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Payer, Alois: Materialien zur buddhistischen Psychologie. -- 5. Bewusstseinsprozesse: Visuddhimagga. -- 2. Text und Übersetzung von Visuddhimagga XIV, 110 - 124. -- B. Anhang B: Existenzebenen. -- Fassung vom 2007-01-18. -- URL: http://www.payer.de/buddhpsych/psych052b.htm
Erstmals publiziert: 2007-01-18
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Dieser Text ist Teil der Abteilung Buddhismus von Tüpfli's Global Village Library
"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 right to reject anything just because it cannot be conceived by one's limited knowledge."
[Quelle: Anuruddha ; Nārada <Mahāthera> <1898 - 1983>: A manual of Abhidhamma : being Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha of Bhadanta Anuruddhācariya / ed. in the orig. Pāli text with English transl. and explanatory notes by Nārada Mahā Thera. - 5., rev. ed.. - Kuala Lumpur : Buddhist Missionary Soc., 1987. - VI, 451 S. -- ISBN 967-9920-59-3. -- S. 240.]
Weiterführende Ressource:
Abb.: Einbandtitel
Sadakata, Akira [ 定方 晟] <1936 - >: Buddhist cosmology : philosophy and origins / by Akira Sadakata ; translated by Gaynor Sekimori ; with a foreword by Hajime Nakamura. - 1st English ed. -- Tokyo : Kōsei Pub., 1997. -- 223 S. : Ill. ; 22 cm. -- Comprised of translations of the author's Shumisen to gokuraku, 1973, and several essays published in Japanese between 1976 and 1988. -- Originaltitel: 須山 と 極楽 : 仏教 の 宇宙観 / 定方 晟. (1973). -- ISBN 4333016827. -- {Wenn Sie HIER klicken, können Sie dieses Buch bei amazon.de bestellen}
"Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. Introduction
The self-consistent Buddhist cosmology which is presented in commentaries and works of Abhidharma in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions, is the end-product of an analysis and reconciliation of cosmological comments found in the Buddhist sūtra and vinaya traditions. No single sūtra sets out the entire structure of the universe. However, in several sūtras the Buddha describes other worlds and states of being, and other sūtras describe the origin and destruction of the universe. The synthesis of these data into a single comprehensive system must have taken place early in the history of Buddhism, as the system described in the Pāli Vibhajyavāda tradition (represented by today's Theravādins) agrees, despite some trivial inconsistencies of nomenclature, with the Sarvāstivāda tradition which is preserved by Mahāyāna Buddhists.
The picture of the world presented in Buddhist cosmological descriptions cannot be taken as a literal description of the shape of the universe. It is inconsistent, and cannot be made consistent, with astronomical data that were already known in ancient India. However, it is not intended to be a description of how humans perceive their world; rather, it is the universe as seen through the divyacakṣus (Pāli: dibbacakkhu), the "divine eye" by which a Buddha or an arhat who has cultivated this faculty can perceive all of the other worlds and the beings arising (being born) and passing away (dying) within them, and can tell from what state they have been reborn and into what state they will be reborn.
Buddhist cosmology can accordingly be divided into two related kinds: spatial cosmology, which describes the arrangement of the various worlds within the universe, and temporal cosmology, which describes how those worlds come into existence, and how they pass away.
Spatial cosmologySpatial cosmology can also be divided into two branches. The vertical cosmology describes the arrangement of worlds in a vertical pattern, some being higher and some lower. The sahasra cosmology describes the grouping of these vertical worlds into sets of thousands, millions or billions.
Vertical cosmologyIn the vertical cosmology, the universe exists of many worlds (lokāḥ) – one might say "planes" – stacked one upon the next in layers. Each world corresponds to a mental state or a state of being. A world is not, however, a location so much as it is the beings which compose it; it is sustained by their karma and if the beings in a world all die or disappear, the world disappears too. Likewise, a world comes into existence when the first being is born into it. The physical separation is not so important as the difference in mental state; humans and animals, though they partially share the same physical environments, still belong to different worlds because their minds perceive and react to those environments differently.
The vertical cosmology is divided into three realms, or dhātus, each corresponding to a different type of mentality. These three (Tridhātu) are the Ārūpyadhātu, the Rūpadhātu, and the Kāmadhātu. This technical division does not correspond to the more informal categorization of the "six realms". In the latter scheme, all of the beings born in the Ārūpyadhātu and the Rūpadhātu may be classified as "gods" or "deities" (devāḥ), as can a considerable fraction of the beings born in the Kāmadhātu, even though the deities of the Kāmadhātu differ more from those of the Ārūpyadhātu than they do from humans. It is to be understood that deva is an imprecise term referring to any being living in a longer-lived and generally more blissful state than humans. Most of them are not "gods" in the common sense of the term, having little or no concern with the human world and rarely if ever interacting with it; only the lowest deities of the Kāmadhātu correspond to the gods described in many polytheistic religions.
The term "brahmā" is used both as a name and as a generic term for one of the higher devas. In its broadest sense, it can refer to any of the inhabitants of the Ārūpyadhātu and the Rūpadhātu. In more restricted senses, it can refer to an inhabitant of one of the nine lower worlds of the Rūpadhātu, or in its narrowest sense, to the three lowest worlds of the Rūpadhātu. A large number of devas use the name "Brahmā", e.g. Brahmā Sahampati, Brahmā Sanatkumāra, Baka Brahmā, etc. It is not always clear which world they belong to, although it must always be one of the worlds of the Rūpadhātu below the Śuddhāvāsa worlds.
Ārūpyadhātu
The Ārūpyadhātu (Sanskrit) or Arūpaloka (Pāli) (Tib: gzugs.med.pa'i khams) or "Formless realm" would have no place in a purely physical cosmology, as none of the beings inhabiting it has either shape or location; and correspondingly, the realm has no location either. This realm belongs to those devas who attained and remained in the Four Formless Absorptions (catuḥ-samāpatti) of the arūpadhyānas in a previous life, and now enjoys the fruits (vipāka) of the good karma of that accomplishment. Bodhisattvas, however, are never born in the Ārūpyadhātu even when they have attained the arūpadhyānas.
There are four types of Ārūpyadhātu devas, corresponding to the four types of arūpadhyānas:
- Naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana or Nevasaññānāsaññāyatana (Tib: 'du.shes.med 'du.shes.med.min) "Sphere of neither perception nor non-perception". In this sphere the formless beings have gone beyond a mere negation of perception and have attained a liminal state where they do not engage in "perception" (saṃjñā, recognition of particulars by their marks) but are not wholly unconscious. This was the sphere reached by Udraka Rāmaputra (Pāli: Uddaka Rāmaputta), the second of the Buddha's two teachers, who considered it equivalent to enlightenment.
- Ākiṃcanyāyatana or Ākiñcaññāyatana (Tib: ci.yang.med) "Sphere of Nothingness" (literally "lacking anything"). In this sphere formless beings dwell contemplating upon the thought that "there is no thing". This is considered a form of perception, though a very subtle one. This was the sphere reached by Ārāḍa Kālāma (Pāli: Āḷāra Kālāma), the first of the Buddha's two teachers; he considered it to be equivalent to enlightenment.
- Vijñānānantyāyatana or Viññāṇānañcāyatana (Tib: rnam.shes mtha'.yas) "Sphere of Infinite Consciousness". In this sphere formless beings dwell meditating on their consciousness (vijñāna) as infinitely pervasive.
Rūpadhātu
- Ākāśānantyāyatana or Ākāsānañcāyatana (Tib: nam.mkha' mtha'.yas) "Sphere of Infinite Space". In this sphere formless beings dwell meditating upon space or extension (ākāśa) as infinitely pervasive.
The Rūpadhātu (Pāli: Rūpaloka; Tib: gzugs.kyi khams) or "Form realm" is, as the name implies, the first of the physical realms; its inhabitants all have a location and bodies of a sort, though those bodies are composed of a subtle substance which is of itself invisible to the inhabitants of the Kāmadhātu. According to the Janavasabha Sutta, when a brahma (a being from the Brahma-world of the Rūpadhātu) wishes to visit a deva of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven (in the Kāmadhātu), he has to assume a "grosser form" in order to be visible to them.
The beings of the Form realm are not subject to the extremes of pleasure and pain, or governed by desires for things pleasing to the senses, as the beings of the Kāmadhātu are. The bodies of Form realm beings do not have sexual distinctions.
Like the beings of the Ārūpyadhātu, the dwellers in the Rūpadhātu have minds corresponding to the dhyānas (Pāli: jhānas). In their case it is the four lower dhyānas or rūpadhyānas. However, although the beings of the Rūpadhātu can be divided into four broad grades corresponding to these four dhyānas, each of them is subdivided into further grades, three for each of the four dhyānas and five for the Śuddhāvāsa devas, for a total of seventeen grades (the Theravāda tradition counts one less grade in the highest dhyāna for a total of sixteen).
Physically, the Rūpadhātu consists of a series of planes stacked on top of each other, each one in a series of steps half the size of the previous one as one descends. In part, this reflects the fact that the devas are also thought of as physically larger on the higher planes. The highest planes are also broader in extent than the ones lower down, as discussed in the section on Sahasra cosmology. The height of these planes is expressed in yojanas, a measurement of very uncertain length, but sometimes taken to be about 4,000 times the height of a man, and so approximately 4.54 miles or 7.32 kilometers.
Śuddhāvāsa worldsThe Śuddhāvāsa (Pāli: Suddhāvāsa; Tib: gnas gtsang.ma) worlds, or "Pure Abodes", are distinct from the other worlds of the Rūpadhātu in that they do not house beings who have been born there through ordinary merit or meditative attainments, but only those Anāgāmins ("Non-returners") who are already on the path to Arhat-hood and who will attain enlightenment directly from the Śuddhāvāsa worlds without being reborn in a lower plane (Anāgāmins can also be born on lower planes). Every Śuddhāvāsa deva is therefore a protector of Buddhism. Because a Śuddhāvāsa deva will never be reborn outside the Śuddhāvāsa worlds, no Bodhisattva is ever born in these worlds, as a Bodhisattva must ultimately be reborn as a human being.
Since these devas rise from lower planes only due to the teaching of a Buddha, they can remain empty for very long periods if no Buddha arises. However, unlike the lower worlds, the Śuddhāvāsa worlds are never destroyed by natural catastrophe. The Śuddhāvāsa devas predict the coming of a Buddha and, taking the guise of brahmins, reveal to human beings the signs by which a Buddha can be recognized. They also ensure that a Bodhisattva in his last life will see the four signs that will lead to his renunciation.
The five Śuddhāvāsa worlds are:
- Akaniṣṭha or Akaniṭṭha – World of devas "equal in rank" (literally: having no one as the youngest). The highest of all the Rūpadhātu worlds, it is often used to refer to the highest extreme of the universe. The current Śakra will eventually be born there. The duration of life in Akaniṣṭha is 16,000 kalpas (Vibhajyavāda tradition). The height of this world is 167,772,160 yojanas above the Earth.
- Sudarśana or Sudassī – The "clear-seeing" devas live in a world similar to and friendly with the Akaniṣṭha world. The height of this world is 83,886,080 yojanas above the Earth.
- Sudṛśa or Sudassa – The world of the "beautiful" devas are said to be the place of rebirth for five kinds of anāgāmins. The height of this world is 41,943,040 yojanas above the Earth.
- Atapa or Atappa – The world of the "untroubled" devas, whose company those of lower realms wish for. The height of this world is 20,971,520 yojanas above the Earth.
- Avṛha or Aviha – The world of the "not falling" devas, perhaps the most common destination for reborn Anāgāmins. Many achieve arhatship directly in this world, but some pass away and are reborn in sequentially higher worlds of the Pure Abodes until they are at last reborn in the Akaniṣṭha world. These are called in Pāli uddhaṃsotas, "those whose stream goes upward". The duration of life in Avṛha is 1,000 kalpas (Vibhajyavāda tradition). The height of this world is 10,485,760 yojanas above the Earth.
Bṛhatphala worlds
The mental state of the devas of the Bṛhatphala worlds corresponds to the fourth dhyāna, and is characterized by equanimity (upekṣā). The Bṛhatphala worlds form the upper limit to the destruction of the universe by wind at the end of a mahākalpa (see Temporal cosmology below), that is, they are spared such destruction.
- Asaññasatta (Sanskrit: Asaṃjñasattva) (Vibhajyavāda tradition only) – "Unconscious beings", devas who have attained a high dhyāna (similar to that of the Formless Realm), and, wishing to avoid the perils of perception, have achieved a state of non-perception in which they endure for a time. After a while, however, perception arises again and they fall into a lower state.
- Bṛhatphala or Vehapphala (Tib: 'bras.bu che) – Devas "having great fruit". Their lifespan is 500 mahākalpas. (Vibhajyavāda tradition). Some Anāgāmins are reborn here. The height of this world is 5,242,880 yojanas above the Earth.
- Puṇyaprasava (Sarvāstivāda tradition only; Tib: bsod.nams skyes) – The world of the devas who are the "offspring of merit". The height of this world is 2,621,440 yojanas above the Earth.
Śubhakṛtsna worlds
- Anabhraka (Sarvāstivāda tradition only; Tib: sprin.med) – The world of the "cloudless" devas. The height of this world is 1,310,720 yojanas above the Earth.
The mental state of the devas of the Śubhakṛtsna worlds corresponds to the third dhyāna, and is characterized by a quiet joy (sukha). These devas have bodies that radiate a steady light. The Śubhakṛtsna worlds form the upper limit to the destruction of the universe by water at the end of a mahākalpa (see Temporal cosmology below), that is, the flood of water does not rise high enough to reach them.
- Śubhakṛtsna or Subhakiṇṇa / Subhakiṇha (Tib: dge.rgyas) – The world of devas of "total beauty". Their lifespan is 64 mahākalpas (some sources: 4 mahākalpas) according to the Vibhajyavāda tradition. 64 mahākalpas is the interval between destructions of the universe by wind, including the Śubhakṛtsna worlds. The height of this world is 655,360 yojanas above the Earth.
