CHAPTER 27
PLANES OF EXISTENCE
"Not to be reached by going is world's end."
-- ANGUTTARA NIKĀYA
According
to Buddhism the earth, an almost insignificant speck in the universe, is
not the only habitable world, and humans are not the only living beings.
Indefinite are world systems and so are living beings. Nor is "the
impregnated ovum the only route to rebirth." By traversing one cannot
reach the end of the world,
[1] says the Buddha.
Births may take place in different spheres of
existence. There are altogether thirty-one places in which beings manifest
themselves according to their moral or immoral Kamma.
There are four states of unhappiness (Apāya)
[2] which are viewed
both as mental states and as places.
They are:
1. Niraya (ni + aya = devoid of
happiness) woeful states where beings atone for their evil Kamma. They are
not eternal hells where beings are subject to endless suffering. Upon the
exhaustion of the evil Kamma there is a possibility for beings born in
such states to be reborn in blissful states as the result of their past
good actions.
2. Tiracchāna-yoni (tiro = across;
acchāna = going), the animal kingdom. Buddhist belief is that beings
are born as animals on account of evil Kamma. There is, however, the
possibility for animals to be born as human beings as a result of the good
Kamma accumulated in the past. Strictly speaking, it should be more
correct to state that Kamma which manifested itself in the form of
a human being, may manifest itself in the form of an animal or vice
versa, just as an electric current can be manifested in the forms of
light, heat and motion successively -- one not necessarily being
evolved from the other.
It may be remarked that at times certain
animals particularly dogs and cats, live a more comfortable life than even
some human beings due to their past good Kamma.
It is one's Kamma that determines the nature or
one's material form which varies according to the skilfulness or
unskilfulness of one's actions.
3. Peta-yoni (pa + ita) lit., departed
beings, or those absolutely devoid of happiness. They are not disembodied
spirits of ghosts. They possess deformed physical forms of varying
magnitude, generally invisible to the naked eye. They have no planes of
their own, but live in forests, dirty surroundings, etc. There is a
special book, called Petavatthu, which exclusively deals with the
stories of these unfortunate beings. Samyutta Nikāya also relates some
interesting accounts of these Petas.
Describing the pathetic state of a Peta, the
Venerable Moggallāna says:--
"Just now as I was descending Vultures' Peak
Hill, I saw a skeleton going through the air, and vultures, crows, and
falcons kept flying after it, pecking at its ribs, pulling apart while it
uttered cries of pain. To me, friend, came this thought :-- O but this is
wonderful! O but this is marvellous that a person will come to have such a
shape, that the individuality acquired will come to have such a shape."
"This being," the Buddha remarked, "was a
cattle-butcher in his previous birth, and as the result of his past Kamma
he was born in such a state.
[3]"
According to the Questions of Milinda
there are four kinds of Petas -- namely, the Vantāsikas who feed on
vomit, the Khuppipāsino who hunger and thirst, the
Nijjhāmatanhikā, who are consumed by thirst, and the
Paradattūpajīvino who live on the gifts of others.
As stated in the Tirokudda Sutta
[4] these last
mentioned Petas share the merit performed by their living relatives in
their names, and could thereby pass on to better states of happiness.
4. Asura-yoni -- the place of the
Asura-demons. Asura, literally, means those who do not shine or those who
do not sport. They are also another class of unhappy beings similar to the
Petas. They should be distinguished from the Asuras who are opposed to the
Devas.
Next to these four unhappy states (Duggati)
are the seven happy states (Sugati). They are:--
1. Manussa
[5] -- The
Realm of human beings.
The human realm is a mixture of both pain and
happiness. Bodhisattas prefer the human realm as it is the best field to
serve the world and perfect the requisites of Buddhahood. Buddhas are
always born as human beings.
2. Cātummahārājika -- the lowest of the
heavenly realms where the Guardian Deities of the four quarters of the
firmament reside with their followers.
3. Tāvatimsa -- lit.,
thirty-three -- the Celestial Realm of the thirty-three Devas
[6] where Deva Sakka
is the King. The origin of the name is attributed to a story which states
that thirty-three selfless volunteers led by Magha (another name for Sakka),
having performed charitable deeds, were born in this heavenly realm. It
was in this heaven that the Buddha taught the Abhidhamma to the Devas for
three months.
4. Yāma – "The Realm of the Yāma Devas."
That which destroys pain is Yāma.
5. Tusita -- lit., happy
dwellers, is "The Realm of Delight."
The Bodhisattas who have perfected the
requisites of Buddhahood reside in this Plane until the opportune moment
comes for them to appear in the human realm to attain Buddhahood. The
Bodhisatta Metteyya, the future Buddha, is at present residing in this
realm awaiting the right opportunity to be born as a human being and
become a Buddha. The Bodhisatta's mother, after death, was born in this
realm as a Deva (god). From here he repaired to Tāvatimsa Heaven to listen
to the Abhidhamma taught by the Buddha.
6. Nimmānarati -- "The Realm of
the Devas who delight in the created mansions."
7. Paranimmitavasavatti -- "The
Realm of the Devas who make others' creation serve their own ends."
The last six are the realms of the Devas whose
physical forms are more subtle and refined than those of human beings and
are imperceptible to the naked eye. These celestial beings too are subject
to death as all mortals are. In some respects, such as their constitution,
habitat, and food they excel humans, but do not as a rule transcend them
in wisdom. They have spontaneous births, appearing like youths and maidens
of fifteen or sixteen years of age.
