Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Rarity of Humanoids


Rarity of Humanoids






Below is a reproduction of various types of beings in the universe or galaxies

The Thirty-one Planes of Existence
Scattered throughout the suttas are references to as many as thirty-one distinct "planes" or "realms" of existence into which beings can be reborn during their long wandering through samsara. These range from the extraordinarily grim and painful hell realms all the way up to the most exquisitely refined and blissful heaven realms. Existence in every realm is temporary; in Buddhist cosmology there is no eternal heaven or hell. Beings are born into a particular realm according to their past kamma. When they pass away, they take rebirth once again elsewhere according to the quality of their kamma: wholesome actions bring about a favorable rebirth, while unwholesome actions lead to an unfavorable one.
The realms of existence are customarily divided into three distinct "worlds" (loka), listed here in descending order of refinement:
 
The realms of existence are customarily divided into three distinct "worlds" (loka), listed here in descending order of refinement:

    1. The Immaterial World (arupa-loka).
    Consists of four realms that are accessible to those who pass away while meditating in the formless jhanas. 

    2. The Fine-Material World (rupa-loka).
    Consists of sixteen realms whose inhabitants (the devas) experience extremely refined degrees of mental pleasure. These realms are accessible to those who have attained at least some level of jhana and who have thereby managed to (temporarily) suppress hatred and ill will. They are said to possess extremely refined bodies of pure light. The highest of these realms, the Pure Abodes, are accessible only to those who have attained to "non-returning," the third stage of Awakening. The Fine-Material World and the Immaterial World together constitute the "heavens" (sagga).

    3. The Sensuous World (kama-loka).
    Consists of eleven realms in which experience — both pleasurable and not — is dominated by the five senses. Seven of these realms are favorable destinations, and include our own human realm as well as several realms occupied by devas.
    The lowest realms are the four "bad" destinations, which include the animal and hell realms.


I. The Immaterial World (arupa-loka)

Realm Comments Cause of rebirth here
(31) Neither-perception-nor-non-perception (nevasaññanasaññayatanupaga deva)
(30) Nothingness (akiñcaññayatanupaga deva)
(29) Infinite Consciousness (viññanañcayatanupaga deva)
(28) Infinite Space (akasanañcayatanupaga deva)
The inhabitants of these realms are possessed entirely of mind.
Having no physical body, they are unable to hear Dhamma teachings.

II. The Fine-Material World (rupa-loka)

(27) Peerless devas (akanittha deva) These are the five Pure Abodes (suddhavasa), which are accessible only to non-returners (anagami) and arahants. Beings who become non-returners in other planes are reborn here, where they attain arahantship.

Among its inhabitants is Brahma Sahampati, who begs the Buddha to teach Dhamma to the world (
(26) Clear-sighted devas (sudassi deva)
(25) Beautiful devas (sudassa deva)
(24) Untroubled devas (atappa deva)
(23) Devas not Falling Away (aviha deva)
(22) Unconscious beings (asaññasatta)
Only body is present; no mind.
(21) Very Fruitful devas (vehapphala deva)
Beings in these planes enjoy varying degrees of jhanic bliss.
(20) Devas of Refulgent Glory (subhakinna deva)
(19) Devas of Unbounded Glory (appamanasubha deva)
(18) Devas of Limited Glory (parittasubha deva)
(17) Devas of Streaming Radiance (abhassara deva)
(16) Devas of Unbounded Radiance (appamanabha deva)
(15) Devas of Limited Radiance (parittabha deva)
(14) Great Brahmas (Maha brahma)
One of this realm's most famous inhabitants is the Great Brahma, a deity whose delusion leads him to regard himself as the all-powerful, all-seeing creator of the universe
(13) Ministers of Brahma (brahma-purohita deva)
Beings in these planes enjoy varying degrees of jhanic bliss.
(12) Retinue of Brahma (brahma-parisajja deva)


III. The Sensuous World (kama-loka)

Happy Destinations (sugati)

(11) Devas Wielding Power over the Creation of Others (paranimmita-vasavatti deva)
These devas enjoy sense pleasures created by others for them.
Mara, the personification of delusion and desire, lives here.
(10) Devas Delighting in Creation (nimmanarati deva)
These devas delight in the sense objects of their own creation.
(9) Contented devas (tusita deva)
A realm of pure delight and gaiety.
Bodhisattas abide here prior to their final human birth.
This is where the bodhisatta Maitreya (Metteya), the next Buddha, is said to dwell.
(8) Yama devas (yama deva)
These devas live in the air, free of all difficulties.
(7) The Thirty-three Gods (tavatimsa deva)
Sakka, a devotee of the Buddha, presides over this realm.
Many devas dwelling here live in mansions in the air.
(6) Devas of the Four Great Kings (catumaharajika deva)
Home of the gandhabbas, the celestial musicians, and the yakkhas, tree spirits of varying degrees of ethical purity. The latter are analogous to the goblins, trolls, and fairies of Western fairy tales.


