Universe

The Universe exists of many worlds (*lokāḥ; Devanagari: लोकाः*) – one might say "planes/realms" – 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.

## Tl;dr

The Universe is a stack of 31 layers of realms.

Once you die on Earth (the 5th realm) with enough karma, you will be reborn into a plane of heaven (which totals 26 levels) or the underworld (which totals 4 levels, including 16 sub-layers of hell). Each level is progressively more pleasurable or agonizing than the last.

No mortal can stay in heaven or the underworld forever. You can suffer the worst torture in hell for only a maximum of about 3.5 quintillion years. You can experience pleasure in heaven for even longer than that. But as long as you are not on Earth, the Root will continuously retrieve karma from you. Once you die, your karma is re-evaluated by the Root and you are reincarnated into the appropriate plane. For example, it is possible to die in hell, then reincarnate into a less severe plane of hell.

Trivia: You can only die of old age in hell, and the minimum life span is about 1.5 trillion years.

## Every Single Realm Explained

### Formless Realm (Ārūpyadhātu आरूपधातु)

   The **Ārūpyadhātu** (Sanskrit) or **Arūpaloka** (Pāli) (Tib: *gzugs med pa'i khams*; Chinese: 无色界/無色界;Jpn: 無色界 *Mushiki-kai*; Burmese: အရုပဗြဟ္မာဘုံ; Devanagari: आरूप्यधातु / अरूपलोक) 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 चतुःसमापत्ति*) 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:

##### Arupa Bhumi (Arupachara Brahmalokas or Immaterial/Formless Brahma Realms)

* ***Naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana*** नैवसंज्ञानासंज्ञायतन or '*Nevasaññānāsaññāyatana**नेवसञ्ञानासञ्ञायतन (Tib:**du shes med 'du shes med min*; Jpn: 非有想非無想処; Burmese: **နေဝသည နာသညာယတန** ) "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 original teachers, who considered it equivalent to enlightenment. Total life span on this realm in human years - 84,000 Maha Kalpa (Maha Kalpa = 4 Asankya Kalpa). This realm is placed 5,580,000 Yojanas ( 1 Yojana = 16 Miles) above the Plane of Nothingness (Ākiṃcanyāyatana).
* ***Ākiṃcanyāyatana*** आकिंचन्यायतना or **Ākiñcaññāyatana** आकिञ्चञ्ञायतन (Tib: *ci yang med*; Chinese: 无所有处/無所有處; Jpn: 無所有処 *mu sho u sho*; Burmese: **အာကိဉ္စ ညာယတန**; Devanagari: /) "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 original teachers; he considered it to be equivalent to enlightenment. Total life span on this realm in human years - 60,000 Maha Kalpa. This realm is placed 5,580,000 yojanas above the Plane of Infinite Consciousness(Vijñānānantyāyatana).
* **Vijñānānantyāyatana** विज्ञानानन्त्यायतन or ***Viññāṇānañcāyatana*** विञ्ञाणानञ्चायतन or more commonly the contracted form ***Viññāṇañcāyatana*** (Tib: *rnam shes mtha' yas*; Chinese: 识无边处/識無邊處; Jpn: 識無辺処 *shiki mu hen jo*; Burmese: **ဝိညာဏဉ္စာယတန** ) "Sphere of Infinite Consciousness". In this sphere formless beings dwell meditating on their consciousness (vijñāna) as infinitely pervasive. Total life span on this realm in human years - 40,000 Maha Kalpa. This realm is placed 5,580,000 yojanas above the Plane of Infinite Space (Ākāśānantyāyatana)
* **Ākāśānantyāyatana** अाकाशानन्त्यायतन or **Ākāsānañcāyatana** आकासानञ्चायतन (Tib: *nam mkha' mtha' yas*; Chinese: 空无边处/空無邊處;Jpn: 空無辺処 *kū mu hen jo*; Burmese: **အာကာသာနဉ္စာယတန**) "Sphere of Infinite Space". In this sphere formless beings dwell meditating upon space or extension (ākāśa) as infinitely pervasive. Total life span on this realm in human years - 20,000 Maha Kalpa. This realm is placed 5,580,000 yojanas above the Akanita Brahma Loka — Highest plane of pure abodes.

