Are the heavens and hells in karamdhatu meant to be physical places? I was looking at the abhidharmakośa-bhāsya, and Vasabandhu lists 20 places: 8 hells; 6 heavens; pretas; animals; physical world; and the circle of wind (I'm fairly sure the last one is also a "place" -- sthana). You might think that these are all physical because e.g. animals live among us, but just as the desert is the place of some hell beings (not being included in the main hells, due to not being created through the "force of the actions of beings"), animals primarily live in the "Great Ocean". So I reckon that the heavens and hells are not physical, even-though rebirth there inlcludes all five skandhas, descriptions of suffering there refers to bodies, etc.. Am I right, and if so does that mean they lack the organs of the eye etc.? I am asking not because I want to underplay the suffering of hell beings etc. (avici *is* worse than the desert) but because I'm interested in whether suffering is different there insofar as bodhisattvas, when unmoved by their own suffering in hell, might be better off than they are with the vicissitudes of physical suffering in this human place.

If nirvana is to escape the cycle of Samsara, wouldn't all of humanity being dead meaning Samsara would end? Say there was a total nuclear war and everyone ends up dead.

I have heard something called "Mangala Sakwala" (The special universe or galaxy where lord Buddhas are born) This is a real puzzle for me because does it mean that there are many other worlds like this where the words of lord Buddha will never reach? If such places exist what causes a being to be born there instead of here? For example if i die now and get a birth as a human what would cause me to be born here (This galaxy/universe) or there (the unknown galaxy/universe)? The exact word ( "parallel universes" ) hasn't being used in Buddhism but if you search you will find stories about Human like or Humanoid creatures who are just like us (Beings in the human realm) but not with the chance to reach Dhamma because Lord Buddhas never born there. I am referring to some Theravada teachings i heard many years ago. Hope someone can help!

"In the same way, monks, few are the beings who, on passing away from the human realm, are reborn among devas. Far more are the beings who, on passing away from the human realm, are reborn in hell... in the animal womb... in the domain of the hungry ghosts." (Pansu Sutta, SN 56.102) According to this quote most humans go to the lower realms. This doesn’t make sense to me because majority of humans though imperfect are ethical and moral. How true is this? How strict should we live our lives so that we can be reborn to a higher dimension?

In [MN.98](https://suttacentral.net/mn98/en/sujato) , the Buddha seems to deny the ethnic/racial/genetic differences between humans. He seems to indicate that differences in physical traits between individuals are not determined by birth as in the rest of the animal world. This seems totally contrary to genetics: I. Humans are genetically part of the animal world and follow the same [laws of heritability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritability) . II. Whether we speak of race or ethnicity, there are many [identifiable genetic clusters within humanity](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/9_Cluster_Tree.png) . III. Even without going that far it is obvious that between two individuals there will be physical differences according to their genetics (height, eye colors, features, hair, etc). The Buddha seems to deny this completely. He says for example that the differences in eyes/nose/shoulders, etc., between two individuals are not defined by birth but by convention... this is totally false: children inherit the traits of their parents and two parents with the Asian phenotype do not give birth to an African child by pure chance or convention. I thought it was because he wanted to say that all these genetic differences were conventional and I would have agreed, but it can't be that since he's only saying that for humans and recognizes the validity of these differences for animals and plants... I don't understand this sutta? > While the differences between these species are defined by their birth, the differences between humans are not defined by their birth. Not by hair nor by head, not by ear nor by eye, not by mouth nor by nose, not by lips nor by eyebrow, not by shoulder nor by neck, not by belly nor by back, not by buttocks nor by breast, not by genitals nor by groin, not by hands nor by feet, not by fingers nor by nails, not by knees nor by thighs, not by color nor by voice: none of these are defined by birth as it is for other species. In individual human bodies you can’t find such distinctions. The distinctions among humans are spoken of by convention. > > - The Buddha

I read the following extract from the book "The Workings of Kamma", produced by the Theravada monastery "Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw" > Rebirth in the human world is always because of wholesome kamma. None- theless, among the great majority, the uneducated ordinary people, conscious- ness is rooted predominantly in greed, hatred, and delusion. Only occasionally do wholesome consciousnesses arise. And among the uneducated ordinary people, delusion is very deep. That is why, when human beings pass away, they are al- most always reborn either in hell, the ghost world, or the animal world. I have several problem accepting these views. Of course, what i am about to say is very subjective and i certainly do not claim to be an enlightened being and know everything. The first is that i believe that there is a powerful continuity between rebirths. So my personnal and subjective understanding is that when we look at a person, we can easily guess what type of person he was in a previous birth. Most importantly, the level of virtue, intelligence, strong tendencies, evolve very little from life to life for most people as they don't engage in serious self-study or self -improvement and indulge in their pre-existing tendencies. So the current level of consciousness exhibited by ordinary people should reflect their previous level of consciousness in their previous existences. Which means that human birth doesn't require more positive kamma than what most people exhibit. Some of them might have produced better karmas in the past. Some of them might have produced worst karma in the past. But overall, we should grossly be able to determine the level of virtue necessary for human rebirth by observing humans. Otherwise, this makes no sense, at least to me. Also, animals are described as experiencing mostly greed, hatred, delusion. I think this is seriously off. Animals are instinct driven and regularly obey their instincts, but many of them are often peaceful and detached. Would you say a wild horse experiment greed, hatred, fear on a constant basis? Yes they sometimes do and act like animals are supposed to. But this is a minor part of their lives. Many animals are peaceful and worry-free, even though their lives are harsh and short. Turtles are another exemple of a peaceful animal which can live longer than humans. Would experienced buddhists agree with the passage quoted, and if yes, what arguments would they provide to change my analysis?

