The Abhidharma Realms

The many levels of existence in the three realms are not purely seen as an outer cosmology.
Even in the earliest strata of buddhist philosophy, these were seen as progressive stages of
refinement and merit that the meditator progresses through or at least has access to1. In general,
wholesome (kusala) karma leads to rebirth in the higher realms, while unwholesome (akusala)
karma leads to the lower ways.

I. Kamadhatu
realm Sanskrit Pali2
1 hell naraka niraya
2 animal lower tiryagyoni tiracchanayoni
3 ghost preta petta, pettivisaya
4 human manusya manussa-loka
5 titan higher asura asura
6 god kamadeva

The hell realm in particular has countless subdivisions, described differently in different
schools. The preta realm is not mentioned in the earliest lists of gatis in the Pali canon; it may be
a later addition. The asuras too are not included in all listing; in some (Pali) sources they are
below the human realm; at other times they are just a further subdivision of the kamadeva
realm.

II. Kamadhatu: Devaloka

Within the realm of desire, there are six god realms. This is a subdivision of the kamadeva
realm above. It seems that these were a way to incorporate the pre-buddhist pantheon, some of
which is present in the nikayas.
The four great kings appear in some of the stories of the Buddha’s enlightenment. Their realm is
near the top level of Mount Meru, where they inhabit four terraces (parisanda) halfway up the
four sides of the mountain. The inhabitants are four classes of gods, rather than four individuals
only.
The thirty-three go back to the Rig Veda3. The ruler of this realm is Indra or Shakra whose
realms rests directly on top of the Mount Meru. The thirty-three level are often depicted as layer
above Mount Meru in depictions of the abhidharma cosmology4.
Tushita plays a special role, because the bodhisattva spends his final life time in this realm,
before manifesting a buddha. Especially for the Yogachara with their connection to Maitreya,
this is true.
Mipham: “The six classes of desire gods abide in the abodes of the Four Great Kings, the Thirty-
three, Conflict-Free, Tushita, Enjoying Creations, and Mastery Over Others' Creations.
Maitreya resides in Tushita and the wicked Mara dwells in Mastery Over Others' Creations.
Concerning the abodes of the Four Great Kings, the four great kings, along with their retinues,
reside upon the fourth terrace of Mount Sumeru. Upon the lower terraces live, listed from
above to below, the gods of the Ever-Ecstatic, Garland-Bearers, and Vessel-Bearers. The crests of
the seven mountain ranges, the sun, the moon, and all the stars also belong to the abodes of the
Four Great Kings.”

1 Guenther, p.49. See also Henepola Gunaratana, The Jhnanas.

2 Pali equivalents for most of the Sanskrit terms below are found in Lusthaus.
3 see Jan Gonda, Die Religionen Indiens

4 see for example Brauen: The Mandala

 1 Caturmaharaja-kayika Four Great Kings
2 Trayastrimsha Thirty-Three
3 Yama Restraint/Conflict Free
4 Tushita Joyful, Realm of Delight
5 Nirmanarati Delighting in Emanations5
6 Paranirmita-vashavartin Mastery over Other6

III. Rupadhatu: Brahmaloka

The form7 realm corresponds to the four dhyanas and consist of the seventeen realms of the
form gods. When they are regarded as realms of rebirth. they may be referred to as a group by
the term Brahmaloka, or the brahmalokas. In general, all of these levels can be described form
the point of view of the denizens who live there and from the point of view of the experience of
the meditators who ‘experiences’ them8.
For the first three dhyanas (Pali: jhana) , there are three levels of heavens, for the fourth there are
eight. Some sources divide the fourth dhyana into a fourth and fifth one 9.
Mipham: “As for the form realms, in the space above [Mastery Over] Others' Creations is the
Abode of Brahma, lowest of the three abodes of the First Dhyana. Above that, are the gods of
Brahma's Priests and, above that, is the Abode of Maha Brahma. In the same way, the following
[realms] exist in tiers, one above the other, counted from below: The three abodes of the Second
Dhyana: Lesser Light, Measureless Light, and Radiant Light. The three abodes of the Third
Dhyana: Lesser Virtue, Measureless Virtue, and Bounteous Virtue. In the Fourth Dhyana, there
are eight: the three abodes of Cloudless Light, Merit-Born, and Great Fruit as well as the Five
Pure Domains, so called because they are exclusively the dwelling places of noble beings. These
five are: Not as Great, Without Distress, Great Vision, Sublime Light, and above them all —
Akanishtha, the Unsurpassed.”10

