The second plane of existence to be considered here is the Kamasugati-bhumi. The Pali term Kamasugati-bhumi can be translated as ‘the plane of happiness connected with desires.’ This implies that the life of the being born in this plane is mainly dominated by the influence of diverse worldly desires. The happiness of the beings of this plane arises from the six sense-object contacts generally termed as sensuous pleasures. The desire to acquire this type of pleasure is the common characteristic of all beings of the Kamasugati-bhumi.
According to Buddhism there are
actually twenty realms of happy existence. These twenty realms are distinguished
into three groups in accordance with their common characteristics:
a. Kamasugati-bhumi,
b. Rupavacara-bhumi
and
c. Arupavacara-bhumi.
The Rupavacara-bhumi, the plane of form, and the Arupavacara-bhumi, the plane of the formless, will be discussed next chapter.
The Kamasugati-bhumi is classified
into seven realms:
i. the realm of human beings and the other six being the six realms of the Kamavacara heavens, viz.,
ii. Catummaharajika,
iii. Tavatimsa,
v. Yama,
v. Tusita,
vi. Nimmanarati and
vii. Paranimmitavasavatti.
This classification is hierarchically
arranged from the lowest to the highest realm respectively. Birth or rebirth
in these seven realms is conditioned by meritorious kamma.
Buddhism regards human existence as one of the twenty happy existences. In human beings the degree of happiness varies from one individual to another. This depends on one’s kamma which affects one’s life. One is born rich and another is born poor; one is born blind or deaf and dumb and another is born normal. Although the abnormal seems to be less happy than the normal, no one can deny that the abnormal individual has a chance to be happy.
As long as his body is capable of sense-object contacts, even though not through all of his senses, he is still capable of enjoying sensual pleasures. The beggar appears to experience more suffering than happiness, but he still has a chance for worldly pleasures in his life. In the human world, however lofty or humble one’s life is, happiness is always possible and this is one reason why it is regarded as one of the twenty realms of happy existence.
The main reason the realm of human beings is regarded as one of the Kamasugati-bhumi is that human birth is the result of meritorious kamma. And everyone born as man, however high or humble his birth may be, has an equal chance of realizing the ultimate truth and attaining emancipation. Moreover, although the human world is the lowest of all the happy realms of existence, it possesses many significant characteristics which many other realms do not have.
Firstly, it is the realm situated between the plane of misery (Apaya-bhumi) and the higher realms of happiness or Devaloka. In this sense it may be said to be the centre of all realms from which man may go “upwards” or “downwards” after death according to the nature of his kamma. Secondly, it is the only realm where the life of a recluse, an ethical life that leads directly to the realization of the ultimate truth, is made possible.
Thirdly, it is where the, fulfillment of the Ten Perfection (Dasa-parami)35 of the Buddha-to-be or Bodhisatta is made possible. Fourthly, it is the only realm where the Bodhisatta attains to Buddhahood and preaches the ultimate truth to the world. With all these significant characteristics, the human world may be regarded as the most important realm of happy existence although happiness here is mixed with suffering.
As regards the kinds of kamma which cause rebirth in, the realm of human beings, an explanation can be found in the Anguttara-Nikaya where the Buddha is reported to have said to his disciples:
“There is, 0 bhikkhus, someone in this world who only on a small scale performs meritorious action founded on charity (dana), only on a small scale performs meritorious action founded on virtue (sila) and does not perform meritorious action founded on mind-development (bhavana). He, on the dissolution of the body after death, is reborn among men of ill luck.
There is, 0 bhikkhus, someone in this world who performs meritorious action founded on charity to a medium degree, performs meritorious action founded on virtue to a medium degree and does not perform meritorious action founded on mind-development. He, on the dissolution of the body after death, is reborn among men of good luck.”
The above passages clearly show
that charity (dana) and virtue (sila) are the determining factors in bringing
about rebirth in the realm of human beings. These two kinds of wholesome
action still have their roles to play in conditioning more or less happiness
and prosperity in a man’s life after birth according to the degree of their
power and efficacy. But, since circumstances in human life are more
complicated, other kinds of wholesome and unwholesome actions performed
in his previous birth also fruit for him who has been born as a human being.
2. CATUMMAHARAJIKA
HEAVEN OR
THE HEAVEN OF THE FOUR GREAT KINGS.