These six Celestial Planes are temporary
blissful abodes where beings are supposed to live enjoying fleeting
pleasures of sense.
The four unhappy states (Duggati) and
the seven happy states (Sugati) are collectively termed Kāmaloka
-- Sentient Sphere.
Superior to these Sensuous Planes are the
Brahma Realms or Rūpaloka (Realms of Form) where beings delight in jhānic
bliss, achieved by renouncing sense-desires.
Rūpaloka consists of sixteen realms according
to the jhānas or ecstasies cultivated. They are as follows:-
(a) T'he Plane of the First Jhāna;
1. Brahma Pārisajja -- The Realm of the
Brahma's Retinue.
2. Brahma Purohita -- The Realm of the
Brahma's Ministers.
3. Mahā Brahma -- The Realm of the Great
Brahmas.
The highest of the first three is Mahā Brahma.
It is so called because the dwellers in this Realm excel others in
happiness, beauty, and age-limit owing to the intrinsic merit of their
mental development.
(b) The Plane of the Second Jhāna:
4. Parittābhā -- The Realm of Minor
Lustre,
5. Appamānābhā -- The Realm of
Infinite Lustre,
6. Ābhassarā --
The Realm of the Radiant Brahmas.
(c) The Plane of the Third Jhāna:
7. Parittasubhā -- The Realm of
the Brahmas of Minor Aura.
8. Appamānasubhā -- The Realm of
the Brahmas of Infinite Aura.
9. Subhakinhā -- The Realm of the
Brahmas of Steady Aura.
(d) The Plane of the Fourth Jhāna:
10. Vehapphala -- The Realm of
the Brahmas of Great Reward.
11. Asaññasatta -- The Realm of
Mindless Beings,
12. Suddhāvāsa -- The Pure Abodes
which are further subdivided into five, viz:
i. Aviha -- The Durable Realm,
ii. Atappa -- The Serene Realm,
iii. Sudassa -- The Beautiful Realm,
iv. Sudassi -- The Clear-Sighted Realm.
v. Akanittha -- The Highest Realm.
Only those who have cultivated the Jhānas or
Ecstasies are born on these higher planes. Those who have developed the
First Jhāna are born in the first Plane; those who have developed the
Second and Third Jhānas are born in the second Plane; those who have
developed the Fourth and Fifth Jhānas are born in the third and fourth
Planes respectively.
The first grade of each plane is assigned to
those who have developed the Jhānas to an ordinary degree, the second to
those who have developed the Jhānas to a greater extent, and the third to
those who have gained a complete mastery over the Jhānas.
In the eleventh plane, called the
Asaññasatta, beings are born without a consciousness.
Here only a material flux exists. Mind is
temporarily suspended while the force of the Jhāna lasts. Normally both
mind and matter are inseparable. By the power of meditation it is
possible, at times, to separate matter from mind as in this particular
case. When an Arahant attains the Nirodha Samāpatti, too, his
consciousness ceases to exist temporarily. Such a state is almost
inconceivable to us. But there may be inconceivable things which are
actual facts.
The Suddhāvāsas or Pure Abodes are the
exclusive Planes of Anāgāmis or Never-Returners. Ordinary beings are not
born in these states. Those who attain Anāgāmi in other planes are reborn
in these Pure Abodes. Later, they attain Arahantship and live in those
planes until their life-term ends.
There are four other planes called Arūpaloka
which are totally devoid of matter or bodies. Buddhists maintain that
there are realms where mind alone exists without matter. "Just as it is
possible for an iron bar to be suspended in the air because it has been
flung there, and it remains as long as it retains any unexpended momentum,
even so the Formless being appears through being flung into that state by
powerful mind-force, there it remains till that momentum is expended. This
is a temporary separation of mind and matter, which normally co-exist.
[7]"
It should be mentioned that there is no sex
distinction in the Rūpaloka and the Arūpaloka.
The Arūpaloka is divided into four planes
according to the four Arūpa Jhānas.
They are:-
1. Ākāsānañcāyatana -- The Sphere
of the Conception of Infinite Space.
2. Viññānañcāyatana -- The Sphere
of the Conception of Infinite Consciousness.
3. Ākiñcaññayatana -- The Sphere
of the Conception of Nothingness.
4. N'eva Saññā Nāsaññayatana -- The
Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception.
[8]
It should be remarked that the Buddha did not
attempt to expound any cosmological theory.
The essence of the Buddha's teaching is not
affected by the existence or non-existence of these planes. No one is
bound to believe anything if it does not appeal to his reason. Nor is it
proper to reject anything because it cannot be conceived by one's limited
knowledge.
[1]
See Kindred Sayings, part 1, pp. 85, 86.
[2] Apa + aya =
devoid of happiness.
[3] See Kindred
Sayings, part ii.. p. 170
[4] Khuddaka Pātha.
[5] Literally,
those who have an uplifted or developed mind (mano ussannam etasam).
The Samskrit equivalent of manussa is manushya which
means the sons of Manu. They are so called because they became civilized
after Manu the seer.
[6] A Chinese
Buddhist book states that on each of the four sides of this Plane are
eight heavens (32) and a central one where King Sakka dwells. Guide to
Buddhahood.
[7] Kassapa Thera.
[8] For details and
the life-term of various planes see A Manual of Abhidhamma
by Nārada Thera, pp. 234- 246.
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