- Apramāṇaśubha or Appamāṇasubha (Tib: tshad.med dge) – The world of devas of "limitless beauty". Their lifespan is 32 mahākalpas (Vibhajyavāda tradition). They possess "faith, virtue, learning, munificence and wisdom". The height of this world is 327,680 yojanas above the Earth.
Ābhāsvara worlds
- Parīttaśubha or Parittasubha (Tib: dge.chung) – The world of devas of "limited beauty". Their lifespan is 16 mahākalpas. The height of this world is 163,840 yojanas above the Earth.
The mental state of the devas of the Ābhāsvara worlds corresponds to the second dhyāna, and is characterized by delight (prīti) as well as joy (sukha); the Ābhāsvara devas are said to shout aloud in their joy, crying aho sukham! ("Oh joy!"). These devas have bodies that emit flashing rays of light like lightning. They are said to have similar bodies (to each other) but diverse perceptions.
The Ābhāsvara worlds form the upper limit to the destruction of the universe by fire at the end of a mahākalpa (see Temporal cosmology below), that is, the column of fire does not rise high enough to reach them. After the destruction of the world, at the beginning of the vivartakalpa, the worlds are first populated by beings reborn from the Ābhāsvara worlds.
- Ābhāsvara or Ābhassara (Tib: 'od.gsal) – The world of devas "possessing splendor". The lifespan of the Ābhāsvara devas is 8 mahākalpas (others: 2 mahākalpas). Eight mahākalpas is the interval between destructions of the universal by water, which includes the Ābhāsvara worlds. The height of this world is 81,920 yojanas above the Earth.
- Apramāṇābha or Appamāṇābha (Tib: tshad.med 'od) – The world of devas of "limitless light", a concept on which they meditate. Their lifespan is 4 mahākalpas. The height of this world is 40,960 yojanas above the Earth.
- Parīttābha or Parittābha (Tib: 'od chung) – The world of devas of "limited light". Their lifespan is 2 mahākalpas. The height of this world is 20,480 yojanas above the Earth.
Brahmā worlds
The mental state of the devas of the Brahmā worlds corresponds to the first dhyāna, and is characterized by observation (vitarka) and reflection (vicāra) as well as delight (prīti) and joy (sukha). The Brahmā worlds, together with the other lower worlds of the universe, are destroyed by fire at the end of a mahākalpa (see Temporal cosmology below).
- Mahābrahmā (Tib: tshangs.pa chen.po) – the world of "Great Brahmā", believed by many to be the creator of the world, and having as his titles "Brahmā, Great Brahmā, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, the Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be." According to the Brahmajāla Sutta (DN.1), a Mahābrahmā is a being from the Ābhāsvara worlds who falls into a lower world through exhaustion of his merits and is reborn alone in the Brahma-world; forgetting his former existence, he imagines himself to have come into existence without cause. Note that even such a high-ranking deity has no intrinsic knowledge of the worlds above his own. Mahābrahmā is 1 1⁄2 yojanas tall. His lifespan variously said to be 1 kalpa (Vibhajyavāda tradition) or 1 1⁄2 kalpas long (Sarvāstivāda tradition), although it would seem that it could be no longer than 3⁄4 of a mahākalpa, i.e., all of the mahākalpa except for the Saṃvartasthāyikalpa, because that is the total length of time between the rebuilding of the lower world and its destruction. It is unclear what period of time "kalpa" refers to in this case. The height of this world is 10,240 yojanas above the Earth.
- Brahmapurohita (Tib: tshangs.'khor) – the "Ministers of Brahmā" are beings, also originally from the Ābhāsvara worlds, that are born as companions to Mahābrahmā after he has spent some time alone. Since they arise subsequent to his thought of a desire for companions, he believes himself to be their creator, and they likewise believe him to be their creator and lord. They are 1 yojana in height and their lifespan is variously said to be 1⁄2 of a kalpa (Vibhajyavāda tradition) or a whole kalpa (Sarvāstivāda tradition). If they are later reborn in a lower world, and come to recall some part of their last existence, they teach the doctrine of Brahmā as creator as a revealed truth. The height of this world is 5,120 yojanas above the Earth.
Kāmadhātu
- Brahmapāriṣadya or Brahmapārisajja (Tib: tshangs.ris) – the "Councilors of Brahmā" or the devas "belonging to the assembly of Brahmā". They are also called Brahmakāyika, but this name can be used for any of the inhabitants of the Brahma-worlds. They are half a yojana in height and their lifespan is variously said to be 1⁄3 of a kalpa (Vibhajyavāda tradition) or 1⁄2 of a kalpa (Sarvāstivāda tradition). The height of this world is 2,560 yojanas above the Earth.
The beings born in the Kāmadhātu (Pāli: Kāmaloka; Tib: 'dod.pa'i khams) differ in degree of happiness, but they are all, other than arhats and Buddhas, under the domination of Māra and are bound by desire, which causes them suffering.
HeavensThe following four worlds are bounded planes. each 80,000 yojanas square, which float in the air above the top of Mount Sumeru. Although all of the worlds inhabited by devas (that is, all the worlds down to the Cāturmahārājikakāyika world and sometimes including the Asuras) are sometimes called "heavens", in the western sense of the word the term best applies to the four worlds listed below:
- Parinirmita-vaśavartin or Paranimmita-vasavatti (Tib: gzhan.'phrul dbang.byed) – The heaven of devas "with power over (others') creations". These devas do not create pleasing forms that they desire for themselves, but their desires are fulfilled by the acts of other devas who wish for their favor. The ruler of this world is called Vaśavartin (Pāli: Vasavatti), who has longer life, greater beauty, more power and happiness and more delightful sense-objects than the other devas of his world. This world is also the home of the devaputra (being of divine race) called Māra, who endeavors to keep all beings of the Kāmadhātu in the grip of sensual pleasures. Māra is also sometimes called Vaśavartin, but in general these two dwellers in this world are kept distinct. The beings of this world are 4,500 feet tall and live for 9,216,000,000 years (Sarvāstivāda tradition). The height of this world is 1,280 yojanas above the Earth.
- Nirmāṇarati or Nimmānaratī (Tib: 'phrul.dga' )– The world of devas "delighting in their creations". The devas of this world are capable of making any appearance to please themselves. The lord of this world is called Sunirmita (Pāli Sunimmita); his wife is the rebirth of Visākhā, formerly the chief of the upāsikās (female lay devotees) of the Buddha. The beings of this world are 3,750 feet tall and live for 2,304,000,000 years (Sarvāstivāda tradition). The height of this world is 640 yojanas above the Earth.
- Tuṣita or Tusita (Tib: dga'.ldan) – The world of the "joyful" devas. This world is best known for being the world in which a Bodhisattva lives before being reborn in the world of humans. Until a few thousand years ago, the Bodhisattva of this world was Śvetaketu (Pāli: Setaketu), who was reborn as Siddhārtha, who would become the Buddha Śākyamuni; since then the Bodhisattva has been Nātha (or Nāthadeva) who will be reborn as Ajita and will become the Buddha Maitreya (Pāli Metteyya). While this Bodhisattva is the foremost of the dwellers in Tuṣita, the ruler of this world is another deva called Santuṣita (Pāli: Santusita). The beings of this world are 3,000 feet tall and live for 576,000,000 years (Sarvāstivāda tradition). The height of this world is 320 yojanas above the Earth.
Worlds of Sumeru
- Yāma (Tib: 'thab.bral) – Sometimes called the "heaven without fighting", because it is the lowest of the heavens to be physically separated from the tumults of the earthly world. Its ruler is the deva Suyāma; according to some, his wife is the rebirth of Sirimā, a courtesan of Rājagṛha in the Buddha's time who was generous to the monks. The beings of this world are 2,250 feet tall and live for 144,000,000 years (Sarvāstivāda tradition). The height of this world is 160 yojanas above the Earth.
The world-mountain of Sumeru is an immense, strangely shaped peak which arises in the center of the world, and around which the Sun and Moon revolve. Its base rests in a vast ocean, and it is surrounded by several rings of lesser mountain ranges and oceans. The three worlds listed below are all located on or around Sumeru: the Trāyastriṃśa devas live on its peak, the Cāturmahārājikakāyika devas live on its slopes, and the Asuras live in the ocean at its base. Sumeru and its surrounding oceans and mountains are the home not just of these deities, but also vast assemblies of beings of popular mythology who only rarely intrude on the human world.
- Trāyastriṃśa or Tāvatiṃsa (Tib: sum.cu.rtsa.gsum.pa) – The world "of the Thirty-three (devas)" is a wide flat space on the top of Mount Sumeru, filled with the gardens and palaces of the devas. Its ruler is Śakra devānām indra, "lord of the devas". Besides the eponymous Thirty-three devas, many other devas and supernatural beings dwell here, including the attendants of the devas and many apsarases (nymphs). The beings of this world are 1,500 feet tall and live for 36,000,000 years (Sarvāstivāda tradition) or 3/4 of a yojana tall and live for 30,000,000 years (Vibhajyavāda tradition). The height of this world is 80 yojanas above the Earth.
- Cāturmahārājikakāyika or Cātummahārājika (Tib: rgyal.chen bzhi) – The world "of the Four Great Kings" is found on the lower slopes of Mount Sumeru, though some of its inhabitants live in the air around the mountain. Its rulers are the four Great Kings of the name, Virūḍhaka, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Virūpākṣa, and their leader Vaiśravaṇa. The devas who guide the Sun and Moon are also considered part of this world, as are the retinues of the four kings, composed of Kumbhāṇḍas (dwarfs), Gandharvas (fairies), Nāgas (dragons) and Yakṣas (goblins). The beings of this world are 750 feet tall and live for 9,000,000 years (Sarvāstivāda tradition) or 90,000 years (Vibhajyavāda tradition). The height of this world is from sea level up to 40 yojanas above the Earth.
Earthly realms
- Asura (Tib: lha.ma.yin) – The world of the Asuras is the space at the foot of Mount Sumeru, much of which is a deep ocean. It is not the Asuras' original home, but the place they found themselves after they were hurled, drunken, from Trāyastriṃśa where they had formerly lived. The Asuras are always fighting to regain their lost kingdom on the top of Mount Sumeru, but are unable to break the guard of the Four Great Kings. The Asuras are divided into many groups, and have no single ruler, but among their leaders are Vemacitrin (Pāli: Vepacitti) and Rāhu.
- Manuṣyaloka (Tib: mi) – This is the world of humans and human-like beings who live on the surface of the earth. The mountain-rings that engird Sumeru are surrounded by a vast ocean, which fills most of the world. The ocean is in turn surrounded by a circular mountain wall called Cakravāḍa (Pāli: Cakkavāḷa) which marks the horizontal limit of the world. In this ocean there are four continents which are, relatively speaking, small islands in it. Because of the immenseness of the ocean, they cannot be reached from each other by ordinary sailing vessels, although in the past, when the cakravartin kings ruled, communication between the continents was possible by means of the treasure called the cakraratna (Pāli cakkaratana), which a cakravartin and his retinue could use to fly through the air between the continents. The four continents are:
- Jambudvīpa or Jambudīpa is located in the south and is the dwelling of ordinary human beings. It is said to be shaped "like a cart", or rather a blunt-nosed triangle with the point facing south. (This description probably echoes the shape of the coastline of southern India.) It is 10,000 yojanas in extent (Vibhajyavāda tradition) or has a perimeter of 6,000 yojanas (Sarvāstivāda tradition) to which can be added the southern coast of only 3 1⁄2 yojanas' length. The continent takes its name from a giant Jambu tree (Syzygium cumini), 100 yojanas tall, which grows in the middle of the continent. Every continent has one of these giant trees. All Buddhas appear in Jambudvīpa. The people here are five to six feet tall and their length of life varies between 80,000 and 10 years.
- Pūrvavideha or Pubbavideha is located in the east, and is shaped like a semicircle with the flat side pointing westward (i.e., towards Sumeru). It is 7,000 yojanas in extent (Vibhajyavāda tradition) or has a perimeter of 6,350 yojanas of which the flat side is 2,000 yojanas long (Sarvāstivāda tradition). Its tree is the acacia. The people here are about 12 feet tall and they live for 250 years.
- Aparagodānīya or Aparagoyāna is located in the west, and is shaped like a circle with a circumference of about 7,500 yojanas (Sarvāstivāda tradition). The tree of this continent is a giant Kadambu tree. The human inhabitants of this continent do not live in houses but sleep on the ground. They are about 24 feet tall and they live for 500 years.
- Uttarakuru is located in the north, and is shaped like a square. It has a perimter of 8,000 yojanas, being 2,000 yojanas on each side. This continent's tree is called a kalpavṛkṣa (Pāli: kapparukkha) or kalpa-tree, because it lasts for the entire kalpa. The inhabitants of Uttarakuru are said to be extraordinarily wealthy. They do not need to labor for a living, as their food grows by itself, and they have no private property. They have cities built in the air. They are about 48 feet tall and live for 1,000 years, and they are under the protection of Vaiśravaṇa.
- Tiryagyoni-loka or Tiracchāna-yoni (Tib: dud.'gro) – This world comprises all members of the animal kingdom that are capable of feeling suffering, from the smallest insect to the elephant.
- Pretaloka or Petaloka (Tib: yi.dvags) – The pretas, or "hungry ghosts", are mostly dwellers on earth, though due to their mental state they perceive it very differently from humans. They live for the most part in desert and waste places.
Narakas
Naraka or Niraya (Tib: dmyal.ba) is the name given to one of the worlds of greatest suffering, usually translated into English as "hell" or "purgatory". As with the other realms, a being is born into one of these worlds as a result of his karma, and resides there for a finite length of time until his karma has achieved its full result, after which he will be reborn in one of the higher worlds as the result of an earlier karma that had not yet ripened. The mentality of a being in the hells corresponds to states of extreme fear and helpless anguish in humans.
