Professional Documents
Culture Documents
of
REBIRTH
A Bhante Suvanno’s
Discourse
A Jinavamsa Collection
2
CG – 8 Villa Indah
Bukit Tinggi
28750 Bentong
Pahang
Email: jinavamsa@gmail.com
Copyright @2009 by Leong Yok Kee
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
A series of his talks will be printed in book form and if you have a
desire to contribute to the successful completion of these series,
financial donations will be helpful and can be sent to:
CONTENTS
Acknowledgement /Dedication/Introduction /Object 3/8
Disappearance of the Dhamma 16
Counterfeit Dhamma/Criterion for Acceptance 17/18
Corruption of Insight 18
Benefits of the True Path 21
Metta Bhavana Sutta 22
Forward 25
Kamma Cause of Rebirth 27
What Happens at Death 28
Part 1
Kamma and its Fruit 32
Kamma and Rebirth 34
The Modifiabilty of Kamma 36
The Five Precepts 37
Evil Actions by Mind 41
Part 2
The Planes of Rebirth/Introduction 42
Description of the 31 Planes 43
3 Divisions of the 31 Planes 46
1st Division
The Sensuous Planes 47
[A] The Four Planes of Misery 47
(a) Hell Plane 47
Suffering in Hell 49
Where are the Hell Regions/Maha Naraka 52
Hell’s Duration 57
The Buddha Describes Hell 60
(b) Animal Plane 63
Examples of Beings Born as Animals 64
Animals have only Three Perceptions 66
The Naga Mucalinda 66
The Elephant and the Monkey 67
(c) Hungry Ghost Plane 69
The Story of King Bimbisara 71
(d) The Demon Plane 74
[B] 7 Planes of Sensual Desires 75
The Human Plane (5) 75
The Six Deva Planes (6-11) 78
Who’s Who in Devaland 80
Death of Devas 86
nd
2 Division: The Fine Material Planes (12-27) 87
3rd Division: The Non-Material Planes (28-31) 91
Epilogue – Showing the Way 93
31 Planes – A Summary 100
6
DEDICATION
Gāravo nivāto
ravo ca niv to ca
kataññutā
Santutthi ca kataññut
Kālena
lena dhammasavanam
Etam mangalamuttamam
Reverence,
Reverence, humility,
humility,
Contentment and gratitude.
gratitude.
Hearing the Dhamma at the right time,
This is the most auspicious sign.
7
SECOND DEDICATION
A New Beginning
Beginning
INTRODUCTION
Jinavamsa: Dear Readers, I am very happy that you have picked up this
copy of a Dhamma literature; for whatever reason. It will surely bring you
great rewards. Maybe you like the cover, maybe you saw the name on it
and maybe you were actually looking for a book on Bhante Suvanno and
his life’s work. Whatever the reason, you are very welcome to begin your
investigation of the Buddha’s true Dhamma in the following pages.
OBJECT
Jinavamsa: The Lord Buddha had reflected that the Dhamma He had
deep, difficult to see, difficult to realise, peaceful,
rediscovered is; “deep,
refined, beyond the scope of conjecture,
conjecture, subtle, to be experienced
only by the wise”.
wise
He, knowing the difficulties ignorant humans have in reaching into the
Dhamma, did not just leave it to our own devices to seek and realise it; He
sign posted the way with specific instructions. For when Ananda asked
for some final words in respect of the community of bhikkhus during the
Buddha’s passing away; the Blessed One answered him:
Jinavamsa: Those were the final exhortation of the most Unique Teacher
ever in the history of humankind; reading between the lines, we should
sieve through to the essence of His Dhamma. He taught that the realisation
of His Teaching can only be through a gradual training. It is not possible
to take a book on the Dhamma, read it, digest it and be enlightened. One
needs to practise correctly to realise the Dhamma; just as there is no other
way to know a taste but that one must try it for oneself.
There are three portals leading to the realisation of the Dhamma; and
entering these portals are not necessary your decision. Their openings are
conditional. Conditions must arise before the first portal will even open.
It has been said by a wise person; when the student is ready the teacher
will appear; along the same reasoning, the Dhamma will appear to one who
is ready for the Dhamma. When conditions due to arising merits and
supportive kamma mature, then events will unfold that will open doors to
the Dhamma.
Conditions arising will pry open the doors to the ripening of kamma. This
will be the first portal that will introduce the Dhamma in various ways;
secondly, when this arises the correct thing to do will be to investigate the
Dhamma; this second portal involves time and energy in learning the
Dhamma intellectually. Faith and confidence deepens and then the third
portal will open.
The final step, the third portal is to realise the Dhamma by practising it as
taught by the Buddha. Only by practise can we experience the Dhamma
and in this way we will be living the Dhamma and wisdom will arise that
will lead us onto the path to freedom from defilement and thus attain
Nibbana.
To say “firstly, being introduced to the Dhamma….”, is but just a statement, but
the real introduction must depend on conditions being juxtapositioned at
a pivotal point at a specific time! These conditions can be a coming
together of kamma, natural happenings and the vagaries of life now and
the past. So you see to be “introduced to the Dhamma” is not a simple matter
at all! That is why a myriad of beings are unable to know the Dhamma due
to conditions not arising.
11
TWO CASES
I offer two cases to illustrate the above conditional introduction to the
Dhamma.
For starters, has anyone taken notice about people’s behaviour lately;
especially the behaviour of religious people? Has anyone noticed the huge
amount of funds going to religious coffers whenever there is noised about
that such and such a venerable monastic or holy person is going to build a
temple, church or some form of icon of their faith? Do you know of
monastics, priests and religious personages getting big fat salaries with
expensive perks to go? Have you never seen monastics or religious person
staying in 5-star accommodations?
Coming nearer home to the Dhamma practice, has anyone paid attention
that less people are inclined to meditate for the correct reasons; instead
they prefer to offer dana, listen to Dhamma talks, habitually and religiously
attend discussions, workshops, chanting sessions and such religious
activities other than what was advised by the Buddha Himself?
And with the Internet casting a wide web around the globe, those who
aspire to propagate their doctrines and teachings sit in their homes and
spew them out to the world. Outer space has become such a vast field of
sewage dump and many of these blogs and postings are going to join the
ranks of spewed garbage into the same sewage field.
These postings and Internet messages are easily available to all. Most
religious organisations are using these means to entice adherents to their
doctrines, should we not by common logic be doing the same thing? Such
thinking and deeds, in regards to the Dhamma does not fulfil the essence
of the Noble Eightfold Path, which is:
The Path should start with the right view or right understanding; followed
by right thinking, right speech, right action, right effort, right livelihood,
right mindfulness and then right concentration.
Thus, when one begins anything with the wrong view, will one be able to
get to the path of right thinking? Of course not; then the rest of the
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negative and opposite factors following will be the obvious result and
those who propagate such ways of learning the Dhamma will have to bear
the result of their thoughts, spoken words and deeds.
Has anyone noticed that food is being bought from established markets
called supermarkets; has anyone noticed that sales of instant food, teas,
coffees and what have yous, have become the norm?
Has anyone realised that world climatic changes are very apparent and
temperature around the globe is rising? And has anyone wondered why
there are so many forms of diseases popping up here and there around
the world and becoming pandemic? Has anyone really pay attention to
habits and pastimes of kids and teenagers? I am sure that you too, will
have your own long lists of these ‘have yous…..’
As to the practice of the Dhamma, the third criteria; that will be your own
effort and hopefully we will have given you sufficient reasons to carry on
the practice yourself.
Now you may ask what has all this to do with this book. The point of
these things are that human beings desire quick fixes, they want to acquire
things; material as well as spiritual, as quickly as possible; they do not want
to work for it, they want a pill to take them to peace and calm and
Nibbana....peace and calm possible… but Nibbana no!
With that reply and his example of living a Dhamma life, I have always
been satisfied that that was the only and correct way, and I stay firmly on
the Path; that is why I have only one teacher and one only…a local born
and bred guru...the Venerable Bhante Acara Suvanno. Now having
repeated that there is only one way:
14
Let me continue by quoting some words from the Lord regarding Five
Dangers in the Future. In Anguttara Nikaya 5: 77-80; there are enumerated
4 sets of 5 dangers that will befall the Dhamma. These Future Dangers are
real and we are already living within the parameters of these dangers even
as we are reading and writing here. These conditions have been built up
through aeons by us in many previous lives and we are now reaping their
fruits.
The Buddha: There will be, in the course of the future, monks
undeveloped in bodily conduct, virtue and discernment (Jinavamsa: I
have total belief and faith in this statement to add that it covers all professions and
calling, not only bhikkhus, but because we are concerned about the Buddha’s teachings,
we will hone in on those who we look up to as leaders and exemplar of our beliefs).
They, being undeveloped
undeveloped in bodily conduct, virtue, mind
and discernment, will not listen when discourses that are words of the
Tathagata; deep, profound and transcendent are being recited.
They will not set their hearts on knowing them, they will not regard
these Teachings
Teachings as worth grasping or mastering (Jinavamsa: by the way,
this is not something new, He had already seen this, the moment He was self
enlightened 2600 years ago, that was the reason He was reluctant to teach the
Dhamma then).
But they will listen when discourses
discourses that are literary works;
the works of poets, elegant in sound, elegant in rhetoric; the work of
outsiders, words of disciples are recited. They will listen and set
their hearts on knowing them and regard these teachings as worth
grasping and mastering.
mastering. Thus from corrupt Dhamma comes corrupt
discipline; from corrupt discipline, corrupt Dhamma.
Furthermore, being undeveloped in bodily conduct, virtue,
mind and discernment, they will become elders living in luxury;
lethargic, foremost in falling back, shirking the duties of solitude.
They will not make efforts for the attaining of the as-
as-yet-
yet-unattained,
the reaching of the as-
as-yet-
yet-unreached, the realisation of the as-
as-yet-
yet-
unrealised. Future generations will take them as examples; thus from
15
Jinavamsa: Thus, the Lord has foreseen the dangers befalling the
Dhamma in the future and taught that we should work to get rid of these
dangers; but even as in the early times when the Lord was not prepared to
teach the Dhamma, even at those times he had seen the corruptness of
humans. Today we, especially the young ones, will be fed with more
corrupt Dhamma, which if unrecognised will lead the unwary and gullible
astray and eventually into the wrong path and suffering for untold aeons.
We need to be aware and to safeguard our own personal faith and practice
so that we are able to enhance our spiritual development in these times of
unwholesome adhamma.
16
The very fount of the Dhamma has gone after attaining the final
goal, PariNibbana; and the Dhamma He left with us as our guide
and teacher is fast shrinking and will eventually dry up and be no
more; we are already seeing major Dhamma losses in the form of
fewer true renunciates and fewer people who are in real earnest to
practise solitude. The Dhamma will disappear; this is without doubt.
The signs of its disappearance are very clear. We see their shrinking
from within daily, in our lives’ moments. Let us hear how the
Dhamma will disappear.
