Hidden vault found under Angkor Wat?

They Just Found a Hidden Vault Beneath Angkor Wat — And It Changes History Forever

Temple at the center of Angkor: Angkor Wat

(The Explorer) Oct. 24, 2025: How could one of the world’s most beautiful temples be hiding something so dark under it? Cambodia's Angkor Wat has been a sign of peace and perfection for hundreds of years, but new scans have just shown a secret vault that has been locked for 900 years. It isn't gold or wealth inside. It is something much scarier. Why stay put to see what it is? What's below Angkor Wat will make everyone question everything we thought we knew about history.

• (Epic Legacy of History) The Khmer Empire's Angkor Wat

Jade Emperor out Buddha'd the Buddha?

• The Jade Emperor seems to be the Sakka (King of the Devas, Sakra, Indra) of East Asia, made famous in the Pali canon by having a whole section of texts dedicated to him: Sakka, King of the Devas, ruler of the Celestial World of the Thirty-Three (Tavatimsa)

The Anger-Eating Demon (sutra)

What modern person can believe in angelic and demonic influences? That's nonsense!

Indian artists try to depict ancient sacred texts.

The Anger-Eating Demon is an ancient Buddhist story retold by German Theravada monk Ven. Nyanaponika Thera.

Once there lived a demon (asura) who had a peculiar diet: He fed on the anger of others. And as his feeding ground was the human world, there was no lack of food for him. He found it quite easy to provoke a family quarrel, or national and racial hatred.

Even to stir up a war was not very difficult for him. And whenever he succeeded in causing a war, he could gorge himself without much further effort. For once a war starts, hate multiplies by its own momentum and affects even normally friendly people.

This man is not channeling an ET creature.

So the demon's food supply became so rich that he sometimes had to restrain himself from overeating, being content with nibbling just a small piece of resentment found close by.

But as it often happens with successful people, he became overbearing and one day when feeling bored he thought, "Shouldn't I try it with the happy celestials (devas)?"

Sakka (Magdha of Macala): St. Michael

On reflection he chose the Heaven of the Thirty-Three Devas ruled by Sakka, King of the Devas. He knew that only a few of these fortunately reborn beings had entirely eliminated the fetters of ill-will and aversion (which is possible by the practice of Buddhism), though most devas were far above petty and selfish quarrels.

So by his magic power (abhinna) he transferred himself to that heavenly realm and was lucky enough to come at a time when the Divine King Sakka was away. There was no one in the large audience hall and without much ado the demon seated himself on Sakka's empty throne, waiting quietly for things to happen, which he hoped would bring him a good feeding.

Sakka as warrior deva (archangel, light being)

Soon some of the devas came to the hall and at first they could not believe their own divine eyes when they saw that ugly demon lounging on the throne, squat and grinning.

Having recovered from their shock, they started to shout and lament: "Oh you ugly demon, how can you dare to sit on the throne of our supreme king? What utter disrespect! What a crime! You should be thrown headlong into a lowly hell and straight into a boiling cauldron! You should be drawn and quartered alive! Begone, begone!"

But while the devas grew more and more angry, the demon was pleased because from moment to moment -- as their anger grew -- he grew in size, in strength, and in power.

What "demons" possess an infamous person?

The anger he absorbed into his system started to ooze from his body as a smoky red-glowing mist. This putrid aura kept the devas at a distance and their streaming radiance was dimmed.

Suddenly a bright glow appeared at the other end of the hall, and it grew into a dazzling light from which Sakka, the King of Devas, emerged.

He who had firmly entered the irreversible stream that leads to nirvana (sotapannaship, the first stage of Buddhist enlightenment) was unshaken by what he saw.

The smokescreen created by the devas' anger parted when he slowly and politely approached the usurper of his throne:

"Welcome, friend! Please, remain seated. I can take another seat. May I offer you a drink of hospitality? Our ambrosia (amrita) is good this year. Or do you prefer a stronger brew, like Vedic soma?"

While Sakka spoke such friendly words, the demon rapidly began to shrink into a diminutive size and finally disappeared, trailing behind a whiff of malodorous smoke, which likewise soon dissolved. — Based on Samyutta Nikaya, Sakka Samyutta, No. 22.

Commentary

It was my idea to get tattoos and amputations

The gist of this story dates back to the sutras (discourses) of the Buddha. But even now, over 2,600 years later, our world looks as if large hordes of Anger-Eating Demons are haunting it and are kept well nourished by millions slaving for them all over the earth.

