Chapter 18 - Planes Of Existence

The term "bhūmi" can mean plane or grade of citta as well as plane of existence. Bhūmi as plane of existence is the world or place where living beings are born. There are thirty-one planes of existence, and these are in conformity with the different grades of citta which condition birth in these planes. The planes of existence are the following:

• 11 sensuous planes, kāmabhūmi
• 16 rupa-brahma-bhūmi
• 4 arupa-brahma-bhūmi

This is a classification as thirty-one planes by way of different levels. Actually there are many more places of birth included in each of these planes. Even this human plane is not the only human world, besides this human world there are others.

The eleven classes of kāma-bhūmi include:

• four unhappy planes
• the human plane
• six heavenly planes or deva planes

The four unhappy planes can be summarized as: hell planes, the animal world, the world of ghosts or petas (pettivisaya) and the world of demons (asuras or asurakāyas).

There is not only one abyss of hell. There is a great abyss of hell and this has several abysses, such as the Sañjīva Hell, the Kalasuta Hell, the Sanghāta Hell, the Roruva Hell, the Maha-roruva Hell, the Tāpana Hell, the Maha-tāpana Hell and the Avīci Hell. Apart from the big hells there are smaller hells, but in the scriptures there is not much reference to these in detail. The Buddha explained about the different planes in order to point out cause and result. Kusala kamma and akusala kamma are causes which bring their corresponding results. What one cannot see clearly through direct experience should not be explained in such a detailed way and to the same extent as the realities one can verify oneself through the development of insight.

There are four classes of unhappy planes where living beings can be reborn. If rebirth is the result of very heavy akusala kamma there is rebirth in the "Great Hell", the "Avīci Hell", where one suffers extreme torments. When one is freed from that great abyss of hell and the working of kamma is not yet exhausted, one is reborn in a small abyss, a minor hell. When someone commits very heavy akusala kamma, he does not realize that rebirth in a hell plane lies ahead, since he has not gone there yet. So long as one is still a human being, living in this world, one does not go to another plane, even though the cause of rebirth in an unhappy plane, akusala kamma, may be already there. When someone has committed akusala kamma it is a condition for rebirth in an unhappy plane after he has passed away.

The result of akusala kamma of a lesser degree conditions rebirth in other unhappy planes, such as the animal world. We can notice that there is an extraordinary variety in the bodily features of animals. Some kinds have many legs, some only a few, some are without legs. Some have wings, some are without wings. They live in the water or on land. It is due to the variegated nature of citta that their bodily features are so varied. The variety of bodily features of human beings is not as manifold as those of animals. All humans have a body and they generally have eyes, ears, nose and tongue. It is true that there are differences in skin color and the length of the body, and that there is variety in outward appearance. However, even if one would take into account the differences in bodily features of all humans in the world, including people in the past, the present and the future, their diversity is not as great as the diversity of animals. The amount of variety in animals, including those in the water, on land and those which can fly, is far greater. All this is due to kamma which causes such variety.

The result of kamma of a lesser degree than that which conditions rebirth in the animal world, conditions rebirth in the planes of ghosts or petas. A ghost is tortured all the time by hunger and weariness. There are many different ghost planes.

Every human being has a daily recurring disease, namely hunger, and that is the reason why one can say that it is impossible to be without disease. Hunger is a grave disease, one can notice this when one suffers from hunger. If there is but a slight feeling of hunger and one eats then delicious food, one forgets that hunger is a kind of suffering, something that has to be completely cured. It may happen that someone is very hungry but unable to eat because of circumstances, and then he will know the nature of suffering from hunger.