Ananda (the Buddha’s cousin and attendant): The Exalted One was once
staying at Savatthi, at the Jeta Grove, in the Anathapindika Park. Now the
Venerable Maha-Kassapa went into the Lord’s presence, saluted Him and sat
down beside Him. So seated, the Venerable Maha-Kassapa said to the
Exalted One:
Maha Kassapa: Venerable Sir, what is the reason, what is the cause, why
formerly there were fewer trainings rules but more bhikkhus were
established in final knowledge, while now there are more training rules but
fewer bhikkhus are established?
The Lord Buddha: That’s the way it is, Kassapa, when the purity of
beings are deteriorating and the true Dhamma is disappearing, more
training rules are needed but even so, fewer bhikkhus are established
in final
final knowledge. Kassapa, the true Dhamma does not disappear
so long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the
world. But when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma arises in the
world, then the true Dhamma disappears.
Just as Kassapa, gold does not disappear so long as
counterfeit gold has not arisen in the world, but when counterfeit
gold arises then true gold disappears, so the true Dhamma does not
disappear so long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not
arisen in the world.
17
COUNTERFEIT DHAMMA
Jinavamsa: This brings us to the question; how do we define counterfeit
Dhamma? Mahasi Saydaw and the VisuddhiMagga have recognised the source
of counterfeit Dhamma as basically two:
Firstly, when people do not take the original text which is the backbone of
the Buddha’s True Teaching as enshrined within the Tipitaka as the only
words of the Buddha but when they begin to deviate from this Teaching
and take refuge in other seemingly true Dhamma.
Let us look at the first factor; the Tipitaka is the main testimony of the
true Dhamma. In the last hours before the Buddha entered PariNibbana,
He told the gathering of bhikkhus that the Dhamma He left behind would
18
be their teacher. The Dhamma as enshrined within the Tipitaka has been
authenticated in Six Highly Profiled Councils within the Theravada stream
of the Buddha’s Dhamma for 2600 years as the True Dhamma and is
recognised by all Buddhist divisions as the full original authority of the
Buddha‘s Dhamma after His PariNibbana. However, nowadays, these pure,
pristine Dhamma is rarely taken as our Teacher and instead many other
non-Tipitaka texts expounded by “great and elderly” present day teachers
are applied as the better Dhamma. Thus here counterfeit dhamma is already
overshadowing the true Dhamma. Many have forgotten how to apply the
Kalama Sutta in regards to ascertaining the true Dhamma. Let me refresh
memory lapses:
Jinavamsa: Thus, did the Buddha taught; as to the second factor, let us
see what Mahasi Sayadaw says about what are:
There arises also rapture in its five grades, beginning with minor
rapture.
There arises tranquillity of mind.
There also arises a very sublime feeling of happiness suffusing all of the
meditator’s body.
There arises in the meditator energy that is neither too lax nor too
tense but is vigorous and acts evenly.
There also arises in the meditator strong equanimity associated with
insight.
There arises further a subtle attachment of a calm nature that enjoys
the insight graced with the "brilliant light" and the other qualities here
described.
Having investigated it thus, he sees these things as: “these are not mine,
this is not I, this is not myself”. Seeing thus he does not waiver or vacillate
about these sensations and passions. So he understands these as
imperfections without falling prey to doubts and uncertainties (Vm by
Nanamoli pg.739).
Thus, we are at this time witnessing the fading away of the True Dhamma.
You will notice that there are so many forms of the Teachings in today’s
world that most if not all, supposedly followers of the Buddha’s Path, do
not know whether the path they follow are truly the Buddha’s Path! Just
ask anyone and you will be given answers to your question in a confused
manner.
They teach the bliss of the Teachings as the only worthwhile goal and
forget that the realisation of that bliss is not within the moment but at the
end of the final moment where all suffering are eradicated and true bliss is
attained. People fail to see the quagmire beneath the surface of their
delusions; they create the delusions believing it is real. They live in a world
of adhamma making belief that that is the true Dhamma. Thus is the end of
the Dhamma realised.
21
One of the greatest renunciate that truly followed the True Path of the
Lord has passed on and there will be more who follow the True Path
disappearing in the days ahead. These true renunciates are a fast
disappearing breed and sadly there will be no replacement from the same
mould! This short discourse, and others to come, by Bhante Suvanno will
put forward for your review what are the True Teachings of the Buddha.
May the merits of his work be shared among all beings and that by such
merits all beings are guided to the correct path to freedom from suffering.
The benefits that will accrue before this final stage are; mental peace and
calm, good physical health and wellness, able to accept the ups and downs
of life knowing that all arising things are of an impermanent nature and
subject to dissolution.
Thus, he forsaked those methods and strived alone to find his own
salvation. He found it in Satipatthana Vipassana which leads to
Nibbana!
Scriptural Text: On one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi
when it was the time for the taking up of the residence for the rains
retreat. Now on that occasion many bhikkhus from various areas and
districts were desirous of taking up residence for the rains and meditation
in the Blessed One's presence.
It was the Buddha's habit every morning after a discourse to the bhikkhus,
He would assign or advise them to practise meditation in the forest and
the bhikkhus would go away for meditation in their assigned location.
Some would return the same day and some would return after some time
seeking further instructions or details on other matters.
time the Devas were quite upset as they were not able to return to their
abodes in the trees or the rocks now taken up by the bhikkhus.
The Devas decided to frighten the bhikkhus so that the bhikkhus would
leave them and they could return to their homes in peace. The bhikkhus
thus disturbed and frightened by the Devas, decided to return to the
Buddha, whereupon they reported the matter to Him.
After ascertaining the true situation, He realised that the Devas were
unhappy with the bhikkhus for their impolite way of taking over their
abodes leaving them with no shelter for their families. The Buddha then
advised the bhikkhus to go back to the same place but armed with the
good-will of Metta for their comfort and protection. The Buddha then
expounded the Metta Sutta for the practice of Loving-kindness. He
further enumerated the benefits of Metta Bhavana.
hunter seeing her thought "I shall shoot her," and flourishing a long-
handled spear in his hand flung it at the cow. It struck her body and
bounced off like a palm leaf, and that was neither to access nor to
absorption, but simply to the strength of her consciousness of love
for her calf. So mightily powerful is loving kindness!
8. He achieves meditative concentration quickly and easily; the mind of
one who abides by loving kindness is quickly calmed and
concentrated, there is no sluggishness about it.
9. His facial complexion is healthy and serene. The Visuddhi Magga says:
"face has a serene expression, like a palmyra fruit loosed from its
stem."
10. His death will not be confused. There is no deluded mentality for one
who abides in Loving-kindness, death is like falling asleep.
11. If in this life he does not achieve Nibbana he will be reborn in happy
planes. The VisuddhiMagga says: "then when he falls from life, he
reappears in the Brahma World as one who wakes up from sleep."
After learning the Sutta, the bhikkhus returned to the forest and the 500
bhikkhus chanted the Sutta in unison. The vibrant all compassionate and
love-centred Metta Sutta coming from 500 holy bhikkhus conveyed such
tremendous, powerful good-will and loving-kindness that the Devas were
overwhelmed, so much so that they came to pay respects to the bhikkhus
and protected and provided requisites for the bhikkhus for the duration of
their meditation. All 500 bhikkhus attained arahantship and ended their
stay. It is very beneficial for the reciter and the recipient when the practice
of Metta is done habitually. Hopefully, we are clear about our goal in
getting this book presented to you; let us investigate further.
Jinavamsa
Bukit Tinggi
Bentong, Pahang
jinavamsa@gmail.com August 2009
25
FOREWORD
Bhante Suvanno (seated in his kuti, in
conversation with Jinavamsa, the lay disciple):
The Lord has given us specific guides
to suit every situation in our present
lives and even into the after life, yet
many do not seem to realise the gems
of universal truth the Lord has left us.
It is our responsibility, Jinavamsa, to
share these knowledge with those who
are seeking. It is our responsibility to
offer them the way to the correct
practice.
Not knowing the Lord’s Teachings, many have questioned and some have
even gone on to séances, mediums, soothsayers, spirits and what-have-
yous to allay their fears, pamper their curiosities and feed their
superstitious concepts regarding their confusion and uncertainties at and
after death.
They further question: Is Death Final? Is there life beyond death? What
if …what if not? They desperately want to know. They fear the unknown;
they seek to ensure that they find continuity to their lives in order to enjoy
the material fruits they have garnered in this life. The more material
possessions they have the more desperate their need to know. They fear
that death may take away all that they have worked for, fought for,
cheated for or even traded their morality or for some their so-called
“souls” for. Conscious and fearful that death is inevitable, they seek ways
to prolong it, to overcome it or even to live beyond death; they seek the
security of permanent control of their possessions
The Buddha had indicated that none will be able to attain their desires as
they neither have the wisdom to realise their impermanence and
selflessness nature nor do they realise that their desires are never to be
satiated as they set their goals of material gains increasingly higher. All
beings, man, and gods included, live bound within concepts that are
illusions of their minds, fed by their desires and greed. Thus, all beings
find rebirth into existences that they created for themselves through
ignorance of the realities within this life and the uncertainties of the future
ahead. All living beings live life after life within the causal parameters that
26
they ignorantly craft for themselves. With muddled intentions, they build
iron clad cages that will for many aeons imprison them within the
confines of sufferings that they fear; yet the very desires that they crave
for, they cannot achieve because they do not understand the wherewithal
of their existences.
The Buddha had taught that three major root defilement of the mind
effectively lock us into our world of suffering and torment; these three are
unbridled greed, frustrated anger and ignorant delusion. Confined within
the confusing maze-like delusion of our defiled minds, we are unable to
rid ourselves of these three root defilement; not that we do not want to
but that we do not know that these three defilement exist. Even if we
know, we do not know the way to rid ourselves of these three binding
cords that confine us life after life within these damning walls of suffering.
The Buddha knew and taught us the Only Way, He said:
The Buddha: This is the only way for the purification of beings, for
the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of
pain and grief, for reaching the Noble Path, for the realisation of
Nibbana.
So, Jinavamsa, you see the Buddha had seen the whys and wherefores of
living, dying and rebirth and the conditions that set the wheel of life in
motion. Best of all, He taught us this Only Way to be rid of these
defilement. He taught us how to develop from early beginnings, the Path
to Purification that will lead us away from the suffering world and into
Nibbana.
Death only signals the end of a phase in that on-going process. At that
point of the process known as death, a new vehicle is charged and the
process of life carries on and re-birth occurs in the same or another plane
of existence as conditioned by the character of the resultant of past
thoughts, speech and deeds of the dying being arising at that moment.
The word “rebirth” does not mean that the same being is reborn in exact
replica of the one before; and here-in lies the confusing view of re-birth.
[Dhamma Note: To know the Dhamma profoundly and realise its intrinsic essence,
we have to view it through two forms of understanding; view from a conventional
terminology (a commonly spoken language) and a view through universal terminology
(conveying the reality of Dhamma).
This was because the Buddha was a teacher of gods and men (annuttaro purisa
dhamma sarathi sattha deva manussanam). In the course of a discourse, humans and
non-humans were his listeners. The non-humans were the devas and brahmas who were
also eager to know the Dhamma and who had come from various distant heavenly
planes and other world systems to learn the Dhamma from the Buddha himself. Thus,
in speaking to humans, the Buddha was also teaching the unseen devas and brahmas
gathered around at the same moment.