(5) Human beings (manussa loka)

Rebirth as a human being is extraordinarily rare.

It is also extraordinarily precious, as its unique balance of pleasure and pain facilitates the development of virtue and wisdom to the degree necessary to set one free from the entire cycle of rebirths.

The development of virtue and wisdom
The attainment of stream-entry (sotapatti) guarantees that all future rebirths will be in the human or higher realms.

States of Deprivation (apaya)

(4) Asuras (asura)
The demons — "titans" — that dwell here are engaged in relentless conflict with each other.
(3) Hungry Shades/Ghosts (peta loka)
Ghosts and unhappy spirits wander hopelessly about this realm, searching in vain for sensual fulfillment.
(2) Animals (tiracchana yoni)
This realm includes all the non-human forms of life that are visible to us under ordinary circumstances: animals, insects, fish, birds, worms, etc.
(1) Hell (niraya)
These are realms of unimaginable suffering and anguish.
Should not be confused with the eternal hell found in other religious traditions, since one's time here is — as it is in every realm — temporary.


Heaven

In Buddhist cosmology, the heaven realms are blissful abodes whose present inhabitants (the devas) gained rebirth there through the power of their past meritorious actions. Like all beings still caught in samsara, however, these deities eventually succumb to aging, illness, and death, and must eventually take rebirth in other realms — pleasant or otherwise — according to the quality and strength of their past kamma. The devas are not always especially knowledgeable or spiritually mature — in fact many are quite intoxicated by their sensual indulgences — and none are considered worthy of veneration or worship.
Nevertheless, the devas and their happy realms stand as important reminders to us both of the happy benefits that ensue from the performance of skillful and meritorious deeds and, finally, of the ultimate shortcomings of sensuality.

American Pie


American Pie
Comparing an average American’s eating habits with ours is a revelation by itself.
An American eats a cow / bull every ten years.
In every American there are at least 5 cows in him / her by the time s/he is fifty.
If he has not got mad cow disease or Alzheimer’s disease what s/he eats in the rest of his life is any American doctor’s guess.
He eats a pig every three years.
He eats at least 50 chickens and one turkey a year.

Some Americans of course eat much more than this.

My worry is every cow/bull s/he eats, at least an equivalent of 8Kg of fodder is needed to support its life to obtain 1Kg of meat.
If an American stops eating 1Kg of beef s/he is saving about 8Kg of grain for a poor soul in Africa or Bangladesh.

Out of the tons of grain produced more half (this ratio has gone up with the increase of Chinese Middle Class population) is spent on animal feeds and some American cows are better fed than African kids.

Only to be sacrificed as human food.

The current Pope should give due consideration to these facts and he should give a hearing to this fiasco and if the grain saved by saving the poor cows / or bulls is multiplied by the factor of eight by 1000 (well fed cow’s weight) there is an excess grain in this world to feed everybody.

Equally FAO should take this into cognizant.

Looking by some of Sri-Lankans who lavish on food I cannot say there is any difference to American mentality, here in Sri-Lanka (especially who visit here to take a break from the winter).
Coming back to a single meal, if an American or Western guy sacrifices a single meal a week, like our Buddhist monks who live on a single meal a day, we would be able to feed some hungry children in Africa and Asia without any problem or NGOs.
WHO also should take this fact to their cognizant.
I don’t believe in what our agriculture minister who says, that food prices have gone up because of biofuels.
The production of biofuels had been going on for over 25 years.
One should realize that the ancient man and his closest friend the dog survived on a single meal in spite of their aggressive hunting skills.

Eat less is my recipe!
Three rice meals a day is two much (unless one is heavy manual labour).
I lost my weight only after stopped eating rice.
I was like a pig when I was eating meat including pork!

Preparation for Alien Encounter

Preparation for Alien Encounter

The qualities (sublime states) that are desired but unfortunately lacking in human day to day encounters.

I want Oxford Dictionary to recognize four abodes its due place., because English Language especially American English does not have have proper equivalents.


The sublime states are
 

1. Metta
Universal an unbound compassion to all beings born or to be born
It is not Love or carnal pleasure

English dictionary has the opposite word Hate and the current expression is ISIS

2. Karuna
The boundless kindness to everybody especially the downtrodden, the poor and the sick.
We have lost this in this country including reconciliation after 35 odd years of ruthless killings on both sides of the divide.

3. Muditha
Sympathetic Joy
To feel empathic towards others achievement and happiness
Appreciate the well being and success of entities not connected or related.
I have not seen a good word in English.
We get the pleasure of putting people to prison.
That is the opposite of Muditha, the psychopathy.

4.Upekka
The Equanimity
Not moved by extreme happiness or unhappiness and disaster