Physically, Naraka is thought of as a series of layers extending below Jambudvīpa into the earth. There are several schemes for counting these Narakas and enumerating their torments. One of the more common is that of the Eight Cold Narakas and Eight Hot Narakas.
Cold Narakas
- Arbuda – the "blister" Naraka
- Nirarbuda – the "burst blister" Naraka
- Aṭaṭa – the Naraka of shivering
- Hahava – the Naraka of lamentation
- Huhuva – the Naraka of chattering teeth
- Utpala – the "blue lotus" Naraka
- Padma – the "lotus" Naraka
- Mahāpadma – the "great lotus" Naraka
Each lifetime in these Narakas is twenty times the length of the one before it.
Hot NarakasThe foundations of the earth
- Sañjīva – the "reviving" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 162*1010 years long.
- Kālasūtra – the "black thread" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 1296*1010 years long.
- Saṃghāta – the "crushing" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 10,368*1010 years long.
- Raurava – the "screaming" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 82,944*1010 years long.
- Mahāraurava – the "great screaming" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 663,552*1010 years long.
- Tapana – the "heating" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 5,308,416*1010 years long.
- Pratāpana – the "great heating" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 42,467,328*1010 years long.
- Avīci – the "uninterrupted" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 339,738,624*1010 years long.
All of the structures of the earth, Sumeru and the rest, extend downward to a depth of 80,000 yojanas below sea level – the same as the height of Sumeru above sea level. Below this is a layer of "golden earth", a substance compact and firm enough to support the weight of Sumeru. It is 320,000 yojanas in depth and so extends to 400,000 yojanas below sea level. The layer of golden earth in turn rests upon a layer of water, which is 8,000,000 yojanas in depth, going down to 8,400,000 yojanas below sea level. Below the layer of water is a "circle of wind", which is 16,000,000 yojanas in depth and also much broader in extent, supporting 1,000 different worlds upon it.
Sahasra cosmologyWhile the vertical cosmology describes the arrangement of the worlds vertically, the sahasra (Sanskrit: "thousand") cosmology describes how they are grouped horizontally. The four heavens of the Kāmadhātu, as mentioned, occupy a limited space no bigger than the top of Mount Sumeru. The three Brahmā-worlds, however, stretch out as far as the mountain-wall of Cakravāḍa, filling the entire sky. This whole group of worlds, from Mahābrahmā down to the foundations of water, constitutes a single world-system. It corresponds to the extent of the universe that is destroyed by fire at the end of one mahākalpa.
Above Mahābrahmā are the Ābhāsvara worlds. These are not only higher but also wider in extent; they cover 1,000 separate world-systems, each with its own Sumeru, Cakravāḍa, Sun, Moon, and four continents. This system of 1,000 worlds is called a sāhasra-cūḍika-lokadhātu, or "small chiliocosm". It corresponds to the extent of the universe that is destroyed by water at the end of 8 mahākalpas.
Above the Ābhāsvara worlds are the Śubhakṛtsna worlds, which cover 1,000 chiliocosms, or 1,000,000 world-systems. This larger system is called a dvisāhasra-madhyama-lokadhātu, or "medium dichiliocosm". It corresponds to the extent of the universe that is destroyed by wind at the end of 64 mahākalpas.
Likewise, above the Śubhakṛtsna worlds, the Śuddhāvāsa and Bṛhatphala worlds cover 1,000 dichiliocosms, or 1,000,000,000 world-systems. This largest grouping is called a trisāhasra-mahāsāhasra-lokadhātu or "great trichiliocosm".
Temporal cosmologyBuddhist temporal cosmology describes how the universe comes into being and is dissolved. Like other Indian cosmologies, it assumes an infinite span of time and is cyclical. This does not mean that the same events occur in identical form with each cycle, but merely that, as with the cycles of day and night or summer and winter, certain natural events occur over and over to give some structure to time.
The basic unit of time measurement is the mahākalpa or "Great Eon". The exact length of this time in human years is never defined exactly, but it is meant to be very long, to be measured in billions of years if not longer.
A mahākalpa is divided into four kalpas or "eons", each distinguished from the others by the stage of evolution of the universe during that kalpa. The four kalpas are:
- Vivartakalpa "Eon of evolution" – during this kalpa the universe comes into existence.
- Vivartasthāyikalpa "Eon of evolution-duration" – during this kalpa the universe remains in existence in a steady state.
- Saṃvartakalpa "Eon of dissolution" – during this kalpa the universe dissolves.
- Saṃvartasthāyikalpa "Eon of dissolution-duration" – during this kalpa the universe remains in a state of emptiness.
Each one of these kalpas is divided into twenty antarakalpas (Pāli antarakappa, "inside eons") each of about the same length. For the Saṃvartasthāyikalpa this division is merely nominal, as nothing changes from one antarakalpa to the next; but for the other three kalpas it marks an interior cycle within the kalpa.
VivartakalpaThe Vivartakalpa begins with the arising of the primordial wind, which begins the process of building up the structures of the universe that had been destroyed at the end of the last mahākalpa. As the extent of the destruction can vary, the nature of this evolution can vary as well, but it always takes the form of beings from a higher world being born into a lower world. The example of a Mahābrahmā being the rebirth of a deceased Ābhāsvara deva is just one instance of this, which continues throughout the Vivartakalpa until all the worlds are filled from the Brahmaloka down to Naraka. During the Vivartakalpa the first humans appear; they are not like present-day humans, but are beings shining in their own light, capable of moving through the air without mechanical aid, living for a very long time, and not requiring sustenance; they are more like a type of lower deity than present-day humans are.
Over time, they acquire a taste for physical nutriment, and as they consume it, their bodies become heavier and more like human bodies; they lose their ability to shine, and begin to acquire differences in their appearance, and their length of life decreases. They differentiate into two sexes and begin to become sexually active. Then greed, theft and violence arise among them, and they establish social distinctions and government and elect a king to rule them, called Mahāsammata, "the great appointed one". Some of them begin to hunt and eat the flesh of animals, which have by now come into existence. These developments are described in the Aggañña Sutta (DN.27).
VivartasthāyikalpaFirst antarakalpa
The Vivartasthāyikalpa begins when the first being is born into Naraka, thus filling the entire universe with beings. During the first antarakalpa of this eon, human lives are declining from a vast but unspecified number of years (but at least several tens of thousands of years) toward the modern lifespan of less than 100 years. At the beginning of the antarakalpa, people are still generally happy. They live under the rule of a universal monarch or "wheel-turning king" (cakravartin), who conquer. The Mahāsudassana-sutta (DN.17) tells of the life of a cakravartin king, Mahāsudassana (Sanskrit: Mahāsudarśana) who lived for 336,000 years. The Cakkavatti-sīhanāda-sutta (DN.26) tells of a later dynasty of cakravartins, Daḷhanemi (Sanskrit: Dṛḍhanemi) and five of his descendants, who had a lifespan of over 80,000 years. The seventh of this line of cakravartins broke with the traditions of his forefathers, refusing to abdicate his position at a certain age , pass the throne on to his son, and enter the life of a śramaṇa. As a result of his subsequent misrule, poverty increased; as a result of poverty, theft began; as a result of theft, capital punishment was instituted; and as a result of this contempt for life, murders and other crimes became rampant.
The human lifespan now quickly decreased from 80,000 to 100 years, apparently decreasing by about half with each generation (this is perhaps not to be taken literally), while with each generation other crimes and evils increased: lying, adultery, evil speech, greed and hatred, wrong views, incest and other sorts of sexual abnormalities, disrespect for parents and elders. During this period, according to the Mahāpadāna-sutta (DN.14) three of the four Buddhas of this antarakalpa lived: Krakucchanda Buddha (Pāli: Kakusandha), at the time when the lifespan was 40,000 years; Kanakamuni Buddha (Pāli: Konāgamana) when the lifespan was 30,000 years; and Kāśyapa Buddha (Pāli: Kassapa) when the lifespan was 20,000 years.
Our present time is taken to be toward the end of the first antarakalpa of this Vivartasthāyikalpa, when the lifespan is less than 100 years, after the life of Śākyamuni Buddha (Pāli: Sakyamuni), who lived to the age of 80.
The remainder of the antarakalpa is prophesied to be miserable: lifespans will continue to decrease, and all the evil tendencies of the past will reach their ultimate in destructiveness. People will live no longer than ten years, and will marry at five; foods will be poor and tasteless; no form of morality will be acknowledged. The most contemptuous and hateful people will become the rulers. Incest will be rampant. Hatred between people, even members of the same family, will grow until people think of each other as hunters do of their prey.
Eventually a great war will ensue, in which the most hostile and aggressive will arm themselves and go out to kill each other. The less aggressive will hide in forests and other secret places while the war rages. This war marks the end of the first antarakalpa.
Second antarakalpaAt the end of the war, the survivors will emerge from their hiding places and repent their evil habits. As they begin to do good, their lifespan increases, and the health and welfare of the human race will also increase with it. After a long time, the descendants of those with a 10-year lifespan will live for 80,000 years, and at that time there will be a cakravartin king named Saṅkha. During his reign, the current bodhisattva in the Tuṣita heaven will descend and be reborn under the name of Ajita. He will enter the life of a śramaṇa and will gain perfect enlightenment as a Buddha; and he will then be known by the name of Maitreya (Pāli: Metteyya).
After Maitreya's time, the world will again worsen, and the lifespan will gradually decrease from 80,000 years to 10 years again, each antarakalpa being separated from the next by devastating war, with peaks of high civilization and morality in the middle. After the 19th antarakalpa, the lifespan will increase to 80,000 and then not decrease, because the Vivartasthāyikalpa will have come to an end.
SaṃvartakalpaThe Saṃvartakalpa begins when beings cease to be born in Naraka. This cessation of birth then proceeds in reverse order up the vertical cosmology, i.e. pretas then cease to be born, then animals, then humans, and so on up to the realms of the deities.
When these worlds as far as the Brahmaloka are devoid of inhabitants, a great fire consumes the entire physical structure of the world. It burns all the worlds below the Ābhāsvara worlds. When they are destroyed, the Saṃvartasthāyikalpa begins.
SaṃvartasthāyikalpaThere is nothing to say about the Saṃvartasthāyikalpa, since nothing happens in it below the Ābhāsvara worlds. It ends when the primordial wind begins to blow and build the structure of the worlds up again.
Other destructionsThe destruction by fire is the normal type of destruction that occurs at the end of the Saṃvartakalpa. But every eighth mahākalpa, after seven destructions by fire, there is a destruction by water. This is more devastating, as it eliminates not just the Brahma worlds but also the Ābhāsvara worlds.
Every sixty-fourth mahākalpa, after 56 destructions by fire and 7 destructions by water, there is a destruction by wind. This is the most devastating of all, as it also destroys the Śubhakṛtsna worlds. The higher worlds are never destroyed."
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_cosmology. -- Zugriff am 2007-01-03]
"Beings suffer in Woeful states in accordance with their Kamma. Their age-limit differs according to the gravity of the evil deed. Some are short-lived, and some are long-lived. Mallika, the queen of King Pasenadi of Kosala, for in stance, had to suffer in a woeful state for only seven days. Devadatta, on the other hand, is destined to suffer for an aeon. At times, earth, bound deities live for only seven days."
[Quelle: Anuruddha ; Nārada <Mahāthera> <1898 - 1983>: A manual of Abhidhamma : being Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha of Bhadanta Anuruddhācariya / ed. in the orig. Pāli text with English transl. and explanatory notes by Nārada Mahā Thera. - 5., rev. ed.. - Kuala Lumpur : Buddhist Missionary Soc., 1987. - VI, 451 S. -- ISBN 967-9920-59-3. -- S. 246.]
Abb.: Buddhistische Darstellung einer Hölle, Wat Saen Suk (แสนสุข), Bang Saen,
Thailand, 2005.
[Bildquelle: Michael Sarver. -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsarver/72315946/. -- Zugriff am 2007-01-03. --
Creative Commons Lizenz (Namensnennung, keine kommerzielle Nutzung)]
"Niraya = nir + aya; devoid of happiness. According to Buddhism there are several 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 good states as the result of their past good actions." [Quelle: Anuruddha ; Nārada <Mahāthera> <1898 - 1983>: A manual of Abhidhamma : being Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha of Bhadanta Anuruddhācariya / ed. in the orig. Pāli text with English transl. and explanatory notes by Nārada Mahā Thera. - 5., rev. ed.. - Kuala Lumpur : Buddhist Missionary Soc., 1987. - VI, 451 S. -- ISBN 967-9920-59-3. -- S. 237.]
"Niraya (hell) Various lists of Nirayas are found in the books. In the Jātaka Commentary* occurs the following:
- Sañjīva,
- Kālasutta,
- Sanghāta,
- Jālaroruva,
- Dhūmaroruva,
- Mahāvīci,
- Tapana,
- Patāpana.
The Samyutta and Anguttara Nikāyas and the Sutta Nipāta contain a different list:
- Abbuda,
- Nirabbuda,
- Ababa,
- Atata,
- Ahaha,
- Kumuda,
- Sogandhika,
- Uppala,
- Pundarīka,
- Paduma (S.i.149; A.v.173; SN.p.126; see also Dvy. 67).
The Commentaries explain (E.g., AA.ii.853) that these are not separate Nirayas but specified periods of suffering in Avīci. The Devadūta Sutta (M.iii.185) of the Majjhima Nikāya contains yet another list:
- Gūtha,
- Kukkula,
- Simbalivana,
- Asipattavana and
- Khārodakanadī.
Other names, also, occur sporadically e.g.,
- Khuradhāra (J.v.269),
- Kākola (J.vi.247),
- Sataporisa (J.v.269) and
- Sattisūla (J.v.143).
The most fearful of the Nirayas is, however, the Avīci-mahā-niraya (see s.v. Avīci).
* J.v.266, 271; the same list is found in Dvy.67, except that Raurava is substituted for Jalaroruva and Mahāraurava for Dhūmaroruva. "
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
Abb.: Buddhistische Darstellung einer Hölle, Wat Saen Suk (แสนสุข), Bang Saen, Thailand, 2005.