Thus, in most cases where the Lord Buddha discoursed, the nature of the Dhamma is
such that he applied conventional terminology to express universal truths. Due
to this necessity, those who in the past have taken the Buddha’s words at the level of
conventional speech have made grave errors in their interpretation. In some cases those
misinterpretation has been passed to us together with major erroneous content. We need
therefore to be mindful of the duality of Dhamma terms when the Lord’s Dhamma is
discoursed].
28
In “the being about to die”, if its actions in its life before death, had been
conditioned and initiated by thought and speech directed by a purified
mind, the new being will manifest in a plane appropriate to the condition
of the mind at the moment of death; if they had been of mixed type, the
kammic energy conditioned by past thoughts, speech and deeds will
reappear into a new being anywhere in the 31 Planes.
Let us digress momentarily to delve a little into kamma and death. Let us
begin by reading from a teacher of meditation with international
recognition. He wrote:
Although no simile can convey the exact process, still one might say that
this flow of becoming is like a train running on a track. It reaches the
station of death and there, slightly decreasing speed for a moment, carries
on again with the same speed. It does not stop at the station even for a
moment.
For one who is not an arahant, the station of death is not a terminus but a
junction from where 31 different tracks diverge. The train, as soon as it
arrives at the station, moves onto one or another of these tracks and
continues. This speeding "train of becoming," fuelled by the electricity of
kammic energies of the past, keeps on running from one station to the
next, on one track or the other, a continuing journey that goes on without
ceasing.
According to these laws, the train not only changes tracks by itself, it also
lays the next tracks itself. For this train of becoming, the junction of
death, where the change of tracks takes place, is of great importance. Here
the present life is abandoned (this is called death). The demise of the body
takes place, and immediately the next life starts (a process which is called
conception or taking up of the next birth). The moment of conception is the
result of the moment of death; the moment of death creates the moment
of conception. Since every death moment creates the next birth moment,
death is not only death, but birth as well. At this junction, life changes
into death and death into birth.
Thus, every life is a preparation for the next death. If someone is wise, he
or she will use this life to the best advantage and prepare for a good death.
The best death is the one that is the last but that is not a junction but a
terminus: the death of an arahant. For the arahant or the Buddha, there will
be no track on which the train can run further; but until such a terminus is
reached, one can at least ensure that the next death gives rise to a good
birth and that the terminus will be reached in due course. It all depends
on us, on our own efforts. We are makers of our own futures; we create
our own welfare or misery as well as our own liberation.
30
How is it that we are the creators of the tracks that receive the onrushing
train of becoming? To answer this we must understand what is kamma.
How strong is the volition? How slow, deep, shallow, heavy or light?
Conditionally, the intensity of these reactions will vary. Some are like a
line drawn on water, some like a line drawn on sand and some a line on
rock. If the volition is wholesome, then the action will be the same and
the fruits will be beneficial; and if the volition is unwholesome, then the
action will be the same; it will give fruits of misery.
Not all of these reactions result in a new birth. Some are so shallow that
they do not give any substantial fruits. Some are a bit heavier but will be
used up in this lifetime. They do not carry over into the next life. Others
being still heavier, continue with the flow of life into the next birth, but
they themselves do not give new birth (end of quote).
They provide the motives of all activities; hatred and love themselves arise
from the root cause of desire; love towards the object of attraction, hatred
when the desire is thwarted. Most kamma, therefore, is of a mixed type
31
and its effects alternate in the experiences of the future life in the sensual
world; the world wherein we now find ourselves, as it is one of the
spheres dominated by desire and sensual attachment.
Thus to rid defilement from their minds, people must see the real dangers,
only then will they seek the correct remedy; in this case the ills of
ignorance and the remedy of Nibbana. It is my sincere aspiration that
those who seek will find in this book the need to investigate further and
practise the only way to end the continuing rounds of rebirths into
suffering.
Jinavamsa: Bhante, what the Buddha taught is truly profound and most
people would not know where to start seeking the truth. At which point
should we begin to investigate?
Bhante Suvanno: This will depend on those who are seeking. Some may
be quite knowledgeable, some little and some none. Let us first find out
what lies ahead after death.
32
THE BUDDHA:
Kammassaka, bhikkhave, satta kammadayada,
kammayoni, kammabandhu, kammapatisarana, yam
kammam karonti—
karonti—kalyanam va papakam va—
va—tassa
dayada bhavanti.
Bhante Suvanno: The Buddha has said that beings are born into any one
of the 31 Planes for rebirth due to kammic result (Majjhima Nikaya 129/130).
These planes are physical realities; but for the purpose of getting an
insight of their realness, one may even equate them as mental states.
For example, in one who is constantly having a mind imbued with evil or
unwholesome mental states, he is as if living in a plane of hell; and in one
who repeats unwholesome actions without fear and without being
33
In one who is honest, virtuous and has a mind that is pure and
compassionate; diligently practises wholesome acts of giving, morality and
meditation, he is as if living in a heavenly state and if his practice of
meditation develops further, he is bound to be born into a heavenly plane
and heading towards higher stages of purity to attain Nibbana.
This cosmology and natural "law" applies to all beings, whatever their
religious beliefs, for such laws or Dhamma are not inventions of the
Buddha, but are natural phenomena and re-discovered by him on
attaining Enlightenment on that fateful day under the Bodhi tree.
It must be realised that without exception ALL things with or without life,
including gods and human beings in all the planes are impermanent;
excepting Nibbana, nothing whatsoever live forever. Some heavenly beings
do live for aeons but eventually, they too die and once they die, they find
rebirth in another plane, unless Nibbana has been attained; in which case
they are not reborn; they have achieved "emancipation"; freedom from
suffering.
The law of kamma provides that each and every one of our actions
has consequences in line with the skillfulness or otherwise of that
action.
We often witness this process in our own lives; the effects may not be
immediately apparent. But the Buddha also taught that our actions have
effects that extend far beyond our present life, determining the quality of
rebirth at death; act in wholesome, skillful ways and you are destined for a
favourable rebirth; act in unwholesome, unskillful ways and an unpleasant
rebirth awaits.
happily scrounging for food, oblivious of the fact that at any time, one or
any of its numbers will be picked up and slaughtered!
Life after life, we find rebirth originating from delusion and ignorance, we
have no knowledge of a previous existence, nor do we know anything
about a coming existence.
Not knowing where we were from and where we will be going to, we are
walking as if blindfolded in the middle of a very busy road without a sense
of direction. This will be disastrous. The Buddha taught that, beings
existing in the suffering planes will find it very difficult to find rebirth as a
human being. Thus if we desire to find future existence in the human
plane, we must know, understand and realise the True Dhamma, the
ignorance of which will lead us to extreme sufferings the likes of which
we can never imagine possible.
Many have prayed to Sakka, the King of the 33 Heavenly Gods to grant
them rebirth as human beings, but can Sakka or anybody at all fulfil such
requests? Neither Sakka, nor any other gods can help us find rebirth in a
better future existence. The Buddha is not available to help us. He can
only show the way, we have to travel the road to freedom, Nibbana on our
own. It is our volitional actions that will shape our future destinies. What
then should be done to ensure at the minimum, a rebirth in a human
existence, where we will have the only opportunity to strive for the fruits
of Nibbana?
The answer has been given by the Buddha when He taught that we should
avoid evil and do good; we would then not fall into any of the four woeful
planes; the Animal, Hungry Ghost, Demon Planes or the great sufferings
of the Hellish Regions.
and opportunities for unwholesome kamma to arise, and evil kamma after
evil kamma will arise, till conditions change again, for better or for worse.
No one knows.
In certain cases, having passed away from the human plane, one goes to
hell, having then passed away while in hell, one may be reborn again and
again in hell or other woeful states for many existences. All our thoughts,
speech and deeds, though unseen by anybody or any agencies, will shape
the effects of kamma.
Explanation: All deeds that a man does springs out of his thoughts. If
his thoughts are good, the words and the deeds will also be good. The
result of good thoughts, words and deeds will be of a wholesome kind.
The joy and bliss of such wholesomeness will never leave him, but will
follow him like his shadow. Results of our deeds and actions are known as
kamma and in due season will ripen and bear fruit. Kammic resultants will
be our only heir to the many existences that we are reborn into. It has no
distinctions or preferences. Kings, emperors, gods, devas, brahmas, beggars,
humans and all beings are the product of their own kamma.
36
This is the modifiability of kamma, and the fact that the Law of Kamma does
not operate with mechanical rigidity but allows for a considerable range of
modifications in the ripening of its fruit. Various external conditions can
effect modifications in kamma. Internal conditions such as the total
qualitative development of the mind. To one, rich in moral or spiritual
qualities, a single offence may not entail the weighty results the same
offence will have for one who is poor in such protective virtues. The
Buddha compares this with the taste of water from a cup wherein a lump
of salt has been added against the taste of water from the Ganges River in
which the same quantity of salt has been thrown in.
The permutative strands in the arising of kamma are highly complex and
unfathomable by any living being, and only a Buddha can trace out the
kammic links in the life-dramas of particular beings. Kamma neither ripens
in any mechanical, linear nor predictable ways, nor according to any preset
time frame. The interaction of many supporting and obstructive factors
makes it difficult or almost impossible for anyone to pinpoint the
connections between past, present and future events.
37
Bhante Suvanno: There are some who consider every happening, even
our new wholesome and unwholesome actions, as the result of our
prenatal kamma. In other words, they believe that the results again become
the causes of new results, and so ad infinitum. Thus they are stamping the
Buddha’s teaching as fatalistic; and they will have to come to the
conclusion that, in this case, our destiny can never be influenced or
changed, and no deliverance ever be attained.
These Five Moral Precepts affect one's personal and social life. The fact
that they represent a course of training which one willingly undertakes
rather than a set of commandments imposed on one by a God or a
supreme being is likely to have a positive bearing upon one's conscience
and awareness.
38
Bhante Suvanno: On the personal level, the Precepts guide one to lead a
moral life and to advance further on the spiritual path. Moreover, the
practice of keeping the Precepts contributes to the accumulation of merits
that both support one in the present life and ensure happiness and
prosperity in the next. On the social level, observing the Five Precepts
helps to promote peaceful co-existence, mutual trust, a cooperative spirit,
and general peace and harmony in society. It also helps to maintain an
atmosphere which is conducive to social progress and development, as we
can see from the practical implications of each precept.
On a universal level, the Five Precepts are the base of all moral deeds;
thus, they are not religious in essence, though all religions based on moral
concepts have these five precepts as corollary to their doctrines. This fact
demonstrates the nature of the Buddha’s Dhamma as uniquely universal in
practice.
Consequences of Killing
Whosoever kills any living being will be reborn into one of the four lower
abodes immediately at death, and when the kammic life term is ended
there and, hopefully with the arising of meritorious results of some past
good deeds, he finds rebirth in the human plane, he will encounter the
following consequences:
• Having physical deformities, ill health, feebleness, dullness and
lethargy and suffering from diseases.
• Having few friends, being separated from loved ones and being killed
in youth.
