Submitted by Krishna Dhanya on
Buddhist cosmology distinguishes between places where actions have moral consequences, referred to as “karma-sites” (karma-bhūmi), and existential situations in which beings lead long and blissful lives but are effectively trapped in heavens and subject to an inevitable trajectory of eventual return to lower realms in which suffering is endemic. The gods of the Formless Realm (Ārūpya-dhātu), for example, are born without bodies, and they enjoy sublime pleasures and long lives as a result of successfully engaging in meditative practices referred to as the four formless absorptions (ārūpya-samāpatti). But eventually their karmic bank accounts will be depleted, and they will be reborn as humans, animals, or other sorts of beings. Their lives as gods are a soteriological dead end because while they reside in the Formless Realm (or other spheres within the expansive cosmology of Indian Buddhism) gods think that their sublime existences will last forever, and so they are unaware of the passage of time or the fact that eventually their celestial sojourns will cease. At the other end of the spectrum are hell realms, whose denizens are born with bodies that are prone to experiencing excruciating torment without any respite. Their lives are unending misery, and because of the pervasiveness of their suffering they can only endure until the karmic debt that resulted in their situation is exhausted, after which they will be reborn in one of the higher realms. But as long as beings—wherever they are situated on the continuum from hells to heavens—continue to be unaware of the realities of cyclic existence, they will make the same misguided choices and will move up or down in accordance with their respective karmas. Their bodies will reflect the actions that led to their births, and they will experience pleasures and sufferings concordant with the karmic trajectories they set in motion in the past (of which most are currently unaware).
Six realms of existence (gati) are described in traditional Buddhist sources: (a) hell beings (naraka), (b) hungry spirits (Pāli peta; Skt. preta), (c) animals (tiryak), (d) humans (Pāli manussa; Skt. manuṣya), (e) demigods (asura), and (f) gods (deva). The human realm is the most desirable situation from the point of view of practice: hell beings and hungry spirits endure so much suffering that they are unable to see the faults that led to their unfortunate situations, and the minds of animals are too clouded to discern the causes and effects of actions. Gods and demigods are caught up in their pleasurable lives, but humans have sufficient intelligence to become aware of how the universe works and the operations of karma. Those who have the resources and time for religious practice can take control of the process of rebirth by engaging in merit-making activities and practicing the sorts of meditation that will lead to improved understanding and mental clarity. Rebirth in a human body, however, is extremely rare: a popular image (“Dutiyachiggaḷayuga-sutta,” Saṃyutta-nikāya 48.2) compares the chances of birth in the human realm to a blind tortoise that lives at the bottom of the ocean and only surfaces once every hundred years. On top of the ocean, a floating ring bobs on the water, and being born as a human is as likely as the tortoise putting its head through the middle of the ring. This story is used to illustrate the notion of a “precious human birth” and the opportunities it presents.