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Subject:      The thirty-third heaven and a whole lot more
From:         kmccor@mindspring.com (karen)
Date:         1997/07/24
Message-Id:   <33d9dc61.3972151@news.mindspring.com>
Newsgroups:   alt.buddha.short.fat.guy
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>Got a book of Buddhist cosmology at home.  The name sounds right...



Ok, back at home...

Diane:
>Sekida names the chief  "the deity Sakra Devanam Indra".

Ok, here we go.  This is from Cheetham's "Fundamentals of Mainstream Buddhism".
(No I DON'T recommend this book.  "Dull, dull, oh GOD it's dull!")

Ya got yer Lokadhatu, which is the three-layered world system.

Ya got yer Kahmadhatu (the realm of all the passions)

    *  Hot Hells
       *  Samjiva (Constant revival hell)
       *  Kalasutra (Black chain hell)
       *  Samghata (Stone slabs hell)
       *  Raurava (Howling hell)
       *  Maharaurava (Great howling hell)
       *  Tapana (Burning heat hell)
       *  Pratapana (Fiery lake hell)
       *  Avici (Uninterrupted hell)

    *  Cold Hells
       *  Arbuda (Swelling hell)
       *  Nirarbuda (Shrinking hell)
       *  Atata (Teeth-chattering cold hell)
       *  Hahava (Shivering cold hell)
       *  Huhuva (Shuddering cold hell)
       *  Utpala (Bursting hell)
       *  Padma (Lotus hell)
       *  Mahapadma (Great Lotus hell)

[Hey Trin!  Which one is the bloody pus hell?]

Above this, ya got yer Mount Meru, the axis of the world.

       At each of the cardinal points around Mount Meru
       ya got yer Four Continents:
       *  Jambudvipa (triangular and to the south) - India
       *  Purvavideha (half-moon shaped and to the east)
       *  Godaniya (full-moon shaped and to the west)
       *  Uttarakuru (square shaped and to the north)

       Mount Meru is terraced at its topmost peak.
       Ya got yer:

       *  Caturmaharaja heaven (heaven of the four Great Kings)
          around which the sun and moon revolve

--->   *  Trayastrimsa (heaven of the Thirty-Three), the highest physical
          heaven, this is where Sakra, king of the lower gods, dwells.

       *  Four "aerial" heavens
          *  Yama
          *  Tusita
          *  Nirmanavati
          *  Paranirmitavasavarti

And that's Kamadhatu.

Next ya got yer Rupadhatu (the realm of form), higher up Mount Meru than
Trayastrimsa, which contains seventeen heavens corresponding to the four
dhyanas (meditative absorptions).  In ascending order, they are:

    *  1st Dhyana
       *  Brahmakayika (Brahma-bodied)
       *  Brahmapurohita (Brahma-serving)
       *  Mahabrahman (Great Brahma)

    *  2nd Dhyana
       *  Parittabha (Lesser light)
       *  Apramanabha (Infinite light)
       *  Abhasvara (Universal light)

    *  3rd Dhyana
       *  Paritifasubha (Lesser beauty)
       *  Apramanasubha (infinite beauty)
       *  Subhakrtsna (Univeral beauty)

    *  4th Dhyana
       *  Anabhraka (Cloudless)
       *  Punyaprasara (Fortunate progress)
       *  Brhatphala (Great results)
       *  Avrha (Passionless)
       *  Atapa (Heatless)
       *  Sudrsa (Perfect form)
       *  Sudarsana (Perfect vision)
       *  Akanistha (Supreme Heaven)

And that's Rupadhatu.

Next ya got yer Arupyadhatu (the realm of no form), higher up Mount Meru
than Rupadhatu, which contains another four heavens.  In ascending order,
they are:

    *  Akasanantyayatana (Realm of Continuous Space)
    *  Vijnananantyayatana (Realm of Continuous Consciousness)
    *  Akimcanyayatana (Realm of Continuous Nothingness)
    *  Naivasamjnanasamjnayatana (Realm of Neither Perception
            Nor Non-Perception), also referred to as Bhavagra

And that's Rupyadhatu.

Above that is Bhavagra, the highest realm of existence.
This is where brownies and red speedos come from.   (heh)

And who lives in these three worlds?  Ok, ya got yer six gatis
(destinies, or kinds of existence):
    *  deva (gods)
    *  asuras (sorta like demi-gods)
    *  manusa (humans)
    *  tiryak (animals)
    *  preta (disembodied spirits)
    *  naraka (infernal beings, hot and cold)

There ya go.

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