39
The Second Precept; I train to refrain from taking that which is not
given, signifies respect for others' rights to possess wealth and property.
Observing the Second Precept, one refrains from earning one's livelihood
through wrongful means, such as by stealing or cheating. This Precept
also implies the cultivation of generosity, which on a personal level helps
to free one from attachment and selfishness, and on a social level
contributes to friendly cooperation in the community.
Consequences of Stealing
When we take what does not belong to us, including taking things without
permission, by force or by underhand means, we will not be able to have a
happy and peaceful life. Thieves will find rebirth in one of the four lower
abodes when they die. When the fruits of previous good kamma condition
his release from the suffering planes and he is again reborn as a human, he
encounters the following evil consequences:
• Having bodily and mental suffering, being tortured by hunger and
starvation.
• Being poor, wishes unfulfilled, having unstable and easily perishable
fortunes and insecured properties.
The Fifth Precept; I train to refrain from intoxicants that cloud the
mind and cause heedlessness. On the personal level, abstention from
intoxicants helps to maintain balance and a sense of responsibility.
And the third evil action committed by our mind is ignorance. What is
ignorance? A lot of people today are filled with ignorance. A good
example is a funeral where due to ignorance and misunderstanding,
expensive rites and rituals are carried out. It is believed that paper houses,
video players, TV and video tapes must be burned so that the deceased
can benefit from them when they are in hell. Why would they think that
their parents, family members or friends are already in hell? All these are
wrong views due to ignorance of the Dhamma. Those who have actually
spent huge amount of money on such rites and rituals are actually very
foolish.
That is why today we have to evaluate and practise the Dhamma to realise
the truth of existence. Only with this realisation can we walk the correct
path. And we should also teach these truths to our next generation so that
they too will be able to distinguish right from wrong. By doing evil deeds
we are assured of a place in unfortunate existences.
The refrain "I train to refrain from ..." which precedes every precept
clearly shows that these are not commandments. They are in fact training
rules that the laity willingly undertake out of clear understanding and
conviction that they are good for both themselves and for society and that
they are gradual training rules to finally rid the mind of defilement.
Bhante Suvanno: Let us see what the results are when we do not let
these moral precepts shape our lives.
42
In these 31 planes, the plane of the greatest suffering is hell, niraya, and in
ascending order, the animal plane, the plane of the peta or hungry ghosts
and the plane of the asuras; these are the planes of suffering where there is
no opportunity to gain merits. Unfortunately, these planes are the most
populated, bursting at their seams with beings reaping the fruits of their
past evil deeds.
These four woeful planes, the most fearsome of which is hell, there being
one hundred and thirty-six forms of hell, is also described as
compartmented into two hundred and sixty-four sub-hells. In hell, the
suffering is intense and there is no let up of suffering for even a single
moment.
43
Bhante Suvanno: Ascending to higher pure states, there are the Seven
Planes of beings of Sensual Desires, where the human plane is found; and
six planes of Devas and Brahmas of differing purity. Going beyond these
Seven Sensual Planes, are another sixteen planes of Devas and Brahmas of
superior attainments and deeper meditative progress, and finally there are
the four abodes of Brahmas without material bodies, where the life span is
so lengthy that it appears to be timeless.
The Buddha further said that planes of rebirth and existence exist not
only in this universe but is found among the other world systems or
universes. Every system or world has its 31 Planes where beings are
reborn. Each system is very much conditioned by its own energy and
conditions; but beings passing away from its exisiting system may find
rebirth at another system; time and distance being no barrrier to the
workings of kamma. Such is the intricacies of kammic energy.
The suffering beings and humans (planes 1-5) do not have fixed lifespans,
but beings beyond these planes do. From the Sixth Plane to the Thirty-
first, each successive group of deities lives longer than the group before it.
The lifespans of devas and brahmas are measured in multiple centuries. The
brahmas of the Planes without Forms live for 84,000 aeons.
All beings; human, devas and brahmas are subject to mortality and rebirth.
All except arahants are reborn in one or another of the Thirty-one Planes.
No being lives forever. Arahants have eradicated all mental defilement
and have thereby eliminated the causes for rebirth with its attendant
suffering. They are not reborn. Instead, they attain Parinibbana, the
complete, permanent cessation of every form of existence.
The devas of the sensuous planes are said to enjoy sense pleasures in far
greater abundance than can be found in the human world. Their bodies
emit beautiful pleasant coloured auras and they have subtle sense organs,
similar to ours but far more refined and sensitive. On the deva planes
there are stream-enterers and once-returners. For example, Sakka, King
of the Gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-three, became a stream-enterer
while discussing Dhamma with the Buddha. However, only few among the
devas have any understanding of the Dhamma. In fact, all that is needed to
45
The brahmas with forms have extremely subtle bodies of light; their
powers are great but not unlimited. A being is reborn among these
brahmas by cultivating the appropriate concentration meditation,
perfecting it, and retaining it at the moment of death. The beings in the
brahma planes spend most of their time enjoying their respective
meditative attainments and bliss. Brahmas experience no ill will or hatred,
but only because they have suppressed these defilement during their
meditative concentration, not because they have uprooted them through
insight knowledge and wisdom developed through insight meditation.
Thus when a brahma is eventually reborn as a deva or human being, he can
again be beset by greed, anger and delusion. The brahmas also are prone to
conceit and the wrong view that there is a permanent self, as well as to
attachment to the bliss of meditative concentration. Brahmas in the Planes
of Form can interact with humans if they so choose, but to appear to
humans they must deliberately assume grosser forms.
Bhante Suvanno continues: The Buddha had said in many suttas that it is
through understanding and practising the Noble Eightfold Path that
beings are able to eradicate suffering and realise Nibbana. In fact, Brahmas
in the Planes of Formlessness are in the unfortunate position of being
unable to practise the Path. That is why the sage Asita, requested by the
Buddha's father to examine the newborn Bodhisatta, wept after predicting
that Prince Siddhattha would become a Buddha. The sage knew that he was
going to die before the prince attained Buddhahood. Not knowing better,
he had cultivated these immaterial absorptions and because of his
ignorance, he would be reborn into the Formless Planes and would
thereby lose all contact with the human plane. This meant he would not
be able to escape samsara under Gotama Buddha. He was sorely distressed
to realise that he would miss this rare opportunity to gain deliverance and
46
The Buddha saw the reality of the Noble Path, 2600 years ago when he
was totally purged of defilement and became self enlightened. Thus
enlightened, he was able to acquire powers with which he could see
whatever thing that he so wished to see; time and distance being not a
barrier to such powers. Thus far, no other religious teacher has been
known to propound and teach this re-discovered natural law. The Buddha
further exhorted that to strive for the attainment of enlightenment should
be the ultimate goal of all.
Second Division:
The Fine Material Planes (12th to 27th Level):
Consists of 16 Planes whose inhabitants (devas) experience extremely
refined degrees of mental pleasure. They are said to possess extremely
refined bodies of pure light. The purest of these planes, the Pure Abodes
(23rd to 27th Level), are accessible only to those who have attained to ‘non-
returning’, the third stage of arahant-hood.
Third Division:
The Non-Material Planes (28th to 31st Level):
Consists of 4 Planes that are the abodes of those who pass away while
meditating in the formless meditation. Beings of these 4 planes are
without form.
47
Here’s some news for them, though; they will still be subjected to the
conditions imposed by the natural laws and that these laws will bring
them to where they have conditioned themselves to be in; willingly or
unwillingly. Hell in all its many facets does exist; however, the good news
is heaven or heavens with all its equisite joys, too exist and better still; at
the end of the long dark tunnel there is light… Nibbana, freedom from
all suffering.
There are many concepts of hell; some has it as the abode of evil spirits, a
place of eternal punishment, of extreme torment, a place where departed
spirits abide and are on the lookout to snare unwary beings.
One must realise that being in hell is neither being punished by anyone,
nor is it a reward to be reborn in the heavenly planes; these states are
resultants conditional upon natural process of cause and effect. Just as
similar grains of sand gather to form a beach and birds of a feather flock
together, so do evil beings naturally attract and end up with other evil
beings. This same natural "law" applies in all planes.
A drug addict will seek his own level of acquaintances to share their
common desires; drugs. They understand and relate to each other. They
have situations in common. These are unwholesome habits. Those in the
habit of doing wholesome deeds and practise mindfulness meditation will
by habit seek those of the same mind. They will be conditioned to find
rebirth amidst the same conditions.
The same holds true for beings in the six planes of devas when they pass
away. However, for those beings from the material and immaterial planes
who pass away, there is no direct fall into the four planes of misery; there
is a halt of one existence either in the abode of men or in one of the six
planes of the devas, wherein, when they again pass away, conditioned by
kamma and unskillful actions while in the human abode, the being may yet
fall into one of the four planes of misery. There is thus no certainty in life
that a being will be reborn into this or that plane as desired.
SUFFERING IN HELL
The Buddha: Were it rightly speaking to be said of anything: ‘That
which is utterly unwished for, utterly undesired, utterly disagreeable’
disagreeable’,
it is
is of hell that, rightly speaking, this should be said, so much so that
it is hard to find a simile for
for the untold suffering in hell.
These changes and processes are repeated indefinitely for aeons and aeons
until we lose track of the beginning and we can see no ending to all these
rebirths. We see these changes as in a picture show. We have sat there
seeing his lives unfold before us and we know what that being has gone
through and for how lengthy a time that process has been going on. That
particular being had been undergoing that process for ever so long and
sadly, he does not see it. He does not see the senselessness of it, but as
viewers, we see his sufferings, his ignorance of what is happening to him,
we see his tragedies and his victories, his losses and his winnings, his loss
of his loved ones, the crimes he has committed, the punishment he has
borne for uncountable number of times, the diseases he has suffered for
ever so many times. We see his ups and downs; we see the forceful rivers
of greed, anger and delusion conditioning all his thoughts, speech and
51
deeds throughout the show; all these, we see repeated again and again, till
we as spectators just cannot bear the monotonous repetitiveness of the
process.
The Buddha declares that the amount of tears and blood we have shed in
the course of our samsaric wandering is greater than the waters in all the
oceans of this world; the bones a single individual have left behind could
form a heap higher than the Himalayan Mountains. We have encountered
this suffering countless times in the past, and as long as the causes of our
becoming and passing away in samsara are not cut off, we risk meeting
more of the same in the course of our future wanderings.
From the script we know the way out and we are frustrated that he is so
forgetful that he does not remember the script, and thus cannot find the
way out. He keeps on doing the same thing again and again, exactly like a
guinea pig in a laboratory being experimented on. We, who are sitting
there watching, are seeking ways to tell that being the way out, but he is
too involved in his way of life to lift up his head to look at us or to listen
to the solution. Sometimes he is too busy enjoying all the sensuous things
that are happening to him to want to get away from the process. Mostly
he has been to the deepest pains of hell countless times; and yet he is as
blind as a new born mouse each time he finds rebirth in the human plane.
That in essence is the way of life of the general populace. They do not see
the senselessness of their actions, they are blinded by the cravings that has
developed in them through so many life times. Samsara is really tiresome
52
and yet we are “dying” to return to these suffering planes. We are born
into a life that in our ignorance, we think as brand new; because we have
forgotten that we have lived before. We go through life blind folded.
