When Buddhist texts mention "realms of rebirth", it sounds like you are only living in those realms and not actually becoming one of the inhabitants. Like for example being reborn into the Deva realm, you reborn and live there but aren't reborn as a Deva. Could somebody help me?

I saw many monks sit in the nets, what is the point of meditating in the forest if one cant handle the forest? Might as well just stay indoors imo. Did the ancient monks use nets? what do you think? I think it is kind of silly and is an attempt to have a pleasant experience.

**Hello,** I understand that the six realms can be interpreted as states of the mind. But at the same time I believe in Yidam yoga, not only as symbolic but as a real emanation too - I have devotion. If the six realms are only symbolic then Buddhas / Siddhas cannot surpass the three times and cannot preform any miracles also; as I think they are both superstitions, so may be rebirth. At the same time nirvana may not be reachable by mantras as only a 8th level Bodhisattva can compose a mantra; and a lower level Bodhisattva in the 1st step is able see 100 lives before and after. I do believe in miracles, karma, nirvana, rebirth and "spirits" because of my experiences in life. I might be wrong, but shouldn't this make sense ? I mean Buddhism is very logical... What is considered a superstition from a Buddhist point of view ? **Thank you !**

This might be a more theoretical question than a directly practical one. I routinely see creatures of different realms approaching humans in the texts. and not just to enlightened ones like Buddha and some of his disciples, but even other far-from-liberated regular monks and householders. Now even though I believe, and to certain extent, understand other realms of existence, it nonetheless remains a mystery to me why would these creatures only appear exclusively in those times and not nowadays. Why do you think it could be the case? I doubt the texts are wrong, although that possibility can't be excluded - especially in the sense of exaggeration etc.

I've just started learning Buddhism, and currently investigating 6 realms of rebirth. What confuses me is that it seems different sources give inconsistent ordering of the realms. For example, in the book [Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction](https://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-Very-Short-Introduction-Introductions-ebook/dp/B00BHXVWSS#:~:text=Buddhism%3A%20A%20Very%20Short%20Introduction%20introduces%20the%20reader%20to%20the,of%20Buddhism%20in%20daily%20life.&text=By%20considering%20how%20Buddhist%20thought,faced%20from%20a%20Buddhist%20perspective.) the 6 realms of rebirth is ordered (from highest to lowest) as follows: 1. Gods 2. Humans 3. Titans 4. Ghosts 5. Animals 6. Hell However, in wikipedia article of [Saṃsāra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%E1%B9%83s%C4%81ra_(Buddhism)#Realms_of_rebirth) it presents the following order: 1. Gods 2. Human 3. Demi-god 4. Animal 5. Hungry ghost 6. Hell I also checked wikipedia for [六道](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%AD%E9%81%93#%E4%B8%89%E5%96%84%E9%81%93) and some other Chinese online articles (since I can read Chinese). It seems they prefer to order demi-god realm above human realm. So in summary, there seems to be inconsistency of relative ordering of two pairs of realms among various sources, namely the relative ordering between human realm and demi-god realm, and between animal realm and ghost realm. I'm wondering which is right? Is there a definitive ordering? Maybe different branches of Buddhism define them differently?

What are the psychological and metaphorical interpretations of the 6 realms and why are they significant to some Buddhists but not others?

Why didn't the Buddha, who knew there were 31 realms of existence, not talk about the roundness of the earth and planets?

I have heard a story in which a concubine of a certain Deva died while she was with him and other concubines of him in a park. She was born as a human in next life but she remembered who she was in her last life and so she wanted nothing but to return to her deva. So she lived a virtuous life and was born among the very bunch again. Her death has gone unnoticed and her deva asks her where she's been. Here she tells him about her human life and he is amazed by the short life of humans as they are still in the very same park enjoying it's beauty, remaining there since the last time she was a deva (A whole human life spent in a single visit to a park) I have often seen this story used as an anchor by monks to explain the length of life in higher realms saying >"It has only been a few days for them since the *Parinirvana* of Lord Buddha, so there is still thee purest of the teaching as there are ones who saw and listened to lord buddha there still among them. Also there are enlightened one's from that era still living and advising there." I can't help but think that no mater what no one will spend a human lifetime's length to have a walk in a park. ***Perhaps this is a time lapse that is here?*** I know this is not a place to play with science and buddhism. but i'm asking this to get an explanation as i've seen many people listen to this and delay their efforts limiting themselves to hording only good karma but no other efforts on much arduous sections of the path. >Before you downvote or delete this please consider the kind of good or harm that can come of this as this is an interpretation that has rallied too many people behind it (At least in my country). And i'm not asking for opinions either > >What can we make of this? > >**Is it a universal phenomenon like time lapse/ Einstein's reletivity?** > >**Or a misinterpretation?**

Do the pure lands belong to heaven realms? Or a completely different realm from the normal six realms?

Should I believe what is said in the Buddhist text instead? Even though I can't prove it myself either. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html

Various suttas mention various 'planes' or 'levels' or 'realms' of existence; for example: > **[The Thirty-one Planes of Existence](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html)** > > Scattered throughout the suttas are references to as many as > thirty-one distinct "planes" or "realms" of existence into which > beings can be reborn during their long wandering through samsara. > These range from the extraordinarily grim and painful hell realms all > the way up to the most exquisitely refined and blissful heaven realms. > Existence in every realm is temporary; in Buddhist cosmology there is > no eternal heaven or hell. [etc.] > > The realms of existence are customarily divided into three distinct > "worlds" (loka), listed here in descending order of refinement: > > - The Immaterial World (arupa-loka). Consists of four realms that are > accessible to those who pass away while meditating in the formless > jhanas. > > - The Fine-Material World (rupa-loka). Consists of sixteen > realms [etc.] > > - The Sensuous World (kama-loka). Consists of eleven realms [etc.] > > The information on this page was assembled from a variety of sources. > In the interests of economizing space I have not attributed each fact > to its respective source. I don't want to ask for a precise list, but how or what should I understanding these realms are? I have heard several versions now of what "levels of existence" are: - Some say it is like physical, or is it mental (psychological), biomes in this universe? - Others say it is other universes or even other dimensions?