1. What are the 16 Brahma realms (rūpāvacara) and how are beings reborn in them?
First rūpa Jhāna:
Retinue of Brahma (brahma-pārisajja)
Ministers of Brahma (brahma-purohitha)
Great Brahmas (mahā brahma)
Second rūpa Jhāna:
Devas of limited radiance (parittābha)
Devas of unbounded radiance (appamāṇābha)
Devas of streaming radiance (ābhassara)
Third rūpa Jhāna:
Devas of limited glory (parittasubha)
Devas of unbounded glory (appamāṇasubha)
Devas of radiant glory (subhakiṇṇa)
Fourth rūpa Jhāna:
Very fruitful devas (vehapphala)
Devas with only the body and no mind (asañña satta)
Durable devas (aviha)
Untroubled devas (atappa)
Beautiful devas (sudassa)
Clear sighted devas (sudassī)
Peerless devas (akaniṭṭha)
2.Explain each of the (rūpāvacara) brahma realms.
1. Retinue of Brahma (brahma-pārisajja)
This is the lowest of the sixteen worlds composed of delicate materials. In this location, deities are conceived through the achievement of the initial rupa Jhana, which is accompanied by the five Jhana factors: unified thought (ekaggata), sustained thought (vitakka), joy (piti), and happiness (sukha).
2. Ministers of Brahma (brahma-purohitha)
The second of the three realms composed of fine materials in the first Jhana. Due to the fact that they serve as priests of the Maha Brahma, this realm is also referred to as the dominance of the Brahma ministers. They would have attained a medium level of strength in their first Jhana during their previous existence; therefore, the pleasure they are currently experiencing is also of a medium level.
3. Great Brahmas (mahā brahma)
The final of the initial three realms of Jhana Brahma. The deities who are spontaneously born here would have attained a higher level of Jhana in their previous existence. As a result, they are capable of fully experiencing the happiness of the initial Jhana.
4. Devas of limited radiance (parittābha)
This is the initial of three existences known as the second rupa Jhana. By relinquishing directed thought (vitakka) and sustained thought (vicara) in favor of the three Jhanic elements—joy (piti), happiness (sukha), and mental unification (ekaggata)—the deities in this realm could have achieved the second Jhana. However, their second Jhana would have been limited in potency, and as a result, the amount of light emanating from their bodies is considerably less than that of the deities from the two higher realms.
5. Devas of unbounded radiance (appamāṇābha)
Deities of the second realm of the second Jhana experience are known as Devas of unbounded radiance because their bodies emit endless rays of light. They are also spontaneously born with completely formed, highly subtle physical bodies. When they gained the second rupa Jhana in their previous existence, they would have developed it to a medium degree, resulting in the endless rays of light emanating from their bodies in comparison to the deities in the previous realm.
6. Devas of streaming radiance (ābhassara)
This is the deities' third and highest Brahma realm, where they were born after attaining the second fine material mental absorption (second rupa Jhana) in their previous life. They would have advanced to a higher degree of the second Jhana, and so their bodies emit a streaming brightness akin to that seen during lightning.
7. Devas of limited glory (parittasubha)
The first of three third-rupa Jhana Brahma realms. In their previous birth, the deities born in this Brahma realm gained the third fine material mental absorption (Jhana), accompanied by the Jhanic components of happiness (sukha) and mental unity (ekaggata). The deities are pure and auspicious, but their grandeur is limited since they have only developed the third Jhana to a lower level than the deities of the two higher Brahma worlds.
8. Devas of unbounded glory (appamāṇasubha)
The deities of the second, third, and fourth rupa Jhana Brahma worlds are supposed to be wise and pure. They have boundless splendor since they have developed the third fine substance Jhana to a medium level, accompanied by calm and mental union. They are born naturally with completely formed, incredibly subtle bodies.
9. Devas of radiant glory (subhakiṇṇa)
This is the highest level of the third rupa Jhana Brahma realms. The deities in this Brahma realm are radiantly beautiful since they mastered the third fine material Jhana in their previous life.
10. Very fruitful devas (vehapphala)
This is the fourth world of Rupa Jhana Brahma. They are sometimes referred to as Devas of Great Reward. The deities born in this existence would have acquired the fourth fine material mental absorption in the previous existence by giving up the Jhana element of happiness (sukha) and focusing on mental unity (ekaggata) and equanimity (upekha). They are also born spontaneously with completely formed, extremely subtle bodies and no distinction between male and female sexes.
11. Devas with only the body and no mind (asañña satta)
Asanna satta is a fourth rupa Jhana Brahma globe as well. In their former existence, the deities born here would have achieved the fourth excellent material Jhana, together with mental unity and tranquility. They would have preferred to be born without consciousness in the subsequent birth after developing the fourth Jhana. Normally, the material form and consciousness cannot be separated, but these deities are born with only the physical form and no accompanying consciousness due to the supernormal power of meditational accomplishment.
Pure Abodes (suddhāvāsa)
The collective designation for the five rupa Brahma realms that remain is the Pure Abodes (suddhavasa). The Pure Abodes are exclusively accessible to devotees of the Buddha who have achieved the third supra-mundane stage of the Non-Returner (anagami) and have diligently pursued the Buddhist path to enlightenment. They will be reborn in one of the five Pure Abodes if they have achieved the Non-Returner stage in another plane of existence but have not yet attained the culminating stage of Arahant in the same plane. They will persist in their pursuit of the Buddhist spiritual path as deities of the Pure Abodes, ultimately attaining final Nibbana without experiencing another rebirth and becoming Arahants. Buddha was hesitant to propagate the Buddhist doctrine for the benefit of others after attaining enlightenment due to its depth and complexity. However, upon his return, Brahma Sahampati, a deity from the Pure Abodes, paid him a visit and extended an invitation to do so. A person who aspires to attain the status of a Samma Sambuddha (bodhisattva) would never be granted birth in any of the Pure Abodes, as they would not be reborn in the mortal realm in order to accomplish the goal.