Catummaharajika is the name of the lowest realm of the twenty-six heavens. It is so called because this heaven is ruled by the Four Great Kings in four different directions, i.e., in the East, in the South, in the West and in the North. The problem arises about the centre of this realm which divides the regions of the Four Great Kings. The Paramatthajotika mentions a mountain called Sineru as the centre of this heaven.” But at present we cannot locate any mountain by this name anywhere in the world. It is said that Sineru is the highest mountain in the world and it may therefore be the highest peak of the Himalaya range called Everest at present.
In the Atanatiya Sutta we are informed that a Devaraja called Dhatarattha rules over the eastern region of Catummaharajika heaven. He is the king of the Gandhabba. A Devaraja named Virulhaka rules over the southern region; he is the king of the Kumbhanda.39 In the western region a Devaraja named Virupakkha is the ruler and he is the king of the Naga. In the northern region a Devaraja named Kuvera or Vessavanna is the ruler; he is the king of the Yakkha.’ These Four Great Kings are also said to be the protectors of the human world and thus they are sometimes called Lokapala - the protectors of the world.
It should be noted that each of the Four Great Kings rules over one type of god of the Catummaharajika heaven. The Gandhabba, the attendants of King Dhatarattha, are described as the god-musicians. They are said to be well-versed in music. Pancasikha, whose name is often mentioned in the Pali scriptures, belongs to the Gandhabba community. He always goes with his yellow vina in his hand.
The Kumbhanda is described as a type of being with a big belly and big red eyes. As the retinue of King Virulhaka, their duty is to take care of forests, mountains, underground riches, hidden treasures, etc. The Naga, the inhabitants under King Virupakkha’s administration, are another type of celestial being in the Catummaharajika heaven. Naga literally means ‘snake’, but as the inhabitants of this heaven, they are demigods endowed with divine power.
Yakkha are the retinue of King Vessavanna.
They are also a type of god inhabiting thi heaven. In the Janavasabha
Sutta it is said that King Bimbisara of Magadha was born after his human
existence as a high ranking Yakkha of this realm. In the Paramatthajotika,
distinctions are made among the three types of gods of the Catummaharajika
heaven according to the nature of their residences. The three types are:
i. Bhummattha-devata or gods living
on the ground,
ii. Rukkhattha-devata or gods living
in trees and
iii. Akasattha-devata or gods living
in the sky.
The ground-gods or Bhummattha-devata are said to reside on mountains, in pagodas, in public houses like temples, etc. They do not particularly have palaces or vimanas of their own.
The tree-gods or Rukkhattha-devata are distinguished into two types, one being those who have palaces of their own on the tops of trees and the other being those who have no palaces or vimana but who reside in the trees. Since their residences are in connection with trees, when those trees are chopped down they have to shift to other unoccupied ones.
The Akasattha-devata or the gods living in the sky are said to have vimanas of their own. The magnificence of their palaces varies from one to another, depending on the karmic results of the owners.
It should be noted that the Catummaharajika heaven is actually on the same level as the human world. It may be regarded as a sub-world which is invisible to human eyes. The reason for its invisibility is that it belongs to a different realm of existence. The birth of a being in this realm is, as is birth in all the other realms of happiness, conditioned by meritorious kamma.
In the Anguttara Nikaya we are told that the age of the beings in the Catummaharajika heaven is about five hundred divine years. Fifty years in the realm of human beings is equal to a single day and night of that realm; thirty such days and nights make one month; twelve such months make a year. Five hundred years of that realm are, therefore, equal to nine million years in the human world.
But it should not be understood
that all beings of this heaven always live long, up to the expiration of
their span of life. The life of the beings in every realm of existence
is actually the same as that of human beings, i.e., some may die at a young
age, some may live up to middle age and then die, and some may pass away
at the expiration of their span of life. This depends on the power and
efficacy of the kamma done by each individual which governs and determines
the nature and duration of his life in the plane where he is born.
3. TAVATIMSA OR
THE HEAVEN OF THE THIRTY-THREE
GODS
The second realm of the Kamavacara heaven and the third realm of the plane of happiness is the Tavatimsa. The term ‘tavatimsa’ means ‘thirty-three’. This heaven is named after the number of a group of people who collectively performed rneritorious kamma and who were born after death in this realm of happiness.
According to the legend it is said that once in the far past there was a group of thirty-three men in a village called Macalagama. The leader of the group was a young man named Magha. These thirty-three men collectively dedicated their efforts to the happiness and well-being of other people. They built and repaired roads, dug wells and ponds at road-sides for travellers who needed water, built rest houses at cross-roads, etc.
