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31 Planes of Existence (1)

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31 Planes of Existence (1) 31 Planes of Existence (1) Kamaloka Realms Death & Rebirth All putthujjhanas are subjected to death & rebirths “Death proximate kamma” or last thoughts moment leads to the realm of rebirth. Good or bad, it tends to be the state of mind characteristic of the being in his previous life It could be hate, metta, karuna, tanha, and so on. Tanha is the one that binds us to Samsara, esp the sensual worlds Depends on 3 types of action (mental, physical & vocal manifesting in thought, action & speech) Purified consciousness leads to birth in higher planes such as Brahma lokas Mixed type will lead to birth in the intermediate planes of kama lokas Predominantly bad kamma will lead to birth in the Duggatti (unhappy states) 1 Only humans on earth? Early Buddhist texts (Nikaya), mentioned: “the thousandfold world system” “the twice thousandfold world system” “the thrice thousandfold world system” Buddhaghosa said there are 1,000,000,000,000 world systems 3 Types of Worlds Kama-loka or kamabhava (sensuous world) 11 planes Rupa-loka or rupabhava (the world of form or fine material world) 16 planes Arupa-loka or arupabhava (the formless world / immaterial world) 4 planes 2 Kama-Loka The sensuous world is divided into Kamaduggati (those states that are not desirable and unsatisfactory with unpleasant and painful feelings) Kamasugati (those states that are desirable or satisfying with pleasant and pleasurable feelings) Kamaduggati Bhumi 4 States of Suffering (Apaya) Niraya (Hell) Tiracchana Yoni (Animals) Peta Loka (Hungry ghosts) Asura (Demons) 3 Niraya (Hell) Lowest level of existence with Devoid of sukha. Only non-stop unimaginable suffering & anguish Dukha. Not eternal hell According to texts there are 8 Beings who do evil actions, such as realms of Hell, with the lowest being quarrelsome or annoying to others, Avici Hell for those who had will condition the mind to be committed the 5 grievous crimes, negative. eg. Devadatta. When they pass away in this state These are matricide, patricide, killing of mind, they will find rebirth in these an arahant, injuring the Buddha, realms & join others who are creating a schism in the Sangha. negatively minded to suffer for a Others in Apaya are Nanda who raped long time. his cousin Bhikkhuni Upalavanna, Cunda the Butcher & Suppabuddha who insulted the Buddha. Tirachana Yoni (Animals) This is the non-human forms of life visible They have to struggle for food, which is not to human. guaranteed. Starvation is a norm. Are house pets really happy? Behaving like an animal will get us to this They go about naked and unclothed, and plane, devoid of compassion, killing, liar, to bear the changes of the seasons, the indulge in intoxicant, void of morality, heat and the cold. crooked in thoughts, words and action. Bound by their environments, intelligence Animals lives are suffering and instincts. Unable to do meritorious actions or limited opportunities to gain No morality, animals lives according to the law of nature, the strongest survive, big good kamma. Unable to attain knowledge eats small. Danger to their live can come and wisdom as their existence is the any moment from other animals and negation of such progress. humans. Unable to express. Domesticated for food. Purpose of existence is limited to survival. 4 Peta Loka (wandering ghosts) They wander hopelessly about searching Greedy people who do not practise dana may in vain for fulfillment. be born as petas. Relatives of departed beings try to help by Lived in the same world as humans – in giving food and incense and sharing merits with forests, mountains, islands, cemeteries, them. etc Ghosts are beings who have strong attachment Invisible to human eyes, unless they to human existence or a place want to be seen or by clairvoyance from When they die, they cannot leave this attachment meditation. There are also friendly petas 4 kinds of petas Those who have “lost” their way. Those who have died suddenly and don’t know Unhappy ghost (paradauppajjivika-peta), they are dead yet (Bruce Willis – Sixth Sense) story of the peta & Ven Sariputta, dakhina. Those who died with “unfinished business”. Hungry petas – hunger & thirst. Unable to Metta from us can help these “trapped” beings receive dakhina. along. Unfulfilled craving petas, driven by craving Life span is determined by exhaustion of evil (tanha). kamma. Can be days or a long, long time. Tall petas, up to 3 leagues tall, body is dried up like a leaf. Also driven by unquenchable thirst & hunger. Asura (Demon) What are Demons? 5 Asura (Demon) These demons or titans are powerful & warlike. They are called “Asura” because they contrast with the devas of Tavatimsa who are called “Suras”. Engage in relentless conflict with each other. Beings born as Asuras reflect their mental states which is to quarrel and fight with others. Normally do not harm humans. 