The
desire realm (
Sanskrit kāma-dhātu) is one of three realms (Sanskrit:
dhātu, Tibetan:
khams) or three worlds (S.
triloka) in traditional
Buddhist cosmology into which a being wandering in
may be
reborn. The other two are the form realm, (S.
rupa-dhātu) and the formless realm (S.
ārupa-dhatu).
Within the desire realm are either five or six domains (S.:
gati, also sometimes translated as "realm"). In
Indo-Tibetan Mahāyāna Buddhism there are six domains () and in
Theravada Buddhism there are only five, because the domain of the
asuras is not regarded as separate from that of the
devas.
Taoism also features the five realms.
s:太上說轉輪五道宿命因緣經The
Shurangama Sutra in Mahayana Buddhism regarded the 10 kinds of
Xian as a separate Immortal realm between the Deva and Human realms.
The thirty-one realms are also known as the "thirty-one paths of rebirth", the "six paths of suffering", the "six planes", and the "six lower realms". They stand in contrast to the higher attainments of the
Ten spiritual realms.
One's
previous actions and thoughts determine which of the six domains one is reborn into.
The Six Domains
The six domains of the desire realm are as......
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