Fires of hate and wide-traveling waves of violence threaten to engulf humankind. Also, the grassroots of society are poisoned by conflict and discord, manifesting in angry thoughts and words and in violent deeds.

Is it not time to end this self-destructive slavery of humans to our impulses of hate and aggression, which only serve demonic forces?

Oh, that we would be as loving and kind as the devas, the "shining ones," in the heavens!

.
This story tells how these demons of hate can be exorcised by the power of gentleness and love (metta). If this power of love can be tested and proven, at a grassroots level, in a widely spread net of personal relationships, society at large and the world at large will benefit from it. Source

NOTE: 1. The Buddhist "Doctrine" or "Natural Law and Regularity" (Dhamma) here referred to may be expressed in the words of the Dhammapada (V. 5):

"Not by hating does hatred cease

In this world of tooth and claw;

Love alone from it can release —

This is an Eternal Law."

• Translated from Ven. Nyanaponika's German into English by Francis Story (aka, Anagarika Sugatananda), The Elimination of Anger: With Two Stories Retold from Buddhist Texts (accesstoinsight.org); Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

UFOs, ETs, hybrids and Enoch in Judaism

Sheldon S., CC Liu, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Third Book of Enoch Explained

(ReligionForBreakfast) Sept. 21, 2023: [Like Buddhism and Christianity, Judaism seems replete with stories of our neighbors the Sky People or Devas, "Shining Ones," interacting with humans on earth. There are many planes and levels of Devas, corresponding roughly to Judeo-Christian conceptions of the types of angelic beings along with fallen angels or Asuras ("Titans") in Buddhism and the Dharmic religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism.]

The Third Book of Enoch claims to be the account of a mystical vision of heaven [a word that in Hebrew is always plural, "heavens," which includes the abode of moon and sun]. Notably, it portrays Enoch transforming into the second most powerful being in the universe: the Archangel Metatron. [CC, can we start a video department and make cool, modern videos about Buddhist figures like Sakka, King of the Devas, and Vepacitti (a kind of Buddhist Lucifer figure), and the War in Heaven between the beautiful, gated world of the Devas and the jealous Asuras who got thrown out coming back for vengeance? - No, that would take forever. Darcy and Dave could have done it. They probably exist already. I'll scour the Web.]

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Go to heaven NOW or hell later (audio)

Coast to Coast, Aug. 26, 2023; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Rebirth is the automatic default option.

It's time to go to heaven (sagga, akasha deva loka), celestial worlds superior to the human plane inhabited by "angelic" light beings called devas and more glorious (bright and streaming) brahmas or "divinities" -- gods, godlings, deities, divas, humanoid "shining ones," who watch over the human realm and offer guidance, help, clarity, enabling us to remember why we came down here (were reborn here) this time around.

What were we thinking? We had a mission, had a plan, made a contract, agreed to learn something -- but we've lost our way and have forgotten our purpose. It's time to get answers, get back on track, and clarify those things that are too precious to leave to the afterlife to come (in the endless Round of Rebirths called samsara).

One needn't hold a Catholic, Christian, Islamic, or Jewish (Abrahamic) view. Be an atheist, a Taoist, an agnostic, a Hindu, a Sikh, a Flying Spaghetti Monster worshipper (Pastafarian), a Jain, even a Buddhist.

Whatever one's religion, world-view (paradigm), preferred science, or place on the opinion spectrum, there is a "heaven" (the world to come), and we can get clear about it and our position in the grand scheme of things:

Visiting heaven (while still alive)

Coast to Coast AM (8/26/23) Hypnotherapist Regan Forston (visittheafterlife.com) joined regular guest host Connie Willis to discuss his three-hour-and-thirty-three-minute visit to heaven and how anyone in a deeply relaxed state can visit heaven (whatever you want to call the life to come), too.

• AUDIO: Visit Heaven | Coast to Coast AM

These first two hours were bolstered in the second half of the program, when David Dave "The Mystic" Barnett talked about his personal journey from aero science to seer and all of his research into the extraterrestrials (visitors and hybrid human-alien ETs) hiding in plain sight ALL around us. He gave tips on how to spot them.

Buddhist "hell" can't be real, can it?

Rob Bell (huffingtonpost.com) edited by Wisdom Quarterly

This isn't a depiction of hells but samsara, the Round of Rebirth, in six realms with Death.

.

