Buddhist Cosmology
"Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Emptiness is not separate from form, form is not separate from emptiness." - Heart Sutra
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Nirvana
The ultimate goal of Buddhist practice, Nirvana (Nibbana in Pali) is the extinction of craving, hatred, and delusion. It is not a place but a state of being beyond birth and death, beyond all dualistic concepts. The unconditioned reality that transcends all worldly existence, where the fires of suffering are finally extinguished. It is the deathless, the unborn, the unmade - the liberation from samsara's endless cycle.
Sukhavati
The Pure Land of Infinite Light, presided over by Amitabha Buddha (Amida). A transcendent realm billions of universes to the west, where conditions are perfect for enlightenment. Trees are made of jewels, birds sing the Dharma, and lotuses bloom in seven-jeweled ponds. Those reborn here through faith and practice can attain enlightenment without falling back into samsara. It is not heaven, but a Buddha-field optimized for liberation.
The Thirty-One Planes
Buddhist cosmology describes 31 distinct planes of existence across three realms: the Sense-Sphere (Kama-loka) with 11 planes including hells, animals, humans, and lower heavens; the Form Realm (Rupa-loka) with 16 planes attained through jhana meditation; and the Formless Realm (Arupa-loka) with 4 planes of pure consciousness. All beings cycle through these realms according to karma, none offering permanent refuge except Nirvana.
Deva Realms
The celestial abodes of the devas (gods) - beings of great power, longevity, and bliss, born there through meritorious karma. The six sensual heaven realms include the Tavatimsa Heaven of the Thirty-Three, ruled by Sakka (Indra), and the Tusita Heaven where future Buddhas await. Despite their glory, devas are not eternal or all-powerful - they too must die and be reborn. Their long lifespans can be a hindrance, making urgency for liberation rare.
Tushita
The fourth of the six sensual heaven realms, known as the "Joyful" or "Satisfied" heaven. This is the traditional abode of Bodhisattvas in their final life before descending to Earth as Buddhas. Maitreya, the future Buddha, currently resides here teaching the devas, awaiting the time when the Dharma of Gautama Buddha has been forgotten and the world is ready for renewal. Lifespan here is 576 million human years.
Form & Formless Realms
The higher dimensions accessed through deep meditation. The Form Realm (Rupa-loka) consists of 16 planes attained through the four material jhanas, inhabited by Brahma beings of refined consciousness. Beyond that lie the four Formless Realms (Arupa-loka): Infinite Space, Infinite Consciousness, Nothingness, and Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception - pure mental states where even subtle form dissolves. These are not permanent - beings eventually exhaust their karma and are reborn elsewhere.
Naraka
The realms of intense suffering where beings are reborn due to extremely unwholesome karma - acts of cruelty, hatred, and moral transgression. Buddhist hells are numerous and varied: hot hells, cold hells, and isolated hells, each tailored to purify specific karmic debts. Crucially, unlike eternal damnation, naraka is temporary - when the negative karma is exhausted, beings are reborn elsewhere. Suffering here serves to balance the scales of cause and effect, not divine punishment.
Emptiness
The profound realization at the heart of Mahayana Buddhism: all phenomena are empty of inherent, independent existence. This is not nihilism or nothingness, but the understanding that all things arise through dependent origination - nothing exists independently, permanently, or essentially. Emptiness is not separate from form; it is the very nature of reality itself. To realize emptiness is to be freed from all conceptual elaborations and to see things as they truly are.
Image Sources
All images used on this page will be sourced from Wikimedia Commons and other open-access repositories, featuring traditional Buddhist art, Tibetan thangkas, Japanese Pure Land paintings, Southeast Asian temple murals, and contemporary visualizations of Buddhist cosmological concepts. Art from various Buddhist traditions including Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana will be represented. All images are in the public domain or used under Creative Commons licenses.
Planned sources: Wikimedia Commons, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, British Library, Himalayan Art Resources, and various museum collections specializing in Asian religious art.