Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the Universe according to Buddhist scriptures and commentaries.
It consists of a temporal and a spatial cosmology. The temporal cosmology describes the timespan of the creation and dissolvement of alternate universes in different aeons. The spatial cosmology consists of a vertical cosmology, the various planes of beings, into which beings are reborn due to their merits and development; and a horizontal cosmology, the distribution of these world-systems into an infinite sheet of existential dimensions included in the cycle of samsara. The entire universe is said to be made up of five basic elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. Buddhist cosmology is also intwined with the belief of Karma. As a result, some ages are filled with prosperity and peace due to common goodness, whereas other eras are filled with suffering, dishonesty and short lifespans.
Meaning and origin
Course of rebirth and liberation The Buddhist cosmology is not a literal description of the shape of the universe; rather, it is the universe as seen through the (), the "divine eye" by which a Buddha or an Arahant can perceive all beings arising (being born) and passing away (dying) within various worlds; and can tell from what state they have been reborn, and into which state they will be reborn.
Beings can be reborn as devas (gods and Brahmas), humans, animals, asuras (demons), pretas ("hungry ghosts"), and as inhabitants of the hell realms.
The process by which sentient beings migrate from one state of existence to another is dependent on causes and conditions. The three causes are giving or charity, moral conduct, meditative development, and their opposites. Rebirth in the Kama-loka (desire realm) depends on a person's moral conduct and practice of giving. Rebirth in the Rupa-loka (form realm) and Arupa-loka (formless realm) also requires meditation development. Liberation from all rebirth requires eons upon eons of perfecting charity, moral conduct, and meditative development, in order to achieve Buddhahood.
Origins The Buddhist cosmology, as 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, but in several sūtras the Buddha describes other worlds and states of being, and other sūtras describe the origin and destruction of the universe. The order of the planes are found in various discourses of Gautama Buddha in the Sutta Pitaka. In the Saleyyaka Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya the Buddha mentioned the planes above the human plane in ascending order. In several suttas in the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha described the causes of rebirth in these planes in the same order.
The synthesis of this 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 minor inconsistencies of nomenclature, with the Sarvāstivāda tradition which is preserved by Mahāyāna Buddhists.
Traditional Abhidharma cosmology Traditional Buddhist schools in India all followed complex cosmological systems which were laid out in the Abhidharma texts of the various Buddhist schools.
Spatial cosmology
The spatial cosmology displays the various worlds in which beings can be reborn. Spatial cosmology can also be divided into two branches. The vertical (or ; Devanagari: चक्रवाड) cosmology describes the arrangement of worlds in a vertical pattern, some being higher and some lower. By contrast, the horizontal (sahasra) cosmology describes the grouping of these vertical worlds into sets of thousands, millions or billions.
Vertical cosmology – Three Realms
The three realms
The vertical cosmology is divided into three realms, or dhātus: the formless realm (Ārūpyadhātu), corresponding to the formless jhanas; the form realm (Rūpadhātu), corresponding to the rūpa jhānas; and the desire realm (Kamadhātu). The three realms contain together thirty-one planes of existence, each corresponding to a different type of mentality. These three realms (tridhātu, trailokya) are the Formless Realm (Ārūpyadhātu), which consists of four planes; the Form Realm (Rūpadhātu), which consists of sixteen planes; and the Pleasure Realm (Kāmadhātu), which consists of eleven planes.
A world is not so much a location 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.
Devas and Brahma In some instances, all of the beings born in the Ārūpyadhātu and the Rūpadhātu are informally classified as "Gods" or "Deities" (), along with the Gods of the Kāmadhātu, notwithstanding the fact that 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 and monotheistic 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 eleven lower worlds of the Rūpadhātu, or in its narrowest sense, to the three lowest worlds of the Rūpadhātu (Plane of Brahma's retinue). 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. According to the Ayacana Sutta, Brahmā Sahampati, who advises the Buddha to teach Dhamma to the world, resides in the Śuddhāvāsa worlds.
Formless Realm (Ārūpyadhātu) The Formless Realm (Ārūpyadhātu (Sanskrit) or Arūpaloka (Pāli)) belongs to those Devas who attained and remained in the Four Formless Absorptions ( चतुःसमापत्ति) of the arūpadhyānas in a previous life, and now enjoy 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.
The 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. The inhabitants of these realms are possessed entirely of mind. Having no physical form or location, they are unable to hear Dhamma teachings.
There are four types of Formless Deva planes corresponding to the four types of arūpadhyānas: "Sphere of neither perception nor non-perception" ( or Nevasaññānāsaññāyatana ). Rebirth on this plane is a result of attaining the fourth formless jhana in a previous life. In this sphere the Formless Devas have gone beyond a mere negation of perception and have attained a liminal state where they do not engage in "perception" (, 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 in this realm in human years - 84,000 Maha Kalpa. This realm is placed 5,580,000 yojanas above the Plane of Nothingness (Ākiṃcanyāyatana). "Sphere of Nothingness" (literally "lacking anything") ( or Ākiñcaññāyatana ). Rebirth on this plane is a result of attaining the third formless jhana in a previous life. In this sphere Formless Devas 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 (), the first of the Buddha's original teachers; he considered it to be equivalent to enlightenment. Total life span in this realm in human years – 60,000 Maha Kalpa. This realm is placed 5,580,000 yojanas above the Plane of Infinite Consciousness (Vijñānānantyāyatana). "Sphere of Infinite Consciousness" (Vijñānānantyāyatana or or more commonly the contracted form ). Rebirth on this plane is a result of attaining the second formless jhana. In this sphere Formless Devas dwell meditating on their consciousness (vijñāna) as infinitely pervasive. Total life span in this realm in human years – 40,000 Maha Kalpa. This realm is placed 5,580,000 yojanas above the Plane of Infinite Space (Ākāśānantyāyatana). "Sphere of Infinite Space" (Ākāśānantyāyatana or Ākāsānañcāyatana ). Rebirth on this plane is a result of attaining the first formless jhana. In this sphere Formless Devas dwell meditating upon space or extension (ākāśa) as infinitely pervasive. Total life span in this realm in human years – 20,000 Maha Kalpa. This realm is placed 5,580,000 yojanas above the Akanittha Brahma Loka – Highest plane of pure abodes.
Form Realm (Rūpadhātu) The (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) 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 heaven (in the Kāmadhātu), he has to assume a "grosser form" in order to be visible to them. There are 16–22 Rūpadhātu in Buddhist texts, the most commonly given number being 18.
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: ). 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 .
Pure Abodes (non-returners)