They passed their whole life with such wholesome actions and on the dissolution of their bodies, after death, they attained to this third realm of happiness. The leader of the group became the ruler of this heaven and acquired the name Sakka or Indra. His thirty-two friends were reborn as high ranking gods. Since the thirty-three friends were born in this realm, it is, therefore, called Tavatimsa or the heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods.
In fact, there are many other gods who attained to this realm before and after the thirty-three friends, but when Magha was born here, because of his excellent virtues and marvelous meritorious kamma, he acquired supreme power and became the ruler of the realm.
The Tavatimsa heaven is said to be situated on the to of Sineru mountain. It is just above the Catummaharajika or the heaven of the Four Great Kings. At the middle of this realm there is a city called Sudassana. The palace or vimana of Sakka the Devaraja, called Vejayanta, is in the eastern part of the city. In the city there are many parks, lotus ponds and flower gardens which serve as the places of enjoyment and recreation of the gods in Tavatimsa heaven. There is also a parijata tree which is the landmark of this realm and an assembly hall called Sudhamma serving as the meeting place of the Tavatimsa gods.
It is explained that all gods and goddesses in this heaven are always in their youthful stage of life. No old age, sickness and disfigured parts of the body appear among them. Their foods are so subtle that no excretions are produced from their bodies. Their birth in heaven is one of spontaneous uprising (opapatika), i.e.., the being born in heaven spontaneously appears as a young man or woman. And when his death occurs, because of the exhaustion of his kamma that leads him to take rebirth in heaven, he just disappears from the celestial world leaving no trace of his corporeal body.
In the Khuddaka-Nikaya” it is said
that when the end of his term of life in heaven is drawing near, the five
signs appears to the god who is to pass away to take rebirth in another
realm of existence. The five signs are:
i. His decorating flowers
wither away,
ii. His clothes become faded,
iii. Sweat comes out of his armpits,
iv. His complexion becomes depressed,
and
v. He becomes displeased
with his heavenly seat.
When these five signs appear to any god, he himself, as well as others, realizes that the end of his life in that realm is close at hand and he is consequently overcome with grief. Having seen the five signs his friends try to console him with their wishes: they wish him attainment to the realm of happiness, attainment to that which is beneficial for him and to be well-established in what has been attained.
To attain to the realm of happiness for a god in heaven is explained as obtaining rebirth as a human being; to attain to what is beneficial for him is to have faith in the teachings of the Buddha who preaches his doctrine in accordance with the natural law of cause and effect or the law kamma; and to be well-established in what has been attained is to have an unshakable faith therein.
It is also said that the gods of the higher heavens are invisible to the gods of the lower ones but not vice versa. This is because the bodies of the gods of the higher realms are more subtle than those of the beings in the lower realms. The celestial beings of the higher heavens are visible to the beings of the lower realms only when they want themselves to be seen by transforming their subtle bodies into grosser bodies.
Moreover, although all gods are endowed with divine power, the beings of the lower realms cannot travel to realms higher than their own. This is because of the limitation of their power. But in travelling to the lower realms there is no such obstruction; they can go any time they wish. These two general characteristics, i.e. the invisibility of the higher gods to the lower gods and the incapability of the lower gods to travel to the higher realms, are common to all the heavens excepting the Catummaharajika and the Tavatimsa heaven which appear to be closely related.
The Buddhist scriptures reveal to us that gods of the Catummaharajika heaven can go to Tavatimsa heaven, although in the hierarchy of gradation Tavatimsa is a higher realm of existence. The evidence for this appears in the Janavasabha Sutta and Mahagovinda Sutta of the Digha-Nikaya.
In the Mahagovinda Sutta we are told that a Gandhabba named Pancasikha came to visit the Buddha one night while the latter was staying at Kijjhakuta hill near the city of Rajagaha. He told the Buddha of the event experienced by him in the heaven of Tavatimsa. He said that on a certain occasion on a full moon day, all the gods of Tavatimsa assembled in Sudhamma assembly-hall. The Four Great Kings of Catummaharajika heaven were also present in the assembly.
In the East King Dhataratha, the king of Gandhabba, sat facing the western direction; in the South King Virulhaka, the king of Kumbanda, sat facing the northern direction; in the West King Virupakkha; the king of the Naga, sat facing the eastern direction; and in the North King Vessavana, the king of the Yakkha, sat facing the southern direction. Pancasikha said that just behind the seats of the Four Great Kings was his own seat. Sakka the Devaraja, the lord of Tavatirrisa heaven, presided over the meeting.