Question: Who is in the hells [purgatories]? Christian evangelicals, particularly the American ones, are known for a rigid adherence to the literal truth of sacred scriptures.

But now one of them, Rob Bell, is questioning the existence of [Christian] hell as a place of eternal damnation. His views have stirred controversy.

However, in the Buddhist community, radical interpretations of the hells have been around for a long time. Eyebrows rise at some extreme views, but generally Western (rather than ethnically Asian) Buddhists tend to be evenhanded in their approach to controversial issues in Buddhism.

The historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (Shakyamuni, the "Sage of the Scythians"), was born into an ancient pre-Hindu Vedic/Brahminical culture 2,600 years ago.

Based on the principle of perpetual rebirth (samsara), later Hindu interpretations of hell (claiming to only be a continuation of the Vedas) is a stopping point where eternal souls burn off evil deeds before proceeding to the next life [and the next life and the next life ad nauseum].

In this respect, the Buddha's insights about the many hell realms are similar to American evangelist Bell's, in that they are not regarded as permanent -- although lifespans can be on time scales that are vast and hard to comfortably imagine.

Hindus have come to believe that human consciousness transmigrates into an afterlife through an after-death experience.

• [EDITOR'S NOTE: It would be a great misinterpretation to think that Buddhism teaches any such thing. While the Buddha had a tremendous impact on Brahminical and later Hindu teachings, as well as revealing the meaning of many Vedic teachings lost through the millennia, non-Buddhist teachings have always clung to things the Buddha flatly and unequivocally rejected: a permanent self or soul (atman), the permanence of anything other than the Truth, or the belief that dependent things (composites) can bring lasting satisfaction and fulfillment. The Three Marks of Existence that the Buddha saw and taught a doctrine for others to become able to see are: All things are disappointing, impermanent, and impersonal (dukkha, anicca, anatta). The first two are relatively easy to discern, while the third is almost impossible to believe or hold until one awakens to the ultimate truth of things. It is the prerequisite for entering the first stage of awakening called stream-entry. One is then, with persistent practice of the Dharma, very close to full enlightenment.]

The hells are recorded in lurid detail in the earliest Buddhist texts, known as the Pali language canon.

The Buddhist scholar Prof. Peter Harvey of Lancaster University contextualizes hell as one of the classical Buddhist six [heaven, human, animal, hungry ghost, demon, hellion] realms of existence in his book, An Introduction to Buddhism: "The worst realm is the hell-realm, comprising a number of hellish rebirths.

• [Sadly, this is an over-simplification of what the historical Buddha taught, namely, 31 Planes of Existence, large general categories of countless specific worlds. Mahayana Buddhism, a reformed school that is now reconciled almost completely with Hinduism, took the teaching of 31 planes and dumbed things down to six basic categories.]

These hellish rebirths [purgatories where unskillful karma bears its bitter fruits and resultants] are described as involving experiences of being burned up, cut up, frozen, or eaten alive, and being revived to re-experience more torments.

• Niraya refers to the "downward path" of rebirth as an animal (tirrachana), ghost (peta), demon (asura, demigod), or hellion (naraka, which refers to the lowest and most miserable of all 31 Planes of Existence -- including a few other hells that are not specified in the list of 31 but mentioned in the texts, such as "interstitial hell" and the "hell of laughter"). These ironic hells are experienced in ways that are very specific to one's karma (past deeds and present choices/reactions ripening as fruit and mental resultants. The eight great hells are very general, and the very worst of them is called avici or "the waveless deep." Most Christian conceptions of "hell" as if it one just one place with no levels, but perhaps rings as in Dante's description, are of avici, a furnace of unimaginably brutal torments).

Six [of 31] general realms of rebirth. The Buddha points
to Dharma wheel as the instructions to get off carousel.

"They are realms in which a tortured consciousness [conjuring a body appropriate to the karma that brought about the unfortunate rebirth in a particular hell] experiences abominable nightmares, where every object of the senses appears repulsive and ugly...

"While life in the hells is measured in millions of years, no rebirth is eternal, so a being from one of the hells will in time reach [another level, maybe even] the human level again."

Prof. Richard Hayes of the University of New Mexico recalls visiting a Thai Buddhist temple in Toronto with a group of students: "What surprised them most [were] the murals filled with very graphic pictures of people being tormented in various hell realms. The message was clear enough to all the lay people who went to that temple."

