, - Samanta cakkavalesu, atra-gacchantu de vata; saddhammam muni rajassa, sunantu sag
ga-mokkhadam. May the deities from various universes as semble here and listen to the noble teac hing of the Supreme Sage, that gives hea venly bliss and liberation from suffering. Dhamma ssavana kalo ayam bhaddanta.
(3 times) Oh Noble Ones! This is the time to listen to th e Dhamma (Buddha's Teaching). (3 times) Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma-samb uddhassa. (3 times) Homage to Him, the Blessed, the Exalted and
the Fully Enlightened One. (3 times) Ye santa santa citta, tisarana sarana, ettha l okantare va; bhumma bhumma ca deva, guna gana gahan a byavata sabbakalam. ete ayantu deva, vara-kanaka-maye, meruraj e vasanto;
santo santosa hetum, muni-vara- vacanam, s otumaggam samagga. There are deities, virtuous and tranquil after taking refuge in the Triple Gem, living in this universe or in other universes, there are dei ties around the world and in heaven making efforts to gain virtuous qualities, there is th e King of deities gentle as he is, living at the top of Mount Meru, made of excellent gold. May all these deities assemble here togethe r to listen to the noble words of the Great Sa
ge, which are the source of happiness and p eace. Sabbesu cakkavalesu, yakkha deva ca brahma no; yam amhehi katam punnam, sabba-sampatti-s adhakam. May all demons, deities and Brahmas in all te n thousand universes rejoice in our meritoriou
s actions which bring success and happiness. Sabbe tam anumoditva, samagga sasane rata; pamada-rahita hontu, arakkhasu visesato. Having rejoiced in our merits, may the deities together dedicate it to the Buddha's Dispensa tion and especially do not neglect in protectin g the world.
, - - , - , -
- - , , , , , - - - , -
, , the realm of desire (kama-dhatu) six domains (gatis) the realm of form (rupa-dhatu)
the even higher realm of formlessness (arupa-dhatu) 1. Devas or gods. : , 2. Asuras or titans (or jealous gods, or demigods) : 3. Manusyas or humans : 4. Tiryaks or animals :
5. Pretas or hungry ghosts : 6. Narakas or demons (hell beings) : (4) - four states of unhappi ness (Apya) 1. Niraya (ni + aya = devoid of happi ness, ) woeful states where beings atone for their evil Kamma. T
hey are not eternal hells where bein gs are subject to endless suffering. Upon the exhaustion of the evil Kam ma there is a possibility for beings b orn in such states to be reborn in bli ssful states as the result of their pas t good actions.
2. Tiracchna-yoni (tiro = across; acchna = going), the animal kingdom. Buddhist belief is that beings are born as animals on accou nt of evil Kamma. There is, however, the po ssibility for animals to be born as human be ings as a result of the good Kamma accumul ated in the past. Strictly speaking, it should be more correct to state that Kamma which manifested itself in the form of a human bei ng, may manifest itself in the form of an ani mal or vice versa, just as an electric current
can be manifested in the forms of light, hea t and motion successively -- one not necess arily being evolved from the other. 3. Peta-yoni (pa + ita) lit., departed bein gs, or those absolutely devoid of happin ess. They are not disembodied spirits of ghosts. They possess deformed physical
forms of varying magnitude, generally in visible to the naked eye. They have no pl anes of their own, but live in forests, dirt y surroundings, etc. There is a special bo ok, called Petavatthu, which exclusively deals with the stories of these unfortuna te beings. Samyutta Nikya also relates some interesting accounts of these Peta s.
4. Asura-yoni -- the place of the As ura-demons. Asura, literally, means those who do not shine or those wh o do not sport. They are also anoth er class of unhappy beings similar t o the Petas. They should be disting uished from the Asuras who are op posed to the Devas. ( )
4 - (7) 1. Manussa -- The Realm of human beings.
The human realm is a mixture of both pain and happine ss. Bodhisattas prefer the human realm as it is the best field to serve the world and perfect the requisites of Bu ddhahood. Buddhas are always born as human beings.
2. Ctummahrjika -- the lowest of the heavenly realm s where the Guardian Deities of the four quarters of the firmament reside with their followers. (Dhrtarastra): (Virudhaka): (Virupaksa): , Shiva (Vaisravana): ,
3. Tvatimsa -- lit., thirty-three -- the Celestial Realm of the thirty-three De vas where Deva Sakka is the King. Th e origin of the name is attributed to a story which states that thirty-three s elfless volunteers led by Magha (anot her name for Sakka), having perform ed charitable deeds, were born in this heavenly realm. It was in this heaven
that the Buddha taught the Abhidham ma to the Devas for three months. 4. Yma "The Realm of the Yma De vas." That which destroys pain is Ym a.