### Form Realm (Rūpadhātu)

The Rūpadhātu रूपधातुः (Pāli: Rūpaloka रूपलोक; Tib: *gzugs kyi khams*; Chinese: 色界; Jpn: 色界 *Shiki-kai*; Burmese: **ရူပဗြဟ္မာဘုံ**) 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. There are 17-22 Rūpadhātu in Buddhism texts, the most common saying is 18.[10]

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 (रुपध्यान). 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 (7.31 km).

#### Pure Abodes

The Śuddhāvāsa शुद्धावास (Pāli: Suddhāvāsa सुद्धावास; Tib: *gnas gtsang ma*; Chinese: 净居天/凈居天) 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. Every Śuddhāvāsa deva is therefore a protector of Buddhism. (Brahma Sahampati, who appealed to the newly enlightened Buddha to teach, was an Anagami under the previous Buddha[11]). Because a Śuddhāvāsa deva will never be reborn outside the Śuddhāvāsa worlds, no Bodhisattva is ever born in these worlds, as a Bodhisattvamust 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*** अकनिष्ठ or ***Akaniṭṭha*** अकनिठ्ठ – 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). Mahesvara(Shiva) the ruler of the three realms of samsara is said to dwell here.[12] The height of this world is 167,772,160 yojanas above the Earth (approximately the distance of Saturn from Earth).[13]
* **Sudarśana** सुदर्शन or **Sudassī** सुदस्सी – 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 (approximately the distance of Jupiter from Earth).
* ***Sudṛśa*** सुदृश or **Sudassa** सुदस्स – 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** अतप or **Atappa** अतप्प – 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 (approximately the distance of Sun from Earth).
* ***Avṛha*** अवृह or **Aviha** अविह – 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 (approximately the distance of Mars from Earth).

#### Bṛhatphala worlds बृहत्फल

The mental state of the devas of the *Bṛhatphala* worlds (Chn: 四禅九天/四禪九天; Jpn: 四禅九天) 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** असञ्ञसत्त (Sanskrit: *Asaṃjñasattva* असंज्ञसत्त्व) (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*** बृहत्फल or '*Vehapphala**वेहप्फल (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.(approximately the distance of Venus from Earth)
* ***Puṇyaprasava*** पुण्यप्रसव (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.
* **Anabhraka** अनभ्रक (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.

#### *Śubhakṛtsna* worlds

The mental state of the devas of the *Śubhakṛtsna* worlds (Chn/Jpn: 三禅三天; Devanagari: शुभकृत्स्न) 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 cosmologybelow), that is, the flood of water does not rise high enough to reach them.

* ***Śubhakṛtsna*** शुभकृत्स्न or ***Subhakiṇṇa / Subhakiṇha*** सुभकिण्ण/सुभकिण्ह (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*** अप्रमाणशुभ or ***Appamāṇasubha*** अप्पमाणसुभ (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.
* **Parīttaśubha** परीत्तशुभ or **Parittasubha** परित्तसुभ (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.

#### Ābhāsvara worlds

The mental state of the devas of the Ābhāsvara आभास्वर worlds (Chn/Jpn: 二禅三天) 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**आभास्वर or **Ābhassara** आभस्सर (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 universe by water, which includes the Ābhāsvara worlds. The height of this world is 81,920 yojanas above the Earth.
* ***Apramāṇābha*** अप्रमाणाभ or ***Appamāṇābha*** अप्पमाणाभ (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**परीत्ताभ or**Parittābha**परित्ताभ (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

Main article: Brahma (Buddhism)

The mental state of the devas of the Brahmā worlds (Chn/Jpn: 初禅三天) 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** महाब्रह्मा (Tib: *tshangs pa chen po*; Chn/Jpn: 大梵天 *Daibonten*) – 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 ​1⁄2yojanas tall. His lifespan variously said to be 1 kalpa (Vibhajyavāda tradition) or 1 ​1⁄2kalpas 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** ब्रह्मपुरोहित (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.
* ***Brahmapāriṣadya*** ब्रह्मपारिषद्य or **Brahmapārisajja** ब्रह्मपारिसज्ज (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.

