Trailokya

Trailokya ( sa, त्रैलोक्य; Kannada: ತ್ರೈಲೋಕ್ಯ; pi, tiloka, Tibetan: khams gsum; Chinese: 三界) literally means "three worlds"Fischer-Schreiber ''et al.'' (1991), p. 230, entry for "Triloka." Here, synonyms for ''triloka'' include ''trailokya'' and ''traidhātuka''.Purucker (1999), entry for "Trailokya" (retrieved at http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/etgloss/tho-tre.htm). It can also refer to "three spheres," "three planes of existence," "three realms" Berzin (2008) renders ''khams-gsum'' (Wylie; Tibetan) and ''tridhatu'' (Sanskrit) as "three planes of existence" and states that it is " metimes called 'the three realms.'" ''Tridhatu'' is a synonym of ''triloka'' where ''dhatu'' may be rendered as "dimension" or "realm" and ''loka'' as "world" or even "planet." and "three regions."Blavatsky (1892), pp. 336-7, entry for "Trailokya" (retrieved at http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/ATUVWXYZ.htm#t).

Conceptions of three worlds (tri- loka) appear in Hinduism and Jainism, as well as early Buddhist texts.

Hindu cosmology

The concept of three worlds has a number of different interpretations in Hindu cosmology.

* Traditionally, the three worlds refer to either the earth (Bhuloka), heaven ( Svarga), and hell (Naraka), or the earth (Bhuloka), heaven (Svarga), and the netherworld ( Patala)
* The Brahmanda Purana conceives them to be Bhūta (past), Bhavya (future), and Bhavat (present)
* In Vaishnavism, the three worlds are often described to be bhūr, bhuvaḥ, and svaḥ (the gross region, the subtle region, and the celestial region)
* In the ''Nilanamatapurana'', Vamana covers his second step on the three worlds of Maharloka, Janaloka, and Tapoloka, all of which are regarded to be a part of the seven heavens

Buddhist cosmology

In Buddhism, the three worlds refer to the following destinations for karmic rebirth:
* Kāmaloka the world of desire, typified by base desires, populated by hell beings, preta (hungry ghosts), animals, humans and lower demi-gods.
* Rūpaloka is the world of form, predominantly free of baser desires, populated by dhyāna-dwelling gods, possible rebirth destination for those well practiced in dhyāna.
* Arūpaloka is the world of formlessness, a noncorporeal realm populated with four heavens, possible rebirth destination for practitioners of the four formlessness stages.

See also

* Svarga
* Loka
* Six Paths
*Trikaya
* Trilok (Jainism)

Notes

Sources

* Berzin, Alexander (March 6, 2008). ''Berzin Archives Glossary''. Retrieved Sunday July 13, 2008 from "Berzin Archives" at http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/about/glossary/glossary_tibetan.html.
* Blavatsky, H.P. (1892). ''Theosophical Glossary''. London: Theosophical Publishing Society. Retrieved 2008-07-14 from "The Theosophical Glossary (United Lodge of Theosophists, Phoenix, Arizona)" at http://theosophicalglossary.net/.
* Fischer-Schreiber, Ingrid, Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Michael S. Diener and Michael H. Kohn (trans.) (1991). ''The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen''. Boston: Shambhala Publications. .
* Monier-Williams, Monier (1899, 1964). ''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary''. London: Oxford University Press. . Retrieved 2008-07-13 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/index.php?sfx=pdf.
* Purucker, G. de (ed.-in-chief) (1999). ''Encyclopedic Theosophical Glossary: A Resource on Theosophy''. Theosophical University Press. Retrieved from "The Theosophical Society" at http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/etgloss/etg-hp.htm.
* Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary''. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. Retrieved 2008-07-13 from "U. Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
* W. E. Soothill & L. Hodous (1937-2000). ''A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms''. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. .

External links

* Bullitt, John T. (2005). ''The Thirty-one Planes of Existence''. Retrieved 2007-04-30 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html.

31 Planes of Existence
by Bhante Acara Suvanno

31 Planes of Existence - chart

{{Buddhism topics

Buddhist philosophical concepts
Theosophical philosophical concepts
Locations in Hindu mythology
Buddhist cosmology