Prof. Hayes points out that Buddhist texts are filled with detailed descriptions of the hot and cold hells and all the pain and suffering that goes on there.

"Of course, hell realms, like every other realm in samsara (the illusory round of endless rebirths) are temporary [no more real or eternal than rebirth in any of the many heavens in Buddhist cosmology].

People stay [find themselves stuck] there for a while and then move on." But not all Buddhist texts adhere to a literal interpretation of hell as a place where dead people go as a result of their misdeeds.

Prof. Hayes says his personal favorite is found in the scripture Kamalaśīla's Bhavanākrama. "Each of the realms is treated as the counterpart of a segment of society:

1. The heavenly realms are likened to the world of the very wealthy and privileged [in the human realm].
2. [The average person's experience of the human realm.]
3. The realm of the "jealous gods" (devas full of envy and animosity) [called asuras, who are often referred to as "demons" but not always in the strict Christian sense of the term] is likened to the segment of human society that aspires to be wealthy and powerful.
4. The animal realm symbolizes those people [in the human realm] who must work very hard and who struggle to make their daily livelihood.
5. The realm of hungry ghosts represents the poor and homeless.
6. The hell realms stand for people in prison."

The Buddhist atheist

The Buddhist atheist author Stephen Batchelor (Confession of a Buddhist Atheist) says he is "agnostic" about reincarnation [which should only be called rebirth because there is not a "self" that is repeatedly incarnating into flesh, as it appears] and that in his view, the experience of hell corresponds with various types of suffering in human life:

"I simply [am agnostic] don't know what happens after we die, and as far as I can tell nor does anyone else. I think the only way to make sense of descriptions of hell is to treat them as symbols.

"A continuous cycle of death and rebirth strikes me as an ideal metaphor for hell – and the various hell realms can be associated with different states of mind like anger, hatred, jealousy, or depression.

"It can also apply to physical pain, the devastation of a tsunami, or to a life cycle like Charlie Sheen's or John Galliano's – feted as heroes one minute, drowned in opprobrium the next."

He is probably closest to Carl Jung's theory that the peaceful, joyful, and wrathful deities of the Tantric Buddhist pantheon are archetypes representing aspects of the human condition.

A last word from psychotherapist and author Lara Owen (Growing Your Inner Light): She adheres to traditional Buddhist views but accepts that mortality is still a huge taboo:

"Ultimately it comes down to the universal existential crisis of being in a body that will one day die. Some people can only cope with that by denying all unknown quantities." More

• The idea/assumption that there is a "being in a body" that is eternal (will not die) when the body is mortal (will die) is WRONG VIEW. But why it is wrong is very subtle and hard to understand. That's not what people want. We want simple. The fact is, it's not simple -- if one cares about being accurate and in line with ultimate reality. The body will die. Things will continue in spite of that. That being (impersonal process of consciousness) is dying at every moment and sub-moment. What is there then, if not a higher-self/soul/ego/personality? There is Dependent Origination (an impersonal causal linkage of how ALL things, including this idea clung to as "self," arise). The Buddha, in teaching how to become enlightened/awakened, goes to great pains to explain the minute details of this, the Five Aggregates (form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness) that cling. It is not a self/soul clinging to these five heaps, five collections, but rather feeling feels, perception perceives, and so on. While "consciousness" seems to be the doer, the one who experiences the result, but that is not really what is going on. And it is possible to see what is going on. And unless that is seen, there will be no awakening, no end of all suffering.
• Think how much easier it is for every other religion to become popular, with easy explanations and intuitive answers that "make so much sense" because they are in line with our desire, with the way we want things to be. Minds prefer illusions. Truth seems too scary. If minds only knew the Truth is beautiful and liberating. The illusions are hiding great danger, a world of suffering to come that is too difficult to contemplate or believe until it's too late.
• How can anyone in his/her right mind say, "There is no self"? It's easy. Look up anatta (not-self) and, realizing that understanding this at least at a conceptual level is necessary for understanding what the historical Buddha actually taught and understanding this at a direct experiential level is necessary for reaching the first stage of enlightenment, it will become clear why so few humans and devas become enlightened. It is an extraordinary feat of mental purification and letting go. We would rather be intoxicated with views and delusions, assumptions, easy answers, religious certainties that do not ask of us any direct mystical experience of the Truth. For such people, engage in skillful karma (good deeds) and be happy for a long time to come with rebirth in fortunate destinations, avoiding the pitfalls of unskillful deeds and their consequences in miserable rebirths that last a long time.