Pancasikha continued his narration saying that all the gods in the assembly were delighted with the increasing number of new gods in the realm. There were some gods who had observed the practice of the Buddha’s teachings in their human lives. When they attained to this realm of existence, they surpassed the other gods with their splendour and glory.
King Sakka, realizing the delightful minds of his fellow gods, addressed them and narrated to them the eight wonderful qualities of the Buddha. At the end of his narration, a splendid ray of light appeared in the northern direction with its great brightness beyond the power of all the gods in that assembly. He told the god assembly that such a splendour of light was the antecedence of the appearance of Brahma.
Pancasikha continued that at that moment a Brahma named Sananga-kumara from the Brahma world appeared before the gods of Tavatimsa heaven. He surpassed all the assembled gods with his ordinary splendour and glory. Realizing the delightful minds of the other gods with his mind, Sanangakumara the Brahma addressed them and requested King Sakka to repeat to him the eight wonderful qualities of the Buddha.
Sakka the Devaraja yielded to his request and when he finished his narration Sanangakumara the Brahma related to the assembly the story of Mahagovinda, which is said to be one of the Buddha’s previous births. The story of Pancasikha the Gandhabba given above adds to our knowledge some facts of the heaven world: that the Four Great Kings and Pancasikha himself belong to the lowest heaven or Catummaharajika; that their appearance in Tavatimsa on some occasions shows the close relations between these two grades of heaven. The Four Great Kings, although they rule over other different heavens, seem to be among the god-retinue of Sakka the Devaraja.
According to the Sakkapanha Sutta, Pancasikha the Gandhabba appears to be King Sakka’s favourite attendant; he was made a guide and messenger when King Sakka went to visit the Buddha at Indasala cave of Vediyaka mountain near the city of Rajagaha. The Sakkapanha Sutta also reveals that the goddesses or Devadhita of Catummaharajika went occasionally to entertain the Tavatimsa gods with dancing and singing. This indicates the accessibility of Tavatimsa heaven to the gods of Catummaharajika.
In the heavenly hierarchy beginning from the lowest to the highest realm, Tavatimsa ranks second of the six Kamavacara heavens and the third of seven realms of Kamasugati-bhumi. Life in this realm is described as predominantly consisting of enjoyment. The span of life in this heaven is very long. It is said in the Anguttara Nikaya that one hundred years in the world of human beings is equal to a single day and night of that realm; thirty such days and nights make one month; twelve such months one year; and one thousand such years is the approximate age of the gods in Tavatimsa heaven.
It should be mentioned here that not every god of this heaven has a palace or vimana of his own. Many gods were born here as personal attendants of other gods. It is said in the Paramatthajotika that if a new god or goddess is born on the lap of the owner of a palace, he or she will be regarded as the son or daughter of that god; if a goddess is born in his bed, she will be his wife; if a new god or goddess is born in the precinct of his palace, he or she will become his personal attendant.
In some cases, if a new god or goddess is born in between the boundaries of two palaces, the owners of those palaces will try to possess that newcomer. If they cannot settle the dispute among themselves, they will approach King Sakka for necessary judgment. King Sakka will give his judgment according to the rules of heaven. According to the rules, if, at the beginning, a new god or goddess casts his or her eyes on which palace, he or she will be given to the owner of that palace, or otherwise he or she will be given to the owner of the palace which his or her birthplace is near.
In some cases, the distance from the birthplace of the newcomer to both the palaces is equal and he or she does not particularly look at any palace. In a case such as this, King Sakka, in order to prevent a dispute among his citizens, will take for himself possession of the newcomer. His judgment is always deemed final in all cases.
Here there is nothing to be said about the god who is born with his own vimana, as he acquires an independent status from the beginning of his existence in the realm. This explanation is applied to the status of the gods in all realms of the Kamavacara heavens. Life in heaven seems to be very desirable since it is free from all the hardships and pains of human life.
But it should be mentioned here
that individual differences exist even among gods of the same realm. The
quality and quantity of happiness and glory vary from one individual to
another. This depends on the nature of the meritorious kamma performed
by each god in his previous human life.
The third realm of Kamavacara heavens and also the fourth of Kamasugati-bhumi is called Yama. It is explained that this realm is the abode of the gods whose lives are without hardship, and thus it is called Yama; or it is called Yama because it is the abode of a Devaraja named Yama.