### Desire Realm (Kāmadhātu कामधातु)

Main article: Desire realm

The beings born in the Kāmadhātu कामधातु (Pāli: Kāmaloka कामलोक; Tib: '*dod pa'i khams*; Chn/Jpn: 欲界 *Yoku-kai*) differ in degree of happiness, but they are all, other than Anagamis, Arhats and Buddhas, under the domination of Māra and are bound by sensual desire, which causes them suffering.

#### Heavens

The 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** परिनिर्मितवशवर्ती or **Paranimmita-vasavatti** परनिम्मितवसवत्ति (Tib: *gzhan 'phrul dbang byed*; Chn/Jpn: 他化自在天 *Takejizai-ten*; Burmese: **ပရနိမ္မိတဝသဝတ္တီ**) – 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 of this world are kept distinct. The beings of this world are 4,500 feet (1,400 m) tall and live for 9,216,000,000 years (Sarvāstivāda tradition). The height of this world is 1,280 yojanas above the Earth.
* ***Nirmāṇarati*** निर्माणरति or Nimmānaratī निम्माणरती (Tib: '*phrul dga'*; Chn: 化乐天/化樂天; Jpn: 化楽天 *Keraku-ten*; Burmese: **နိမ္မာနရတိ**)– 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 (1,140 m) tall and live for 2,304,000,000 years (Sarvāstivāda tradition). The height of this world is 640 yojanas above the Earth.
* ***Tuṣita*** तुषित or **Tusita** तुसित (Tib: *dga' ldan*; Chn/Jpn: 兜率天 *Tosotsu-ten*; Burmese: **တုသိတာ**) – 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 (910 m) tall and live for 576,000,000 years (Sarvāstivāda tradition). The height of this world is 320 yojanas above the Earth.
* '*Yāma**याम (Tib:**thab bral*; Chn/Jpn: 夜摩天 *Yama-ten*; Burmese: **ယာမာ**) – 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. These devas live in the air, free of all difficulties. 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 (690 m) tall and live for 144,000,000 years (Sarvāstivāda tradition). The height of this world is 160 yojanas above the Earth.

#### Worlds of Sumeru

Main article: Sumeru

The world-mountain of Sumeru सुमेरु (Sineru सिनेरु) 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*** त्रायस्त्रिंश or ***Tāvatiṃsa*** तावतिंस (Tib: *sum cu rtsa gsum pa*; Chn/Jpn: 忉利天/三十三天 *Tōri-ten*; **တာဝတိံသာ**) – 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 Śakro devānām indra, शक्रो देवानामिन्द्रः ”Śakra, 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 heavenly courtesans (es or nymphs). The beings of this world are 1,500 feet (460 m) 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** चातुर्महाराजिककायिक or **Cātummahārājika** चातुम्महाराजिक (Tib: *rgyal chen bzhi*; Chn:四天王天; Jpn: 四大王衆天 *Shidaiōshu-ten*; **စတုမဟာရာဇ်**) – 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* विरूढकः, *Dhṛtarāṣṭra* धृतराष्ट्रः, *Virūpākṣa* विरूपाक्षः, and their leader *Vaiśravaṇa* वैश्रवणः. 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* कुम्भाण्ड (dwarfs), Gandharvas गन्धर्व (fairies), Nāgas नाग (dragons) and *Yakṣas* यक्ष (goblins). The beings of this world are 750 feet (230 m) 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.
* **Asura** असुर (Tib: *lha ma yin*; Chn/Jpn: 阿修羅 *Ashura*; Burmese: *အသူရကယ်*) – 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 वेमचित्री (Pāli: Vepacitti वेपचित्ती) and Rāhu.