Those who have “little dust” in their eyes must wonder; which is worse;
wanderings in samsara or being in the hellish regions?
We must realise that in reality, we are the actors of the picture show we
have just seen, and that there is no single supreme being that directs the
show, rewards the good or punishes the evil doers; it is the ripening of the
results of deeds and the coming together of condition that results in
rebirth in samsara; the result of cause and effect. This is the cross each and
every being must carry with them without fail. This is the only inheritance
each and every being can and will have to bring along with them to their
new existence; nothing more, nothing less.
Scriptural Texts: All beings are owners of their deeds, the heirs of their deeds, their
deeds are the womb from which they sprang, with their deeds they are bound up, their
deeds are their refuge. Whatever deeds they do; good or evil, of that they will be the heirs.
AN. Book of Tens, 205
The Buddha tells us there are altogether eight great hells, which are
divided into other sub hells as in the following:
1. Sanjiva Naraka: Those who kill and caused beings to be killed out
of greed, anger, delusion and fear. Here, they will suffer for thousands of
years, being tormented again and again, without losing life or
consciousness, as long as their bad kamma is not ended. They are hung
upside down and trimmed and cut with axes and knives. Their flesh grows
up again to undergo repeated tortures. They possess nails like claws of
iron and with these they lash out at one another in their pain and anger.
Often their bodies collapse with very cold, icy winds while their limbs are
ablaze with hell fire. This is in retribution for the harm they have done to
others; harm in robbing, plundering and murdering innocent beings;
destroying farms, fields and houses as hostile warring kings, thieves,
robbers and soldiers. Their wrong doings involved in cutting up beings
and creatures and having them as food and encouraging others to do so.
4. Roruva Naraka: Here beings scream and cry in great pain as fire
passes into their nine orifices (eyes, ears, noses, mouths, urinary passages
and anuses). When the fire is intense; loud will be their cries and screams;
when the fire is reduced, their crying and screaming will be reduced, when
the fire ceases their crying and screaming too, will cease. At its lowest, the
fire is again intensified; thus the whole torturing process is repeated again
and again. The crying and screaming will rise from a low pitch to the
highest crescendo, as their agonies ebb and wane so will the cries of their
sufferings ebb and wane. Still they will not die and their suffering will
continue as long as they have not worked out their bad kamma.
What kamma has brought them to such a hell? This is due to their
cheating, swindling poor wretched and helpless people, torturing enslaved
beings who have no protection or refuge, starting forest fires, setting fire
or pungent smoke at entrance of animal dens, rats, snakes, poisoning of
monkeys, burning of villages and bhikkhus huts, causing mental and
physical pain to others and all manner of atrocities that cause pain and
suffering to others.
8. Avici Naraka: Here, beings are packed to the full, like mustard seeds
in a bamboo tube. It is very crowded here. Beings with remnants of
unwholesome kamma are made to lie down on their backs and iron spears
are pierced through their hands, legs and chest. They are struck with axes
repeatedly and they bleed profusely, and they look as though they are
being fried in their own blood. The floor and the four sides are red hot
iron sheets. The suffering here are continuous, without a break. Beings
become so hot that their bodies are like torches of flames. As they are
pinned down by iron spikes, there is “no escape” whatsoever.
The gates open at times for those who have ended their stay here;
and those beings who still have to endure their suffering, rush to it,
hoping to escape, only to see the gates close before they can get near it.
They cry in great agony.
What kamma brings these beings here? Those who commit the
four deadly evils of injuring a Buddha, killing an arahant, causing a division
in the monastic order, killing mother or father, and those with very evil
wrong views are reborn here.
• Those who are envious, cherish anger, or become happy at the sight
of suffering of others are reborn as birds, etc.
• Those who are fools are reborn as insects.
• Those who are haughty and proud are reborn as snakes.
• Those who neglect friends are reborn as asses and dogs.
• Those who are envious and miserly are reborn as monkeys.
• Those who are garrulous, fickle and shameless are reborn as crows.
• Those who give trouble to elephants, horses and such animals are
reborn as parrots and scorpions.
• Those who are miserable, irritable and fond of backbiting are reborn
as tigers, cats, boars, etc.
• Those who are charitable but angry and haughty are reborn as
garudas and nagas with great psychic powers.
Each minor hell has a population of not less than all of the 27 happy,
sensuous planes put together! Beings in hell far out-number all those
in the other 30 planes of existence; they are packed tight as mustard
seeds in a jar.
Such are the places of torment that beings whose conduct had been bad
in thoughts, words or deeds will find rebirth at death. Those who have
been guilty of atrocious crimes, such as that of Devadatta, who tried to kill
57
the Buddha but the rock that he threw at the Buddha, grazed His foot and
drew blood instead, will be destined for Avici hell.
Once the King of Kurus mentioned that people left their homes, shaved
their heads and put on the yellow robe because of; old age, sickness, loss
of relatives and loss of wealth. These are not the best reasons! But there
are worse: laziness and desire for an easy life, to get one's belly filled, for
instance. There were such bhikkhus in the Buddha's days and now they can
certainly be found everywhere. Thus they become bhikkhus with the
wrong views and intentions.
Most times too, ignorant devotees corrupt bhikkhus and in their ignorance
encourage untrained bhikkhus to adopt wrong attitudes. Such actions by
untrained bhikkhus and ignorant devotees are unwholesome and they are
destined for the unhappy planes at death. Because of the vows that bind
the bhikkhus to a strictly holy life of abstinence, the results of their actions
reap much, much heavier fruits than those of the ignorant devotees. The
Buddha said that untrained monks who perform such actions are better
off eating red hot iron balls rather that they continue eating alms of the
people, for at death the suffering will be of an untold severity.
(Dhammapada 307/308)
HELL’S DURATION
Bhante Suvanno: This question was asked by a certain monk during a
discourse given by the Buddha, and the Buddha gave a reply that will be
demonstrative of the time frame of “how long” suffering is when a being
is unfortunate to be reborn into the apaya regions.
Bhikkhu: Pray, Lord, how long is the measure of life in Maha Paduma
Niraya?
The Buddha: Long indeed, bhikkhu,
bhikkhu, is the measure of life in Paduma
Niraya.
Niraya. It were no easy thing to reckon it thus, so many years or so
many
many centuries or so many thousands of years or so many hundreds
of thousands of years.
Bhikkhu: But Lord, can a figure be made?
The Buddha: It can bhikkhu,
bhikkhu, suppose a cartload of twenty measures
of sesamum seeds, and suppose that at the end of every century o
one
ne
took out a single seed. Sooner would that cartload of twenty
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Furthermore, the Buddha said that what he had explained was what he
knew for himself. The seeds of results of good or bad are for us to plant
and reap for ourselves. We cannot plant grass seeds and expect to reap
rice. We cannot remain inactive and expect to gain perfect freedom.
This discourse can serve as a very timely warning to us all. The scene that
the Buddha describes in which a person reborn in hell is taken to the king
of death, Yama, might appear to be judgement being meted out. Yama’s
role is one of a counsellor advising incoming beings that the cause of their
rebirth in hell was due to their own past deeds and that they were reaping
their dues caused by their negligence to heed the signs of the divine
messengers.
The old, the sick, the suffering and the dying; these are messengers giving
a fair warning of the pitfalls ahead, if we but are mindful and be aware of
them. They are, in fact, part and parcel of the conditioned world we live in.
We ignore them at our own peril! Or, if we try to reason them away,
denying the law of cause and effect, we will still be subjected to the
workings of this law. As the Buddha said, denying that we will reap the
results of our volitional actions; both good and bad; is the most dangerous
of all wrong beliefs because this will lead to irresponsible behaviour and
to the lowest region in hell.
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We can strive to develop generosity in all our actions; observe the moral
precepts at all times; develop control over our minds through learning
how to be mindful; deepen our direct understanding of the reality of the
conditioned world through meditation and developing insight.
“Good people here in this life are warned; do not dwell in ignorance,
but practising well the noble Dhamma. Clinging they look upon
with fear, for it produces birth and death. And by not clinging they
are freed. In the destruction of birth and death, they dwell in bliss
for they are safe. And reach Nibbana here and now. They are
beyond all fear and hate; they have escaped all suffering”
(MN-Devaduta Sutta 130)
Most people think: “Sensuous pleasures are more fun and gratification is
immediate, hell is in the indistinct future and may not be true, so why
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worry; after all the distant future may never come, anyway I shall have
time when I retire to do good, thus I have the best of both worlds, enjoy
now and do good later. That should do and I shall still be able to make up
for lost time and in the meantime I have enjoyed to my fullest the best of
both worlds”!
These four lower planes are unhappy or suffering (dukkha) planes. There
is no opportunity to be good or to do good here.
In the four woeful planes of existence, beings too have the five senses:
they see, hear, smell, taste and touch. However, their faculties can only be
conscious of sufferings! Their existence in the lower planes has suffering
as the sole objective, there is no occasion for happiness, sense of pleasure,
recreation or performance of any deeds that causes happiness. Beings here
are also unable to choose to do good, hence they do not have any
opportunities to accumulate merits. Their consciousness is only for
sufferings. They cannot choose to do one iota of good! They can only
suffer, so much suffering that the Buddha said: “…it is hard to find a
simile for the suffering in hell”.
The Buddha: Now the wardens of hell torture him with the fivefold
transfixing. They drive a red-
red-hot iron stake through one hand, they
drive a red-
red-hot iron stake through the other hand, they drive a red
red--
hot iron stake through one foot, they drive a red-
red-hot iron stake
through the other foot, they drive a red-
red-hot iron stake through his
belly.
Next the wardens of hell throw him down and pare him with
axes.
axes. There he feels painful, racking, piercing feelings. Yet he does
not die so long as that evil action has not exhausted its result.
Next the wardens of hell set him with his feet up and his
head down and pare him with adzes. There he feels painful, racking,
racking,
piercing feelings.
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Bhante Suvanno: Yes, hell is very real indeed. It can be likened to a huge
furnace, flames shooting out from all sides including top and bottom.
Doors lead to and from this furnace like chambers. There are altogether
eight chambers. The flames are constantly burning and there is no switch
to shut off the flame and the great horrendous heat. Their bones, nerves,
flesh, heart, lungs, brains and skin are burning hot, so hot that flames
shoot out from them.
In hell, they will remain for hundreds of thousands of years, even millions
of years or trillions, descillions of years*. There they will remain
experiencing sufferings. There are many beings in hell, just like mustard
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Animals have no choice but to hunt for food, fight and kill to stay alive.
They mark and guard their territory and are hostile to intruders. They do
not have many options in life; they are bound and restricted by their
environment, intelligence, and instincts. Some animals may appear
fortunate, house pets and such, but are they really? On the whole though,
animal life is about struggle for survival, about fear and uncertainty.
People who do not keep their five precepts well, who are deluded, not
differentiating between wholesome and unwholesome deeds, not
believing in kamma, desiring sensuous pleasures such as sex, food and
craving amusement to the extremes have great potential to be reborn in
the animal world.