[Bildquelle: Michael Sarver. -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsarver/72316065/. -- Zugriff am 2007-01-03. --
"Naraka नरक (Sanskrit) or Niraya िनरय (Pāli) (Ch: 那落迦 (variant 捺落迦) Nàlùojiā or 地獄 Dì Yù; Jp: Jigoku or 奈落 Naraku; Tib: དམྱལ་བ་ dmyal.ba) is the name given to one of the worlds of greatest suffering in Buddhist cosmology. Naraka is usually translated into English as "hell" or "purgatory". A Naraka differs from the hells of western religions in two respects. First, beings are not sent to Naraka as the result of a divine judgment and punishment; second, the length of a being's stay in a Naraka is not eternal, though it is usually very long.
Instead, a being is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her previous karma (actions of body, speech and mind), and resides there for a finite length of time until his karma has achieved its full result. After his karma is used up, he will be reborn in one of the higher worlds as the result of an earlier karma that had not yet ripened.
The mentality of a being in the hells corresponds to states of extreme fear and helpless anguish in humans.
Physically, Naraka is thought of as a series of cavernous layers which extend below Jambudvīpa (the ordinary human world) into the earth. There are several schemes for enumerating these Narakas and describing their torments. One of the more common is that of the Eight Cold Narakas and Eight Hot Narakas, which are described below.
Cold Narakas
- Arbuda – the "blister" Naraka. This is a dark, frozen plain surrounded by icy mountains and continually swept by blizzards. Inhabitants of this world arise fully grown and abide life-long naked and alone, while the cold raises blisters upon their bodies. The length of life in this Naraka is said to be the time it would take to empty a barrel of sesame seed if one only took out a single seed every hundred years.
- Nirarbuda – the "burst blister" Naraka. This Naraka is even colder than the one above, and here the blisters burst open, leaving the beings' bodies covered with frozen blood and pus.
- Aṭaṭa – the Naraka of shivering. Here the beings shiver in the cold, making an aṭ-aṭ-aṭ sound with their mouths.
- Hahava – the Naraka of lamentation. Here the beings lament in the cold, going ha, ho in pain.
- Huhuva – the Naraka of chattering teeth. Here the beings shiver as their teeth chatter, making the sound hu, hu.
- Utpala – the "blue lotus" Naraka. Here the intense cold makes the skin turn blue like the color of an utpala waterlily.
- Padma – the "lotus" Naraka. In this Naraka the blizzard cracks open the frozen skin leaving one raw and bloody.
- Mahāpadma – the "great lotus" Naraka. Here the whole body cracks into pieces and the internal organs are exposed to the cold and they also crack.
Each lifetime in these Narakas is twenty times the length of the one before it.
Hot Narakas
- Sañjīva – the "reviving" Naraka. In this Naraka the ground is made out of hot iron heated by an immense fire. Beings in this Naraka appear fully grown, already in a state of fear and misery. As soon as the being begins to fear being harmed by others, their fellows appear and attack each other with iron claws. Or else, the attendants of Yama appear and attack the being with many fiery weapons. As soon as the being experiences an unconsciousness like death, they are suddenly restored to full health and the attacks begin again. Other tortures experienced in this Naraka are having melted metal drop on them, being sliced into pieces, and suffering from the heat of the iron ground. Life in this Naraka is 162*1010 years long. It is said to be 1000 yojanas beneath Jambudvīpa and 10,000 yojanas in each direction.
- Kālasūtra – the "black thread" Naraka. Here, in addition to the torments mentioned above, black lines are drawn upon the body, and Yama's servants cut the beings upon the lines with fiery saws and sharp axes. Life in this Naraka is 1296*1010 years long.
- Saṃghāta – the "crushing" Naraka. This Naraka is also upon a ground of hot iron, but is surrounded by huge masses of rock that smash together and crush the beings to a bloody jelly. When the rocks move apart again, life is restored to the being and the process starts again. Life in this Naraka is 10,368*1010 years long.
- Raurava – the "screaming" Naraka. Here beings run here and there looking for refuge from the burning ground. When they find an apparent shelter, they are locked inside it as it blazes around them, while they scream inside. Life in this Naraka is 82,944*1010 years long.
- Mahāraurava – the "great screaming" Naraka. Similar to the Raurava Naraka, but with greater pains. Life in this Naraka is 663,552*1010 years long.
- Tapana – the "heating" Naraka. Here Yama's servants impale the beings on a fiery spear until flames issue from their noses and mouths. Life in this Naraka is 5,308,416*1010 years long.
- Pratāpana – the "great heating" Naraka. The tortures here are similar to the Tapana Naraka, but the beings are pierced more bloodily with a trident. Life in this Naraka is 42,467,328*1010 years long. It is also said to last for the length of half an antarakalpa.
- Avīci – the "uninterrupted" Naraka. Beings are roasted in an immense blazing oven with terrible suffering. Life in this Naraka is 339,738,624*1010 years long. It is also said to last for the length of an antarakalpa.
These Narakas by no means exhaust the tale of possible sufferings. Some sources reckon five hundred or even hundreds of thousands of different Narakas. In Chinese Buddhist texts, the numbers and types of Narakas were elaborated in a variety of creative ways; see Di Yu for examples of this sort of treatment.
The sufferings of the dwellers in Naraka often resemble those of the Pretas, and the two types of being are easily confused. The simplest distinction is that beings in Naraka are confined to their subterranean world, while the Pretas are free to move about.
Narakas in Buddhist literature
Descriptions of the Narakas are a common subject in some forms of Buddhist commentarial and popular literature, as a caution against the fate that befalls evildoers and an encouragement to virtue.
The Mahāyāna Sūtra of Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha [地藏菩薩] (Dìzàng or Jizō) graphically describes the sufferings in Naraka and explains how ordinary people can transfer merit in order to relieve the sufferings of the beings there.
The traditional Chinese Buddhist story of Mulian [目連] explains how this disciple of the Buddha spiritually journeyed to Naraka to help his mother, who had been reborn there, obtain a better rebirth.
The Japanese monk Genshin [源信] began his Ōjōyōshu ("Essentials of Salvation") with a description of the suffering in Naraka. Tibetan Lamrim [ལམ་རིམ་] texts also included a similar description.
Chinese Buddhist texts considerably enlarged upon the description of Naraka (地獄 Dì Yù), detailing additional Narakas and their punishments, and expanding the role of Yama [閻羅] and his helpers, Ox-Head [牛頭] and Horse-Face [馬面]. In these texts, Naraka became an integral part of the otherworldly bureaucracy which mirrored the Imperial Chinese administration."
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naraka_%28Buddhism%29. -- Zugriff am 2007-01-03]
"Tiracchāna = tiro, across; acchāna, going. Animals are so called because as a rule quadrupeds walk horizontally. 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. Strictly speaking, it should be said that an animal may manifest itself in the form of a human being, 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. An animal may be born in a blissful state as a result of the good Kamma accumulated in the past. There are at times certain animals, particularly dogs and cats, who live a more comfortable life than even human beings. It is also due to their past good Kamma. It is one's Kamma that determines the nature of one's material form, which varies according to the skill or unskilfulness of one's actions. And this again depends entirely on the evolution of one's understanding of reality. "
[Quelle: Anuruddha ; Nārada <Mahāthera> <1898 - 1983>: A manual of Abhidhamma : being Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha of Bhadanta Anuruddhācariya / ed. in the orig. Pāli text with English transl. and explanatory notes by Nārada Mahā Thera. - 5., rev. ed.. - Kuala Lumpur : Buddhist Missionary Soc., 1987. - VI, 451 S. -- ISBN 967-9920-59-3. -- S. 237f.]
"The position and treatment of animals in Buddhism is important for the light it sheds on Buddhists' perception of their own relation to the natural world, on Buddhist humanitarian concerns in general, and on the relationship between Buddhist theory and Buddhist practice. Animals in Buddhist doctrine
Unlike those religions and philosophies which regard animals as soulless automata incapable of thought or feeling, animals have always been regarded in Buddhist thought as sentient beings, less intellectually advanced than humans but no less capable of feeling suffering. Moreover, the doctrine of rebirth held that any human could be reborn as an animal, and any animal could be reborn as a human. An animal might be the rebirth of a dead relative, and if you looked far enough back in one's infinite series of lives, would eventually have to be related to you in some way. One could not, therefore, make a hard distinction between moral rules applicable to animals and those applicable to people; ultimately humans and animals were part of a single family.
In cosmological terms, the animals were believed to inhabit a distinct "world", separated from humans not by space but by state of mind. This world was called Tiryagyoni in Sanskrit, Tiracchānayoni in Pāli. Rebirth as an animal was considered to be one of the unhappy rebirths, usually involving more than human suffering. Buddhist commentarial texts speak movingly of the many sufferings that animals endure: even where no human beings are present, they are attacked and eaten by other animals or live in fear of it, they endure extreme changes of environment throughout the year, they have no security of habitation. Those that live among humans are often slaughtered for their bodies, or taken and forced to work with many beatings until they are slaughtered at the end of their lives. On top of this, they suffer from ignorance, not knowing or understanding what is happening to them with any clarity, and unable to do very much about it, acting primarily on instinct.
Animals in the JātakasThe Jātaka stories which tell of past lives of the Buddha in folktale fashion, frequently involve animals as peripheral or main characters, and it is not uncommon for the Bodhisattva (the past-life Buddha) to appear as an animal as well. The stories sometimes involve animals alone, and sometimes involve conflicts between humans and animals; in the latter cases, the animals often exhibit characteristics of kindness and generosity that are absent in the humans.
Treatment of animalsThe first of the five precepts bans the taking of life. In its most stringent formulation, this applies only to the killing of human beings; however, from the beginnings of Buddhism, there were also regulations intended to prevent the harming of animals as well. Monks were forbidden from intentionally killing an animal, or drinking water with living creatures in it.
Concern for the treatment of animals is attested back to the beginnings of Buddhist history. The first Buddhist monarch of India, Aśoka, includes in his Edicts an expression of concern for the number of animals that had been killed for his meals, and expresses an intention to put an end to this killing. He also includes animals with humans as the beneficiaries of his programs for obtaining medicinal plants, planting trees and digging wells. In his fifth Pillar Edict, Aśoka decrees the protection of a large number of animals that were not in common use as livestock; protects from slaughter young animals and mother animals still milking their young; protects forests from being burned, expressly to protect the animals living in them; and bans a number of other practices hurtful to animals. In this Aśoka was carrying out the advice to the Cakravartin king given in the Cakkavattisīhanāda-sutta (DN.26) that a good king should extend his protection not merely to different classes of people equally, but also to beasts and birds.
Vegetarianism
Most Buddhists in most countries, including monks, are not vegetarians. The eating of meat is not explicitly prohibited in the sūtras and Vinaya of the Pāli canon, which encourage monks to accept whatever food they are given. However, they are forbidden from accepting animal flesh if they know, believe or suspect that the animal in question was killed especially for them, i.e., if the visits of begging monks have become an occasion for the slaughter of animals.
Although vegetarianism is not expressly commanded in the Pāli canon, it is evidently viewed as an ideal state from which human beings have fallen; the Aggañña Sutta (DN.27) explains how human beings, originally sustained on various kinds of vegetable matter, as the result of increasing wickedness began to live by hunting, which was originally thought of as a demeaning occupation.
In Mahāyāna Chinese Buddhism and in those countries whose Buddhism comes from China (Korea, Japan, Vietnam), Buddhist monks are more strictly vegetarian. One of the scriptural sources for this prohibition is the Mahāyāna Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra [入楞伽經]. This sūtra condemns meat-eating in the strongest terms; among several other reasons, it is stated that it should be avoided because the presence of a meat-eater causes terror in animals, who believe them to be likely to kill them.
Release of animals
In East Asian Buddhism and particularly in China, the release of animals, particularly birds or fish, into their natural environment became an important way of demonstrating Buddhist piety. In China it was known as fang sheng. This practice is based on a passage in the Mahāyāna Sūtra of Brahma's Net (Ch: Fanwang Jing), which states that "...all the beings in the six paths of existence are my parents. If I should kill and eat them, it is the same as killing my own parents. ... Since to be reborn into one existence after another is the permanent and unalterable law, we should teach people to release sentient beings." In the later Ming dynasty, societies "for releasing life" were created, which built ponds in which to release fish that were redeemed from fishermen for this purpose. They also bought other animals which were sold in the markets and released them."
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animals_in_Buddhism. -- Zugriff am 2007-01-03]
"Peta = pa + ita; lit., departed beings, or (those) absolutely devoid of happiness. They are not disembodied spirits or ghosts. Although they possess material forms, generally they are invisible to the physical eye. They have no plane of their own, but live in forests, dirty surroundings, etc." [Quelle: Anuruddha ; Nārada <Mahāthera> <1898 - 1983>: A manual of Abhidhamma : being Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha of Bhadanta Anuruddhācariya / ed. in the orig. Pāli text with English transl. and explanatory notes by Nārada Mahā Thera. - 5., rev. ed.. - Kuala Lumpur : Buddhist Missionary Soc., 1987. - VI, 451 S. -- ISBN 967-9920-59-3. -- S. 238.]
"Preta (Sanskrit) or Peta (Pāli), Tibetan yi.dvags, is the name for a type of supernatural being described in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain texts that undergoes more than human suffering, particularly an extreme degree of hunger and thirst. Etymology
The word preta is derived from Sanskrit pra ita, literally "(one who is) gone forth" and originally referred to any of the spirits of the deceased - compare the English use of "the departed". It later became confined to a type of unhappy or malevolent spirit, and as such it was taken up by Buddhists to describe one of several possible states of postmortem existence.
DescriptionPretas are invisible to the human eye, but some believe they can be discerned by humans in certain mental states. They are described as human-like, but with sunken, mummified skin, narrow limbs, enormously distended bellies and long, thin necks. This appearance is a metaphor for their mental situation: they have enormous appetites, signified by their gigantic bellies, but a very limited ability to satisfy those appetites, symbolized by their slender necks.