In the Buddhist Pali scriptures we find very little description of this realm of happiness. It is said to be the next higher heaven from Tavatimsa. If Tavatimsa heaven is on the top of the Sineru mountain, which is the highest point of the human world, this heaven must, therefore, be in the sky. This is looked at, however, from the human point of view.
But it is said that a garden or park called Nandavana exists in every heaven. This garden or park is so called because it gives enjoyment to those who come to it. If there is a park, there must, therefore, be a ground, for it is not possible for the trees in the park to grow up from the empty space. But what is seen as air or empty space by human beings may be seen otherwise by other beings whose bodies are not visible to human eyes. This point of view is affirmed by the statement which appears in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta.
It is said in the Sutta that many of the gods from the ten thousand worlds came to pay their last visit to the Buddha before he passed away into Nibbana in the Sala park near the city of Kusinara. Among the gods assembled in the park, some of them took the air for the ground and some took the ground as ground. This apparently indicates not only the differences between human beings and gods but also the differences among the celestial beings themselves.
However, the Yama heaven is a realm
of happiness better and higher than Tavatirrisa. The ruler of this realm
is a Devaraja named Yama or Suyama. We are told in the Anguttara-Nikaya
that two hundred years in the world of human beings is equal to a single
day and night in the heaven Yama; thirty such days and nights make one
month; twelve such months make one year, and two thousand such heavenly
years is the approximate age of the Yama gods. Thus the span of life in
this realm of existence is much longer than that of the gods in Tavatimsa
heaven.
Tusita is the fourth realm of Kamavacara heavens, just higher than the Yama-Bhumi. Like other happy realms of existence, it is a place where virtuous persons are born after their human lives. It is explained that this heaven is called ‘Tusita’ because it enables those who are born there to always enjoy the pleasures of life.
The significance of this realm seems to lie in the fact that every Bodhisatta is said to be born here in his existence before the last one in which he attains to Buddhahood. And from here he will be born as a human being, become the Buddha through enlightenment, preach and establish his doctrine in the human world and then pass away into Nibbana.
The Buddha’s mother, who died on the seventh day after he was born, is said to have been reborn in this Tusita heaven. The Abhidhamma, a portion of the Buddha’s teachings contained in the Tipitaka, is generally believed to have been firstly preached to her by the Buddha in Tavatimsa.
Why did the Buddha not go to Tusita heaven directly but instead chose Tavatimsa as the place for preaching the Abhidhamma to his mother? The answer to this is that the Tavatimsa is accessible to the gods of all realms, lower as well as higher heavens. The Buddha wanted his sermon to benefit not only his mother, but also gods of other realms who were interested in his teachings. If he chose to preach to his mother in Tusita, only the gods of the same realm and of the higher heavens could attend his sermon but not the gods of lower realms since Tusita is inaccessible to them.
The ruler of this heaven is said
to be a Devaraja named Santusita. According to the Anguttara-Nikaya
the span of life in this realm is much longer than that of the Yama gods.
Four hundred human years are equal to a single day and night of the Tusita
gods; thirty such days and nights make one month; twelve such months make
one year; and four thousand such years make up the life period of the Tusita
gods. This shows that the whole of one life of a human being is less than
a quarter of one day in this realm.
The next realm higher than Tusita is a heaven called Nimmanarati. It is explained that the gods of this realm enjoy the objects of the senses created by them and thus it is called Nimmanarati. One common characteristic of all the realms in the world of desires (Kamavacara) is that happiness is enjoyed in the form of sensual pleasures.
But in this connection there is a distinction between the gods of Nimmanarati heaven and the gods of the other lower realms. In the lower heavens the objects of sensuous enjoyment exist by their own nature. But in Nimmanarati heaven the beings of the realm create for themselves the objects of sense and enjoy them as they like. In this way we may say that the Nimmanarati gods can enjoy the pleasures of life at will.
In the Anguttara-Nikaya and the
Abhidhamma we are told that the span of life in Nimmanarati heaven is still
much longer than that of the Tusita gods. Eight hundred human years is
said to be a single day and night of Nimmanaratl; thirty such days and
nights make one month; twelve such months make one year and eight thousand
such heavenly years make the life period of the gods of Nimmanarati heaven.
This realm of happiness has a Devaraja named Sunimmitta or Nimmitta as
ruler.
The sixth and the last realm of the Kamavacara heavens is Paranimmi-tavasavatti. This is the highest of all the realms characterized as the Kamasugati-bhumi. It is explained that this heaven is so called because it is the abode of the beings who enjoy the objects of sensual pleasures created by others.