Michio Kaku: "Moon is NOT what you think!"

CC Liu, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Dr. Michio Kaku breaks down in tears: "The moon is NOT what you think!"

(Beyond Discovery) June 27, 2023: Hey, get ready for a mind-blowing journey with renowned physicist SUNY Prof. Michio Kaku. He's about to challenge everything we think we know about our moon Luna/Chandra.

If only there were a way to film the hologram

The Chinese are heading there, having already sent an unmanned probe into its orbit, and they might beat the United States to send a taikonaut (cosmonaut, astronaut). But here's the twist: the moon's origins, composition, and true purpose might be completely different from what we've been taught.

Join as we uncover astonishing discoveries and hidden lunar wonders that defy all expectations. Let's dive into this extraordinary adventure!

Voyager, Voyager space, space, Destiny, Ridddle, Voyage, science, technology, universe, Top 15, interesting facts, education, tech, space, elon musk, rocket, vimana, starship, spacex, solar system, mars, jupiter, neptune, betelgeuse, geography, terrifying discovery, space news, news, nasa, michio kaku, cosmic radiation, zecharia sitchin, isolation, linkin bio, compilation, presentation, stephen hawking, alien isolation, moon, think, cern, china, proved, us, wrong, future space, #nsaleonyoutube

The Fall of Lucifer, Atlantis (Robert Sepehr)

Lucifer was the most beautiful of all the angels (celestial devas). What happened?

Buddhist "Lucifer": Vepacitti (Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia)

The Fall of Lucifer with Robert Sepehr

(Atlantean Gardens) April 24, 2020. Lucifer means "Light-Bringer" or "the morning star," and is the Latin name for the planet Venus in its morning appearance, often used for mythological and religious figures and goddesses associated with the planet. Due to the unique movements and discontinuous appearances of Venus in the sky, mythology surrounding these figures often involved a fall from the heavens to earth or to the underworld.

[In Buddhism this happens as well with a titan chieftain (asura) named Vepacitti. He is the equivalent of Christianity's Lucifer-cum-Satan figure tossed out of a celestial world by a St. Michael figure named Sakka, King of the Devas. Devas are "shining ones" or "light beings" inhabiting that world, called "the Heaven of the Thirty-Three" (Tavatimsa deva loka). Deva is a general name for many more glorious light beings living on higher planes of existence, similar to angels, archangels, deities, and divinities of higher orders.]

• European Pre-History and the Oera Linda Book
• Legend and Mystery of the Holy Grail
• God of Wisdom, Thief of Fire
• An old Irish legend about an ancient Egyptian princess

One of the symbols associated with the goddess is called the rose or the pentagram of Venus, because every 8 years it makes a pentagram shape in the sky with its orbit. For every 8 Earth years, Venus goes around the sun 13 times, and the number 13 is also associated to the lunar cycle. The word Satan means adversary...

• Sacred Bloodlines and Mysteries of the Goddess

ABOUT: Robert Sepehr is an anthropologist and author (amazon.com). Interview excerpt: Tau Tia L Dauglass Radio program: Nightwatch. Robert Sepehr links: linktr.ee/RobertSepehr. Thanks for supporting Atlantean Gardens: patreon.com/AtlanteanGardens

Four Kings Tale (Vidhura Pandita Jātaka)

E.B. Cowell and W.H.D. Rouse (trans.), Stories of the Buddha’s Former Births, Book 22 Mahā Nipāta 546, Vidhura Pandita Jātaka (suttacentral.net); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

List of Buddhist "Rebirth Stories" or "Birth Tales," the Jatakas (Wikiwand.com)

The Bodhisattva Ideal (BPS.lk)

“Thou art pale and thin and weak,” and so on. The Master (the Buddha) told this tale while dwelling in Jetavana, concerning the Perfection of Wisdom.

One day the monastics raised a discussion in the Hall of Truth, saying:

“Venerables, the Master (the Buddha) has great and wide wisdom. He is ready and quick-witted. He is sharp, keen-witted, and is able to crush the arguments of his opponents. By the power of his wisdom, he overthrows the subtle questions propounded by warrior-caste sages and reduces them to silence. And having established them in the Three Guides (ti-sarana) and the precepts, he causes them to enter on the path that leads to the deathless (nirvana).”

The Master came and asked the topic the monks were debating as they sat together. On hearing what it was he said, “It is not wonderful, meditators, that the Tathagata (the Buddha), having attained the Perfection of Wisdom, should overthrow the arguments of his opponents and convert warriors and others?