The animal world is a world of bullies. The larger animals bully the
smaller ones, the strong takes advantage of the weak. What are some of
the characteristics of animals?
Those who do not observe the no-killing precept have the tendencies of
animals and thus seldom practise metta or any form of mental
development. They care little for what other beings feel and when they are
reborn as animals, they have short life span. As animals, they may be
killed for fun, for food or because of undue fear of them. Seldom do
animals live a secure life; seldom do they live to a ripe old age. The big
and strong will pounce on the small and weak, killing them for food. The
larger animals will seek to dominate others of their own breed and fight
each other to establish their supremacy. Elephants go alone to the
deepest jungle to die on their own when they have lost the leadership of
the clan and when they know the time has come. There they die, just as
humans do…all alone and by themselves…a lonely death.
People who never do any charity, are stingy or try to discourage others
who are on their way to do dana can be reborn as animals, suffering
extreme hunger and thirst. Undue attachment is another cause of rebirth
in the animal world.
and had it made into a soft robe by skilled robe makers. He died on the
night it was finished and, as a result of his fancy for it, was reborn as a
louse in the robe. After his death, the bhikkhus wished to divide the robe
but the louse started shouting. The Buddha, hearing this by his power of
divine audience, asked the bhikkhus to lay the robe aside for seven days. At
the end of that period, the louse died and was reborn in Tusita heaven.
(Ref: Dhammapadatthakatha, 5 vol PTS. iii.341 ff)
Sujata, immediately at death was reborn as a very beautiful bird living near
a mountain stream in the Himalayas. Queen Upari, at death was reborn as a
very colourful beetle.
The Buddha said that the mind tends toward delight in evil! Those who
think bad thoughts, speak bad words, and do bad deeds are people who
will in most possibilities be reborn in the animal world. According to their
tendencies while they were in the human world they will be reborn
accordingly. Such as:
People who normally find delight in tastes here and there and do evil
actions will at death be reborn in the animal world where they are grass
eaters; such as elephants, horses, donkeys, goats, deers and such like
animals. Such people too at death will be reborn in the company of dung
eaters, such as fowls, pigs, dogs, jackals and such like animals. Smelling
dung even from a distance, they will run to it thinking; “we can eat, we
can eat”. They live in filth and squalor.
These people too may be reborn in dark places on passing away. They will
become moths, maggots and earthworms. They may also be reborn in the
water and be fishes, turtles, crocodiles and such like watery creatures.
They will be reborn and die in the water. They may also be reborn and die
as creatures that live in rotting corpses, rotting fishes, in cesspool, sewers
and such like places. (Ref: MN. Balapandita Sutta, 129)
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After such an incident the Buddha made a ruling that during ordination,
an intending applicant for bhikkhuship, should confirm his human state.
No other beings, except human were to be accepted as a candidate for
bhikkhuship. In the time of the Buddha, there were many animals capable
of performing kusala deeds, such as:
Mucalinda: This great rain fell as soon as the Blessed One took shelter in
my abode. It will be good if I can provide a proper dwelling place for the
Buddha. I will create a great mansion for that purpose; however, it will be
of greater benefit if I should render my own personal service to the
Buddha.
The elephant on seeing the Buddha seated at the foot of the sala tree, felt
calm like a man who had his grief allayed by the cool waters of a thousand
pools. A great feeling of devotion to the Buddha arose in him and he
stood gazing at the Buddha. From that moment, he wanted to serve the
Buddha and made it his daily duty to sweep the ground where the Buddha
sat. Daily he brought water to the Buddha for washing His face, he
fetched water for bathing, he offered small twigs as tooth cleaner, he
brought sweet, delicious fruits of different sizes and offered them to the
Buddha and cared for the Buddha in any way he could.
When the Buddha entered the village for alms, the elephant would carry
the Buddha’s alms bowl and robe on his head and accompanied him up to
the edge of the village. There the Buddha would take the bowl from him
and the elephant would await His return, whereupon he would again take
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the alms bowl and robes and return to the tree with the Buddha. Whilst
the Buddha was meditating, he would stand guard to ensure that the
Buddha was not endangered in any way. He would fan and ward off any
pests and insects from disturbing the Buddha. In this way, the elephant,
protected and served the Buddha during His tenth vassa period in the
Parileyya Forest.
At this time, a monkey seeing the daily duties of the elephant became
inspired and thought to himself; “I too would like to gain some merit by
serving the Master”. One day finding some honeycomb devoid of bees, he
brought it to offer to the Buddha. The Buddha accepted the honey. The
monkey noticed that the Buddha was just holding and not eating the
honey. Wondering why, he investigated, and taking the honey-comb he
turned it around and saw the bee-eggs still stuck onto the comb. Carefully,
he removed the bee-eggs and offered it again to the Buddha. Only then
did the Buddha partake of the honey. So elated was the monkey that he
danced moving from tree to tree and whilst doing so, a branch on which
he was jumping from broke and he fell on a tree stump. The stump
pierced his body and with the joy and his mind devoted to the Buddha he
died and was straightaway reborn in a golden mansion in the deva abode of
Tavatimsa.
In the many past lives of the Buddha, as told by Himself in the Jataka
Tales He had been reborn as various animals such as a naga, hare, parrot,
deer, bull, quail, horse, dog, monkey and various other types of animals.
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Petas are found amongst forests, mountains and hills, water ways and seas,
rivers and lakes, tunnels and caves, old and uninhabited dwellings,
abandoned and derelict buildings, alongside cross roads, cemeteries,
rubbish heaps, under bridges and by-ways. They are found where there
are dirt and filth. They alone, suffer from the results of their evil deeds.
Their friends, relations and families are not there to help elevate their
suffering and pain, because they too are suffering on their very own as he
is suffering. Each one reaps the results of his or her own deeds himself or
herself! No one is responsible for another’s action!
Beings find rebirth as hungry ghosts or petas and animals, due to the
degree of anger, greed and delusion in their past lives. In previous
existences they had neither shown respect nor treated their parents,
relatives, the elderly and others well and had instead done many
unwholesome deeds and thus have not been able to accumulate merits to
enable good rebirth at the present time. Lacking merits from wholesome
deeds, at death they again find rebirth in the peta world, animal world or
hell regions for a very long time to come. Already existing in the unhappy
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planes due to their unwholesome kamma and unable to gather merits, such
unfortunate beings will find rebirth in the human plane extremely rare.
Animals enjoy and find happiness in simple things, but the peta and the
hell beings are totally devoid of happiness. Their whole existence is
suffering according to their deeds. Thus they are far, far away from
happiness.
Petas and hell beings are different in the respect that hell beings are
confined in the different hells. In hell, the beings are as good as being
kept in a strongly guarded jail; locked and bonded, unable to have a single
moment of freedom from the suffering they are undergoing. The binding
strength of their kamma keeps them there; there is no escape for even a
brief breathing spell, let alone be left off for a short time to respite and
recuperate as is believed by many.
Petas roam from place to place, having no abode of any kind. They seek
only places where there are no others around. They have such appalling
appearances that they do not wish to be seen at all. Petas have large bodies
but pin holes as mouths; thus they are always unable to have enough to
satisfy their gnawing hunger and are always scavenging for food, which
are things like phlegm, spittle, putrid food, thrown away menstruating
blood and such like human waste.
Some petas being much oppressed with great hunger, have mouths that
emit flames just like a furnace emitting flames. Some have very large
abdomen but throats about the size of the eye of a needle, thus they
cannot take sufficient food and are constantly hungry. They are always
roaming in search of food. If they are unable to find food, they will
consume other type of substances, such as spilt blood from any creatures
including human beings, impure blood and pus from the sick and diseased,
even from other petas.
Petas are not born as in a human birth but are spontaneously born with
memory of their previous lives and the reason why they are reborn in the
woeful planes of existence. They also realise why they have the
appearance that they possess as petas. Due to their bad behaviour as
humans, even as petas, their living relatives will forget their existence and
they are often forgotten when merits are shared after a dana or after some
meritorious deeds performed by living relatives. This is shown clearly in
the story of King Bimbisara below. The sufferings endured by petas can be
relieved through the merits transferred to them by dana and wholesome
deeds done by friends and relatives.
But having performed the great meritorious deed, the King was only
thinking, ‘Where would the Blessed One reside’? and failed to share the
merits. The petas expressed their indignation by making terrible outcries
and groans in the King’s palace at the dead of night. Thoroughly shaken,
frightened and alarmed by the uproar, the King went to the Buddha at
daybreak and paying respectful homage, asked:
King Bimbisara: Lord, I heard such frightful noises last night, what
would be their effect on me?
The Buddha: Have no fear,fear, Great King,
King, those noises will have no ill
effects upon you at all. Those are your former relatives, that have
been reborn in the plane of peta,
peta, are roaming about waiting for you
throughout the innumerable world-
world-cycles that intervened between
the appearance
appearance of one Buddha and another. They had hoped to
receive the share of merits of the good deeds done by you. You
failed to share your merits with them after your meritorious deeds
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The King went back to the palace and made the necessary arrangements
for the offering of a magnificent dana, and when all the arrangements were
completed, the time was appropriate to send for the Buddha. The Buddha
together with the community of bhikkhus arrived, and sat at the prepared
seat. The petas who were the King’s former relatives were also present at
the dana, with the hope, “Today, surely we are going to receive the share
of merits”, and stood waiting outside the walls.
The Buddha, exercising His powers, enabled the King to see the peta
relatives. The King then dedicate the merits gained:
King Bimbisara: Idam me natinam hotu: May the merits of this dana be for
the well-being of my past relatives.
At that very moment there appeared ponds with many kinds of lotus for
their enjoyment. All his past relatives were able to drink the water in the
ponds and took bath in them. Thus freed from miseries, worries,
weariness and thirst, they acquired golden complexion.
Again, the King offered various hard and soft food to the community of
bhikkhus headed by the Buddha, and as before dedicated the merits of the
dana to his past relatives. At that very moment, various kinds of celestial
food appeared for the petas consumption. Partaking of these divine meals
voraciously, the petas assumed fresh, healthy physical appearance complete
with all the sense faculties of eye, nose, ear, tongue and body.
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Then the King proceeded to offer robes, sleeping and dwelling places to
the community of bhikkhus headed by the Buddha, and as the merits were
dedicated to the peta relatives, there too appeared divine garments, divine
carriages, celestial mansions complete with beds, beddings, bed spreads
and various kinds of ornamental clothing for their use. The King was
overjoyed.
The story of King Bimbisara will not be complete if we do not point out
that this was a very special form of dana. This was a dana done specially
for the benefit of past relatives of King Bimbisara as advised by the
Buddha Himself at the life time of the Buddha. These relatives had been
waiting for a period of 92 kappas at the time of the Buddha Phussa for this
dana to happen.
Thus, this dana bore great fruit for King Bimbisara and also for the petas, as
they loudly thanked the King by saying “sadhu, sadhu, sadhu” after the
dedication of merits to them. This was a meritorious deed by the petas in
itself. Thus they were able to receive direct benefits from the offerings
made.