If all of us are re-incarnations of prior human beings, how do we account for the growing population? Where do “new” humans come from?

What should or are the characters of a human being? In today's age, r people real humans ? As i feel , humans are those who have compassion towards others, love towards others wheather it be animals nature or other humans.. But i don't see this any characters in todays humans(>99%). Should i call them humans just because they have intillegence ? I think even the crow is intillegent. Is only self awareness enough to be a human being?

What is the difference if the snake was eating a frog or a human? What do Buddhist scriptures say about this?

The world is going to a point of no return, with the thirst for materialistic grandeur and power to rule over nature; after the conquered of Oriental by the Occidental. This article talks about Cyborg. Cyborg, Bionic Man, Clone, Trans-human... these could be the future of you and me, friends and colleagues walking on the streets. Or programmed, or with specific "functions", or one prototype of "human resources", it could all be tailor-made. When human falls into such situation, are Buddhist self-cultivation practices such as meditation, mantra chanting, concentration of mind... etc still viable; can enlightenment still be reachable for these types of humans? **Explanation Added:** Especially for certain schools of practices, it's about the Wind (氣), Nadi (脈), Bindu (明點) related to the human body, e.g., the Tibetan School. Certain other schools, included is the Hinayana, that the practice of the White Skeleton Visualization is depended upon working on the body to transform the consciousness - can a "Re-made Human" *(Cyborg, Trans-human who has his body parts enhanced, replaced by organic or inorganic components, partially human partially machine, with devices implanted to achieve certain supernatural abilities such as remote viewing, mind control with micro-wave... all could be imagined... in short, Iron Man or Wolverine type of human)* do the Buddhist practices and achieve enlightenment? **Remarks Added 14/02/2017** Excerpt from MarketWatch : > Musk also touched one of his favorite topics: artificial intelligence. Specifically, he spoke of humans eventually merging with machines, like something out of a "Terminator" movie. ...merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence ...the bandwidth, the speed of the connection between your brain and the digital version of yourself... _____ The future human destiny is approaching us with rapidity: In a beautiful name called *upgrading* human.

lets imagine that in all the human in earth become Arhant, so after their death they will not born again (i mean all of the humans). after this will new humans born or Not, will earth become a planet without Humans ?

recently i read an article about a troubled young man who was brought to attention by one of his friends to a temple. Here is a brief description.... > A young guy suddenly started acting really weird which was noticed by a good friend of him. This person was a regular guy and he suddenly developed an unnatural state of mind which his friends first assumed to be a typical porn addiction. > >But his behavior soon became worse and he started being really indecent and started doing some perverse things like groping women on the bus and such. > >He was accompanied by his friend when they traveled to **"Ruwan Weli Stupa"** *(The monument with highest number of Lord Buddha's remains on earth)* in hopes that some advice and worshiping the stupa would be sufficient to re-discipline him. > >As he was worshiping he started acting weird and the friend asked for the help of monks. As Monks were chanting (In suspicion of the influence of a lower realm) he started talking in a rough voice. > >The voice said.... > >I will not go away without taking him, he is like us. >I was passing by one day when i saw him looking at a picture box, he was by two humans in coitus (Porn) and i cling on to his body. I liked sex too, specially the taste of men. Now i only influence him he watch it and i get to feed. > >After further questioning These were revealed.... > >We are building power among humans, it is easy now that they are seduced easily in the present. Food for us is not rare anymore. > >Our kind cant know each other's gender until the season comes. When it comes they rip each other with claws to feed on each other. So we find satisfaction while clinging on to humans and letting them do our bidding. > >We have captured the other parts of the world (this happened in Asia), almost all of those humans are born among us when they die. Soon we will establish our power here too (Asia) This is not some article but a national newspaper published by a one of the most well respected monasteries. **What can we take as reference from the teaching to understand this & What would be the proper cause of action other than precepts?**

It occurred to me that some human life has immeasurable value. Not just is very very valuable, but cannot, in principle, be contrasted with the value of another sentient life. I *think* that the term for this immeasurability is the ***dharmakaya***. Do any traditions claim that the dharmakaya is never manifest in a human being?

Can we find a concept of "Dignity" or "Human Dignity" in Buddhism? My understanding is that in the Western World the concept of Human Dignity is used to justify that each of us deserves to be not only treated with respect but also valued as a part of humanity whatever our origin or our place in society. I read that each of us has the nature of Buddha. Could this be considered as the foundation of Human Dignity or a similar notion in Buddhism? What would be the closest(s) equivalent(s) in Buddhism?