A person who had many friends received one day their telephone calls from morning until evening, and thus he had no time to eat. Late at night he realized that hunger is a great torment and he understood the expression "pangs of hunger", used for the stings in the stomach or the intestines caused by hunger. He experienced what they were like. When he could finally eat, it was not possible to take a lot of food, all at once, to cure his hunger. This is harmful for the body and can cause fainting. He had to eat little by little, but he still fainted. This example shows that hunger is a grave disease, a daily recurring disease. Ghosts suffer so much of hunger, for in the ghost plane there is no means of curing hunger. Agriculture is not possible on that plane, one cannot plant rice or obtain other crops. One cannot prepare any food, there is no trade by means of which one could obtain food. Thus, birth in a ghost plane is the result of akusala kamma. Ghosts can rejoice in the kusala of humans when these extend merit to them in order to let them share in their kusala. When ghosts rejoice with kusala citta in the good deeds of others it can be a condition for them to receive food which is suitable in that plane. Or they may become released from life in the ghost plane, they may pass away from that life and be reborn in another plane. This can happen if the kamma which conditioned their birth as a ghost has been exhausted.

Another unhappy plane is the plane of the asuras, demons. Rebirth as an asura is the result of akusala kamma which is less grave than the akusala kamma which produces rebirth in one of the other unhappy planes. If someone is reborn as an asura he has no entertainment, no way to amuse himself with pleasant objects, such as there is in the human plane and in the heavenly planes. In the human plane one can read books, one can watch plays and attend concerts. In the asura plane there are no such ways of amusement with pleasant objects. Since akusala kammas are various and of different degrees, the planes where one can be reborn are also various, in conformity with the kammas which cause rebirths.

There are seven happy planes of rebirth which are the results of kāmāvacara kusala kamma, namely, one human plane and six heavenly planes or deva planes.

In the "Tipitaka" it is explained that there are four human planes where one can be reborn:

1. The Pubbavideha continent, situated to the East of Mount Sineru.
2. The Aparagoyāna continent, situated to the West of Mount Sineru.
3. The Jambudīpa continent, situated to the South of Mount Sineru, and this is the human world where we live.
4. The Uttarakurū continent, situated to the North of Mount Sineru ^[1] .

Human beings who live in this world, the Jambudīpa continent (Rose-Apple Land), can only perceive this world. Wherever they travel, they see only the objects of the Jambudīpa continent. They are not able to go to the other three human worlds.

There are six heavenly planes and these have different degrees of excellence. As to the first plane, this is the heaven of the four deva rulers or guardians of the world, the "cātu-maharājika plane" ^[2] . These four deva rulers are:

1. Dhaṭarattha, sometimes called Inda, ruling over the East, over the Gandhabba devas;
2. Virūḷha, sometimes called Yama, ruling over the South, over the Khumbhaṇḍa devas;
3. Virupaka, sometimes called Varuṇa, ruling over the West, over the Nagas;
4. Kuvera, sometimes called Vessavaṇa or Vesuvanna, ruling over the North, over the Yakkas.

The heavenly plane of the four deva rulers is the lowest class of heaven and this is not as far away from the human world as the higher heavenly planes.

There are higher deva planes and these have different degrees of excellence corresponding with the levels of these planes. The second heavenly plane is the Heaven of the Thirty-three, Tāvatimsa, and this plane is higher than the plane of the four deva rulers. Inda is the chief of this plane. In the heaven of the Thirty-three there are four heavenly groves:

1. Nandana Grove in the East ^[3] ;
2. Cittalatā Grove in the West;
3. Missaka Grove in the North;
4. Phārusaka Grove in the South.

The third heavenly plane is the Yāma heaven, which is higher than the heaven of the Thirty-three.
The fourth heavenly plane is Tusita, which is higher than Yama.
The fifth heavenly plane is the "heaven of the devas who delight in creating", Nimmānarati, which is higher than Tusita.
The sixth heavenly plane is the "heaven of devas who rule over others’ creations", Paranimittavasavatti, which is higher than Nimmānarati. This plane is the highest of the sense sphere planes.