#### Earthly realms

* ***Manuṣyaloka*** मनुष्यलोक (Tib: *mi*; Chn/Jpn: 人 *nin*; Burmese: *မနုဿဘုံ*) – 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* चक्रवाड (Pāli: *Cakkavāḷa चक्कवाळ*) 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 king and his retinue could use to fly through the air between the continents. The four continents are:**
	+ **Jambudvīpa** जम्वुद्वीप or **Jambudīpa** जम्बुदीप (Chn/Jpn: 閻浮提 *Enbudai*; Burmese; *ဇမ္ဗုဒီပ*) 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 10 to about 10^140 years (Asankya Aayu).
	+ **Pūrvavideha** पूर्वविदेह or **Pubbavideha** पुब्बविदेह (Burmese: *ပုဗ္ဗဝိဒေဟ*) 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 (3.7 m) tall and they live for 700 years. Their main work is trading and buying materials.
	+ **Aparagodānīya** अपरगोदानीय or **Aparagoyāna अपरगोयान** (Burnese: *အပရဂေါယာန*) 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 Kadamba tree. The human inhabitants of this continent do not live in houses but sleep on the ground. Their main transportation is Bullock cart. They are about 24 feet (7.3 m) tall and they live for 500 years.
	+ **Uttarakuru उत्तरकुरु** (Burmese; *ဥတ္တရကုရု*) is located in the north, and is shaped like a square. It has a perimeter of 8,000 yojanas, being 2,000 yojanas on each side. This continent's tree is called a *kalpavṛkṣa कल्पवृक्ष* (Pāli: kapparukkha कप्परुक्ख) or kalpa-tree, because it lasts for the entire kalpa. The inhabitants of Uttarakuru have cities built in the air. They are said to be extraordinarily wealthy, not needing to labor for a living – as their food grows by itself – and having no private property. They are about 48 feet (15 m) tall and live for 1,000 years, and they are under the protection of *Vaiśravaṇa*.
* **Tiryagyoni-loka** तिर्यग्योनिलोक or **Tiracchāna-yoni** तिरच्छानयोनि (Tib: *dud 'gro*; Chn/Jpn: 畜生 *chikushō*; Burmese: *တိရိစ္ဆာန်ဘုံ*) – This world comprises all members of the animal kingdom that are capable of feeling suffering, regardless of size.
* **Pretaloka** प्रेतलोक or **Petaloka** पेतलोक (Tib: *yi dwags*; Burmese: *ပြိတ္တာ*) – 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 deserts and wastelands.

#### Hells (Narakas)

Main article: Naraka (Buddhism)

**Naraka नरक** or **Niraya निरय** (Tib: *dmyal ba*; Burmese; *ငရဲ*) 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 अर्बुद** – the "blister" Naraka
* **Nirarbuda निरर्बुद** – the "burst blister" Naraka
* **Ataṭa अतट** – the Naraka of shivering
* **Hahava हहव** – the Naraka of lamentation
* **Huhuva हुहुव** – the Naraka of chattering teeth
* **Utpala उत्पल** – the Naraka of skin becoming blue as a blue lotus
* **Padma पद्म** – the Naraka of cracking skin
* **Mahāpadma महापद्म** – the Naraka of total frozen bodies falling apart

Each lifetime in these Narakas is twenty times the length of the one before it.

##### Hot Narakas

* **Sañjīva सञ्जीव** (Burmese: *သဉ္ဇိုင်း ငရဲ*) – the "reviving" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 162\*1010 years long.
* **Kālasūtra कालसूत्र** (Burmese: *ကာဠသုတ် ငရဲ*) – the "black thread" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 1296\*1010 years long.
* **Saṃghāta संघात** (Burmese: *သင်္ဃာတ ငရဲ*) – the "crushing" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 10,368\*1010 years long.
* **Raurava/Rīrava रौरव/रीरव**(Burmese: *ရောရုဝ ငရဲ') – the "screaming" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 82,944\*1010 years long.*
* **Mahāraurava/Mahārīrava महारौरव/महारीरव** (Burmese: *မဟာရောရုဝ ငရဲ*) – the "great screaming" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 663,552\*1010 years long.
* **Tāpana/Tapana तापन/तपन** (Burmese: *တာပန ငရဲ*) – the "heating" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 5,308,416\*1010 years long.
* **Mahātāpana महातापन** (Burmese: *မဟာတာပန ငရဲ*) – the "great heating" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 42,467,328\*1010 years long.
* **Avīci अवीचि** (Burmese: *အဝီစိ ငရဲ*) – the "uninterrupted" Naraka. Life in this Naraka is 339,738,624\*1010 years long.

#### The foundations of the earth

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. Yojanas are equivalent to about 13 km (8 mi).