Contemplating the Deities & what made them so:
One who wants to develop the recollection of deities should possess the
special
quality of faith evoked by means of the noble path. He should go into
solitary
retreat and recollect his own special qualities of faith, purity and
understanding,
with the deities as if standing as witnesses, in this very way: There are
deities
on
the plane of the Four Great Kings, of the
Realm of the Thirty-three,
Yama World,
the
Contented
Devas,
those
enjoying own creation,
those with power over
others
creations,
those of
the Brahma world, and
those
formless ones far above them...
All those deities were possessed of faith so that on dying here they were
reborn
there, and such faith is present in me too. And those deities were possessed
of
virtue ... of learning... of generosity ... of understanding, such that when
they died
here they were reborn there in a divine dimension, and such understanding is
also
present in me too! (AN III 287). He recollects
his own special qualities, making the
deities stand as witnesses. When a bhikkhu is devoted to this remembrance of
the
deities, he becomes dearly loved by those deities. He obtains even greater
fullness
of faith. He has much happiness and gladness. And if he penetrates no
higher, he is
at least headed for a happy destiny.
Typical appearance and postures of some
Devas.