To which heavenly plane would we like to go? Someone who is not an arahat still has to be reborn, but where will he be reborn? It will probably not be in a Brahma plane, because birth as a Brahma in a Brahma plane is the result of kusala jhānacitta, if this arises just before dying, as has been explained. Thus, rebirth in a sensuous plane is more likely. Whether there will be rebirth in an unhappy plane or a happy plane depends on the cause which produces rebirth, namely kamma, a deed which has been performed during the cycle of lives.

The rūpāvacara bhūmis, fine material planes of existence, are the planes where rupa brahmas are born. Birth in these planes is the result of fine-material jhāna, rupa-jhāna. There are sixteen rupa Brahma planes ^[4] .

The result of the first jhāna can be birth in three planes:

1. birth in the Pārisajjā plane, the result of kusala jhānacitta of a weak degree;
2. birth in the Purohitā plane, the result of kusala jhānacitta of medium degree;
3. birth in the Mahabrahmā plane, the result of kusala jhānacitta of superior degree.

The result of the second jhāna of the fourfold system (and the third jhāna of the fivefold system ^[5] ) can be birth in three planes. This depends on the degree of jhāna which can be weak, medium or superior. These planes are:

1. Parittābhā bhūmi,
2. Appamāṇasubhā bhūmi,
3. Ābhassarā bhūmi.

The result of the third jhāna of the fourfold system (and the fourth jhāna of the fivefold system) can be birth in the following three planes, depending on the degree of jhāna:

1. Parittasubhā bhūmi,
2. Appamāṇasubhā bhūmi,
3. Subhakiṇṇā bhūmi.

The result of the fourth jhāna of the fourfold system (and the fifth jhāna of the fivefold system) can be birth in the Vehapphala bhūmi.

Moreover, there can be birth in the Asaññāsatta bhūmi as result of the fifth jhāna. Beings who are born in this plane are born only with rupa, not with citta and cetasika ^[6] .

There are five Suddhāvāsā planes (Pure Abodes) for Anagamis and these births are the results of the fourth jhāna of the fourfold system (and the fifth jhāna of the fivefold system). They are:

1. Aviha bhūmi
2. Atappa bhūmi
3. Sudassa bhūmi
4. Sudassi bhūmi
5. Akaṇittha bhūmi

There are four arupa-brahma planes. Birth in these planes is the result of immaterial jhāna, arupa-jhāna. The meditation subject of arupa-jhāna is no longer dependent on rupa. Corresponding with the four stages of arupa-jhāna, these planes are the following:

1. the plane of infinite space, ākāsānañcāyatana bhūmi,
2. the plane of infinite consciousness, viññāṇañcāyatana bhūmi,
3. the plane of nothingness, ākiñcaññāyatana bhūmi,
4. the plane of neither perception nor non-perception, n’evasaññā-n’āsaññāyatana bhūmi.

In these four arupa-brahma planes there are only the nama- khandhas, citta and cetasikas, there is no arising of any rupa at all.

In the "Gradual Sayings" (I, Book of the Threes, Ch VIII, § 80, Abhibhu, 2) we read that the Buddha explained to Ānanda about the manifold world systems. In the "thousand lesser worlds", are included a thousand fold of the four human planes, of the deva planes and of the Brahma worlds. We read that the Buddha said:

As far as moon and sun move in their course and light up all quarters with their radiance, so far extends the thousand fold world-system. Therein are a thousand moons, a thousand suns, a thousand Sinerus, lords of mountains; a thousand Rose-Apple Lands, a thousand Western Ox-wains (Aparagoyāna), a thousand northern Kurus, a thousand Eastern Videhās; four thousand mighty oceans, four thousand Mighty Rulers, a thousand "Four Great Rulers" (the four world guardians), a thousand heavens of the Thirty-three, a thousand Yama worlds, a thousand heavens of the Devas of Delight, a thousand heavens of the Devas that delight in creation, a thousand heavens of the Devas that delight in others’ creations, and a thousand Brahma worlds. This, Ānanda, is called "The system of the thousand lesser worlds". A system a thousand fold the size of this is called "The Twice-a-thousand Middling Thousand fold World-system." A system a thousand fold the size of this is called "The Thrice-a-thousand Mighty Thousand fold World-system." Now, Ānanda, if he wished it, the Tathāgata could make his voice heard throughout this last-named world-system, or even further, if he chose.