Pretas dwell in the waste and desert places of the earth, and vary in situation according to their past karma. Some of them can eat a little, but find it very difficult to find food or drink. Others can find food and drink, but find it very difficult to swallow. Others find that the food they eat seems to burst into flames as they swallow it. Others, if they see something edible or drinkable and desire it, it withers or dries up before their eyes. As a result, they are always hungry.
In addition to hunger, Pretas suffer from immoderate heat and cold; they find that even the moon scorches them in the summer, while the sun freezes them in the winter.
The sufferings of the Pretas often resemble those of the dwellers in Naraka, and the two types of being are easily confused. The simplest distinction is that beings in Naraka are confined to their subterranean world, while the Pretas are free to move about."
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preta. -- Zugriff am 2007-01-03]
"In Japanese Buddhism, Gaki (餓鬼, "hungry ghosts") are the spirits of jealous or greedy people who, as punishment for their mortal vices, have been cursed with an insatiable hunger for a particular substance or object. Traditionally, this is something repugnant or humiliating, such as human corpses or feces, though in more recent legends, it may be virtually anything, no matter how bizarre. Gaki are often depicted in Japanese art (particularly that from the Heian period) as emaciated human beings with bulging stomachs and inhumanly small mouths and throats. They are frequently shown licking up spilled water in temples or accompanied by demons representing their personal agony. Alternately, they may be shown as balls of smoke or fire.
Gaki are generally little more than nuisances to mortals unless their longing is directed toward something vital, such as blood. However, in some traditions, gaki try to prevent others from satisfying their own desires by means of magic, illusions, or disguises. They can also turn invisible or change their faces to frighten mortals.
Generally, however, gaki are seen as souls to be pitied. Thus, in some zen monasteries, monks leave offerings of food, money, or flowers to them before meals, and since 657, some Japanese Buddhists have observed a special day in mid-August to remember the gaki. Through such offerings and remembrances (segaki), it is believed that the hungry ghosts may be released from their eternal torment.
In the modern Japanese language, the word gaki is often used to mean spoilt child, or brat. In a game of tag, the person who is "it" may be known as the "gaki.""
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaki. -- Zugriff am 2007-01-03]
"In Japanese Buddhism, jikininki (Japanese: 食尸鬼, "man-eating ghosts") are the spirits of greedy, selfish or impious individuals who are cursed after death to seek out and eat human corpses. They do this at night, scavenging for newly dead bodies and food offerings left for the dead. They sometimes also loot the corpses they eat for valuables, which they use to bribe local officials to leave them in peace. Nevertheless, jikininki lament their condition and hate their repugnant cravings for dead human flesh. Often, jikininki are said to look like decomposing cadavers, perhaps with a few inhuman features such as sharp claws or glowing eyes. They are a horrifying sight, and any mortal who views one finds himself frozen in fear. However, several stories give them the ability to magically disguise themselves as normal human beings and even to lead normal "lives" by day.
Jikininki are preta of the 26th class in Japanese Buddhism. They are also sometimes considered a form of rakshasa or gaki ("hungry ghosts"). In the latter case, they may be freed from their deplorable existence through remembrances and offerings (segaki).
Jikininki is also the title of a feature film directed by Ted Geoghegan."
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jikininki. -- Zugriff am 2007-01-03]
"Asura - lit., those who do not sport or those who do not shine. These Asuras should be distinguished from another class of Asuras who are opposed to Devas, and who live in the Tāvatiṃsa plane." [Quelle: Anuruddha ; Nārada <Mahāthera> <1898 - 1983>: A manual of Abhidhamma : being Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha of Bhadanta Anuruddhācariya / ed. in the orig. Pāli text with English transl. and explanatory notes by Nārada Mahā Thera. - 5., rev. ed.. - Kuala Lumpur : Buddhist Missionary Soc., 1987. - VI, 451 S. -- ISBN 967-9920-59-3. -- S. 238.]
"Asura In Pali Literature the Asuras are classed among the inferior deities together with the
- supannas,
- gandhabbas,
- yakkhas (DA.i.51),
- garulas and
- nāgas (Mil.117).
Rebirth as an Asura is considered as one of the four unhappy rebirths or evil states (apāyā), the others being niraya, tiracchānayoni and pettivisaya (E.g., It.93; J.vi.595; J.v.186; Pv.iv.11).
The fight between the Devas and the Asuras is mentioned even in the oldest books of the Tipitaka and is described in identical words in several passages (E.g., D.ii.285; S.i.222; iv.201ff; v.447; M.i.253; A.iv.432; also S.i.216ff).
A chief or king of the Asuras is often referred to as Asurinda (*), several Asuras being credited with the role of leader, most commonly, however, Vepacitti (E.g., S.i.222; iv.201ff; J.i.205) and Rahu (A.ii.17, 53; iii.243).
(*) Sakka was also called Asurinda and Asurādhipa; see, e.g., J.i.66 (Asurindena pavitthadevanagaram viya) and J.v.245, where we are told that from the time he conquered the Asuras he was called Asurādhipa.
Besides these we find Pahārāda (A.iv.197, 200) (v.l. Mahābhadda), Sambara (S.i.227), Verocana (S.i.225; probably another name for Rāhu, see DA.ii.689), Bali (D.ii.259), Sucitti (D.ii.269) and Namucī (D.ii.269).
The Asuras are spoken of as dwelling in the ocean after having been conquered by Vajira-hattha (Indra, elsewhere, [J.v.139] called Asurappamaddana) and are called Vāsava's brethren, of wondrous powers and of great glory. They were present at the preaching of the Mahā Samaya Sutta (see DA.ii.689). Buddhaghosa says that they were all descendants of an Asura maiden named Sujātā. This cannot be the Sujātā, Vepacitti's daughter, whom Sakka married (J.i.205-6). See also Dānavā.
There were evidently several classes of Asuras, and two are mentioned in the Pitakas, the Kālakañjakas and the Dānaveghasas. The Dānaveghasas carried bows in their hands. The Kālakañjakas were of fearsome shape (D.ii.259), and were considered the lowest among the Asuras (D.iii.7; see also Kālañkajaka and Vepacitti).
Once the Asuras dwelt in Tāvatimsa together with the devas. When Magha Mānavaka was born as Sakka, he did not relish the idea of sharing a kingdom with others, and having made the Asuras drunken, he had them hurled by their feet on to the steeps of Sineru. There they tumbled into what came to be known as the Asurabhanava, on the lowest level of Sineru, equal in extent to Tāvatimsa. Here grew the Cittapātalī tree, and when it blossomed the Asuras knew they were no longer in the deva-world.
Wishing to regain their kingdom, they climbed Sineru, "like ants going up a pillar." When the alarm was given, Sakka went out to give battle to them in the ocean, but being worsted in the fight, he fled in his Vejayantaratha. Fearing that his chariot hurt the young Garulas, he had it turned back. The Asuras, thinking that Sakka had obtained reinforcements, turned and fled right into the Asurabhavana. Sakka went back to his city and in that moment of victory, the Vejayantapāsāda sprang up from the ground. To prevent the Asuras from coming back again, Sakka set up as guard in five places Nāgas, Garulas, Kumbhandas, Yakkhas and the Four Great Kings. Everywhere were images of Indra bearing the thunderbolt in his hand. (J.i.202-4; DhA.i.272-80; the same story, differing slightly in details, is found in SnA.484-5). There it is said that when Sakka was born among them, the Asuras received him with great cordiality; see also the various incidents of the Asura war mentioned in the Samyutta Nikāya I. 216ff.
The Asuras are sometimes called Pubbadevā (SnA.484) and their kingdom is 10,000 leagues in extent. SnA.485; elsewhere, in the same page, it is given as 100,000 leagues.
In Buddhaghosa's time, the bygone lustre of the word Asura (as equivalent to Ahura) seems to have faded. His explanation (SA.i.260) of the name is interesting. When Sakka was born with his followers in the Asura-world (which later became Tāvatimsa) the Asuras prepared a drink called gandapāna. Sakka warned his companions not to drink it, but the Asuras became drunk and were thrown down Sineru. Halfway down they regained consciousness and made a vow never to drink intoxicants (surd) again; hence their name Asura.
The Anguttara Commentary (ii.526) defines Asura as bībhaccha, awful, vile. They had a drum called ālambara, made of a crab's claw. They left it behind in their flight from Sakka, and since then Sakka has the use of it (J.ii.344).
A story is told by the Buddha (S.2, v.446) of a man who once saw a whole army with its four divisions enter a lotus stalk and the man thought he was mad. But the Buddha says that it was an Asura army in flight. Here the Asuras would seem to be fairies or nature spirits."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Manussa - lit., those who have an uplifted or developed mind (mano ussannaṃ etesaṃ). Its Sanskrit equivalent is Manuṣya, which means the sons of Manu. They are so called because they became civilized after Manu the seer. The human realm is a mixture of both pain and happiness. Bodhisattas prefer the human realm, as they get a better opportunity to serve the world and perfect the requisites for Buddhahood. Buddhas are always born as human beings. "
[Quelle: Anuruddha ; Nārada <Mahāthera> <1898 - 1983>: A manual of Abhidhamma : being Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha of Bhadanta Anuruddhācariya / ed. in the orig. Pāli text with English transl. and explanatory notes by Nārada Mahā Thera. - 5., rev. ed.. - Kuala Lumpur : Buddhist Missionary Soc., 1987. - VI, 451 S. -- ISBN 967-9920-59-3. -- S. 238f.]
"Devā. - A class of beings. As a title the word Deva is attributed to any being regarded, in certain respects, as being above the human level. Thus it is used for a king. In a late classification (CNid.307; KhA.123, etc.) there are three kinds of Deva:
- sammutidevā (conventional gods - e.g., kings and princes);
- visuddhidevā (beings who are divine by the purity of their great religious merit - arahants and Buddhas);
- uppattidevā (beings who are born divine).
Under the third category various groups are enumerated, the commonest number being seven:
- Cātummahārājikā,
- Tāvatimsā,
- Yāmā,
- Tusitā,
- Nimmānaratī,
- Paranimmitavasavattī
- Brahmakāyikā
(E.g., D.i.216; A.i.210, etc.).
The longest list is that of the Majjhima Nikāya (i.289; iii.100. The Divyāvadāna p.266 contains a list of twenty-two), which contains the names of twenty-five groups.
The popular etymology of the word connects it with the root div in the sense of playing, sporting, or amusing oneself, sometimes also of shining: dibbantī ti devā, pañcahi kāmagunehi kīlanti, attano vā siriyā jotantī ti attho (KhA.123). The word implies possession of splendour and power of moving at will, beauty, goodness and effulgence of body, and, as such, is opposed to the dark powers of mischief and destruction - such as the Asuras, Petas and Nerayikas.
The Devas are generally regarded as sharing kinship and continuity of life with humans; all Devas have been men and may again be born among men. They take interest in the doings of men, especially the Cātummahārājikā and the gods of Tāvatimsa. They come to earth to worship the Buddha and to show reverence to good men. Sakka (q.v.) is usually spoken of as chief of the gods - devānam indo.
All Devas are themselves in samsāra, needing salvation. They are subject to death, their life-spans varying according to the merit of each individual deva. They are born in the full flower of youth and are free from illness till the moment of their death. Devas die from one of the following causes: exhaustion of life, merit or food; failing, through forgetfulness, to eat; and jealousy at the glory of another, which leads to anger. (DhA.l.173; for other particulars regarding devas see the article in the NPD).
When a deva is about to die five signs appear on him:
- his clothes get soiled,
- flowers worn by him fade,
- sweat exudes from his armpits,
- his body loses its colour and he becomes restless on his seat.
DA.ii.427f; DhSA, 33, etc. "
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Cātummahārājikā The inhabitants of the lowest (Cātummahārājika) deva world.
This world derives its name from the Four Great Kings (Cattāro Mahārājāno) who dwell there as guardians of the four quarters;
- Dhatarattha of the East,
- Virūlhaka of the South,
- Virūpakkha of the West, and
- Vessarana of the North (D.ii.207f; iii.194f).
They keep large retinues consisting, respectively, of Gandhabbas, Kumbhandas, Nāgas and Yakkhas, all of whom dwell in the same world as their lords and accompany them on their travels. These kings are mentioned (D.ii.257f) as having undertaken the protection of the Buddha from the moment of his conception in his mother's womb, and in the Ātānātiya Sutta, they appear as protectors not only of the Buddha but also of his followers (See, e.g., DhA.ii.146; iii.96).
The Four Kings appear to have been regarded as Recorders of the happenings in the assemblies of the devas (D.ii.225). On the eighth day of the lunar half-month, they send their councillors out into the world to discover if men cultivate righteousness and virtue; on the fourteenth day they send their sons, on the fifteenth day they themselves appear in the world, all these visits having the same purpose. Then, at the assembly of the devas, they submit their report to the gods of Tāvatimsa, who rejoice or lament according as to whether men prosper in righteousness or not (A.i.142f.; for more details see AA.i.376f).
These four Gods surpass the other inhabitants of their worlds in ten ways - beauty, length of life, etc. - because their merit is greater than that of the others (A.iv.242).
Besides these Regent Gods and their followers, other dwellers are to be found in their world - the Khiddāpadosikā, the Manopadosikā, the Sitavalāhakā, the Unhavalāhakā, and the devaputtas Candima and Suriya (VibhA.519; MNidA.108).
Life in the Cātummahārājikā world lasts, according to human computation, ninety thousand years (DA.ii.472, 647, but see Kvu.207). Beings are born there as a result of various acts of piety and faith which, however, are based on motives not very exalted (A.iv.60).
The Cātummahārājikā world is situated half-way up Mount Sineru. Some of the devas of the world dwell in the mountain, others in the sky. (On these gods see Moulton: Zoroastrianism 22-7, 242.)"
