the center of galaxy represents the mountaintop of Mount Sumeru. We perceive the Milky Way galaxy as a disk, but it is actually a mountain-like shapeprotruding in the middle—just assume I am lack of astronomical knowledge. About one-third of the Milky Way galaxy in the middle belongs to Trayastrimsa Heaven, with the surrounding two-thirds of the galaxy belonging to the Heavens of the Four Deva Kings, extending from the mountainside to the foothills of Mount Sumeru. The Heavens of the Four Deva Kings is divided into four parts, each governed by a deva king. The region below this, from the foothills of Mount Sumeru to the area almost falling into the sea, belongs to the human world. It’s the most remote area of the Milky Way galaxy.

这个四天王不但管他的天界，也管人间——我们这里属于南天王的负责地区。佛经上说四天王寿命如何，那个世界如何，我就不重复了。我只说，四天王如果和我们正常人一般大，那地球只有一个乒乓球那么大。在四天王眼里，地球上的人就是活两天就死的小虫子，附在一个小泥球上苟延残喘。
The Four Deva Kings not only govern their heavenly realms but also oversee the human world. We are under the jurisdiction of the Southern Deva King. Buddhist scripture describe the lifespan and the characteristics of the world of the Four Deva Kings, which I won't repeat. I'll just note that if the Four Deva Kings were human-sized, the Earth would be as small as a ping-pong ball. In the eyes of the Four Deva Kings, humans on earth are like tiny insects living a fleeting life on a small mud ball.
四天王天的众生怎么样，佛经里有，不写了。
Details about the beings in the Four Deva Kings are described in the Buddhist scripture and won't be repeated here.

南天王喜欢蓝色，把自己管的地方全部用蓝宝石装饰，所以我们看天是蓝的——你也别说那是太阳光在大气层出现什么反应那样的——那狗眼里世界全是黑白呢！
The Southern Deva King loves color blue and decorates his realm with sapphires, making the sky appear blue to us. Don't argue it's due to sunlight reflection in the atmosphere—dogs seeeverything in black and white!
东天王喜欢粉色，他那个世界的天是粉红色的，那里人间的众生也比我们高大长寿，皮肤很白，很漂亮。
The Eastern Deva King prefers color pink, so the sky in his realm is pink. The human beings there are taller, live longer than us, with fair and beautiful skin.

那忉利天的众生怎样就不多说了，自己找佛经看。
For details about the beings in Trayastrimsa Heaven, you could find and read Buddhist scriptures for reference.
从须弥山的山顶往上走，就是一层一层的天界。每上一层，所能享受到的福报，无法用我们的脑袋想像。我说这些就是想给修行的人们一点信心，哪怕你只是戒肉，未来能享受到的福报也是相当大的！
Moving upwards from the top of Mount Sumeru, there are multiple celestial realms layer by layer. Each ascending level offers rewards beyond our imagination. I mention these to give practitioners confidence, even if abstaining from meat would bring considerable future rewards!