The explanation of the world-systems may not be as detailed as some people who have doubts would wish, but it shows the perfection of wisdom (paññā pāramī) of the Buddha, who is the "Knower of the Worlds" (lokavidū), the person who clearly knows all worlds.

As we have seen, the fourth aspect of citta, mentioned by the "Atthasālinī" is that citta is variegated according to circumstance, because of the sampayutta Dhammas, the accompanying cetasikas. Therefore, cittas can be classified as different kinds in various ways. Cittas can be classified by way of the four jātis of kusala, akusala, vipāka and kiriya. Cittas can also be classified by way of the four planes of consciousness: kāmāvacara citta, rūpāvacara citta, arūpāvacara citta and lokuttara citta.

Kāmāvacara cittas can be of the four jātis of kusala, akusala, vipāka and kiriya. The cittas of the higher planes, namely rūpāvacara cittas, arūpāvacara cittas and lokuttara cittas, cannot be of the jāti of akusala. Lokuttara cittas cannot be of the jāti of kiriya either.

Thus, rūpāvacara cittas can be of three jātis: kusala, vipāka and kiriya. Rūpāvacara kusala citta can cause the arising of rūpāvacara vipākacitta which performs the function of rebirth in one of the rupa-Brahma planes of existence. The rūpāvacara kusala citta of the fifth stage of jhāna can condition rebirth as asaññāsatta, a being with only rupa, in the asaññāsatta plane. As we have seen, there are sixteen rupa-Brahma planes in all. The arahat who attains the stages of rupa-jhāna has rūpāvacara kiriyacitta.

The arūpāvacara kusala citta can cause the arising of arūpāvacara vipākacitta which performs the function of rebirth in one of the four arupa-brahma planes. The arahat who attains the stages of arupa-jhāna has arūpāvacara kiriyacitta.

Rūpāvacara citta and arūpāvacara citta are sublime consciousness, mahaggata citta. The "Atthasālinī" (I, Book I, Part I, Mātikā I, Triplets, 44) states:

...Sublime (mahaggatā) means, "having reached greatness ^[7] ", from ability to discard corruptions, from the abundance of fruition, from the length of duration...

It is most difficult to discard defilements. As soon as we have seen an object, like or dislike arises. However, when there is attainment concentration (appanā samādhi), thus, when there is jhānacitta, the citta is calm and one-pointed on the meditation subject which is experienced through the mind-door. At such moments there is no seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or the experience of tangible object. When there are jhānacittas, no matter for how long, there cannot be bhavanga-cittas in between, such as in the case of kāmāvacara cittas ^[8] . Kāmāvacara cittas experience an object for an extremely short moment, they are insignificant Dhammas, paritta Dhammas. The kāmāvacara cittas of seeing, hearing or thinking occur in processes which are of extremely short duration, they experience an object just for a moment. When cittas of the eye-door process arise and experience visible object which appears through the eye-door, and then fall away, there have to be bhavanga-cittas immediately afterwards. Bhavanga-cittas arise before there are cittas in the mind-door process which cognize the visible object which was experienced in the preceding eye-door process. Kāmāvacara Dhammas, which are visible object, sound, odor, flavor, tangible object as well as the cittas which experience these sense objects, are all insignificant Dhammas, paritta Dhammas.