5. Tusita -- lit., happy dwellers, is "The Real m of Delight." The Bodhisattas who have perfected the req uisites of Buddhahood reside in this Plane u ntil the opportune moment comes for them t
o appear in the human realm to attain Budd hahood. The Bodhisatta Metteyya, the futur e Buddha, is at present residing in this real m awaiting the right opportunity to be born as a human being and become a Buddha. Th e Bodhisatta's mother, after death, was bor n in this realm as a Deva (god). From here h e repaired to Tvatimsa Heaven to listen to the Abhidhamma taught by the Buddha. 6. Nimmnarati -- "The Realm of the Devas who delight in the created mansions."
7. Paranimmitavasavatti -- "The Realm of t he Devas who make others' creation serve their own ends." The last six are the realms of the Devas wh
ose physical forms are more subtle and re fined than those of human beings and are i mperceptible to the naked eye. These cele stial beings too are subject to death as all mortals are. In some respects, such as thei r constitution, habitat, and food they excel humans, but do not as a rule transcend the m in wisdom. They have spontaneous birth s, appearing like youths and maidens of fif teen or sixteen years of age.
These six Celestial Planes are temporary bl issful abodes where beings are supposed t o live enjoying fleeting pleasures of sense. Kalpa
Mahakalpa - 4 asankhyeya - 20 antara Kalpa - 16,800,000 - 336,000,000 - 1,334,000,000
. . .
-
Buddhist Cosmology Dr. C. George Boeree Shippensburg University , : : : , : , : :
: : -
Brahma -- the supreme deva, who con vinced Buddha to teach. Indra -- a major deva, originally the Hin du sky god. Praja -- goddess of knowledge. Budd has mother was considered an incarnat ion.
Mara -- a deva associated with death and hin drances to enlightenment. It was Mara who t empted Buddha under the bodhi tree. , Yama -- the king of the 21 hells , Nagas -- great serpents (or dragons, or water c reatures). The king of the Nagas protected Bu ddha from a storm.
Gandharvas -- angelic beings who provide the gods with music ( ) (ANGKOR WAT)
(Mount Meru ) -
( ) : - (1 ) - (1 )
A p s a r a
(Trikaya) 1. Nirmanakaya -- The earthly Buddh as (and Bodhisattvas), especially as per sonified by Siddhartha Gautama. In Tib et, the intentional human embodiment of a reborn master.
( ) ( ) 2. Sambhogakaya -- Buddhas in their heavens, the result of accumulated mer it. Or, in Zen, enlightenment. In Tibeta n buddhism, this refers to the means of achieving the Dharmakaya, i.e. the pow
er of meditation on the various visualize d dieties called yidams which are archet ypal symbols of different qualities of enl ightenment. ( ) 3. Dharmakaya -- The teachings of th e Buddha, and the true nature of the Bu ddha, which is everything. Buddha min
d, or Shunyata. In Tibet, they also refer to the body, spe ech, and mind of a master. And they ar e represented by the mudra, the mantr a, and the mandala, respectively.
1. Vairochana -- center, white, tathagata famil y, ignorance and wisdom, the primordial Buddha. - ( ) 2. Akshobhya -- east, blue, vajra (diamond) fa mily, aggression and mirrorlike wisdom. .
3. Ratnasambhava -- south, yellow, ratna (jewe l) family, pride and equanimity. . 4. Amitabha -- west, red, padma (lot us) family, passion and discriminating a wareness, governs the present age.
5. Amoghasiddhi -- north, green, kar ma family, envy and all-accomplishing wisdom. , ( ) 1. Samantabhadra Krakucchanda
2. Vajrapani Kanakamuni , 3. Ratnapani Kashyapa 4. Avalokiteshvara (Kuan Yin) Shak yamuni (Siddhartha Gotama) 5. Vishvapani - Maitreya (the future Buddha)
1 Amitabha is the transcendent Buddh a of the Western Pure Land. Amitabha r ules over this period of time. 2 Avalokiteshwara (Chenrezi, Kwan Yin, Kwannon) is the boddhisattva of c ompassion. Avalokiteshwara is often re presented by a female figure, or an amb
iguous one, in the Mahayana tradition. (See image at right) The Taras are a set of 21 female savior s, born from Avalokiteshvaras tears. Gr een Tara and White Tara are the best kn own. - , ( , )
3 Maitreya is the future Buddha, who will be born 30,000 years from now. The Chinese monk called Pu-tai (Ho-tei in J apanese) - the laughing buddha - is cons idered a pre-incarnation of Maitreya. - ,
,
- - ( ) : , ,
