Next, someone has practiced to an extraordinary degree giving and ethical conduct as grounds for making merit, but they haven’t got as far as meditation as a ground for making merit. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in the company of the gods of the four great kings. There, the four great kings themselves have practiced giving and ethical conduct as grounds for making merit to a greater degree than the other gods. So they surpass them in ten respects: heavenly lifespan, beauty, happiness, glory, sovereignty, sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches.

Next, someone has practiced to an extraordinary degree giving and ethical conduct as grounds for making merit, but they haven’t got as far as meditation as a ground for making merit. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in the company of the gods of the thirty-three. There, Sakka, lord of gods, has practiced giving and ethical conduct as grounds for making merit to a greater degree than the other gods. So he surpasses them in ten respects …