The mahaggata cittas, "sublime cittas", namely the rūpāvacara cittas and the arūpāvacara cittas, are cittas which have reached excellence because they can subdue defilements. When there is attainment concentration, when jhānacittas arise and fall away in succession, there is no seeing, no hearing, no experience of an object through one of the sense-doors, neither is there thinking about these objects. That is the reason why it is said that mahaggatā citta discards defilements. However, when the jhānacittas have fallen away completely, kāmāvacara cittas arise again. When there are cittas arising in processes which experience objects through the different doorways, akusala javana-citta has the opportunity to arise if one does not perform kusala. So long as defilements have not been eradicated completely, akusala citta is likely to arise after seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and the experience of tangible object. Do we realize that akusala citta arises time and again? If one does not realize this, one cannot subdue defilements nor can one develop the way leading to the eradication of defilements.

Before the Buddha’s enlightenment there were people who saw the disadvantages and the danger of akusala cittas which arise very soon after seeing, hearing and the other sense-cognitions. Therefore, they tried to find a way to temporarily subdue defilements. They found out that the only way leading to that goal was not to see, to hear or to experience the other sense objects. When one experiences sense objects one cannot prevent the arising of defilements. People who understood this could cultivate the way of kusala which leads to true calm, temporary freedom from attachment (lobha), aversion (dosa) and ignorance (moha), and this is realized at the moment of attainment concentration, appanā samādhi.

At the moment of jhānacitta there are no sense impressions. There is only the experience of the meditation subject through the mind-door and this is a condition for the citta to be firmly established in calm and one-pointed-ness on that object. Attainment concentration which is reached when jhānacitta arises does not lead to the complete eradication of defilements. When the jhānacittas have fallen away defilements have the opportunity to arise again. Only at the moments of rūpāvacara citta and arūpāvacara citta, citta has reached excellence, it is mahaggatā citta, because it can subdue defilements by not seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or experiencing tangible object. This is different from the situation of the Anagami (non-returner), the person who has reached the third stage of enlightenment. He sees, but there is no attachment to visible object, since he has eradicated attachment to sense objects. He hears, smells, tastes and experiences through the body-sense the tangible objects of heat, cold, hardness, softness, motion and pressure, but he has no attachment, he has eradicated attachment to these objects. The lokuttara kusala citta, which is the magga-citta, path-consciousness, can eradicate defilements completely. Thus we see that citta is variegated as there are four planes of citta which are the four grades or levels of kāmāvacara, rūpāvacara, arūpāvacara and lokuttara.

Rūpāvacara citta and arūpāvacara citta can be of three jātis: kusala, vipāka and kiriya. Lokuttara citta can be of two jātis: kusala and vipāka. There is no lokuttara kiriyacitta.

There are eight types of lokuttara citta, corresponding with the four stages of enlightenment. For each stage there is the magga-citta, path-consciousness, which is lokuttara kusala citta, and the fruition-consciousness, phala-citta, which is lokuttara vipākacitta. The eight types of lokuttara cittas are the following:

• path-consciousness of the sotāpanna (sotāpatti magga-citta), which is lokuttara kusala citta
• fruition-consciousness of the sotāpanna (sotāpatti phala-citta) which is lokuttara vipākacitta
• path-consciousness of the Sakadagami (Sakadagami magga-citta), which is lokuttara kusala citta
• fruition-consciousness of the sakadāgāmī (sakadāgāmī phala-citta), which is lokuttara vipākacitta
• path-consciousness of the Anagami (Anagami magga-citta), which is lokuttara kusala citta
• fruition-consciousness of the Anagami (Anagami magga-citta), which is lokuttara vipākacitta
• path-consciousness of the arahat (arahatta magga-citta), which is lokuttara kusala citta
• fruition-consciousness of the arahat (arahatta phala-citta), which is lokuttara vipākacitta

The lokuttara kusala citta is the condition for the lokuttara vipākacitta to succeed it immediately, there is no other type of citta arising in between the lokuttara kusala citta, which is cause, and the lokuttara vipākacitta, which is result. Apart from the lokuttara kusala citta, no other type of kusala citta can produce vipākacitta immediately succeeding it.

As soon as the magga-citta of the sotāpanna, which is lokuttara kusala citta, has fallen away, it is succeeded by the phala-citta which is lokuttara vipākacitta. It is the same in the case of the magga-citta and the phala-citta of the Sakadagami, the Anagami and the arahat.

