The Six Realms

 

 

These realms are symbolic of states of mind or modes of existence.

 

 

The God Realm, the Devas

　
Born into this real because of predominance of pride.

The gods lead long and enjoyable lives full of pleasure and abundance, but they spend their lives pursuing meaningless distractions and never think to practice the dharma. When death comes to them, they are completely unprepared; without realizing it, they have completely exhausted their good karma (which was the cause for being reborn in the god realm) and they suffer through being reborn in the lower realms.

　

The Demi-God Realm, the Asuras

Born into this realm because of a predominance of jealousy.

The demi-gods have pleasure and abundance almost as much as the gods, but they spend their time fighting among themselves or making war on the gods. When they make war on the gods, they always lose, since the gods are much more powerful. The demi-gods suffer from constant fighting and jealousy, and from being killed and wounded in their wars with each other and with the gods.


　

The Human Realm, the Humans

Born into this realm because of a predominance of lust.

Humans suffer from hunger, thirst, heat, cold, separation from friends, being attacked by enemies, not getting what they want, and getting what they don't want. They also suffer from the general sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death. Yet the human realm is considered to be the most suitable realm for practicing the dharma, because humans are not completely distracted by pleasure (like the gods or demi-gods) or by pain and suffering (like the beings in the lower realms).

　

The Animal Realm, the Animals

Born into this realm because of a predominance of ignorance.

Animals suffer from being attacked and eaten by other animals; they generally lead lives of constant fear. Domestic animals suffer from being exploited by humans, they are slaughtered for food, overworked, and abused. Some wild animals are captured and forced to perform in circuses.


　

The Hungry Ghost Realm, the Pretas

Born into this realm because of a predominance of greed.

The hungry ghosts suffer from extreme hunger and thirst. They wander constantly in search of food and drink, only to be miserably frustrated any time they come close to actually getting what they want. For example, they see a stream of pure, clear water in the distance, but by the time they get there the stream has dried up. Hungry ghosts have huge bellies, long thin necks, and tiny mouths. On the rare occasions that they do manage to find something to eat or drink, the food or water burns their neck as it goes down to their belly, causing them intense agony.


　

The Hell Realm, Hell Beings or Hell Denizens

Born into this realm because of a predominance of hatred. (Not because of any supposed sin.)

The hell beings endure unimaginable suffering for eons of time. There are actually eighteen different types of hells, each inflicting a different kind of torment. In the hot hells, beings suffer from unbearable heat and continual torments of various kinds. In the cold hells, beings suffer from unbearable cold and other torments.