For in earlier ages [in past lives], when he was still seeking for supreme knowledge, he was wise and able to crush the arguments of his opponents. Indeed, in the time of Vidhura Kumara, on the summit of the Black Mountain, which is 60 leagues in height, by the force of my wisdom I converted the ogre general, Yakkha Punnaka, and reduced him to silence and made him give his own life as a gift.” So saying, he told a story of the past.

Nagas are dragons (Reptilians, snakes) opposed by Supannas (Avians, garudas, phoenixes)

.

I.

Once upon a time, in the Kuru Kingdom in the City of Indapatta, a king ruled named Dhananjaya-korabba. He had a minister named Vidhura Pandita [who will turn out to be the Bodhisatta], who gave his instructions concerning temporal and spiritual matters. And having a sweet tongue and great eloquence in discoursing of the dharma (Truth), he bewitched all the kings of Jambudipa [India, the subcontinent or island or light (in the sky), possibly the earth] by his sweet discourses concerning the dharma as elephants are fascinated by a favorite lute, nor did he suffer them to depart to their own kingdoms, but dwelled in that city in great glory, teaching the dharma to the people with a Buddha’s power.

Now there were four rich Brahmin householders in Benares (Varanasi), friends, who, having seen the misery of sensual desires, went into the Himalayas and embraced the wandering ascetic life, and having entered upon the transcendental states and the mystical meditations, continued to dwell a long time there, feeding on forest roots and fruits, and then, as they went on alms round to procure salt and sour condiments, came to the city Kalacampa in the Kingdom of Anga.

There four householders who were friends, being pleased with their deportment, having paid them respect and taken their alms bowls, waited upon then with choice food, each in his own house, and taking their promise arranged a dwelling place for them in their garden.

So the four ascetics, having taken their food in the houses of the four householders, went away to pass the day [in meditation], one going to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, another to the World of the Nagas (Reptilians/snakes), another to the World of the Supannas (Avians/eagles, Garudas), and the fourth to the park Migacira belonging to the Koravya king.

Now the one who spent his day in the world of the devas [of the Thirty-Three], after beholding King Sakka’s glory, described it in full to his attendant and so, too, did the one who spent his day in the Naga and Suparna worlds and so, too, the one who spent his day in the park of the Koravya king Dhananjaya.

Each described in full the glory of that respective king. So these four attendants desired [rebirth in] these heavenly abodes, and having performed the giving of gifts and other works of merit (punya), at the end of their lives, one was reborn as Sakka, another was reborn with a wife and child in the Naga world, another was born as the Supanna king in the palace of the Simbali Lake, and the fourth was conceived of by the chief queen of King Dhananjaya, while the four ascetics were reborn in the Brahma world.

• Garuda (Supanna) abduction of Queen Kakati

The Koravya prince grew up, and on his father’s passing assumed his kingdom and ruled in righteousness, but he was famed for his skill in dice. He listened to the instruction of Vidhura Pandita and gave alms and kept the moral precepts and observed the [weekly] lunar fasting day (uposatha).

One day when he had undertaken the fast, he went into the garden, determining to practice pious meditation and, having seated himself in a pleasant spot, he performed the duties of a wandering ascetic.

Devas are beautiful humanoids in space/heavens.

[The celestial deva King] Sakka also, having undertaken to keep the fast, found that there were obstacles in the world of the devas, so he [came down and] went into that very garden in the world of humans and, having seated himself in a pleasant spot, performed the duties of a wandering ascetic.

The Naga King Varuna also, having undertaken to keep the fast, found that there were obstacles in the Naga world, so he went into that same garden and, having seated himself in a pleasant place, performed the duties of a wandering ascetic.

The Suparna king also, having undertaken to keep the fast, found that there were obstacles in the Suparna world, so he went into that same garden and, having seated himself in a pleasant spot, performed the duties of a wandering ascetic.

Then these four, having risen from their places at evening time, as they stood on the bank of the royal lake, came together and looked at one another and, being filled with their old kindly affection, they woke up their former friendship and sat down with pleasant greetings.

Sakka sat down on a royal seat, and the others seated themselves as befitted the dignity of each. Then Sakka said to them, “We are all four kings. Now what is the preeminent virtue of each?”

