The Thirty-one Planes of Existence [ edited by John T. Bullitt. ]
III. The Sensuous World (kama-loka)
Happy Destinations (sugati)
Realm (11) Devas Wielding Power over the Creation of Others
(paranimmita-vasavatti deva)
Comments: These devas enjoy sense pleasures created by others for them.
Mara, the personification of delusion and desire, lives here.
Cause of rebirth here: Ten wholesome actions (MN 41), Generosity, The
development of virtue and wisdom.
---------
Realm (10) Devas Delighting in Creation (nimmanarati deva)
Comments: These devas delight in the sense objects of their own creation.
Cause of rebirth here: Ten wholesome actions (MN 41), The development of virtue
and wisdom (AN 10.177), Generosity.
---------
Realm (9) Contented devas (tusita deva)
Comments: A realm of pure delight and gaiety.
Bodhisattas abide here prior to their final human birth. This is where the
bodhisatta Maitreya (Metteya), the next Buddha, is said to dwell.
Cause of rebirth here: Ten wholesome actions (MN 41), The development of virtue
and wisdom (AN 10.177), Generosity.
--------
Realm (
Yama devas (yama deva)
Comments: These devas live in the air, free of all difficulties.
Cause of rebirth here: Ten wholesome actions (MN 41), The development of virtue
and wisdom (AN 10.177). Generosity.
--------
Realm (7) The Thirty-three Gods (tavatimsa deva)
Comments: Sakka, a devotee of the Buddha, presides over this realm. Many devas
dwelling here live in mansions in the air.
Cause of rebirth here: Ten wholesome actions (MN 41), The development of virtue
and wisdom (AN 10.177). Generosity.
--------
Realm (6) Devas of the Four Great Kings (catumaharajika deva)
Comments: Home of the gandhabbas, the celestial musicians, and the yakkhas, tree
spirits of varying degrees of ethical purity. The latter are analogous to the
goblins, trolls, and fairies of Western fairy tales.
Cause of rebirth here: The development of virtue and wisdom (AN 10.177).
Generosity.
--------
Realm (5) Human beings (manussa loka)
Comments: You are here (for now).
Rebirth as a human being is extraordinarily rare (SN 56.48). It is also
extraordinarily precious, as its unique balance of pleasure and pain (SN 35.135)
facilitates the development of virtue and wisdom to the degree necessary to set
one free from the entire cycle of rebirths.
Cause of rebirth here: The development of virtue and wisdom (AN 10.177)
: The attainment of stream-entry (sotapatti) guarantees that all future rebirths
will be in the human or higher realms.
---------------------------------------
States of Deprivation (apaya)
Realm(4) Asuras (asura)
Comments: The demons "titans" that dwell here are engaged in relentless conflict
with each other.
Cause of rebirth here: Ten unwholesome actions (MN 41)
------
Realm (3) Hungry Shades/Ghosts (peta loka)
Comments: Ghosts and unhappy spirits wander hopelessly about this realm,
searching in vain for sensual fulfillment. Read Ajaan Lee's colorful description
of this realm.
Cause of rebirth here: Ten unwholesome actions (MN 41)
: Lack of virtue, holding to wrong views (AN 10.177)
------
Realm (2) Animals (tiracchana yoni)
Comments: This realm includes all the non-human forms of life that are visible
to us under ordinary circumstances: animals, insects, fish, birds, worms, etc.
Cause of rebirth here: Ten unwholesome actions (MN 41)
: Lack of virtue, holding to wrong views. If one is generous to monks and nuns,
however, one may be reborn as an "ornamented" animal (i.e., a bird with bright
plumage; a horse with attractive markings, etc.; AN 10.177).
: Behaving like an animal (MN 57)
---------------
Realm (1) Hell (niraya)
Comments: These are realms of unimaginable suffering and anguish (described in
graphic detail in MN 129 and 130). Should not be confused with the eternal hell
proposed by other religions, since one's time here is as it is in every realm
temporary.
Cause of rebirth here: Ten unwholesome actions (MN 41)
: Lack of virtue, holding to wrong views (AN 10.177)
: Murdering your parents, murdering an arahant, injuring the Buddha, or creating
a schism in the Sangha (AN 5.129)
: Being quarrelsome and annoying to others (Snp II.6)
--------------------
Sources:
Buddhist Dictionary, by Nyanatiloka Mahathera (Kandy: Buddhist Publication
Society, 1980).
The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction (fourth edition), by R.H.
Robinson & W.L. Johnson (Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1997).
The Long Discourses of the Buddha (Introduction), translated by Maurice Walshe
(Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1987).
A Manual of Abhidhamma, by Ven. Narada Thera (Kuala Lumpur: Buddhist Missionary
Society, 1979).
The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (Introduction), translated by Bhikkhu
?anamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995).
Teacher of the Devas (Wheel Publication 414/416), by Susan Elbaum Jootla (Kandy:
Buddhist Publication Society, 1997).