12. Durable devas (aviha)
The initial of the five Pure Abodes is Aviha. It is also referred to as the plane of deities who do not fall. Non-Returners (anagami) are the only individuals who are born here after having cultivated the Buddhist path to enlightenment in another plane of existence.
13. Untroubled devas (atappa)
This plane is also referred to as the "Untroubled deities" realm and is the second of the five Pure Abodes. Certain celestial beings within the realm of Brahma may have originated directly from previous lives in which they achieved the third stage of Non-Returnability; conversely, others might have originated from Aviha's initial Pure Abode. These deities are those who were unable to attain Arahant status in the realm of Brahma. A portion of the inhabitants of this Brahma world will die and be reborn in the higher Pure Abodes, while the majority will become Arahants and achieve final Nibbana.
14. Beautiful devas (sudassa)
The plane of the "beautiful deities" is the third Pure Abode. Some Non-Returners will be reborn immediately from previous existences where they gained that stage, while others will come after traveling through the two lesser Brahma worlds of Aviha and Atappa. When their lives come to an end, the deities here will continue to cultivate the Buddhist spiritual path in order to become Arahants and achieve final Nibbana. Some deities, however, will die as Non-Returners and be reborn in the higher Pure Abodes, where they will become Arahants and achieve final Nibbana.
15. Clear sighted devas (sudassī)
The "Clear-sighted Devas" are the deities of Sudassi, the fourth Pure Abode. Some deities may have been reborn from other planes of existence after reaching the third supra mundane stage of Non-returner (anagami) here as well. However, certain deities who were born in the lower Pure Abodes but did not become Arahants will die and be reborn in the Sudassi Brahma universe. The majority of the deities in this Brahma realm will reach the Arahant stage and final Nibbana, but some will die as Non-Returners and be reborn in the next Pure Abode of Akanittha.
16. Peerless devas (akaniṭṭha)
The fifth and final Pure Abode of Akanittha is called as the plane of "peerless deities" because all deities born there are of equal status. They are also referred to as the ultimate devas. The highest of the sixteen excellent material realms (rupa loka) is Akanittha. After reaching the third supra mundane stage of Non-Returner (anagami), some of the deities here may have arrived directly from other planes of existence. Others, known as Uddhamsota Non-Returners, may have been reborn after passing away from the four lesser Pure Abodes. The Arahantship and final Nibbana will be attained by all of the deities in this Pure Abode.
3. In Buddhism, what is a world system (loka dhatu)?
The sense of dhātu as “world-system” is well-established. It refers to a specific constellation of cosmological details: a world (like the earth), a sun, a moon, heaven realms, and so on, for which the closest modern term is “solar system”. There are countless such systems (dasasahassilokadhātu= 10,000-fold world system = galaxy). For example, AN 3.80:
“Yāvatā, ānanda, candimasūriyā pariharanti, disā bhanti virocanā, tāva sahassadhā loko.
“Ānanda, a galaxy extends a thousand times as far as the moon and sun revolve and the shining ones light up the quarters.
Tasmiṃ sahassadhā loke sahassaṃ candānaṃ, sahassaṃ sūriyānaṃ, sahassaṃ sinerupabbatarājānaṃ, sahassaṃ jambudīpānaṃ, sahassaṃ aparagoyānānaṃ, sahassaṃ uttarakurūnaṃ, sahassaṃ pubbavidehānaṃ, cattāri mahāsamuddasahassāni, cattāri mahārājasahassāni, sahassaṃ cātumahārājikānaṃ, sahassaṃ tāvatiṃsānaṃ, sahassaṃ yāmānaṃ, sahassaṃ tusitānaṃ, sahassaṃ nimmānaratīnaṃ, sahassaṃ paranimmitavasavattīnaṃ, sahassaṃ brahmalokānaṃ—
In that galaxy there are a thousand moons, a thousand suns, a thousand Sinerus king of mountains, a thousand Indias, a thousand Western Continents, a thousand Northern Continents, a thousand Eastern Continents, four thousand oceans, four thousand Great Kings, a thousand realms of the Gods of the Four Great Kings, a thousand realms of the Gods of the Thirty-Three, of the Gods of Yama, of the Joyful Gods, of the Gods who Love to Create, of the Gods who Control the Creations of Others, and a thousand Brahmā realms.
ayaṃ vuccatānanda, sahassī cūḷanikā lokadhātu.
This is called a thousandfold lesser world system, a ‘galaxy’.
Yāvatānanda, sahassī cūḷanikā lokadhātu tāva sahassadhā loko.
A world system that extends for a thousand galaxies
Ayaṃ vuccatānanda, dvisahassī majjhimikā lokadhātu.
is called a millionfold middling world system, a ‘galactic cluster’.
Yāvatānanda, dvisahassī majjhimikā lokadhātu tāva sahassadhā loko.
A world system that extends for a thousand galactic clusters
Ayaṃ vuccatānanda, tisahassī mahāsahassī lokadhātu.
is called a billionfold great world system, a ‘galactic supercluster’.
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