The four types of lokuttara vipākacitta, the phala-cittas, cannot perform the functions of rebirth, bhavanga and dying. They are different from mundane vipākacittas ^[9] . The lokuttara vipākacitta which immediately succeeds the lokuttara kusala citta also has nibbāna as object. The lokuttara vipākacitta, the phala-citta, performs the function of javana in the same process as the lokuttara kusala citta which precedes it. The phala-citta is the only type of vipākacitta which can perform the function of javana in a process. It performs the function of javana because it has nibbāna as object. Each type of lokuttara kusala citta arises only once in the cycle of birth and death and it eradicates defilements completely, in conformity with the stage of enlightenment which has been attained. However, there are two or three lokuttara vipākacittas arising after the lokuttara kusala citta; these succeed one another and have nibbāna as object. It depends on the type of person who attains enlightenment whether phala-citta arises two or three times.

The sotāpanna cannot be reborn more than seven times. As we have seen, the phala-citta of the sotāpanna cannot perform the function of rebirth. Which type of vipākacitta of which plane of consciousness performs for the sotāpanna the function of rebirth depends on the plane of existence where he will be reborn. If the sotāpanna is reborn in a heavenly plane, kāmāvacara vipākacitta performs the function of rebirth. If the sotāpanna is reborn in a brahma plane, rūpāvacara vipākacitta or arūpāvacara vipākacitta performs the function of rebirth in accordance with that plane.

As we have seen, the word bhūmi, plane, can refer to the grade of citta as well as to the plane of existence for living beings. Summarizing, when bhūmi is used in the sense of grade of citta, there are four bhūmis: kāmāvacara citta, rūpāvacara citta, arūpāvacara citta and lokuttara citta. When bhūmi is used in the sense of the place where living beings are born, the world where they live, there are thirtyone planes and these correspond with the different grades of citta: eleven kāma bhūmis, sixteen rupa-Brahma planes and four arupa-brahma planes.

Questions

1. What is the Suddhavāsa plane (Pure Abodes) and who can be born there?
2. Of how many jātis can rūpāvacara citta and arūpāvacara citta be?
3. Of how many jātis can lokuttara cittas be?
4. Which types of citta are mahaggatā, sublime?
5. Which type of vīthi-citta, citta arising in a process, is the lokuttara citta ?
6. What kind of function performs the lokuttara vipākacitta in a process?

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See Visuddhimagga, VII, 42, footnote 15. A circle of world-sphere mountains encloses the ocean. In the center of the ocean is Mount Sineru or Mount Meru. The Southern continent of Jambudīpa, Rose-Apple Land, is the known inhabited world. Sometimes Jambudīpa refers to India.

[2]:

See Visuddhimagga VII, 40, footnote 14.

[3]:

See Jātakas VI, no. 545.

[4]:

See the Second Book of the Abhidhamma, the "Book of Analysis", Ch 18, 6, Age limit.

[5]:

For some individuals rupa-jhāna is of four stages, and for some it is of five stages. Jhāna factors are successively abandoned as higher stages of jhāna are reached. For those who have abandoned the two factors of applied thinking and sustained thinking at the second stage there are only four stages of jhāna. For those who have abandoned only the factor of applied thinking and not the factor of sustained thinking at the second stage, there are five stages of jhāna.

[6]:

They have seen the disadvantages of nama and this is the condition for them to be reborn without nama.

[7]:

Maha means great and gata means gone or reached.

[8]:

Those who are skilled in jhāna can have jhānacittas in succession for a long period of time. That is why jhānacitta is called sublime because of its duration. During the attainment of jhāna there is no bodily suffering. The jhānacitta is sublime because of its fruition, it can cause rebirth in rupa-Brahma planes and arupa Brahma-planes.

[9]:

The magga-citta does not lead to rebirth; it eradicates defilements, the conditions for rebirth.