From this, it can be assumed that certain type of dana can directly benefit
the petas. (Commentary to the Tirokutta Sutta)
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There are a few types of asuras. Some are like devas from Tavatimsa Heaven,
living at the foot of Mt. Sineru. Some live in the human world as earth
bound devas. Some live in forests, mountains, trees, caves and such places.
Some are more powerful than others; some are like hungry ghosts; some
enjoy at night but suffer in the daytime; some are aggressive and fight
each other.
Those who misuse their power, authority and money to cause distress to
others will find rebirth in the asura world.
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happy and unhappy, good and bad, and also everything in between;
therefore only human beings can truly experience the nature of existence.
In the other four planes of suffering, little progress can be made for any
form of spiritual development as suffering is gross and unrelenting; thus,
the opportunity to perform deeds of merit is rarely available. On the other
hand, the very bliss of the heavenly planes beclouds the universal
characteristics of all phenomena; impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and
the lack of any lasting, controlling self. And without fully comprehending
these characteristics of existence, there is no motivation to develop
detachment from sensual desires that is essential to liberation.
Those who do not have knowledge of the Dhamma, are seldom able to
find rebirth in the happy planes. They habitually seek fulfilment and
solace outside of themselves. They seek solely to satisfy their sensuous
desires and inclinations, they amass material possessions, gold, silver, land
and houses. They live lives of delusion, completely conditioned by greed
and nurturing the self.
Those who practise Dhamma know that the mind is the forerunner of all
things. They look within themselves, and realising the defilement of greed,
anger and delusion within, seek to rid them from their minds. They look
within to seek the truth and to know their minds. They look inward, and
while developing insight wisdom, they realise the impermanence of all
things, realising such they then know that suffering is due to their
identifying a permanent self within. They are said to be living in the
Dhamma; a Dhamma person.
The Dhamma person will surely find rebirth in happier planes whereas the
person who is not knowledgeable of the Dhamma may not be quite certain
of his destination.
The rich and powerful have many family and material ties, sons, relations,
properties and material possessions; they are unwilling to relinquish their
hold onto the material things they have spent a life time amassing. Their
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They cry and they weep, they lament that they have to die, they wish they
could stop the process, but alas, the Buddha has said: ‘Life is uncertain
but death is certain.’ The final minutes come and the rich goes unwillingly
to their next existence. They are assured of a place of unhappiness! If they
are reborn into the plane of the peta, they can only hope that their good
kamma accumulated at some stage in their long stay in samsara, will find
the opportunity to arise and condition them a better rebirth. Here is
where friends and relatives, dedicating merits to them, gained by good
deeds, will help.
Whether these planes are real or whether they are merely fanciful
metaphors describing the various mind-states we might experience in this
lifetime; we should take the message of the cosmology of the 31 Planes of
Existence as this: unless we take steps to break free from the grip of
kamma, we are doomed to wander aimlessly in samsara, with true peace
and satisfaction always out of reach. The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path
provides us with precisely the tool we need to break out of this cycle,
once and for all, to true freedom.
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The devas of the sensuous sphere are said to enjoy sense pleasures in far
greater abundance than can be found in the human world. Their bodies
emit light and they have subtle sense organs, similar to ours but far more
sensitive and acute. That is why the supernormal powers of seeing various
planes and hearing at great distances are referred to as deva vision and deva
hearing. On the deva planes, there are stream-enterers and once-returners.
For example, Sakka, king of the gods in the heaven of the Thirty-three,
became a stream-enterer while discussing the Dhamma with the Buddha.
However, only few among the devas have any understanding of the
Dhamma. In fact, all that is needed to be reborn in these heavens is the
meritorious kamma of generosity and good morality. Mental development
through meditation is not a prerequisite for rebirth on the higher
sensuous planes.
Devas do not see the misery of human beings in their daily existence. Many
devas instantly obtain whatever sense object they wish for. Brahmas dwell in
sublime bliss and equanimity. In the formed and formless planes, ill will is
suppressed, and without it there is no mental unhappiness.
Some devas long to be reborn as human beings because they are aware of
the greater possibility of comprehending impermanence, suffering, and
non-self on the human plane.
THE HEAVENS
There are six Deva Planes included in this group and is known as Heaven
in human term. The beings here are not born as babies; they are already
adults and they retain the same appearance until they die. The luxuries and
sensual pleasures enjoyed by the devas in the six Deva Planes are far more
superior than any human pleasures one can dream of. There are beautiful
gardens and parks where devas stroll about in almost timeless period. Their
dwellings are mansions nestling gently and softly among verdant green
foliage and beautiful pleasant lakes where crystal clear waters give them a
sense of peace and calmness. Life is mostly very pleasant and they do not
encounter much suffering. Those who practise sharing (dana), morality
(sila) and meditation (bhavana), particularly loving kindness meditation
(metta) may be reborn in these deva planes.
The jewelled mansions where devas reside are theirs by reason of their own
good kamma. All male devas look as if they are 20 years old, and females,
16. They never age; they remain youthful and beautiful all their lives. They
consume only celestial food so their bodies produce no excreta.
All these divine abodes are filled with all kinds of sensual pleasures and
are fully enjoyed by the celestial beings, so much so that they do not find
the necessity to meditate or to keep their precepts. Thus, there is no
possibility of doing good or practising the Dhamma in these deva planes.
future as they do assemble now before me. I will tell you, bhikkhus,
bhikkhus,
the names of the host of Devas,
Devas, I will reveal the names of the host of
Devas.
Devas. Listen, pay attention. I will speak.
Bhikkhus: Yes, Venerable Sir.
The Blessed One: Bhikkhus,
Bhikkhus, hosts of Devas
Devas have assembled. Do
know
know them well.
Scriptural Text: And the bhikkhus hearing the word of the Buddha,
strove ardently to see and know the host of Devas. And there arose in
them knowledge of perceiving the non-humans. Some saw one hundred,
some one thousand non-humans (Devas and Brahmas), and others seventy
thousand non-humans. Some saw one hundred thousand non-humans,
others saw countless numbers, every quarter of the air and land being
filled with them.
Thereupon the All Seeing One (the Buddha) knowing all things through
super knowledge, addressed the bhikkhus:
Then came the Devas Hari, those of Lohita, Paraga, and Maha-
Maha-
paraga with their retinue of attendants.
All those ten groups of Devas of diverse hue, possessed of
supernormal power, radiant, comely and
and with a retinue of attendants.
There also came the Devas Sukha, Karumha, Aruna with
Veghanasa. The Deva Odatagayha, Pamokkha, and Vicakkhana
also came. Sadamatta, Haragaja, mighty Missaka
Missaka and Pajjuna, who
thundering;; all
causes rain to pour in every direction, came thundering all these ten
groups of Devas of diverse hue, possessed of supernormal power,
radiant, comely and with a retinue of attendants.
The Devas Khemiya, Tusita, Yama, the mighty Katthaka,
Katthaka,
Lambhitaka, Lamasettha, Joti and Asava also came.
There also came the Devas Nimmanarati, and Paranimmita
(Vasavatthi). All these ten groups of Devas of diverse hue,
possessed of supernormal power, radiant, comely and with a retinue
of attendants. These sixty (six of ten groups, indicated in the order
of Apo Deva, etc.) Devas of diverse hue, according to their name
and class, have come with others (similar in name and class).
These Devas came saying: Let us see the community of bhikkhus, the
Arahant bhikkhus, who have outlived birth, who have removed the stake
(of lust, hate and delusion), who have crossed the four currents or streams
(of sense-pleasures, becoming, wrong views and ignorance), free from
taints. Let us also see the Buddha who has crossed the streams, who is
called Naga (in the sense of one who commits no evil) and shining like the
unclouded moon.
Mara: Come on, seize them, bind them, let them all be bound by lust,
surrounded on every side, suffer not anybody to escape'.
Scriptural Text: Mara thus striking the earth with his palm and thereby
producing a dreadful sound as when a storm cloud thunders and causes
lightening during rainy season, sent his black army to the midst of the
devas. Nevertheless, he was unable to bring the devas under his sway. He
became filled with anger and retreated. Then the All Seeing One (the
Buddha) knowing perfectly well what had transpired, addressed his
disciples who take delight in the word of the Buddha.
Scriptural Text: And they (non-arahants), hearing the word of the Buddha,
strove to gain Deliverance from their defilement. From the passion-free
arahants the army of Mara retreated; not even so much as a hair in the
arahants was affected.
Mara (departing): All those disciples are victors in the war of passions; they
are free from fear, glorious and renowned among mankind. They live
rejoicing with Aryan disciples.
Death of Devas: There is no real illness on the deva planes. When a deva
faces death, his aura begins to fade and dirt appears on his clothes for the
first time. The nature of Devas is such that even though they eat, they do
not have excrement as do humans. Devas who pass away from heavens do
not leave corpses behind. Their dead bodies disappear at the same time.
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SECOND DIVISION
THE FINE MATERIAL PLANES (12th – 27th Plane):
The following are the different Planes of Devas in the Fine Material Planes:
Bhante Suvanno: Those born here are devas. These devas have special
virtues, having practised meditation till they have achieved deep
concentration (these deep and sustained concentration are also known as jhana) and
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All beings, who are reborn in these sixteen planes do so as males. Being a
single gender, there is no attachment or emotion due to sex. They are very
peaceful beings and they live very pure lives, free from all thoughts of
sensual pleasures. In their existence as humans they had preferred the
solitude of meditation in quiet places away from town centres, cities,
houses, villages and monasteries, remote from worldly and sensual
pleasures.
These planes are accessible to those who have successfully gain some level
of attainment in their meditation and who have thereby managed to
eradicate hatred and ill-will to some extent. They are said to possess
extremely refined bodies of pure light. There is no need for illumination
in this plane as all beings here are beautiful and radiant in different
degrees and their faces shine brilliantly, lighting up the surrounding area.
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Among these are five of the purest abodes (23-27) of the 31 planes, which
are accessible only to non-returners (anagami) and arahants. Those beings
that had become non-returners in other planes are reborn here, where
they attain enlightenment.
The Brahmas, like the other celestials, are not necessarily on the way to
complete knowledge; their attainments depend on the degree of their faith
in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha; it is not necessary to be a
follower of the Buddha to be born into the Brahma world. Examples are
the Buddha’s first two teachers, the ascetic who predicted the Bodhisatta’s
future as a Buddha. These were ascetics who practised different faiths.
The Buddha tells of ascetics who practise meditation, being born into the
Brahma planes after death. Some Brahmas hold false views regarding their
worlds, which, like all things, are subject to change and destruction.
Buddhas and their more eminent disciples often visit the Brahma planes,
both in their mind made bodies and their physical bodies.
Immediately after his birth, the Buddha looked around and took 7 steps
northward, it was a Maha Brahma with a life span of sixteen thousand
kappas, who cradled the baby in his hands and assured him that none was
greater than he.
Brahmas are known to visit the human plane and take interest in the affairs
of men. When the Buddha hesitated to teach the Dhamma, because of its
profundity, it was Sahampati who appeared before him and exhorted him
to teach the Dhamma for the salvation of the few who had sufficient
wisdom to see the truth. The reason for the Buddha’s hesitancy being
that, for the Buddha to teach the Dhamma, he had to be invited to do so.