6 Asura (Demon) They cannot move from their realm to the human realm, just like human cannot travel to another. The realm is between the human & deva. Texts identified 3 other types of asuras which are not to be confused with the Asuras: Deva-Asura, Peta- asuras & Niraya-Asura. Deva-Asuras are the ones who live in Tavatimsa heaven. Peta-Asuras are the ones who are 3- league tall. Niraya-Asuras are bat-like hell creatures who live in their own realm called Lokantarika-Niraya, who are devoid of food and kill each other. Kamasugati Realms The second group of existence is the Kamasugati-bhumi. Kamasugati-bhumi means ‘the plane of happiness connected with desires.’ Beings in this plane are dominated by worldly desires. The happiness of the beings of this plane arises from the six sense- object contacts resulting in sensuous pleasures. The desire to acquire this type of pleasure is the common characteristic of all beings of the Kamasugati-bhumi. There are 20 realms of happy existence. These are distinguished into 3 groups according to their common characteristics: Kamasugati-bhumi, Rupavacara-bhumi and Arupavacara-bhumi. 7 Kamasugati-bhumi Manussa Catummaharajika Tavatimsa Yama Kamavaccara Tusita Heavens Nimmanarati Paranimmitavasavatti Manussa (Human beings) 8 Life Span Development Theories Psychologists & social scientists have studied the changes across the entire life of human In the course of these studies, they conclude that Man develop in a fixed pattern with reinforcements to their personalities and characters. These personalities and characters is different for each person depending on resolution of events and conflicts within. Scientists call this the Life Span Development. Theories of these life stages have been postulated by Erik Erikson, Carol Pearson, Bradshaw and others. As an example, Erikson’s 8-stage development theory from infancy to old age identified such factors as Trust & Mistrusts, Initiatives & Guilt, Intimacy & Isolation, etc as events in different stage of our lives as important development to determine who we are and what we will become as we grow older and older. Pearson compared our life span as a journey and likened it to “A Hero’s Journey” from infancy to old age with each stage of our lives conquering or succumbing to a challenge in life. Where we conquer we develope to the next stage positively. When we succumb, we inherit a malfunctioned personality that will remain dysfunctional through life unless we resolve it. She identified 12 archetypes that we will encounter in our life stage. While these theories help explain how and why we think or behave, they do not answer the more essential questions of beyond old age. These attempts to understand growth & development, as well as old age and death as a part of human life. It teaches or attempt to provide Man with the tools to develop into a wholesome and function person with a balanced personality and outlook and to accept the eventuality of one’s life works as done with dignity and satisfaction in old age and death. Buddha went beyond. THE CAREGIVER THE WARRIOR THE CREATOR THE SEEKER THE SAGE THE DESTROYER THE LOVER THE ORPHAN THE INNOCENT 9 Manussa - Suffering Nature of Manussa It is difficult to be born as a human It is difficult to conduct life as a human being Rare is the opportunity to hear the Dhamma Even more rare is the appearance of a Buddha - Verse 181, The Dhammapada. Human existence is extremely precious. There is a unique mix of pleasure and pain which facilitates the development of virtue and wisdom high enough to lead to freedom from Samsara. Attainment of Sotapatti will assure no lower births below human realm. Human world had a mixture of dukkha, sukha and upekkha. Humans can be exposed in varied and extreme life situations. Some are born in poor and remote places, without adequate food, clean water, clothes, money, sanitation, etc. Some are rich, some poor, some neither rich nor poor Some have ups and downs in their lives. Some are born into power, others ordinary people. Some with lots of Dukkha, some with lots of Sukha, and others a fair share of both and in betweens. We see the imbalance of fortunes and misfortunes. This creates “unsatisfatoriness” in individual minds and some develop anger, others neutrality and accepts their lives, yet others work to change it. 10 What Lesson Beckons Us? Exercise Is our fortune and misfortunes real or are they just mind states we experience in our life time? Perspective of Happiness (a) Will one who lives in a village house has less happiness than another who live in a mansion? 11 Perspective of Happiness (b) Can a beggar be as happy as an oil trader? Perspective of Happiness (c) Who experience more sugati when given an overnight sandwich? A boy in Somalia who has not eaten for a week or your son’s classmate in school? Why? 12 Benefits of Human World Human realm is a happy state and beings must have accumulated good kamma to be born here.
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