Six Realms of Samsara

Traditional Tibetan thangka showing the bhavacakra and six realms of saṃsāra in Buddhist cosmology

CYCLE OF SUFFERING
CYCLE OF SAMSARA

Other Translations

Six States of Existence

Six Roads of Reincarnation

Six Paths of Transmigration

Six Realms of Samsara

Six Directions of Reincarnation

Six Destinies

Wheel of Life

Six Paths (Jp. = Rokudō 六道 or Rokudō-rinne 六道輪廻)
Buddhist concept stemming from Hindu philosophies.
In Japan, most commonly referred to as the “Six Paths.”

Long before Buddhism's introduction to India, Hindu (Brahman) beliefs and traditions held sway. One important concept was "transmigration," more commonly known in the West as "reincarnation." It holds that all living things die and are reborn again. Your rebirth into the next life will be based on your behavior in your past life. This rebirth occurs again and again. When Buddhism emerged in India around 500 BC, it too stressed this Hindu belief in transmigration, one that still plays a major role in modern Buddhist philosophy. The modern Buddhist concept of Karma is also a byproduct of ancient Hindu beliefs in transmigration and reincarnation.

Among Buddhists, all living beings are born into one of the six states of existence (Samsara in Sanskrit, the cycle of life and death). All are trapped in this wheel of life, as the Tibetans call it. All beings within the six realms are doomed to death and rebirth in a recurring cycle over countless ages -- unless they can break free from desire and attain enlightenment. Further, upon death, all beings are reborn into a lower or a higher realm depending on their actions while still alive. This involves the concept of Karma and Karmic Retribution. The lowest three states are called the three evil paths, or three bad states. The Japanese spellings of all six, plus brief descriptions, are shown below:

Beings in Hell. Naraka-gati in Sanskrit. Jigokudō 地獄道 in Japanese. The lowest and worst realm, wracked by torture and characterized by aggression.
Hungry Ghosts. Preta-gati in Sanskrit. Gakidō 餓鬼道 in Japanese. The realm of hungry spirits; characterized by great craving and eternal starvation;
see below photo/link for “Scroll of the Hungry Ghosts” (Gaki Zōshi 餓鬼草紙)

Animals. Tiryagyoni-gati in Sanskrit. Chikushōdō 畜生道 in Japanese. The realm of animals and livestock, characterized by stupidity and servitude.
Asura. Asura-gati in Sanskrit. Ashuradō 阿修羅道 in Japanese. The realm of anger, jealousy, and constant war; the Asura (Ashura) are demigods, semi-blessed beings; they are powerful, fierce and quarrelsome; like humans, they are partly good and partly evil.
See Hachi Bushu (8 Legions) for details.
Humans. Manusya-gati in Sanskrit. Nindō 人道 in Japanese. The human realm; beings who are both good and evil; enlightenment is within their grasp, yet most are blinded and consumed by their desires.
Deva. Deva-gati in Sanskrit. Tendō 天道 in Japanese. The realm of heavenly beings filled with pleasure; the deva hold godlike powers; some reign over celestial kingdoms; most live in delightful happiness and splendor; they live for countless ages, but even the Deva belong to the world of suffering (samsara) -- for their powers blind them to the world of suffering and fill them with pride -- and thus even the Deva grow old and die; some say that because their pleasure is greatest, so too is their misery.  See also the Tenbu page and Hachi Bushu (8 Legions) page.

Link: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/six-states.shtml

Shared by Lama Lotuschef


Om Guru Lian Sheng Siddhi Hom
Lama Lotuschef

Edited 2 July 2016