As people then were followers of Brahmas; Sahampati's acceptance of the
Buddha's Dhamma would impress them deeply and lend weight to His
teaching. Sahampatī later visited the Buddha several times subsequently,
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illuminating Jetavana with the effulgence of his body. It is said that with a
single finger he could illuminate a whole world system.
Brahmas appear to have been in the habit of visiting the deva planes too,
for a certain Brahma was reported as being present at an assembly of the
Tāvatimsa gods and there, singing the Buddha's praises and giving an
exposition of his teaching.
Mahā Brahmās, though mighty and powerful, are all of them subject to
suffering and the laws of Kamma.
Note:
Maha Kappa, Asankheyya Kappa (such time periods are aeons spanning from 1
with 140 zeros behind to 47 million zeros behind; also known as an uncalculable
period). There are 3 kinds of kappas - namely, antara kappa, asankheyya kappa and
maha kappa. The interim period when a comlete universe system disintegrate to its
reformation and breaking up again constitutes an antara kappa. Twenty such antara
kappa equal one asankheyya kappa; an incalculable cycle. Four asankheyya kappas
equal one maha kappa.
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THIRD DIVISION:
THE NON-MATERIAL PLANES (28th-31st):
28. akasanañcayatanupaga deva - infinite space.
Life span: 20,000 maha kappa
29. viññanañcayatanupaga deva - infinite consciousness.
Life span: 40,000 maha kappa
30. akiñcaññayatanupaga deva - nothingness.
Life span: 60,000 maha kappa
31. nevasaññanasaññayatanupaga deva – neither perception nor
non-perception. Life span: 84,000 maha kappa
Beings in these Formless Planes having no-bodily forms at all do not feel
physical suffering (dukkha). Life here is very pleasant and extremely long.
One may be reborn in such a plane by practising strong and deep
absorption concentration meditation techniques. These states are very
pure and having become adept at entering into these states one may, upon
death, die in this state and be reborn in such a plane. However, this is not
to say that one should aspire to be born in this plane as the primary
objective of meditation taught by the Buddha is to attain Nibbana and that
can only be through Vipassana Meditation. These brahmas have no contact
with the human or deva planes, for they have no physical bodies. They
spend countless aeons in the perfect equanimity of meditation until their
lifespan ends. Then they are reborn in the same plane, the next higher
formless plane, or as devas. After that they too can be reborn on any plane
at all; so even existence without a body is not the way to permanently
eliminate suffering.
This is why the Bodhisatta, realising that after attaining to the stage of
concentration meditation, at death he would find rebirth into these
formless planes, which was not his goal, he decided to leave his two
teachers and find his own way to freedom from suffering.
It is only through practising the Noble Eightfold Path that we can bring
suffering to an end. In fact, these formless brahmas are in the unfortunate
position of being unable to start on the path. This is because one has to
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learn the Dhamma from the Buddha or one of his disciples to attain the
first stage of awakening, to become a stream-enterer.
That is why the sage Asita, invited by King Suddhodana to examine the
newborn Bodhisatta, wept after predicting that Prince Siddhattha would
become a Buddha. The sage knew he was going to die before the prince
attained Buddhahood. He had cultivated these formless absorptions so he
would have to be reborn in the formless plane and would thereby lose all
contact with the human plane. This meant he would not be able to escape
samsara under Gotama Buddha. He was sorely distressed to realise that he
would miss this rare opportunity to gain deliverance and would have to
remain in the round of rebirth until another Buddha appears in the
remote future. He could see into the future and thus understood the
precious opportunity a Buddha offers, but he could neither postpone his
death nor avoid rebirth into the immaterial plane.
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Bhante Suvanno: All this information is not really important if your goal
is to attain enlightenment. It's just an interesting subject that many people
like to philosophise about. But the Buddha’s teaching is not merely a
philosophy; it is a practice, a blueprint for correct living. As we have just
mentioned, Vipassana Bhavana is the only way to Enlightenment, the goal
of the Buddha’s teaching. For this to happen we need to practise diligently.
In their ignorance and delusion, the Buddha said, human beings are
unable to realise and remember any single vistage of the sufferings they
had experienced in their previous existences and in their deluded cravings
for and clingings to sensuous pleasures, they are inevitably reborn to a
world where their cravings, clingings and kamma take them. Human
beings have experienced so many losses of loved ones in their many
existences that the tears they have shed are more than all the waters of the
oceans in the world. Yet they are desirous of rebirth, not realising the
suffering inherent in it.
The Buddha also said that humans are normally desirous of doing
unwholesome deeds rather than wholesome deeds. When they are about
to die, in the last death moment when they realise that they are going to
be reborn into one of the four woeful planes, then only are they confused
and terrified, knowing that their concepts were flawed. That is then too
late!
‘I’, drives ‘I’ to perform unwholesome action that will cause endless
suffering to ‘I’. Thus the most important goal of the meditator or yogi in
meditation is to destroy this false concept of ‘I’. If one does not have the
wrong view of ‘I’, one does not place importance on ‘I’.
Even when we have attained to the top of the happy planes, there is no
guarantee that we are safe from future sufferings. Depending on past
merits, we can still be having defilement, which if we are not mindful of,
will lead us to the lower planes of existence. We have to be constantly
mindful to guard the entrance to the six sense doors in order to be aware
of our intentions and actions.
suffering and give rise to defilement which colour their present deeds.
What are these defilement? They are greed, anger or hatred and delusion.
Because of these defilement their words and actions will be tainted. Some
speak with barbs in their words and some act with unrestrain.
All beings reap the fruits of the seeds they sow and are given rebirth by
and according to their kammic results. No deity of any sort controls the
birth and death of any beings. It is the kammic energies of the past and
present that condition the rebirth of beings. The good or bad kamma will
determine the happy or suffering planes where they will find rebirth.
Having arrived at a destination conditioned by past kamma does not mean
that a being need to go through with the result of the cause that brought
him, her or it hence; but that depending on the development of mental
purity and wisdom of this present life, a living being will be able to
reshape future lives thus effectively changing the results of past deeds, if
those deeds were not of a very severely unwholesome nature, as in killing
living beings.
The Buddha knows that beings constantly perpetuate their own sufferings
from life to life. He taught that if we could completely purify the minds of
selfish attachment we would be self-liberated and experience the peace
and freedom of Nibbana (enlightenment), the cessation of suffering and the
end of rebirth. To be reborn again and again is to experience untold
suffering and misery.
He asked:
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The Buddha: Which is greater, the tears that were shed from
existence to existence while wandering this samsara,
samsara, crying and
weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated
from what is pleasing, or the waters in the four great oceans?
Bhante Suvanno: The Buddha pointed out that the greater was the tears
shed through the rounds of samsara.
Why
Why is that? From an inconstruable beginning comes birth. A
beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance
and fettered by craving are being reborn repeatedly. Long have you
thus experienced stress, experienced pain, experienced loss, swelling
swelling
the cemeteries, enough to become disenchanted with all conditioned
things, enough to become dispassionate,
dispassionate, enough to be released.
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The Buddha: And why, Malunkyaputta have I not made known the
answers to your questions? Because it is not beneficial and does
not belong to the fundamentals to leading a holy life, it does not lead
to dispassion and disenchantment, to cessation, to peace and to
Nibbana. Thus
Thus have I not declared it to you.
Jinavamsa: The Buddha knew many things, but He did not want to
burden people with unnecessary knowledge that did not serve to lead
them to Nibbana.
The Blessed One has given us ample warning of the need to search
ourselves and make ready for the day when we have to go to another
world to harvest the fruits of the seed we have planted in this present time.
Should we be found wanting and end up in the woeful planes where there
is no let up in the sufferings, we must endure or if we have taken heed of
this advice we may be transported to the worlds where sensual pleasures
are beyond our imagination. Better still, if we take notice of the warnings
in real earnest, we may never have to return to any worlds but be totally
liberated. The choice is yours to make. Going hand in hand with the
wisdom of Vipassana, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness; you will
definitely make a wise choice!
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THE 31 PLANES
A Summary
PLANES OF REBIRTH
The Planes of Rebirth are what the Buddha had seen and had direct
knowledge of after His Enlightenment. These planes are very real and
beings are reborn into the different planes due to their kamma. There have
been speculations and theories as to whereabouts are these planes. One
could view them as places either above or below the Earth; or in different
dimensions within the universe; or one can be in hell or heaven according
to the state of mind one causes oneself to be in. The real reason the
Buddha expounded the 31 Planes was to teach us that we must always be
aware that our thoughts, speech and deeds will cause us to receive the
appropriate fruits depending on the seeds that we sow; so we need to be
aware that the fruits can be disastrous or they can be wonderfully blissful.
You have the volition to choose your own planes to go to.
The Brahmas in the Plane of Nothingness (30) live a life span of 60,000
world cycles. The Buddha’s first teacher in his quest for the truth was the
ascetic, Alara. He was the first person the Buddha decided to pass on his
discovery after he decided to teach, but Alara had passed away seven days
earlier and was found to be reborn in this Brahma Plane.
(27) Peerless Devas (akanittha deva): The supreme heaven where arahants
and anagamis reside in a final existence before entering Nibbana. The
Brahmas of this Plane can live up to the life span of 16,000 world
cycles.
(26) Clear-sighted Devas (sudassi deva): The Brahmas of this Plane can live
up to the life span of 8,000 world cycles before passing away into
Nibbana.
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(25) Beautiful Devas (sudassa deva): The Brahmas of this Plane can live up
to the life span of 4,000 world cycles before entering Nibbana.
(24) Untroubled Devas (atappa deva): The serene heaven where the
Brahmas of this Plane can live up to the life span of 2,000 world cycles
before entering Nibbana.
(23) Devas not falling away (aviha deva): The durable heaven where the
Brahmas of this Plane can live up to the life span of 1,000 world
cycles before entering Nibbana.
(22) Mindless Devas (asannasatta): Beings here only have bodies, but no
mind. They can live up to 500 world cycles.
The heaven of gods and noble beings of great merits, who have practised
Samatha and Vipassana meditation during their life as humans. Those
Brahmas who have practised Samatha only are reborn into lower Planes
after dying, but those who have practised Vipassana and have attained the
stages to arahanthood are reborn into this Plane again or a higher Plane.
The Brahmas of this Plane can live up to the life span of 500 world cycles.
The Brahmas here (12-14) are gigantic in size and are well organised.
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(9) Contented Tusita Devas: A Plane of pure delight and gaiety; all
Bodhisattas abide here prior to their final human birth.
(8) Yama Devas: These Devas live in the air, care-free and happy.
(6) Devas or gods of the Four Great Kings (Catumaharajika Devas): Home
of the Gandhabbas, the celestial musicians; the Yakkhas, tree spirits of
varying degrees of ethical purity; the kumbhandas; and home of nagas.
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(3) Plane of Hungry Ghosts (peta loka), ghosts and unhappy spirits
wandering and searching in vain for food. Petas do not have a
separate plane, but exist in the human plane
(2) Plane of Animals (tiracchana yoni), this plane includes all the non-
human forms of life that are visible to us under ordinary
circumstances: animals, insects, fish, birds, worms, etc.