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"The age-limit of gods of the Realm of Four Kings is 500 celestial years (26), that is, according to human reckoning, 9,000,000." [Quelle: Anuruddha ; Nārada <Mahāthera> <1898 - 1983>: A manual of Abhidhamma : being Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha of Bhadanta Anuruddhācariya / ed. in the orig. Pāli text with English transl. and explanatory notes by Nārada Mahā Thera. - 5., rev. ed.. - Kuala Lumpur : Buddhist Missionary Soc., 1987. - VI, 451 S. -- ISBN 967-9920-59-3. -- S. 244.]
Abb.: Statues of the Four Heavenly Kings. From left to right:
Vaiśravaṇa,
Virūḍhaka,
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and
Virūpākṣa
/ Photographs taken in Beihai
Park (北海公园), Beijing (北京), China on
November, 11th, 2004 by Rolf Müller
[Bildquelle. Wikipedia]
Die Cattāro Mahārājāno
Sanskrit Name Vaiśravaṇa वैस्रवण (Kubera कुभॆर) Virūḍhaka विरूधक Dhṛtarāṣṭra ध्र्तराश्त्र Virūpākṣa विरुपाक्श Pāli Name Vessavaṇa (Kuvera कुवॆरा) Virūḷhaka विरूल्हक Dhataraṭṭha धतराथ्थ Virūpakkha विरूपाख्ख Meaning “He who hears everything” “He who enlarges” or “Patron of Growth” "He who maintains the state" or “Watcher of the Lands” "He who sees all" Traditional Chinese 多聞天 增長天 持國天 廣目天 Simplified Chinese 多闻天 增长天 持国天 广目天 Hànyŭ Pīnyīn Duō Wén Tiān Zēng Cháng Tiān Chí Guó Tiān Guăng Mù Tiān Korean Name Damun Cheonwang 다문천왕
Jeungjang Cheonwang 증장천왕
Jiguk Cheonwang 지국천왕
Gwangmok Cheonwang 광목천왕
Japanese characters 多聞天 or 毘沙門
増長天 持國天 or 治國天
廣目天 Japanese Name Tamonten or Bishamon Zōchōten Jikokuten Kōmokuten Tibetan Name rnam.thos.sras (Namthöse)
'phags.skyes.po (Phakyepo)
yul.'khor.srung (Yülkhorsung)
spyan.mi.bzang (Chenmizang)
Color Yellow Blue White Red Symbol Umbrella, Mongoose Sword Pipa Serpent, Small stupa or pearl Followers Yakṣas Kumbhāṇḍas Gandharvas Nāgas Direction North South East West [Quelle der Tabelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Heavenly_Kings. -- Zugriff am 2007-01-03]
"Tāvatiṃsa The second of the six deva-worlds, the first being the Cātummahārājika world. Tāvatimsa stands at the top of Mount Sineru (or Sudassana). Sakka is king of both worlds, but lives in Tāvatimsa. Originally it was the abode of the Asuras; but when Māgha was born as Sakka and dwelt with his companions in Tāvatimsa he disliked the idea of sharing his realm with the Asuras, and, having made them intoxicated, he hurled them down to the foot of Sineru, where the Asurabhavana was later established.
The chief difference between these two worlds seems to have been that the Pāricchattaka tree grew in Tāvatimsa, and the Cittapātali tree in Asurabhavana. In order that the Asuras should not enter Tāvatimsa, Sakka had five walls built around it, and these were guarded by Nāgas, Supannas, Kumbhandas, Yakkhas and Cātummahārājika devas (J.i.201ff; also DhA.i.272f). The entrance to Tāvatimsa was by way of the Cittakūtadvārakotthaka, on either side of which statues of Indra (Indapatimā) kept guard (J.vi.97). The whole kingdom was ten thousand leagues in extent (DhA.i.273), and contained more than one thousand pāsādas (J.vi.279). The chief features of Tāvatimsa were its parks - the Phārusaka, Cittalatā, Missaka and Nandana - the Vejayantapāsāda, the Pāricchatta tree, the elephant-king Erāvana and the Assembly-hall Sudhammā (J.vi.278; MA.i.183; cp. Mtu.i.32). Mention is also made of a park called Nandā (J.i.204). Besides the Pāricchataka (or Pārijāta) flower, which is described as a Kovilāra (A.iv.117), the divine Kakkāru flower also grew in Tāvatimsa (J.iii.87). In the Cittalatāvana grows the āsāvatī creeper, which blossoms once in a thousand years (J.iii.250f).
It is the custom of all Buddhas to spend the vassa following the performance of the Yamakapātihāriya, in Tāvatimsa. Gotama Buddha went there to preach the Abhidhamma to his mother, born there as a devaputta. The distance of sixty-eight thousand leagues from the earth to Tāvatimsa he covered in three strides, placing his foot once on Yugandhara and again on Sineru.
The Buddha spent three months in Tāvatimsa, preaching all the time, seated on Sakka's throne, the Pandukambalasilāsana, at the foot of the Pāricchattaka tree. Eighty crores of devas attained to a knowledge of the truth. This was in the seventh year after his Enlightenment (J.iv.265; DhA.iii.216f; BuA. p.3). It seems to have been the frequent custom of ascetics, possessed of iddhi-power, to spend the afternoon in Tāvatimsa (E.g., Nārada, J.vi.392; and Kāladevala, J.i.54).
Moggallāna paid numerous visits to Tāvatimsa, where he learnt from those dwelling there stories of their past deeds, that he might repeat them to men on earth for their edification (VvA. p.4).
The Jātaka Commentary mentions several human beings who were invited by Sakka, and who were conveyed to Tāvatimsa - e.g. Nimi, Guttila, Mandhātā and the queen Sīlavatī. Mandhātā reigned as co-ruler of Tāvatimsa during the life period of thirty-six Sakkas, sixty thousand years (J.ii.312). The inhabitants of Tāvatimsa are thirty-three in number, and they regularly meet in the Sudhammā Hall. (See Sudhammā for details). A description of such an assembly is found in the Janavasabha Sutta. The Cātummahārājika Devas (q.v.) are present to act as guards. Inhabitants of other deva- and brahma-worlds seemed sometimes to have been present as guests - e.g. the Brahmā Sanankumāra, who came in the guise of Pañcasikha. From the description given in the sutta, all the inhabitants of Tāvatimsa seem to have been followers of the Buddha, deeply devoted to his teachings (D.ii.207ff). Their chief place of offering was the Cūlāmanicetiya, in which Sakka deposited the hair of Prince Siddhattha, cut off by him when he renounced the world and put on the garments of a recluse on the banks of the Nerañjarā (J.i.65). Later, Sakka deposited here also the eye-tooth of the Buddha, which Doha hid in his turban, hoping to keep it for himself (DA.ii.609; Bu.xxviii.6, 10).
The gods of Tāvatimsa sometimes come to earth to take part in human festivities (J.iii.87). Thus Sakka, Vissakamma and Mātali are mentioned as having visited the earth on various occasions. Mention is also made of goddesses from Tāvatimsa coming to bathe in the Anotatta and then spending the rest of the day on the Manosilātala (J.v.392).
The capital city of Tāvatimsa was Masakkasāra (Ibid., p.400). The average age of an inhabitant of Tāvatimsa is thirty million years, reckoned by human computation. Each day in Tāvatimsa is equal in time to one hundred years on earth (DhA.i.364). The gods of Tāvatimsa are most handsome; the Licchavis, among earth-dwellers, are compared to them (DhA.iii.280). The stature of some of the Tāvatimsa dwellers is three-quarters of a league; their undergarment is a robe of twelve leagues and their upper garment also a robe of twelve leagues. They live in mansions of gold, thirty leagues in extent (Ibid., p.8). The Commentaries (E.g., SA.i.23; AA.i.377) say that Tāvatimsa was named after Magha and his thirty-two companions, who were born there as a result of their good deeds in Macalagāma. Whether the number of the chief inhabitants of this world always remained at thirty-three, it is impossible to say, though some passages, e.g. in the Janavasabha Sutta, lead us to suppose so.
Sometimes, as in the case of Nandiya, who built the great monastery at Isipatana, a mansion would appear in Tāvatimsa, when an earth-dweller did a good deed capable of obtaining for him birth in this deva-world; but this mansion would remain unoccupied till his human life came to an end (DhA.iii.291). There were evidently no female devas among the Thirty-three. Both Māyā and Gopikā (q.v.) became devaputtas when born in Tāvatimsa. The women there were probably the attendants of the devas. (But see, e.g., Jālini and the various stories of VvA).
There were many others besides the Thirty-three who had their abode in Tāvatimsa. Each deva had numerous retinues of attendants, and the dove-footed (kaktgapādiniyo) nymphs (accharā) of Tāvatimsa are famous in literature for their delicate beauty. The sight of these made Nanda, when escorted by the Buddha to Tāvatimsa, renounce his love for Janapadakalyānī Nandā (J.ii.92; Ud.iii.2).
The people of Jambudīpa excelled the devas of Tāvatimsa in courage, mindfulness and piety (A.iv.396). Among the great achievements of Asadisakumāra was the shooting of an arrow as far as Tāvatimsa (J.ii.89).
Tāvatimsa was also known as Tidasa and Tidiva (q.v.)."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"The Trāyastriṃśa (Sanskrit; Pāli Tāvatiṃsa) heaven is an important world of the devas in Buddhist cosmology. The word trāyastriṃśa is an adjective formed from the numeral trayastriṃśat, "33", and can be translated in English as "belonging to the thirty-three [devas]". It is primarily the name of the second heaven in Buddhist cosmology, and secondarily used of the devas who dwell there. The Trāyastriṃśa heaven is the fifth of the heavens of the Kāmadhātu, and the highest of the heavens that maintains a physical connection with the rest of the world. Trāyastriṃśa is located on the peak of Sumeru, the central mountain of the world, at a height of 80,000 yojanas (a height sometimes equated to about 40,000 feet); the total area of the heaven is 80,000 yojanas square. This heaven is therefore comparable to the Greek Olympus in some respects.
According to Vasubandhu, inhabitants of Trāyastriṃśa are each half a krośa tall (about 1500 feet) and live for 1000 years, of which each day is equivalent to 100 years of our world: that is, for a total of 36 million of our years.
Since Trāyastriṃśa is physically connected to the world through Sumeru, unlike the heavens above it, the Trāyastriṃśa gods are unable to avoid being entangled in worldly affairs. In particular, they frequently find themselves in quarrels with the Asuras, semi-divine beings who were long ago expelled from Trāyastriṃśa, at the beginning of the reign of the present Śakra and who now dwell at the foot of Sumeru, plotting for ways to recover their lost kingdom. There is, however, marriage between the Trāyastriṃśa devas and the Asuras, just as there is between the Æsir and the jötnar in Norse mythology.
The chief of the Trāyastriṃśa gods is Śakra (Pāli Sakka). Others of the Trāyastriṃśa gods who are frequently mentioned are Viśvakarman (Vissakamma), the gods' craftsman and builder; Mātali, who drives Śakra's chariot; and Sujā, Śakra's wife and daughter of the Asura chief Vemacitrin.
The Trāyastriṃśa heaven appears several times in Buddhist stories, in which either the Buddha ascends to Trāyastriṃśa, or (more often) deities from Trāyastriṃśa descend to meet the Buddha. The Buddha's mother, Māyādevī, was reborn in Trāyastriṃśa (or by other accounts in the Tuṣita heaven) and was visited by her son, who taught her Abhidharma.
The "thirty-three" in the name of the heaven is not an enumeration of the gods who live there (there are far more) but a general term inherited from Vedic mythology, implying "the whole pantheon of gods". Hindu mythology provides a full list (with some variations) of thirty-three named deities, but it is inconsistent with the Buddhist conception and mythology of these devas."
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trayastrimsa. -- Zugriff am 2007-01-03]
"Yāmā. A class of Devas, mentioned in lists of devas between those of Tāvatimsa and those of Tusita (E.g., Vin.i.12, A.i.228; iii.287; M.ii.194; iii.100, etc.).
Two hundred years of human life are but one day to the Yāma devā, and two thousand Years, composed of such days, form their life period (A.i.213; iv.253). Sirimā, sister of Jīvaka, was born after death in the Yāma world and became the wife of Suyāma, king of Yāmabhavana. From there she visited the Buddha with five hundred others. SNA i.244f.; see also VvA.246 for an upāsaka born in the Yāma-world.
In the Hatthipāla Jātaka (J.iv.475) mention is made of four Yāma-devas who were reborn as men.
The meaning of Yāmā is explained in the Commentaries (E.g., VibhA.519; PSA.441) as "those that have attained divine bliss" (dibbam sukham yātā payātā sampattā ti Yāmā). Other explanations are “misery freed" or "governing gods”. Compendium, p.138, n.2."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Tusita. - The fourth of the six deva worlds (A.i.210, etc.). Four hundred years of human life are equal to one day of the Tusita world and four thousand years, so reckoned, is the term of life of a deva born in Tusita (A.i.214; iv.261, etc.).
Sometimes Sakadāgāmins (e.g., Purāna and Isidatta) are born there (A.iii.348; v.138; also DhA.i.129; UdA.149, 277).
It is the rule for all Bodhisattas to be born in Tusita in their last life but one; then, when the time comes for the appearance of a Buddha in the world, the devas of the ten thousand world systems assemble and request the Bodhisatta to be born among men. Great rejoicings attend the acceptance of this request (A.ii.130; iv.312; DhA.i.69f; J.i.47f).
Gotama's name, while in Tusita, was Setaketu (Sp.i.161), and the Bodhisatta Metteyya, the future Buddha, is now living in Tusita under the name of Nathadeva.
The Tusita world is considered the most beautiful of the celestial worlds, and the pious love to be born there because of the presence of the Bodhisatta (Mhv.xxxii.72f).
Tusita is also the abode of each Bodhisatta's parents (DhA.i.110).
The king of the Tusita world is Santusita; he excels his fellows in ten respects - beauty, span of life, etc. (A.iv.243; but see Cv.lii.47, where the Bodhisatta Metteyya is called the chief of Tusita).
Among those reborn in Tusita are also mentioned Dhammika, Anāthapindika, Mallikā, the thera Tissa (Tissa 10), Mahādhana and Dutthagāmani.