According to the Agganna Sutta we humans beings from Abbhassara Brahma world. They are mind-made, feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the air, glorious. So basically a much more advance species than humans. Because of desire they deteriorated to what we are right now.

But evolution on the other hand basically talks about the reverse of this. That out ancestors were primates/chimps who had less developed intelligence. While the evidence to support the theory of evolution has been compelling still it remains unproven, however, still is widely expected as the most plausible explanation for the beginning of man kind.

Is there anyway that both of these can mean the same although it seems to contradict on the surface?

I was recently listening to a sermon on Agganna Sutta that was on Youtube. I will share my thoughts and questions on the Agganna sutta in a different post. Let me share few passages first and then get to the question.

At that period, Vasettha, there was just one mass of water, and all was darkness, blinding darkness.... And sooner or later, after a very long period of time, savory earth spread itself over the waters where those beings were. It looked just like the skin that forms itself over hot milk as it cools. It was endowed with color, smell, and taste. It was the color of fine ghee or heated butter and it was very sweet, like pure wild honey (1) > > Some of the creatures of light (the Abbhasaras) who had curiosity and > a greedy nature began to dive and taste the savory Earth's substance. > At that moment, the creature found out that it tasted so delicious. > Thus, greed started to seep in and it ate the substance voraciously, > greedily, also calling its comrades (who were flying above and on > earth) to join in the feast. Not long afterwards, the creatures began > to eat greedily, and due to the huge amount of the mud substance they > could feed on it for a very long time And this is about the story of Adam and Eve. > Adam is told that he can till the ground and eat freely of all the trees in the garden, except for a tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of which he is prohibited from eating. Subsequently, Eve is created from one of Adam's ribs to be Adam's companion. However, a serpent tricks Eve into eating fruit from the forbidden tree, and she gives some of the fruit to Adam. God curses the serpent and the ground. God prophetically tells the woman and the man what will be the consequences of their sin of disobeying God. Then he banishes 'the man' from the Garden of Eden. According to what I learned from the Agganna Sutta Buddhism is about taking our selves back to where we came from (Brahmas) but not stopping there and attaining Nirvana. In Abrahamic Religions it is also mentioned that people should strive to go back to the initial innocence of humans (Adam and Eve to be particular).

I find it strange to see that all chaos began from eating something that they were no supposed to in both teachings. Whether it was meant to be metaphorical I do not know. Shed some light to this if you can.

What is the real human realm, Is it Earth or are there many other places / Planets with humans? What are the words of Lord Buddha on this topic? I am looking for the Theravada perspective.

Philosophers throughout history have been trying to pin down what it exactly means to be human - what it is that separates humans from (other) animals. Some have voted for our ability to make rational choices for the future - in a word the ability to *intend*; and then acting accordingly or contrary to our own better judgements. Some put emphasis on our capacity for language and communication by the use of *signs*/abstract representations. Another variety is about freedom of will as opposed to freedom of action. Humans, they say, has both. Others still said it has really nothing to do with our rationality, but rather that it has to do with the internal structure of our will. That is to say, humans can want (or not want) to want something. We can have desires about our desires. I can say "I want to eat cake, but I don't want to be fat and I don't want to be seen as a person who succumbs to temptations. Therefore I shall abstain." A cat can want to chase and kill a mouse, but the idea is that the cat doesn't have the ability to say "I'm hungry and want to catch a mouse and eat it, but I don't want to be that kind of cat. Therefore I shall abstain." How is this in Buddhism? What makes us human, what separates us from animals? Is it our capacity to understand/see that samsara is suffering? Is it our ability to see emptiness and dependent arising? Our capacity to be freed from suffering? Is it our rationality? Is this the same in all traditions?

If I, this impermanent and suffering and no-self array of aggregates, am journeying through this human realm now, shall I assume that that which was "my prior life", another impermanent and suffering and no-self array of aggregates, was also journeying through the human realm (i.e. a prior human existence is a prerequisite for a subsequent human existence)? I am inclined to think that it is possible for an individual array of ever-fluxuating potentialities to "pass" through the human realm consecutively a number of times.

According to the Theravada Buddhism, a sotāpanna can be born in 7 existence in kama-loka which includes human realm. > *Yê ariya saccâni vibhâvayanti - gambhira paññnêna sudêsitâni,
Kincâpi tê honti bhusappamattâ - na te bhavam attamam âdiyanti,
Idampi sanghê ratanam panîtam - êtêna saccêna suvatthi hôtu.* > > Those who realized the Noble Truths well taught by him who is profound in wisdom (the Buddha), even though they may be exceedingly heedless, they will not take an eighth existence (in the realm of sense spheres).This precious jewel is the Sangha. By this (asseveration of the) truth may there be happiness. > -- Ratana Sutta Verse 9 Is there any such instance in the pali canon, in the commentaries or in any Buddhist culture?