First Dhyana
1 1 Brahmakayika Abode of Brahma
2 2 Brahmapurohita Brahma’s Priests
3 3 Mahabrahma Abode of Mahabrahma
Second Dhyana
4 1 Parittabha Lesser Light
5 2 Apramanabha Measureless Light
6 3 Abhasvara Radiant Light
Third Dhyana
7 1 Parittashubha Lesser Virtue
8 2 Apramanashubha Measureless Virtue
9 3 Shubakrtsna Bounteous Virtue
Fourth Dhyana
10 1 Anabhraka Cloudless (Light)
11 2 Punyaprasava Merit-Born
12 3 Vrhatphala Great Fruit

5 Lusthaus: the “realm of the gods who delight in their own creations”.
6 Erik Schmidt: “[Mastery Over] Others' Creations”; Lusthaus: “the realm of the gods who lord over the creations of
others”; also: Ruling the Emanations of Others
7 For a discussion of the meaning of the term rupa in this context, see Lusthaus, pp.83-84; 102. Cf. the English term

‘formal’ as in ‘formal logic’.

8 Abhidharmakosha, Ch. VIII.9b.

9 For sources on whether to subdivide rupadhatu into four or five dhyanas, see Lusthaus, p.104, fn.10. Especially

Rahula Walpola: Zen and the Taming of the Bull, pp.101-110.

10 VII, 28-31.

2
13 4 Avrha Not as Great
14 5 Atapas Without Distress
15 6 Sudrsa Great Vision
16 7 Sudarshana Sublime Light
17 8 Akanishta Unsurpassed

IV. Arupyadhatu: Caturarupyadhatu Brahmaloka

“The four formless realms are the four perception-spheres of Infinite Space, Infinite
Consciousness, Nothing Whatsoever, and Neither Presence Nor Absence [of Perception].
The perception-sphere of Neither Presence Nor Absence [of Perception] is also called the
Summit of Existence.”11 Together they are referred to as the Caturarupyadhatu Brahmaloka.
These four levels correspond to the formless dhyanas. The practice of these formless dhyanas is
not regarded by everyone as necessary, perhaps just as a corollary or to develop iddhis and
abhijñas.
Anta means side, border, limit; ananta means limitless, boundless. The compounds given here
are composed as follows: akasha-anantya-ayatana: the realm of the limitlessness of space (?).
1 Akashanantyayatana Infinite Space
2 Vijñananantyayatana (Caturarupya) Infinite Consciousness
3 Akimcanantyayatana (Brahmaloka) 12 Nothing Whatsoever
4 Naivasamjña-nasamjñayatana Neither Presence nor Absence/Summit of Existence

The fourth level of the formless realm, is also called bhavagra, the summit or highest level (agra)
of existence (bhava), because it is the pinnacle of the tridhatu. The inhabitants of this realm, the
asamjñi-sattvas or asamjñi-devas, thoughtless beings, who neither think nor perceive or sense
anything. The arisal of a thought is instant death in this realm. 13
Beyond this are the lokattara (transmundane, beyond the loka) reaches.
Sources
Majjhima Nikaya, III,63; 100-103 (pages given by Lamotte, convert to bodhi edition)
Chakrasamvara Manual, Section VII.
Herbert Guenther: Buddhist Philosophy, p.48-49.
Jamgön Kongtrül, Myriad Worlds, Glossary of Names, pp. 247ff. This gives all the Sanskrit and Tibetan
terms.
Dan Lusthaus, Buddhist Phenomenology, Chapter V: Tridhatu
Mipham, Gateway to Knowledge, Volume II, Chapter VIII.
Etienne Lamotte, History of Indian Buddhism, pp.32-33. (include this)

11 VIII, 32-33.
12 also just Akimcanya.
13 Lusthaus, p.140, following the Abhidharmakosha