Unlike the gods of Nimmanarati heaven, the Paranimmitavasavattl gods themselves have nothing to do with the creation of the objects for sensuous enjoyment. Their duty is only to enjoy such ready-made objects of others’ creations. It is said that their god-attendants who realize their desires do such services for them.
The Paramatthajotika mentions a Devaraja named Paranimmita as the ruler of this realm. A heretic god named Vasavatti who is a Mara (devil) is also said to live in this heaven. He has no faith in the Buddha and Buddhism. He tried many times to create obstacles for the Buddha, but he always met with failure. His power, however, surpasses that of the gods in the six Kamavacara heavens.
According to the Anguttara-Nikayab and the Abhidhamma the span of life in Paranimmitavasavatti heaven is very long. One thousand and six hundred human years are but a single day and night of this realm thirty such days and nights make one month; twelve such months make one year; and sixteen thousand such heavenly years make a life-period of the gods in Paranimmitavasavatti heaven.
Now we have seen that the Kamasugati-bhumi or the plane of happiness in connection with desires consists of seven realms, i.e., the realms of human beings and the six realm of Kamavacara heavens. According to Buddhism, birth or rebirth in any of these realms is caused by meritorious actions that one has performed in one’s previous births. But what type of good kamma, will bring one to rebirth in which of these realms of happiness is found explained in the Anguttara-Nikaya of the Pali texts.
According to this source the Buddha gave his explanation as follows:
“There is, 0 bhikkhus, someone in this world who performs meritorious action founded on charity (dana) to a high degree, performs meritorious action founded on virtue (sila) to a high degree and does not perform meritorious action founded on mind-development (bhavana). He, on the dissolution of the body after death, is reborn among the company of gods in the realm of the Four Great Kings (Catummaharajika)....
There is, 0 bhikkhus, someone in this world who performs meritorious action founded on charity to a high degree, performs meritorious action founded on virtue to a high degree and does not perform meritorious action founded on mind-development.
He, on the dissolution of the body after death, is reborn among the company of gods in the realm of Tavatiriisa....
In the above passages it is noteworthy that there is no difference in regard to the kinds of kamma which cause rebirth in Catummaharajika and Tavatimsa heavens. The same explanation zs used for rebirth in the higher realms of Yama, Tusita, Nimmanaratl and Paranimmitavasavatti. It is rather difficult to see the reason as to why the Buddha used the same explanation for rebirth in all realms of Kamavacara heaven.
Viewed from the hierarchical point of view of those realms, Tavatirilsa is hierarchically higher and better in happiness than Catummaharajika. To be reborn in Tavatimsa must need a higher degree of meritorious actions than those which bring about rebirth in Catummaharajika heaven. Rebirth in the higher realms such as Yama, Tusita, etc., certainly requires even higher and higher degrees of wholesome kamma.
If such is the. case, the conditions for rebirth should vary in degree according to the hierarchical variation of the realms. However, although we cannot find a satisfactory explanation about this anywhere, there is one reason which should not be overlooked. The degree of meritorious actions is not like the distance from one place to another place which can be easily measured and divided.
What we can say about the degree of good kamma is just to describe it by employing the adjective terms of distinction such as “low”, “medium”, “high”, etc. Although the adjective “high” can be distinguished as “high”, “higher” and “highest”, it is still impossible to give a definite determination as to what is exactly high, higher and highest good kamma.
It might be due to this reason that when the Buddha explained the conditions of rebirth and the six realms Kamavacara heaven, He merely said, “... meritorious action founded on charity and virtue to a high degree...” This may not be clear to common people, but for those who have real insight in the law of kamma with proper knowledge of rebirth and planes of existence, it is as clear as seeing different objects appearing just before their eyes.
This interpretation and argument may, however, still not be satisfactory. The writer wishes to leave this problem to the discretion of Buddhist scholars for further investigation. It should be noted also that the span of life in these happy realms of existence is much longer than that of human beings. The higher the realm the longer is the life-period and the better or superior is life and happiness. The higher heavens are generally inaccessible to the gods of the lower ones and the beings living there are invisible to the beings of the lower realms. These are the general characteristics of all heavens except the Catummaharajika and Tavatimsa which are closely connected.
Apart from the six Kamavacara heavens, Buddhism speaks of some. higher and better realms of happy existence under the categories of Rupavacara-bhumi-the plane of form, and Arupavacara-bhumi - the plane of the formless gods, respectively.