In classical

Buddhist Cosmology Buddhist cosmology describes the planes and realms in which beings can be reborn. The spatial cosmology consists of a vertical cosmology, the various planes of beings, into which beings are reborn due to their merits and development; and a hori ...

, ''Akaniṣṭha'' (

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

: ''Akaniṭṭha,'' meaning "Nothing Higher", "Unsurpassed") is the highest of the

Pure Abodes The Śuddhāvāsa (Pāli: ; Tib: ) worlds, or "Pure Abodes", are distinct from the other worlds of the ' in that they do not house beings who have been born there through ordinary merit or meditative attainments, but only those Anāgāmins ("Non- ...

, and thus the highest of all the form realms. It is the realm where

deva Deva may refer to: Entertainment * ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film * ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film * ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film * Deva (2007 Telugu film) * ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film * Deva ...

s like

Maheśvara Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

live. In

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

Buddhism, Akaniṣṭha is also a name for the

Pure Land A pure land is the celestial realm of a buddha or bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. The term "pure land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism () and related traditions; in Sanskrit the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (Sanskrit ). Th ...

(Buddhafield) of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

Vairocana Vairocana (also Mahāvairocana, sa, वैरोचन) is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East ...

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

, Akaniṣṭha (Tib. '''og min)'' often describes three Akaniṣṭhas: # The Ultimate Akaniṣṭha, the formless state of dharmakaya, the

dharmadhatu Dharmadhatu (Sanskrit) is the 'dimension', 'realm' or 'sphere' (dhātu) of the Dharma or Absolute Reality. Definition In Mahayana Buddhism, dharmadhātu ( bo, chos kyi dbyings; ) means "realm of phenomena", "realm of truth", and of the noumen ...

. # The Densely Arrayed Akaniṣṭha (Tib. '''Og min rgyan stug po bkod pa''; Skt. ''Ghanavyūhakaniṣṭha''), or the "Symbolic Akaniṣṭha" which is the realm of sambhogakaya. "Ghanavyūha Akaniṣṭha", refers to the pure

Saṃbhogakāya ''Saṃbhogakāya'' ( sa, संभोगकाय lit. "body of enjoyment", zh, t=報身, p=bàoshēn, Tib: ''longs spyod rdzog pa'i sku'') is the second mode or aspect of the Trikaya. Definition Celestial manifestations ''Sambhogakāya'' is ...

Buddha field out of which emanate all

Nirmāṇakāya Nirmāṇakāya (Sanskrit; zh, t=應身, p=yīngshēn; Tib. སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་, ''tulku'', Wyl. ''sprul sku'') is the third aspect of the trikāya and the physical manifestation of a Buddha in time and space. In Vajrayāna it is descr ...

Buddhas and Buddhafields such as Sukhāvati. It is the supreme Buddhafield in which all Buddhas attain Buddhahood. The Saṃbhogakāya Buddha

Vajradhara Vajradhara (Sanskrit: वज्रधर. (Also, the name of Indra, because 'Vajra' means diamond, as well as the thunderbolt, anything hard more generally) Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་འཆང། rdo rje 'chang (Dorje Chang); zh, t=金� ...

is said to have taught the

Vajrayana Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

in the realm of Akaniṣṭha Ghanavyūha.Changkya Rölpai Dorjé, Donald Lopez (translator) (2019). ''Beautiful Adornment of Mount Meru'', chapter 13. Simon and Schuster. # The Mundane Akaniṣṭha, which is the highest pure level of the form realm, which is the sphere of nirmanakayas.

References

Pure lands {{cosmology-stub