Then Varuna (Varuna 17) the Naga king replied, “My virtue is superior to that of you three,” and when they inquired why, he said: “This Supanna king is our enemy, whether before or after we are reborn, yet even when I see him such a destructive enemy of our race, I never feel any anger. Therefore, my virtue is superior.” And he then uttered the first stanza of the Catuposatha Jataka ("Fourfold Lunar Observance Day Birth Story"):

Thai version of Vidhura-pandita Jataka, Ten Birth Tales of the Buddha (alamy.com), 1880

.

“The good person who feels no anger towards one who merits anger and who never lets anger arise within, one who even when angered does not allow it to be seen — that person they indeed call an ascetic. These are my qualities; therefore, my virtue is superior.”

The Supanna king, hearing this, said: “This Naga is my chief food, but since -- even though I see such food at hand, I endure my hunger and do not commit evil [of killing] for the sake of food -- my virtue is superior,” and he uttered this stanza:

“One who bears hunger with a pinched belly, a self-restrained hermit who eats and drinks by rule and commits no evil for the sake of food — that person they indeed call an ascetic.”

Then Sakka the king of the devas said: “I left behind various kinds of heavenly glory, all immediate sources of happiness, and came to the world of humankind in order to maintain my virtue. Therefore, my virtue is superior,” and he uttered this stanza:

“Having abandoned all sport and pleasure, one utters no false word in the world, one is averse to all outward pomp and carnal desire. Such a person they indeed call an ascetic.” Thus did Sakka describe his own virtue.

Then King Dhananjaya said: “I today have abandoned my court and my seraglio with 16,000 dancing girls, and I practice an ascetic’s duties in a garden. Therefore, my virtue is superior,” and he added this stanza:

“Those who with full knowledge abandon all that they call their own and all the workings of lust, one who is self-restrained, resolute, unselfish, and free from desire, that person they indeed call an ascetic.” Thus they each declared their own virtue as superior, and then they asked Dhananjaya:

“O king, is there any wise person in thy court who could solve this doubt?”

“Yes, O kings, I have Vidhura Pandita, who fills a post of unequalled responsibility and declares civil and monastic law. He will resolve our doubt. We will go to him.” They at once consented. So they all went out of the garden and proceeded to the hall for spiritual assemblies and, having ordered it to be adorned, they seated the Bodhisatta (Buddha-to-be) on a high seat and, having offered him a friendly greeting, sat down respectfully to one side and said:

“O wise sir, a doubt has risen in our minds! Do solve it for us: We ask thee, the minister of lofty wisdom: A dispute has arisen in our utterances. Do consider and solve our perplexities today. Let us through thee today escape our doubt.”

The wise man, having heard their words, replied: “O kings, how shall I know what you said, speaking well or ill concerning your virtue, as you uttered the stanzas in your dispute?” And he added this stanza:

“Those wise ones who know the real state of things and who speak wisely at the proper time — how shall they, however wise, draw out the meaning of verses that have not been uttered to them? How does the Naga king speak, how Garula (the Supanna), the son of Vinata? Or what says the king of the Gandhabbas (Gandharvas, the lowest rank of devas, messenger angels and musicians)? Or how speaks the most noble king of the Kurus?”

Then they uttered this stanza to him:

“The Naga king preaches forbearance, Garula the son of Vinata gentleness, the king of the Gandhabbas abstinence from carnal lust, and the most noble king of the Kurus freedom from all hindrances to spiritual perfection.”

Then the Great Being (the Bodhisatta), having heard their words, uttered this stanza:

“All these sayings are well spoken. There is nothing here uttered amiss. And one in whom these are properly fitted like the spokes in the nave of a wheel, that person who is endowed with these four virtues, is called an ascetic indeed.”

Thus the Great Being declared the virtue of each of them to be one and the same. Then the four, when they heard him, were well pleased and uttered this stanza in his praise:

“You're the best, incomparable, wise, a guardian and knower of the dharma (Truth): having grasped the problem with wisdom, you cut off doubts with skill just as an ivory-worker ivory cuts away with a saw.”

So all four were pleased with his explanation of their question. Then Sakka rewarded him with a robe of fine celestial silk, Garula with a golden garland, Varuna the Naga king with a jewel, and King Dhananjaya with a thousand cows, and so on. Then Dhananjaya addressed him in this stanza:

“I give thee a thousand cows and a bull and an elephant, and these ten chariots drawn with thoroughbred horses, and 16 excellent villages, being well pleased with your solution to the question.”