The Tusita devas are so-called because they are full of joy (tuttha-hatthāti Tusitā) (VibhA.519; NidA.109)."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Nimmāṇaratī A class of devas, inhabiting the fifth of the six deva-worlds. (D.i.218; M.i.289, etc.; S.i.133, etc.; A.i.210, etc.
For their life span see Compendium 140f.
They are so called because they delight in their own creations. They can create any form in any colour. NidA.109; RA.234; VibhA.519."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Paranimmita Vasavattī A class of devas, inhabitants of the highest stage of the sensuous universe (kāma-loka).
They are described (E.g., A.i.210, etc.; S.v.410, 423; D.ii.91; iii.218) as "beings who desire the creation of others, in order to get them into their power."
The Commentary (DA.iii.1001; ItvA. 243 f.; see also MNidA.109; PSA.441; VibhA.519) explains that the objects of their desires are created by other devas who know their weakness, just as a cook, knowing the king's favourite dishes, will prepare them for him. It adds that, according to some authorities, their desires are fulfilled by a mere look, a smile, an embrace, but this statement is rejected by the ancient Commentary."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Brahmlakoka The highest of the celestial worlds, the abode of the Brahmas. It consists of twenty heavens:
- the nine ordinary Brahma-worlds,
- the five Suddhāvāsā,
- the four Arūpa worlds (see loka),
- the Asaññasatta and
- the Vehapphala (e.g., VibhA.521).
All except the four Arūpa worlds are classed among the Rūpa worlds (the inhabitants of which are corporeal). The inhabitants of the Brahma worlds are free from sensual desires (but see the Mātanga Jātaka, (J.497), where Ditthamangalikā is spoken of as Mahābrahmabhariyā, showing that some, at least, considered that Mahābrahmas had wives).
The Brahma world is the only world devoid of women (DhA.i.270); women who develop the jhānas in this world can be born among the Brahmapārisajjā (see below), but not among the Mahābrahmas (VibhA.437f). Rebirth in the Brahma world is the result of great virtue accompanied by meditation (Vsm.415). The Brahmas, like the other celestials, are not necessarily sotāpanna or on the way to complete knowledge (sambodhi-parāyanā); their attainments depend on the degree of their faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. See, e.g., A.iv.76f.; it is not necessary to be a follower of the Buddha for one to be born in the Brahma world; the names of six teachers are given whose followers were born in that world as a result of listening to their teaching (A.iii.371ff.; iv.135ff.).
The Jātakas contain numerous accounts of ascetics who practised meditation, being born after death in the Brahma world (e.g., J.ii.43, 69, 90; v.98, etc.). Some of the Brahmas - e.g., Baka - held false views regarding their world, which, like all other worlds, is subject to change and destruction (M.i.327). When the rest of the world is destroyed at the end of a kappa, the Brahma world is saved (Vsm.415; KhpA.121), and the first beings to be born on earth come from the Ābhassara Brahma world (Vsm.417). Buddhas and their more eminent disciples often visit the Brahma worlds and preach to the inhabitants. E.g., M.i.326 f.; ThagA.ii.184ff.; Sikhī Buddha and Abhibhū are also said to have visited the Brahma world (A.i.227f.). The Buddha could visit it both in his mind made body and his physical body (S.v.282f.).
If a rock as big as the gable of a house were to be dropped from the lowest Brahma-world it would take four months to reach the earth travelling one hundred thousand leagues a day. Brahmas subsist on trance, abounding in joy (sappītikajjhāna), this being their sole food. SA.i.161; food and drinks are offered to Mahābrahmā, and he is invited to partake of these, but not of sacrifices (SA.i.158 f.). Anāgāmins, who die before attaining arahantship, are reborn in the Suddhāvāsā Brahma-worlds and there pass away entirely (see, e.g., S.i.35, 60, and Compendium v.10). The beings born in the lowest Brahma world are called Brahma-pārisajjā; their life term is one third of an asankheyya kappa; next to them come the Brahma-purohitā, who live for half an asankheyya kappa; and beyond these are the Mahā Brahmas who live for a whole asankheyya kappa (Compendium, v.6; but see VibhA.519f., where Mahā Brahmās are defined).
The term Brahmakāyikā-devā seems to be used as a class-name for all the inhabitants of the Brahma-worlds (A.i.210; v.76f).
The Mahā Niddesa Commentary (p.109) says that the word includes all the five (?) kinds of Brahmā (sabbe pi pañca vokāra Brahmāno gahitā).
The BuA.p.10 thus defines the word Brahmā: brūhito tehi tehi gunavisesahī ti=Brahmā. Ayam pana Brahmasaddo Mahā-Brahma-brāhmana-Thathāgata mātāpitu-setthādisu dissati.
The Samantapāsādikā (i.131) speaks of a Mahā Brahmā who was a khināsava, living for sixteen thousand kappas. When the Buddha, immediately after his birth, looked around and took his steps northward, it was this Brahmā who seized the babe by his finger and assured him that none was greater than he.
The names of several Brahmās occur in the books - e.g.,
- Tudu
- Nārada
- Ghatikāra
- Baka
- Sanankumāra
- Sahampatī
To these should be added the names of seven Anāgāmīs resident in Avihā and other Brahma worlds
- Upaka
- Phalagandu
- Pukkusāti
- Bhaddiya
- Khandadeva
- Bāhuraggi
- Pingiya
(S.i.35, 60; SA.i.72 etc.).
Baka speaks of seventy two Brahmās, living, apparently, in his world, as his companions (S.i.142).
See also Tissa Brahmā.
These are described as Mahā Brahmās. Mention is also made of Pacceka Brahmās - e.g., Subrahmā and Suddhavāsa (S.i.146f).
Tudu is also sometimes described as a Pacceka Brahmā (e.g., S.i.149). Of the Pacceka Brahmās, Subrahmā and Suddhavāsa are represented as visiting another Brahmā, who was infatuated with his own power and glory, and as challenging him to the performance of miracles, excelling him therein and converting him to the faith of the Buddha. Tudu is spoken of as exhorting Kokālika to put his trust in Sāriputta and Moggallāna (Loc. Cit.)
No explanation is given of the term Pacceka Brahmā. Does it mean Brahmās who dwelt apart, by themselves? Cp. Pacceka-Buddha.
The Brahmās are represented as visiting the earth and taking an interest in the affairs of men. Thus, Nārada descends from the Brahma-world to dispel the heresies of King Angati (J.vi.242f). When the Buddha hesitates to preach his doctrine, because of its profundity, it is Sahampati who visits him and begs him to preach it for the welfare of the world. The explanation given (e.g., at SA.i.155) is that the Buddha waited for the invitation of Sahampati that it might lend weight to his teaching. The people were followers of Brahmā, and Sahampati's acceptance of the Buddha's leadership would impress them deeply.
Sahampatī is mentioned as visiting the Buddha several times subsequently, illuminating Jetavana with the effulgence of his body. It is said that with a single finger he could illuminate a whole Cakkavāla (SA.i.158). Sanankumāra was also a follower of the Buddha. The Brahmās appear to have been in the habit of visiting the deva worlds too, for Sanankumāra is reported as being present at an assembly of the Tāvatimsa gods and as speaking there the Buddha's praises and giving an exposition of his teaching. But, in order to do this, he assumed the form of Pañcasikha (D.ii.211ff).
The books refer (e.g., at D.i.18, where Brahmā is described as vasavattī issaro kattā nimmātā, etc.) to the view held, at the Buddha's time, of Brahmā as the creator of the universe and of union with Brahmā as the highest good, only to be attained by prayers and sacrifices. But the Buddha himself did not hold this view amid does not speak of any single Brahmā as the highest being in all creation. See, however, A.v.59f., where Mahā Brahmā, is spoken of as the highest denizen of the Sahassalokadhātu (yāvatā sahassalokadhātu, Mahā-Brahmā tattha aggam akkhāyati); but he, too, is impermanent (Mahā-Brahmūno pi . . . atthi eva aññathattam, atthi viparināmo).
There are Mahā Brahmās, mighty and powerful (abhibhū anabhibhūto aññadatthudaso vasavattī), but they too, all of them, and their world are subject to the laws of Kamma. E.g., at S.v.410 (Brahmaloko pi āvuso anicco adhuvo sakkāyapariyāpanno sādhāyasmā Brahmalokā cittam vutthāpetvā sakkāyanirodhacittam upasamharāhi). See also A.iv.76f., 104f., where Sunetta, in spite of all his great powers as Mahā Brahmā, etc., had to confess himself still subject to suffering.
To the Buddha, union with Brahmā seems to have meant being associated with him in his world, and this can only be attained by cultivation of those qualities possessed by the Brahmā. But the highest good lay beyond, in the attainment of Nibbāna. Thus in the Tevijjā Sutta; see also M.ii.194f.
The word Brahma is often used in compounds meaning highest and best - e.g., Brahmacariyā, Brahmassara; for details see Brahma in the New Pāli Dictionary."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
Stereotype Formel:
paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu vivicc'eva kāmehi, vivicca akusalehi dhammehi, savitakkaṃ savicāraṃ vivekajaṃ pītisukhaṃ paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati
Erster Versenkungszustand: Da, ihr Mönche, gewinnt ein Mönch, abgeschieden von den Sinnengenüssen, abgeschieden von unheilsamen Bewusstseinszuständen, den ersten Versenkungszustand, der mit Reflexion (innerem Sprechen) verbunden ist (Gedankenfassung und diskursivem Denken), der aus Abgeschiedenheit entstanden ist, der von Begeisterung und stillem Glück begleitet ist, und verweilt in diesem Versenkungszustand.
z.B. Vibhaṅga 235
Stereotype Formel:
dutiyaṃ jhānaṃ Vitakkavicārānaṃ vūpasamā ajjhattaṃ sampasādanaṃ cetaso ekodibhāvaṃ avitakkaṃ avicāraṃ samadhijaṃ pīti-sukhaṃ dutiyaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati
Zweiter Versenkungszustand: Nach Stillwerden der Reflexion (des inneren Sprechens) gewinnt er die innere Abklärung, die Einheit des Bewusstseins, den zweiten Versenkungszustand, der von Reflexion (innerem Sprechen) frei ist, der aus Sammlung (samādhi) entstanden ist, der von Begeisterung und stillem Glück begleitet ist, und verweilt in diesem Versenkungszustand.
z.B. Vibhaṅga 235
"Parittābhā A class of devas included among the ābhā gods (M.iii.102).
They belong to the plane of the second jhāna (VibhA.520).
Beings are born there by virtue of absorbing the idea of lesser brilliancy (M.iii.147).
Their life span is two kappas. AbhS.22."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Appamāṇābhā A class of devas of the Rūpaloka, belonging to the plane of second jhāna (Abhs., p.21).
Their life-term is four kappas (Abhs., p.23; see also Kvu.207; VibhA.520).
Beings are born there who have absorbed the idea of boundless brilliancy (M.iii.147), or who are possessed of faith, virtue, learning, munificence and wisdom. M.iii.102."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Ābhassara A Brahma-world where live radiant devas from whose bodies rays of light are emitted, like lightning. It belongs to the Rūpaloka and is in the plane of second jhāna (Abhs. v.3; Compendium 138, n.4). The devas living there subsist on joy (pītibhakkha) (S.i.114.; DhA.iii.258; J.vi.55).
Their span of life is two kappas and there is no guarantee that a person who has been born there may not later be reborn in an unhappy condition (A.ii.127; but see Abhs. v.6, where their life-span is given as eight kappas).
From time to time these devas utter shouts of joy saying "aho sukham, aho sukham." This sound is the best of sounds. These devas are completely enveloped in ease (sukhena abhisaññā parisaññā) (A.iii.202; D. iii.219).
Their world forms the third station of consciousness (viññānatthiti), they are of uniform body, but their perceptions are diverse (ekattakāyā nānat-tasaññino) (A.iv.40, 401; D.ii.69; D.iii.253).
During the periods of the development of the world many beings are born in the Abhassara realm and they are then called the highest of the devas, yet even they change their condition (A.v.60). In lists of devas (E.g., M.i.289) they are given below the Appamānābhā and above the Subhā.
Bodhisattas are sometimes born in the ābhassara world (AA.i.73; J.i.406, 473; M.i.329; , MA.i.553; SA.i.162), but they are never born in Arūpa worlds even when they have developed Arūpa-jhānas. Baka Brahmā was born in ābhassara after having passed through Vehapphala and Subhakinna, and it was then that he conceived the belief that he was eternal.
The Buddha visited him and convinced him of the error of his belief (J.iii.359). When the universe is dissolved after the lapse of a long epoch and is again evolved, beings are mostly born in the ābhassara world. When, sooner or later, the world begins to re-evolve (vivattati), the Brahmavimāna appears, but it is empty. Then some being or other, either because he has finished his life there or because his merit is exhausted, leaves the ābhassara world and is reborn in the Brahmavimāna. Others follow his example, and it is then that the first to be reborn in the Brahma-world thinks of himself as Brahmā, the eternal, etc. (D.iii.29).
When inhabitants of the ābhassara-world are reborn as humans, their existence continues to be like that which they had in the brahma-world itself. As time goes on, however, they lose their qualities and develop the characteristics, both physical and mental, of human beings (For details see D.iii.84ff., PsA.253). Buddhaghosa (DA.iii.865) says that their birth on earth is opapātika (by spontaneous regeneration) and they are mind-born (manomaya).
On the occasions when the world is destroyed by fire, the fire spread up to the ābhassara-world; when by water, the water rises to the Subhakinna; when by wind, the wind reaches to the Vehapphala (CypA.9).
According to Buddhaghosa (MA.i.29; VibhA.520; cp. DA.ii.510), the ābhassaras are so called because radiance spreads from their bodies in all directions, like flames from a torch (dandadīpikāya acci viya etesam sarīrato ābhā chijjitvā chijjitvā patantī viya sarati visaratī ti Abhassarā).
