In classical

Buddhist Cosmology Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the Universe according to Buddhist Tripitaka, scriptures and Atthakatha, commentaries. It consists of a temporal and a spatial cosmology. The temporal cosmology describes the ...

, ''Akaniṣṭha'' (

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

: ''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: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...

s like

Maheśvara Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

live. In

Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...

Buddhism, Akaniṣṭha is also a name for the

Pure Land Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...

(Buddhafield) of the

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

Vairocana Vairocana (from Sanskrit: Vi+rocana, "from the sun" or "belonging to the sun", "Solar", or "Shining"), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Vairocana), is a major Buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in text ...

. This is also the setting of the '' Ghanavyūha Sūtra.''

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

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

dharmadhatu Dharmadhatu (; ; ) is the 'dimension', 'realm' or 'sphere' (dhātu) of the Dharma or Absolute Reality. Entire Dharmadhatu was filled with an infinite number of buddha-lands (Sanskrit: buddhakṣetra) with ineffable number of Buddhas. This rea ...

, i.e. the

ultimate reality Ultimate reality is "the supreme, final, and fundamental power in all reality". It refers to the most fundamental fact about reality, especially when it is seen as also being the most valuable fact. This may overlap with the concept of the Absolut ...

. # 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'' (, zh, t=報身, p=bàoshēn, Tib: ''longs spyod rdzog pa'i sku'') is the second of three aspects of a buddha. ''Sambhogakāya'' is a "subtle body of limitless form". Buddhas such as Bhaisajyaguru and Amitābha, as well as ...

Buddha field out of which emanate all

Nirmāṇakāya Nirmāṇakāya ( zh, t=應身, p=yīngshēn; Tibetan: , , Wylie: ) is the third aspect of the trikāya and the physical manifestation of a Buddha in time and space. In Vajrayāna it is described as "the dimension of ceaseless manifestation". ...

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

Vajradhara Vajradhara (; ; ; ; ; ) is the ultimate primordial Buddha, or Adi-Buddha, according to the Sakya, Gelug and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also a name of Indra, because "Vajra" means diamond, as well as the thunderbolt, or anything ha ...

is said to have taught the

Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...

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 Buddhist cosmology {{cosmology-stub