The Four Heavens of Formlessness (四無色天)
“Ananda, again the path divides at the summit of the Realm of Form. For those who have realized their wisdom through renunciation, once their light of wisdom is brought forth to fullness, they transcend the worldly realms, attain Arhatship, and eventually get on board the Vehicle of the Bodhisattvas and become Great Arhats Who Have Turned Their Minds Around.
“For those who have been focusing on total renunciation and rejection, they come to the point where they see their bodies as obstacles and therefore, they obliterate it and vanish into emptiness, thus they become gods on the Heaven of Empty Space.
“For those who have eradicated all obstacles to the extent where only their storehouse-consciousness and half of the extremely subtle residues of the manas (the seventh consciousness) remain, they become gods on the Heaven of Boundless Consciousness.
“For those who have eradicated form, space, as well as consciousness, there is utter stillness throughout the ten directions, with neither coming nor going. Thus are the beings on the Heaven of Nothing Remaining.
“Then there are gods whose storehouse-consciousness is totally unmoving, and within such utter stillness they exhaustively investigate its endlessness, and nonetheless they put an end to what is endless. Now it is as though existing yet meanwhile not really existing; it seems to have disappeared, yet meanwhile not really disappeared. Thus are the gods on the Heaven of neither Thought nor Nonthought.
“These gods have exhaustively delved into emptiness without realizing its true nature, and now they reach the end of their sagehood extended from the Heavens of No Return, and they become lesser Arhats who do not turn their minds around. Other gods from the Heaven of No Thought or from other heretic heavens, who have exhaustively contemplated emptiness without turning around, will eventually fall back into samsara again, since they are confused and not free of outflows.
“Ananda, the gods in these heavens are just ordinary beings receiving karmic rewards from their past lives. Once the rewards are spent, they must enter rebirth again. The kings of these heavens, however, are Bodhisattvas deep in Samadhi, who are making gradual progress towards the upper levels of Sagehood.
“Ananda, in these Four Heavens of Formlessness, all physical and mental activities cease; there is no more karmic retribution of form, only concentration is present. Therefore, these four heavens are called the Realm of Formlessness.
“In these heavens, all beings have not fully realized the wondrous enlightened mind. It is their accumulated delusions that bring about the illusory existence of the Three Realms (Desire, Form, and Formlessness). Beings in these realms follow along their individual delusions, getting drown in the seven destinies, together with other beings who are compelled by similar karmic forces.”
復次阿難從是有頂色邊際中。其間復有二種岐路。若於捨心發明智慧。慧光圓通便出塵界。成阿羅漢入菩薩乘。如是一類名為迴心大阿羅漢。若在捨心捨厭成就。覺身為礙銷礙入空。如是一類名為空處。諸礙既銷無礙無滅。其中唯留阿賴耶識。全於末那半分微細。如是一類名為識處。空色既亡識心都滅。十方寂然逈無攸往。如是一類名無所有處。識性不動以滅窮研。於無盡中發宣盡性。如存不存若盡非盡。如是一類名為非想非非想處。此等窮空不盡空理。從不還天聖道窮者。如是一類名不迴心鈍阿羅漢。若從無想諸外道天窮空不歸。迷漏無聞。便入輪轉。阿難是諸天上各各天人。則是凡夫業果酬答答盡入輪。彼之天王即是菩薩。遊三摩提漸次增進。迴向聖倫所修行路。阿難。是四空天身心滅盡。定性現前無業果色。從此逮終名無色界。此皆不了妙覺明心。積妄發生妄有三界。中間妄隨七趣沈溺。補特伽羅各從其類。
Buddha Mind 