According to the scholiast of the Candābha Jātaka (q.v.), beings who meditate on the Sun and Moon are born in this world. The Moon appears at the wish of the Abhassara Brahmās. See Candimā."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
Stereotype Formel:
tatiyaṃ jhānaṃ pītiyā ca virāgā upekkhako ca viharati sato ca sampajāno, sukhañ ca kāyena paṭisamvedeti; yan taṃ ariyā acikkhanti "upekkhako satimā sukha-viharī ti" tatiyaṃ jhānaṃ upsampajja viharati
Dritter Versenkungszustand Nach der Aufhebung der Verzückung verweilt er gleichmütig, in Achtsamkeit und Bewusstseinsklarheit und fühlt mit seinem Körper stilles Glück und erreicht den dritten Versenkungszustand, von dem die edlen sagen "Glücklich weilt der Gleichmütige, der Achtsame". Und er verweilt in diesem Versenkungszustand
z.B. Vibhaṅga 235f.
"Parittasubhā. A class of devas belonging to the Subhas (M.iii.102). Beings are born among them after attaining the third jhāna (VibhA. 507). Their life span is sixteen kappas. AbhS. 23." [Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Appamāṇasubhā A class of devas of the Rupaloka belonging to the plane of third jhāna(Abhs.p.21).
Their life-term is thirty-two aeons (kappas) (Abhs.p.23; see also Kvu.207; VibhA.520).
Beings are born there who are possessed of faith, virtue, learning, munificence and wisdom. M.iii.102."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Subhakiṇṇā, Subhakiṇhā A class of Brahmas who occupy the ninth Rūpa-world; a division of the Subha devā (M.iii.102; D.ii.69; M.i.2, etc. Compendium, p.138). Beings are born in that world as a result of developing the third jhāna, and their life span is sixty four kappas (MA.i.553 and SA.i.162; but see A.ii.127, 129, where their life is given as four kappas).
They are filled and pervaded with happiness and are serenely blissful; they experience only sublime happiness, unlike the Abhassarā, who exclaim in their joy. (D.iii.219) They agree both in body and in perceptive power (A.iv.401; cf.iv.40). They radiate light from their bodies in a steady brightness and not in flashes (AA.ii.713; cf. PSA.80). When the world is destroyed by water, the world of the Subhakinhas forms the limit to which the water rises. PSA.256."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
Stereotype Formel:
catutthaṃ jhānaṃ sukhassa ca pahānā dukkhassa ca pahānā, pubbeva somanassa-domanassānaṃ atthagamā adukkhaṃ asukhaṃ upekkhāsatiparisuddhiṃ catutthaṃ jhānam upasampajja viharati
Vierter Versenkungszustand Nach dem Schwinden von Glück und Leid, nach dem Untergang von früherem Frohsinn und Trübsinn, erreicht er den vierten Versenkungszustand, der ohne Leid und ohne Glück ist, der die Reinheit von Gleichmut und Achtsamkeit ist. Und er verweilt in diesem Versenkungszustand.
z.B. Vibhaṅga 236
"Vehapphala One of the Brahma worlds of the Rūpaloka plane. Beings are born there as a result of developing the Fourth Jhāna (AbhS. chap. v., see. 3 d).
Their life span is five hundred mahakalpas, (Ibid., sec. 6; A.ii.128, 129) and even puthujjanas can be born there (VbhA.376).
Baka Brahma was once an inhabitant of Vehapphala (J.iii.358; SA .i.162).
Anāgāmīs born there reach Nibbāna without going elsewhere (VbhA.522).
Buddhaghosa explains (Ibid., 521= MA.i.29) the name thus: vipulā phalā ti = Vehapphalā. In ages in which the world is destroyed by wind, Vehapphala forms the limit of the destruction (CypA.9)."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Asasññasatta - This is supposed to be a plane where beings are born without a consciousness. Here only a material flux exists, 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 Arahat attains the Nirodha Samapatti, his consciousness ceases to exist temporarily. Such a state is almost inconceivable to us. But there may be many inconceivable things which are actual facts." [Quelle: Anuruddha ; Nārada <Mahāthera> <1898 - 1983>: A manual of Abhidhamma : being Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha of Bhadanta Anuruddhācariya / ed. in the orig. Pāli text with English transl. and explanatory notes by Nārada Mahā Thera. - 5., rev. ed.. - Kuala Lumpur : Buddhist Missionary Soc., 1987. - VI, 451 S. -- ISBN 967-9920-59-3. -- S. 240.]
"Asaññasattā Inhabitants of the fifth of the nine abodes of beings (sattāvāsā). These beings are unconscious and experience nothing (A.iv.401). As soon as an idea occurs to them they fall from their state (D.i.28). Brahmin ascetics, having practised continual meditation and attained to the fourth jhāna, seeing the disadvantages attached to thinking, try to do away with it altogether. Dying in this condition, they are reborn among the Asaññasattā, having form only, but neither sensations, ideas, predispositions nor consciousness. They last only as long as their power of jhāna; then an idea occurs to them and they die straightaway (DA.i.118).
The Andhakas held that these devas were really only sometimes conscious, which belief the Theravādins rejected as being absurd (Kvu.262).
The Elder Sobhita was once born among the Asaññasattā and could remember that existence. These devas are long-lived. ThagA.i.291."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Suddhāvāsā The "Pure Abodes"; a name given to a group of Brahma-worlds - the five highest Rūpa worlds - consisting of
- Avihā,
- Atappā,
- Sudassā,
- Sudassī and
- Akanitthā (E.g., D.iii.237).
There anāgāmī are born, and there they attain arahantship; such anāgāmī are divided into twenty four classes (See, e.g., KhA.182f.; of. PSA. 319; Vsm.710).
Bodhisattas are never born there (SNA.i.50; BuA.224).
The Suddhāvāsā are described as buddhānam khandhāvāratthānasadisā. Sometimes, for asankheyyas of kappas, when no Buddhas are born, these worlds remain empty (AA.ii.808; cf. MA.i.30).
The Buddha is mentioned as having visited the Suddhāvāsā (E.g., D.ii.50). When a Buddha is about to be born, the inhabitants of the Suddhāvāsā insert a knowledge of the signs of a Great Being in the Vedas and teach this among men in the guise of brahmins, calling such knowledge buddhamanta. Men learn it and are thus able to recognize a Great Being (MA.ii.761; SNA.ii.448). The inhabitants of the Suddhāvāsā know how many Buddhas will be born in any particular kappa by observing the number of lotuses which spring up on the site of the Bodhi-pallanka when the earth gradually emerges after the destruction of the world (DA.ii.411). It is the Suddhāvāsā Brahmās who provide the four omens which lead to a Bodhisatta's renunciation in his last lay life. See, e.g., DA.ii.455f."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Avihā A class of devas. Their world ranks among the five foremost of the rupa-worlds, the Suddhāvāsā (D.ii.52; iii.237; M.iii.103).
Anāgāmīs are born in Avihā and there attain arahantship (ItA.40).
Mention is made of seven persons who became arahants immediately after being born in the Avihā world:
- Upaka
- Phalaganda
- Pukkusāti
- Bhaddiya
- Kundadeva
- Bāhudanti
- Pingiya
(MA.ii.999)
The name Avihā means "not falling from prosperity" (attano sampattiyā na hāyantīti Avihā) (VibhA.521; DA.ii.480).
The duration of life in Avihā is one thousand kappas (DA.iii.740).
Uddhamsotas start their career from Avihā and end in Akanitthā (PsA.319; DhA.iii.289-90).
The Buddha once visited Avihā. D.ii.50-1."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Ātappā-devā A class of devas whose company mortals long for (M.i.289; iii.103).
They belong to the Suddhāvāsā (D.ii.52; D.iii.237).
According to Buddhaghosa (DA.ii.480; VibhA.521) they are so called because they torment no one (na kañci sattaṃ tapenti).
They are anāgāmīs. ItA.40."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Sudassā A Brahma world; one of the Suddhāvāsā.
Five kinds of anāgāmīs are born there.
M.i.289; D.ii.52; iii.237; KhA.183; VibbA.521; Kvu.207."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Sudassī A Brahma world, one of the Suddhāvāsā.
The inhabitants of this world are friendly with those of Akanitthā. (D.ii.52; M.i.259; D.iii.237; M.iii.103; KhA.120; Vsm.473).
Some anāgāmīs obtain Parinibbāna in Sudassī. PSA.319."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
"Akaniṭṭhā devā A class of devas, living in the highest of the five Suddhāvasā (Pure Mansions) (D.iii.237).
In the Mahāpadāna Sutta (D.ii.52f) the Buddha mentions that he visited their abode and conversed with beings who were born there as a result of the holy lives they had lived under various Buddhas.
In the Sakkapañha Sutta (D.ii.286) Sakka speaks of them as the highest devas, and expresses his satisfaction that he, too, will be born among them in his last life.
Buddhaghosa says they are so called because of their supremacy in virtue and in happiness, and because there are no juniors among them (sabbeh'eva sagunehi ca bhavasampattiyā ca jetthā n'atth'ettha kanitthāti akanitthā). DA.ii.480. VbhA.521 [āyunā ca paññaya ca Akanitthā jetthakā sabba-devehi panītatarā devā (=DA.iii.739)].
In the Visuddhi Magga (p. 634) their world is spoken of as a Brahma loka where anāgāmīs are born and enter complete Nibbāna (p. 710) (also ItA.40; DA.iii.740). The duration of life among these devas is 16,000 Kalpas (Kvu.207). Sometimes Anāgāmī are born among the Avihā devas and finish their existence, in a subsequent birth, among the Akanitthās. These are called "Uddhamsotā." (DhA.iii.289f.; see also S.v.201).
The Akanittha-bhavana is the upper limit of the rūpvacara-bhūmi (Ps.i.84); it is also spoken of as the highest point of the universe, Avīci being the lowest. Thus the quarrel among the Kosambī monks spread even up to the Akanitthā devā (J.iii.487), as did the shouts of the assembly at the severing of the branch of the Bodhi tree (Mbv. 150-1; see also Mil. 284)."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
Stereotype Formel für den veränderten Wachbewusstseinszustand des entsprechenden jhāna
sabbaso rūpa-saññānaṃ samatikkamma, paṭigha-saññānaṃ attha-gamā, ñānatta-saññānaṃ amanasi-kārā Ananto akāso ti ākāsānañcāyatanaṃ upsampajja viharati "Nachdem er völlig die Wahrnehmung von Materiellem überwunden hat, wenn die Gegenstands-Wahrnehmungen verschwunden sind, wenn er die Wahrnehmungen von Verschiedenheit nicht mehr beachtet, gelangt er mit dem Bewusstsein, dass der Raum unendlich ist, zum Gebiet der Raumunendlichkeit und verweilt dort" s. Nāgārjuna: La traité de la grande vertu de sagesse (Mahāprajñāpāramitā`sāstra) / [Trad. par] Étienne Lamotte. - Tome II, p. 1023 - 1024; 1032 - 1034
"Ākāsānañcāyatanūpagā devā A class of devas born in the Realm of Infinite Space (ākāsānañcāyatana) (M.iii.103).
They belong to the Arūpa world and their life term is twenty thousand kappas (A.i.267; AbhS., p.23).
Their mind arises and ceases moment by moment (Kvu.i.207-8).
In the description of the Arūpāvacarabhūmi, these devas represent the lowest limit, the highest being the Nevasaññānāsaññā. Ps.i.84."
[Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
Stereotype Formel für den veränderten Wachbewusstseinszustand des entsprechenden jhāna
sabbaso ākāsānañcāyatanaṃ samatikkamma Anantaṃ viññāṇaṃ ti viññāṇñcāyatanaṃ upasampajja viharati "Nachdem er das Gebiet der Raumunendlichkeit völlig überwunden hat, gelangt er mit dem Bewusstsein, dass das Bewusstsein unendlich ist, zum Gebiet der Bewusstseinunendlichkeit und verweilt dort" s. Nāgārjuna: La traité de la grande vertu de sagesse (Mahāprajñāpāramitā`sāstra) / [Trad. par] Étienne Lamotte. - Tome II, p. 1023 - 1024; 1032 - 1034
"Viññānañcāyatanūpagā devā. A class of devas living in the Arūpaloka. Their life lasts for forty thousand mahākappā. M.iii.103; Compendium, p. 143." [Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
Stereotype Formel für den veränderten Wachbewusstseinszustand des entsprechenden jhāna
sabbaso viññāṇñcāyatanaṃ samatikamma N'atthi kiñcīti ākiñcaññāyatanaṃ upasampajja viharati "Nachdem er das Gebiet der Bewusstseinsunendlichkeit völlig überwunden hat, gelangt er mit dem "Bewusstsein", dass nichts existiert, zum Gebiet der Nichtsheit und verweilt dort" s. Nāgārjuna: La traité de la grande vertu de sagesse (Mahāprajñāpāramitā`sāstra) / [Trad. par] Étienne Lamotte. - Tome II, p. 1023 - 1024; 1032 - 1034
"ākiñcāyatanūpagā devā. - A class of devas born in the ākiñcāyatana, the third Arūpa world (M.iii.103). Their life term is sixty thousand kappas. AbhS.23." [Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]
Stereotype Formel für den veränderten Wachbewusstseinszustand des entsprechenden jhāna
sabbaso ākiñcaññāyatanaṃ samatikamma nevasaññā-nāsaññāyatanaṃ upsampajja viharati "Nachdem er das Gebiet der Nichtsheit völlig überwunden hat, gelangt er zum Gebiet der Weder-Wahrnehmung-noch-Nicht-Wahrnehmung und verweilt dort" s. Nāgārjuna: La traité de la grande vertu de sagesse (Mahāprajñāpāramitā`sāstra) / [Trad. par] Étienne Lamotte. - Tome II, p. 1023 - 1024; 1032 - 1034
Abb.: Der Saṃsāra in tibetischer Darstellung: Bhava-cakra,
Sera [སེ་ར་], Lhasa [ལྷ་ས་] / Photographer: Philipp Roelli (2005)
[Bildquelle: Wikipedia]
