III.A. The Six Deva realms
III.A1.21. Paranimmita-vasavati, the heaven of the gods. Here, the
Deva Gods have a wielding power. Mara or the devil, the most
powerful of all Devas and the legendary opposition to the Buddha is
considered to be from this realm. They can live up to a life span
of 16000 years, which is equivalent to over 9.2 billion earthly
years.
III.A2.22. Nimmanarati, the realm of Deva gods who can create
objects and mansions for sensual enjoyment. They can live up to a
life span of 8000 years, which is equivalent to > 2.3 billion
Earthly years.
III.A3.23. Tusita, the delightful realm for Devas with happiness
and contentment. This is the heaven where the next would-be Buddha
(Metteya) resides before taking a rebirth as a human. The Devas of
this realm can live up to a life span of 4000 years, which is
equivalent to 576 million earthly years.
III.A4.24. Yama, the heaven of blissful existence. The King Yama
(Rama) rules this realm with great happiness. The Devas of this
realm can live up to a life span of 2000 years, which is equivalent
to 144 million earthly years.
III.A5.25. Tavatimsa, the heaven of the 33 Devas. The king of this
realm is known as Saka who resides in the Vejayanta Palace and
rules the kingdom with his 33 followers. It was in this heaven that
the Buddha taught the Abhidhamma, the philosophical and
psychological text of the Buddhist Tipitaka to the Devas for a
period, which was equivalent to three earthly months. The Devas of
this realm can live up to a life span of 1000 years, which is
equivalent to 36 million earthly years.
III.A6.26. Catumaharajika, the kingdom of the four Great Deva
Kings. They are also known as the guardian deities who watched over
the Buddhas Sasana. They dwell in the four directions of the
earth; East (Dhatarattha), West (Virupakkha), North (Vessavana) and
South (Virulhaka). They can live up to a life span of 500 years,
which is equivalent to 9 million earthly years.
III.B Manussa, Human realm
III.B.27. Manussa, the human realm. This is a materialistic and
spiritualistic abode where a mixture of pain and pleasure
co-exists. It is the place where people can choose the destiny by
leading a good or a bad life, and a testing ground for many faiths.
Unlike most of the other existences, humans do not remember the
past life and is therefore the best place to develop a
self-supportive wisdom. Buddhas of the past and of the future would
appear in this human world to rediscover the Four Noble Truths and
save many sentient beings from suffering.
IV. KAMADUGATI-BHUMI, the abode of profound suffering. It is also
known as Apaya or the nether existences.
IV.A.28. Asura, the demon world. Asura, literally means those
beings that do not shine or do not have a sporting spirit. They are
regarded as the fallen angels who have power, but use it for a bad
purpose and are allied to Mara, the devil.
IV.B.29. Peta, the world of spirits and ghosts who have a
characteristic of meanness and attachment. They have different
forms and shapes, but misery, delusion and hunger are the constant
features found in this existence.
IV.C.30. Tiracchana, the world of animals. They have more pain and
less pleasure, and survival of the fittest is the only rule in this
existence.
IV.D.31. Niraya, the Hell. It is the existence of continuous
suffering and without any pleasure. There are eight grades of Hell
where the torture and suffering varies. According to the severity
of the punishment they are classified as Sanjiva hell, Kalasutta,
Sanghata, Roruva, Maharoruva, Tapana, Mahatapana and Avici hells.
They are all believed to be in the different layers of the
earth.
LIFE SPAN CALCULATIONS
Antara kappa=1 human evolution cycle starting from a longevity of
10 years to an indefinite period and then degrades back to 10 years
again
Asankheyya=64 Antara kappa or human evolution cycles
Maha kappa=4 Asankheyyas or the age of a universe from its
beginning to its end