Then Sakka and the rest, having paid all honor to the Great Being, departed to their own abodes. Here ends the section of the fourfold fast (their Uposatha Day observance).

II.

Now the queen of the Naga king was the Lady Vimala, and when she saw that no jeweled ornament was on his neck, she asked him where it was. He replied, “I was pleased at hearing the moral discourse of Vidhura Pandita the son of the Brahmin Canda, and I... More

My dead son has been reborn (sutra)

Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thera (trans.), Maṭṭhakuṇḍalī (Khuddaka Nikāya, Petavatthu, The Ubbari Chapter 17. Mattakundali; Dhr. Seven, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

A Brahmin was crying over his dead son’s grave when he saw a grieving deva (lit., "shining one") who was disguised as a young man.

Brahmin: "My dear child, you are very handsome, wearing polished earrings, garlands, and sandalwood cream. You are weeping, holding your head in your hands in the middle of this forest. Why are you crying so sadly?"

Deva: "I have received a bright golden chariot, but it does not have wheels. That is why I am so sad. I am about to commit suicide."

Brahmin: "Oh dear boy, tell me, what kind of wheels do you need? Should they be made of gold, jewels, rubies, or silver? I will give you a pair of wheels made from anything."

Deva: "We can see the sun and moon right here. It would be great if my chariot could have them as wheels."

Brahmin: "Oh, dear boy, you are indeed foolish. You seek something that cannot be obtained. I am sure that you will die from sadness because it is impossible to get the sun and moon as your wheels."

Deva: "But wait a minute. We can see the sun and moon moving [rolling] in the sky. We can see their color and tracks. But when someone dies, one can never see him again. So who is more foolish, you or me? You are crying over your dead son, who cannot even be seen, and I am crying over something that can at least be seen."

Brahmin: "Oh, dear boy, what you just said is very true! Of the two of us, I am the greater fool. I am crying to get my dead son back, like a childish boy crying to obtain the moon.

I want to commit suicide and be dead like my dead child! (Before Dying 2014/gifphy.com)

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"My heart was burning with sadness over the death of my son, like when fat is poured onto a fire. But now, all my sorrow has been extinguished as if I had been sprayed with water. I was struck with an arrow of grief, but you have removed it from me, my dear boy. Having heard your advice, I have become tranquil and cool, with the arrow of sorrow removed. I no longer grieve or weep."

Devas sporting about in a heaven (Wat Bonniwet)

"Are you a deva, a divine musician [or divine messenger, gandhabba], the divine king Sakka, or some deva’s son (devaputta)? Who are you?"

Deva: "Your son has been cremated in this cemetery. You are weeping over his remains. I am that son of yours! Having done a meritorious deed, I was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three [Tavatimsa, where Sakka, king of the devas is our divine king] as a deva."

Brahmin: "We have never known you to give a small or large gift in charity. We have never known you to observe the Five Precepts or Eight Precepts. What kind of meritorious action did you do to go to [this lowly] heaven?"

Deva: "Do you remember when I was very sick and lying sadly on a bed outside our house? One day, all of a sudden, I saw the Supreme Buddha who had great wisdom and a pure mind, who had realized everything about this world.

"I was very happy and had confidence [faith] when I saw him. I quickly honored him. That was the only meritorious action (kusala karma) I did that as a result I was reborn in this heavenly place."

Brahmin: "It is wonderful! Just mere honoring has resulted in a great happiness. Without delay, on this very day, I happily place confidence [faith, belief] in the Buddha. I go for guidance to the Buddha."

Deva: "That is exactly what you should do! From this very day, go for guidance to the Supreme Buddha, the Supreme Dharma [Teaching], and the Supreme Sangha [community of noble practitioners] with a confident mind. Follow the Five Precepts honestly without breaking any of them.

"Stop killing any living beings, never steal, never drink alcohol, never lie, never commit sexual misconduct but be content with your own spouse."

Brahmin: "Oh Deva, you really wish for my wellbeing. You have been very helpful to me. From today onward, you are my teacher. I will do all the things you advised me to do. With a confident mind I go for guidance to the Supreme Buddha, the excellent Dharma, and the [noble = aryan = enlightened] disciples of the Great Teacher — the Noble Sangha. I will stop killing living beings, never steal anything, never drink alcohol, never lie, and never commit sexual misconduct but be content with my own spouse."

Source: Pv 17: Maṭṭhakuṇḍalī Petavatthu (suttacentral.net)